Gov Perry in a Legal CCH Shoot

[Waitone]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/27/AR2010042704373.html

Texas gov. shoots, kills 'wily' coyote during jog
   
By JIM VERTUNO
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 27, 2010; 7:55 PM

AUSTIN, Texas -- Pistol-packing Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a message for wily coyotes out there: Don't mess with my dog.

Perry told The Associated Press on Tuesday he needed just one shot from the laser-sighted pistol he sometimes carries while jogging to take down a coyote that menaced his puppy during a February run near Austin.

Perry said he will carry his .380 Ruger - loaded with hollow-point bullets - when jogging on trails because he is afraid of snakes. He'd also seen coyotes in the undeveloped area.

When one came out of the brush toward his daughter's Labrador retriever, Perry charged.

"Don't attack my dog or you might get shot ... if you're a coyote," he said Tuesday.

Perry, a Republican running for a third full term against Democrat Bill White, is living in a private house in a hilly area southwest of downtown Austin while the Governor's Mansion is being repaired after a 2008 fire. A concealed handgun permit holder, Perry carries the pistol in a belt.

"I knew there were a lot of predators out there. You'll hear a pack of coyotes. People are losing small cats and dogs all the time out there in that community," Perry said.

"They're very wily creatures."

On this particular morning, Perry said, he was jogging without his security detail shortly after sunrise.

"I'm enjoying the run when something catches my eye and it's this coyote. I know he knows I'm there. He never looks at me, he is laser-locked on that dog," Perry said.

"I holler and the coyote stopped. I holler again. By this time I had taken my weapon out and charged it. It is now staring dead at me. Either me or the dog are in imminent danger. I did the appropriate thing and sent it to where coyotes go," he said.

Perry said the laser-pointer helped make a quick, clean kill.

"It was not in a lot of pain," he said. "It pretty much went down at that particular juncture."

Texas state law allows people to shoot coyotes that are threatening livestock or domestic animals. The dog was unharmed, Perry said.

Perry's security detail was not required to file a report about the governor discharging a weapon, said Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange.

"People shoot coyotes all the time, snakes all the time," Mange said. "We don't write reports."

The governor left the coyote where it fell.

"He became mulch," Perry said.

This one oughta send the animal rights nuts into a whomp-sided orbit.  I'm sure someone will try to make political hay out of a legal, clear cut self-defense shoot.

[AZRedhawk44]

"He became mulch."

+1, Gov Perry.

[makattak]

God bless Texas.

That just brings a smile to my face. Way to put down that varmint, Governor.

[SADShooter]

I'm not a huge fan of Gov. Perry, but I'll give props to anyone who can drop a yote with one shot from an LCP. Cool.

Edit: the gun nut in me wonders what ammo he had loaded.

[Waitone]

Edit: the gun nut in me wonders what ammo he had loaded.

Yup, same here.  Furthermore I'd like to know the brand and where he got it.  .380 anything is in short supply these parts.  I'm looking for HP .380 without going through the test phase.  Find what works for others and give it a spin.

[zahc]

Also impressed at the shooting. Jogging-size .380s strike me as contact-distance weapons. Killing a coyote at any distance with one is impressive imo.

[roo_ster]

Yup, same here.  Furthermore I'd like to know the brand and where he got it.  .380 anything is in short supply these parts.  I'm looking for HP .380 without going through the test phase.  Find what works for others and give it a spin.

Perry said he will carry his .380 Ruger - loaded with hollow-point bullets - when jogging on trails because he is afraid of snakes. He'd also seen coyotes in the undeveloped area.

Ruger LCP.

Roadrunners or Republican governors, Wile E. Coyote can't get a break.

[MillCreek]

Also impressed at the shooting. Jogging-size .380s strike me as contact-distance weapons. Killing a coyote at any distance with one is impressive imo.

I bet the laser helped.  I know that my AMT DAO Backup in .380, with no sights, is most commonly used to practice at about 10 feet distance. 

[HankB]

The story would be SO much better if instead of a coyote of the canid variety, it involved a coyote of the cross-border human trafficking kind . . . 

Still . . . how many of you poor folks in the OTHER 49 states have a governor who'd take the same decisive action? Kudos to Rick Perry.

