"Desert Eagle 1, Crazy Raccoon 0,"

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Ok this is getting a little deep. I coon hunt with dogs, so I see a lot of raccoons. They are not too keen on coming around my house, because I let the dogs out to run them if they do. So they learn. Possums don't, and they get CB'd around here.

My dogs have been bitten plenty of times. Coons are carriers of rabies, but my dogs have their yearly rabies shots. I've never seen a coon that I know had rabies.

It's VERY COMMON to see coons that are sick, acting crazy as if they are out of their mind or about to keel over dead... this is distemper. Since people quit trapping, raccoon populations just expand until there is an outbreak of distemper that kills a lot of them off. I am not a biologist, but a biologist told me that this can happen every 4-5 years or so in an area with a heavy concentration of raccoons.

If you've seen a coon acting sick or crazy or out stumbling around in the daytime like it's drunk, it's more than likely in advanced stages of distemper and about to die.

Raccoons move around quite a bit in the winter - they mate in the winter.
 
Like many of the previous posters I am absolutely terrified of all animals. I never go into the woods unless I'm carrying: 1) long range rifle (for scarey animals that are just starting to attack from afar - usually a .300 Win Mag), 2) 12 ga combat-type shotgun with 00 buck and 3) at least one sidearm (minimum .357 Mag) for when all other options have failed. When I camp, I usually rig claymores along the perimiter incase one of those horrible beasts attacks in the unlikely event that I fall asleep. I attribute my irrational phobia to the fact that I know next to nothing about any animals. Except that they're all rabid and want to kill me.
 
Like many of the previous posters I am absolutely terrified of all animals. I never go into the woods unless I'm carrying: 1) long range rifle (for scarey animals that are just starting to attack from afar - usually a .300 Win Mag)....
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:eek: Dude, you need to upgrade to 416 rigby or a 375 H&H at minimum. You never know when you will find yourself under gunned if all you have is a 300 win mag. In Wisconsin all the critters are larger than they are in the south.
 
You really need air support and napalm because everyone knows you have to heat rabies to at least 765 degrees to completly destroy it. Even then oversplash and nuclei sepration could result in rabies mutation leading to mutant zombies.
 
You really need air support and napalm because everyone knows you have to heat rabies to at least 765 degrees to completly destroy it. Even then oversplash and nuclei sepration could result in rabies mutation leading to mutant zombies.
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Believe me, I've explored the option of small tactical nukes many times.
 
Apparently PETA has never tried to let a trapped raccoon out of the trap before. That will certainly change your perspective on cute little fuzzy critters.
 
Apparently PETA has never tried to let a trapped raccoon out of the trap before. That will certainly change your perspective on cute little fuzzy critters.
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Well, I don't know about PITA but - are you talking about Havaheart-style cage traps? Because I've realeased dozens of wild raccoons (and skunks and 'possums) from those and have never had any problems.
 
Karl Hungus said:
.....I've realeased dozens of wild raccoons (and skunks and 'possums) from those and have never had any problems.
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Curious....how does one release a live skunk from a Havaheart-style cage trap without becoming.....ah, odorous?
 
Onward Allusion said:
You do realize that raccoons carry rabies and other diseases, right? Rabies do not necessarily have to be in the form of an outbreak with 'coons. They can merely be carriers. As an aside, 'coons are about 20lbs and a hell of a lot more vicious than dog 3x its size.
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Yes, I realize that. Do you realize that I said this?

HOV said:
Let the record show that I approve of shooting rabid mammals that are damaging one's domecile.
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Fremmer said:
Regardless of whether he shot the animal inside his house or on his property, it is HIS property. Not your property. Not PETA's property. His property. As the owner of the property, he may do as he pleases. There's nothing outlandish about shooting a wild animal that will not stop trying to enter your home. That's not normal behavior for a wild animal, and it is unacceptable; wild animals carry disease (such as rabies), and will seriously hurt a dog, child, or adult.

The best tool for killing a wild animal is whatever the property owner chooses to use. If you want to have to get close enough to a wild animal with a baseball bat to smash it (which may or may not kill it quickly), that is your decision; same with waiting around while the animal may or may not decide to enter your trap. But the homeowner in this case chose to use a firearm that quickly and safely killed the animal. If a homeowner wishes to use a firearm to shoot an animal inside the home, it is his decision (once again, not your decision, and not PETA's decision); some of us actually have the skill to quickly and safely kill the animal with the firearm. But you stick with your baseball bat.
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Sure, anyone can make a foolish decision.

You said you have the skill to quickly and safely kill the animal. Since my points were strictly in regards to shooting a small pest indoors, then you must be:

1. Amazingly proficient to be able to hit a moving racoon running around inside your house without creating more damage than the animal would have caused by itself, and/or of the opinion that waiting for the rabid animal to stop moving so you can take a clean indoor shot while still being confident nothing behind the creature is also not worthy of death or destruction is a good tactic, or

2. Guilty of having overassessed your skills, or underassed the risk of using a firearm indoors for small pest control.

The right tool for the job being a choice of the homeowner is a case of wishful thinking. There's a physical reality we're all subject to, and ownership of property does not make that reality change to make one tool suddenly more effective than the other.

Do you abhor the use of mousetraps also when a .22LR could do the job? Do you reject the use of flypaper when there's perfectly good snakeshot waiting to be used? How about a sledgehammer to kill those pesky roaches? After all, according to your logic the homeowner is always right.

