Photography And Half-Thoughts By Mitchell Hegman

...because some of it is pretty and some of it is not.

Friday, August 22, 2025

Shooting Cattle

I’ve taken to shooting my neighbor’s cattle.

Don’t press the panic button just yet. I’m not using my hunting rifle. I’m shooting them with my Red Ryder BB rifle, and the BBs bounce right off the cattle without harm. But the landed shots annoy them enough that they move on. I also tell the cattle I don’t like them while carefully placing shots.

“And stay away,” I yell after the cattle when they finally rumble off.

The idea here, plainly enough, is to keep these coarse, poop-as-they-go invaders a fair distance from my good stuff. Cattle, in addition to grazing greenery down to nubs, are destructive in their oafishness. They stomp too hard when plodding around. They rub and lean against most anything upright. And then we have the cowpies.

I’ll admit, I probably enjoy shooting cattle more than I should. It’s far more satisfying than peppering cans and bottles. Plus, I get a kick out of how the little ones sometimes let out a surprised “murp” when I land a good shot.

This is some official Montana living I’m doing right here.

Me and My Trusty Red Ryder BB Rifle

Drawing Down on Cattle at My Solar PV Array

—Mitchell Hegman

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