[gunsmith]

I guess it wasn't a Coyote of the "super genius" Genus, beep beep.   

[gunsmith]

durn slow pc's!

[Matthew Carberry]

The story would be SO much better if instead of a coyote of the canid variety, it involved a coyote of the cross-border human trafficking kind . . . 

Still . . . how many of you poor folks in the OTHER 49 states have a governor who'd take the same decisive action? Kudos to Rick Perry.

My former Gov. would have called in air support. 

[Matthew Carberry]

Wouldn't the coyote have become coyote food?  Do they cannibalize their dead?

[KD5NRH]

Wouldn't the coyote have become coyote food?  Do they cannibalize their dead?

Depends on how hungry they are; most species are inherently averse to cannibalism, for good evolutionary reason. (Any disease present in the dead animal will also affect the live one, whereas cross-species feeding has at least some chance of a disease being specific to the prey species.) Some species are less averse than others.

OTOH, until I went digging for more info I didn't realize Perry was such an interesting guy; Eagle Scout, (and father of another one) ROTC, USAF tactical airlift pilot, cotton farmer, married his grade-school sweetheart, looks healthier at 60 than I do at 33, etc.

[Waitone]

In the interest of full disclosure of the good governor, he led the charge in support of the trans texas corridor.  He's the guy who shepherded it though the legislature and ran publicity screen plays. 

So the good governor has a lot of attributes which give "conservatives" warm and fuzzies.  He is also a globalist and all that implies.

[HankB]

Perry has made some mistakes . . .

1. Support for Trans-Texas corridor, as already mentioned.
2. He positively LOVES toll roads.
3. He signed a bill allowing tuition discounts for ILLEGAL ALIENS at Texas colleges and universities. 
4. He issued an executive order mandating HPV vaccination for girls. (Note that this order had NO force of law behind it.)

On the other hand, he seems to favor holding the line on both taxes and spending, he's pro-RKBA, and he opposes both Obamacare and cap-and-tax. Despite his imperfections, the opposition has yet to come up with anyone better.

[MechAg94]

My understanding is that #4 was required in order to make those vaccinations available for free through certain state programs.  However, if that was the intent, it wasn't explained well at all.

I have my disagreements with him, but he is better than any Democrat I have seen in quite a while.  Bill White's only claim to fame is that he was a better mayor than Lee P. Brown which isn't really a compliment.  

I would also say that the TSRA is happy with Perry as he has been pro-gun consistently and signed every piece of legislation that got to him. 

[MicroBalrog]

Why is HPV vaccination bad? Are there hidden dangers involved?

[HankB]

Apparently they're pricey and multiple shots are required; some are concerned about side effects.

Some others oppose it because of the implicit assumptions that their (very young) daughters are sexually active.

The Perry executive order mandating vaccinations rankled a lot of folks who didn't like one man telling them what to do with their families. (I guess they didn't realize Perry, being governor and not emperor, didn't actually have the power to force compliance.)

[Balog]

Micro: surely you of all people see why forcing medical treatment is a bad idea?

[Tallpine]

Wouldn't the coyote have become coyote food?  Do they cannibalize their dead?

Tradition is that they stay far away from their dead kin.

Perry should have hung the coyote in a tree to warn the others. 

We've had one lying on the rimrock up above the house since I shot it last fall. 

[sanglant]

My former Gov. would have called in air support. 

mine would have gotten eaten.

[MicroBalrog]

Micro: surely you of all people see why forcing medical treatment is a bad idea?

Oh quite, quite.

But I'm not sure if this about forcing people to get vaccinated (which I am against), or about mandating FUNDING or provision of these vaccinations.

Also, I think in some circumstances, mandatory vaccinations are a good thing - specifically in the case of a medical emergency, or preventing one, like people do with measles and tetanus.

[Balog]

My understanding was the (powerless) EO was mandatory vaccination. And if an STD is reaching epidemic status, yer doin it rong. Unless we're talking about sub-Saharan Africa where many cases of transmission are rape based. But that's really just another argument for recolonization of Africa...

[seeker_two]

Things that are hard to believe....

1. Perry's security detail would let him get away by himself without someone close by to keep watch.

2. Perry carries a .380 as a "snake gun".

3. Anything that comes out of Perry's mouth.