You're right though - a bat is probably not the best tool either. Something like a dirt rake may be a better tool to get the creature under control. Long handle to keep distance, wide area with claws to grab and subdue.

I do believe a gun is the right tool for small pest extermination in certain situations, just not indoors.

JColdIron said:
That is like saying shooting a burglar would make a mess so I should use my baseball bat.
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If a human home invader was 15" tall, weighed 7-10 pounds, and moved at 3-4 m/s, I would probably not try to shoot him either. I'd take pictures and call the Guiness Book of World Records.
 
Curious....how does one release a live skunk from a Havaheart-style cage trap without becoming.....ah, odorous?
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Like the Dog Whisperer says... keep skunk in calm submissive state. :eek:
 
You said you have the skill to quickly and safely kill the animal. Since my points were strictly in regards to shooting a small pest indoors, then you must be:

1. Amazingly proficient to be able to hit a moving racoon running around inside your house without creating more damage than the animal would have caused by itself, and/or of the opinion that waiting for the rabid animal to stop moving so you can take a clean indoor shot while still being confident nothing behind the creature is also not worthy of death or destruction is a good tactic, or

2. Guilty of having overassessed your skills, or underassed the risk of using a firearm indoors for small pest control.
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Obviously the homeowner had the skill to quickly and safely kill the animal. Because he killed the animal and no humans were harmed. There is no factual evidence to demonstrate that he did otherwise. He used a firearm to kill a varmint on his property as he saw fit to do. Which is his right as a property owner. Contrary to your implication that most firearm owners can only shoot at a motionless paper target 3 feet away, some of us can actually accurately, proficiently, and safely use a firearm the way it is supposed to be used. We don't need lectures from PETA or anyone else about how we should protect our families and homes from animals.

But you go ahead and use a mousetrap, paper bag, or your own hands to get rid of a wild animal on your own property. That's your business, not my business, because it is your property. But don't lecture someone about what they should or shouldn't do in their property based on your own lack of skill with a firearm. Maybe you ought to practice a little more and lecture a little less. ;)
 
He used a firearm to kill a varmint on his property as he saw fit to do.
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In general, I treat wildlife on my property with great respect and avoid harassing them. When possible, I try to enhance their habitat and operate on the assumption that if it's living out there, it's doing something necessary in the ecosystem.

But. There is a progression from "wildlife" to "critter" to "varmint." Once it becomes a varmint, all bets are off and the animal is challenging me. Like the squirrels that chewed through my patio screening. Like the raccoon that took down and destroyed an expensive birdfeeder. If it's causing damage, wreaking havoc, and imperiling my property, it's a varmint and I'm fully entitled to remove it - alive or dead - as I deem necessary.
 
I'm one of the better trap and pistol shooters at my range. Not great with a rifle but I'm learning. Ultimately you're right - more practice less talk is always the right answer.

But if you're serious about constitutional rights like the 2nd, then you should have no problem respecting my 1A right to voice an opinon about the merits of firearm-based indoor pest control.

How many small mammals have you shot successfully insde your house? Must be nice to have that extended year-long indoor hunting season. Kevlar furniture?
 
Oh, I've shot hundreds of animals inside MY home. :rolleyes: And never damaged any of MY furniture. Which doesn't matter a bit, because it is MY home and MY furniture. I can do as I please in my home to protect myself and my family. So can you.

The First Amendment has nothing to do with this discussion. The First Amendment restricts the Government's ability to censor or control expression, particularly political speech. And it has nothing to do with the ability of a homeowner to protect his property from an animal or human inside or outside his own home.
Unless you happen to be PETA or the people for the ethical treatment of other people's furniture (PETOF), lol.

Anyway, you probably have nicer furniture than I do. If'n I shoot it up, it would just give me an excuse to buy some decent furniture. :D
 
Curious....how does one release a live skunk from a Havaheart-style cage trap without becoming.....ah, odorous?
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You just act calm and don't make jerky movements or otherwise act like you're terrified. I've done it several times and have never been sprayed. Skunks don't go around looking for an excuse to spray every human in sight just like raccoons don't go around trying to bite everybody in the jugular. I'm ruitinely around all kinds of scarey wild animals (unarmed!!OMG!!!) from red squirrels to black bears and I never have any problems. The people who are always having problems are guys who are terrified for some irrational reason and think that every animal on the planet is out to get them. Just clam down and everything will be ok.
 
On Tuesday, the animal welfare group challenged the Iowa Republican to "pick on someone your own size, not a small animal seeking warmth in a blizzard."

"It doesn't give you comfort in your representatives when a member of Congress finds it amusing to boast of shooting a desperately cold animal who is 100 times smaller than he is and whose only misstep was trying to get into a large, warm house," Jaime Zalac, a PETA spokeswoman, said a written statement provided to FoxNews.com.
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So next time he should find a roughly human sized target, say maybe a deer, and make sure it's not seeking refuge from anything and BOOM! No problems. Thanks for clarifying, PETA! You're the best :)
 
I heard a comment made that I have been considering: So called "animal lovers" and "nature lovers" are really just "people haters".
 
I would have done the same, but I do have more respect for the life of a raccoon than a member of PETA.
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We may all sometimes think this, but they are still humans, no matter how misguided, ill-informed, they are still humans, keep the comments high-road
 
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