Man who opened fire on wasp's nest injures boy

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TheDutchman

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Man who opened fire on wasp's nest injures boy
PASADENA, Texas — A man who blasted a wasp's nest with a 12-gauge shotgun was jailed after an errant pellet injured a 5-year-old boy in a nearby apartment, police said.

Romeo Gonzalez, 18, was charged with deadly conduct and is being held in the Harris County Jail.

Gonzalez fired to break up a wasp's nest hanging from a tree outside his second-floor apartment shortly after midnight Wednesday, said Pasadena Police Sgt. J.M. Baird. A pellet entered a first-floor apartment and struck David Marban in the thigh.

The boy was hospitalized but is expected to recover.

Pasadena is just south of Houston
 
The nest was outside his 2nd floor apt? I wonder if he fired from his balcony?

Anyway I'll second the chemically induced therory.
 
My friend and his brother tried the same thing but threw a basketball at the nest and did not use a gun, luckily as all they had was a 30-06 in that house anyways. Use your imagination to figure out what happens when you throw a basketball at a hornets nest.
 
Man, the only thing worth a darn to kill those things is wasp and hornet spray. That stuff shoots like a 12 foot stream and freezes them on the spot.

That said, I had a crabapple tree in my back yard when I was a kid. The yellowjackets loved to eat the ones that fell on the ground. I used to have great fun shooting them off the apples with my Crossman pellet gun. From a distance of course!
 
Dragon's breath. :D

He fired from the 2nd floor apt, away from the building, and a pellet entered the 1st floor apt? How'd that happen?!
 
My favorite wasp load is Winchester featherlight #9s. (2-1/2 dram load)
For hornets I move up to the light target load in #8s (2-3/4 dram load)


:D
 
He fired from the 2nd floor apt, away from the building, and a pellet entered the 1st floor apt? How'd that happen?!

I suspect there were two adjacent buildings, and this marksman figured since he couldn't see it, the other building must be stored somewhere else when it was dark outside. Either that or he's an idiot.
 
I've shot wasp/hornet nests on two occasions. First time I was rabbit hunting. It was a mild fall,no hard frost yet, and I came upon a small cedar tree. There was a wasp nest about four inches across. Load of #5 from my 410 shredded it completely.NO prisoners.
The second time I'd been squirrell hunting. I was back at the truck, ready to leave, when I noticed a large hornet nest...twenty feet over the truck. Same 410 and the same load...but I didn't stand around to see the results. I jumped into the truck and eased down the dirt road... :D
Yes, I too used my Daisey mod 25 to wage war on wasp almost any time I could get a shot at them. I just don't like wasp!
Mark.
 
Curious, do these wasps attack moving targets or just anything?

I grew up an hour West of Houston. We didn't have the really big wasps nests, but we did have a lot of little yellow jackets and paper wasps. Anyway, if you spray or hit them from 15 or 20 feet away and stand still, they won't see you and attack you if you don't move. You can spray them with bug spray all day and they won't know you are the one attacking if you don't move around or run. I have knocked down nests with spray, fogger, BB's, a water hose, etc. Never been stung. The ones I had to deal with are not as smart as say honey bees.
 
I think that real Hornets tend to be rather "proactive" in defending their nests, while the native and imported paper wasps are a bit more mild mannered. I've run into lots of the latter, but never the former mind you.

If you move slowly, and don't behave in a threatening fashion, you usually will not get stung. I've captured many an errant wasp in the house in glass to turn outside. Granted the wasp has not been too pleased to be confined, but once she's been set free she'll fly off and not harass me. It also helps to be able to read their body language so you can know when the beast is agitated (wings and abdomen up) and when they spot you. They will cock their heads to look right at you.
do these wasps attack moving targets
Wasps are predatory on other insects (and occasionaly spiders), so I think they key on movement first, then contrast/shape close in.
 
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