Had to shoot a raccoon

[snakeman21]

Hi all. Most of you know that I moved to Vermont today. I will be with my parents in Leicester while I find an apartment in Rutland. Well, I got there today and unloaded the van, and just about when I was done, my parents said, "guys, don't come over here!" My wife was like "Why not" and my my stepfather (Andy) said, "There's a rabid raccoon over here."

So I walk around the driveway at a safe distance and look over. Sure enough, there is a very sick raccoon walking... No, dragging itself over the lawn. So I say, "Do you want me to go get a gun?" Andy says, "Yeah, but don't shoot it yet, let's call the game warden.

Now here's a crucial point in this story. I go upstairs to get my 1911... Oh shit, the 1911 is locked in its case... Where are the keys? Oh, yeah. In the garage, in a box of God knows what. Damn. Okay, what else do I have? Mosin Nagant? Nah, that's overkill... No point alerting everyone within a 3 mile radius, right? The only other gun I brought? AK-47. Well, 7.62x39 is (for some reason) more expensive than 7.62x54r... and don't have a whole lot of it. Oh well, I guess I'm using the Mosin! So I grab my Mosin and a handful of ammo and head downstairs, loading the rifle when I get to the door. My mother is calling Vermont Fish & Wildlife.

Now let me tell you about the "town" of Leicester, VT where this is happening. We have two dirt roads, one paved road, and a gas station. That's it. No police department, no post office, no nothing. Just a mountain. That's why I love it. It's quiet and beautiful.

So back to the story. My mom gets off the phone and says, "The office is closed." Next, we call the Brandon police, which is the closest (about 25 miles) town with a police dept. to ask them. Guess what? The receptionist left at 4:00. Yup, you guessed it, the station is unused after 4 unless there is an emergency (which there almost never is). So at this point, the raccoon is still drooling and flopping around on the ground, and is obviously suffering. So my mom says, "Go ahead and shoot it."

So I chamber a round, aim for the lungs, and shoot. The bullet rips through his lung and absolutely wrecks the sod behind him, sending chunks of dirt and grass flying more than 20 feet (we measured later). But the raccoon isn't dead! After a fucking 7.62x54! So I cycle the bolt, take aim a little higher this time (heart area) and fire again. Same thing happens. This time, I wait a couple seconds to see if it's just nerves. Nope, he's still breathing, and still trying to drag himself around. I had only put 2 rounds in the rifle, and had the rest in my pocket. So I put one more round in, and this time, I take aim for the head and fire. This time, he goes down. Finally! I don't like shooting something I'm not going to eat, but I just can't watch something suffer like that.

Anyways, after this, my mother calls a game warden she knows and he refers us to the state police, who ask us if any of us came into contact with the 'coon. We say no. So he says, "Good. Double-bag the body, and bury it deep."

So we got out the Kubota and buried the carcass about 5 feet under. Problem solved.



Here's what I don't get: After the coon was dead, I checked my shots. They were all right on target. How the hell was this thing still alive after I shot it in the lung and the heart? With a Mosin? WTF?

[CHEMICAL]

rabies.

kinda like a criminal on crank or meth.

[renegadephoenix]

sounds familiar:

http://forum.pafoa.org/general-2/976...oon-today.html

[GlockedAndLoaded]

I had a raccoon fall into a bomb shelter and break its neck. I was going to shoot it in the heart with my .45 glock but I was unsure where the heart WAS. So I shot it in the head. :/

Who knows, all of God's creatures can be both extremely resilient and exceptionally fragile. But I think destroying the entire brain usually ups your percentages of a "clean" kill.

[fingers80002]

Let me guess, FMJ/surplus ammo...........

If you really need to kill a critter, use expanding ammo.......

Range does have a factor........

[SteveinNEPA]

Agreed with Chemical. Ive had to shoot a rabid raccoon before and they don't die so easy unless its a head shot.

[fingers80002]

I had a raccoon fall into a bomb shelter and break its neck. I was going to shoot it in the heart with my .45 glock but I was unsure where the heart WAS. So I shot it in the head. :/

Who knows, all of God's creatures can be both extremely resilient and exceptionally fragile. But I think destroying the entire brain usually ups your percentages of a "clean" kill.

Unless you want a rabies test done.......

[snakeman21]

Agreed with Chemical. Ive had to shoot a rabid raccoon before and they don't die so easy unless its a head shot.

Lesson learned, I guess! :/

[Franky4Fingers]

sounds familiar:

http://forum.pafoa.org/general-2/976...oon-today.html

oh dear gawd, not that thread again. I had nightmares about that for a while...started to scare the wife.



(mumble).......black talons.........9mm.............................sti ll alive

[snakeman21]

oh dear gawd, not that thread again. I had nightmares about that for a while...started to scare the wife.



(mumble).......black talons.........9mm.............................sti ll alive

LOL! 5 6 7 8 9 10