Carry guns vs. critters

[voodoo_man]

I fired around many rounds of 12 ga when I was a teenager one day dove hunting.
No ear pro.
What was that?

Pretty much...

I'm not shooting any critter without a can or ear pro, especially outside just walking around.

[Lester Polfus]

I've discovered that my J-frame, with shot loads, does great double duty for pest control here around the house. We give the garter snakes and rubber boas the run of the place, as they keep down the undesirables, but I've used my 638 on mice, wood rats, and a ground squirrel that just couldn't respect boundaries. This week I found a baby rabbit that somehow got a nasty gut wound that had been festering for days. I could have beat it to death with a shovel, but I fetched my J as I knew it would be instant lights out.

The .38 shot loads are stupid expensive per round, and only intermittently available, so I bought what should be a lifetime supply of the shot capsules and whenever I need to load some up, I just open up some #7.5 shells up and take the shot out of them.

[Gun Mutt]

I've shot coyotes with my G20...couldn't tell you what loads anymore, but I was living in Montana bear country and I carried some seriously stout Double Tap loads that crumpled every one I shot. I've also shot groundhogs in Kentucky with both a G23 and a G19.

However, the damnedest one was a possum in Indiana. We were living pretty far out in the country and I'd taken our dogs outside for their bedtime constitutional when suddenly, my Akita charges into a huge bush, followed by some thrashing sounds then silence. As I came around the bush, Samson had a possum by the back of the neck and was shaking the hell out of it. When he stopped, the possum hissed and snarled started to wriggle and CRUNCH, Samson clenched his jaws and broke the animal's neck.

I give the command and he drops the seemingly dead animal. I take the dog back inside and tell my wife what happened, adding that I planned to throw it in the treeline across the rode to feed the forest. Is that safe she asks? No worries, I tell her, I plan to wear a leather glove and pick it up with a plastic bag. No, she explains lovingly, be careful because it might not be dead, they're where the term came from after all. Oh, yeah, that...right. So I take my Dad's old Ruger Single Six from the cabinet by the back door and check to see that it's loaded with .22cb's, thinking I'd put one in his head to make sure.

I get back to the scene of the crime to find the possum is 10' from where he'd been, but he was dead still now. Fool me once and all that, joke's on you mf'er, I put a quiet round into his head...he moves a little more, so I add another cb...done...nope, moving...where the eff is the brain pan on this lil' critter? Draw an X between the eyes and ears, right? I end up popping it 5 times in what seemed logical places all around his vexing head.

Feeling like a piss poor, but eventually successful executioner, I tuck the Ruger in the back of my belt and pick the corpse up by the tail and carry it the 20 or so yards to the road. Damn thing's getting heavy, not much traction through this plastic bag and it's gonna slip out of my hand before I reach the treeline. Ok, I'm at the road, I'll give it a little swing and let it drop flat on the road so I can get a really good grip for the throw.

It hits the road, stands up with its broken neck crooked at an angle and starts limping across the road...shuffle step, shuffle step, fall, get up, repeat. Great, now I really feel like an asshole, but I don't want to shoot it while it's on the road. So, finally, as soon as it cleared the asphalt, I drew my G26 from appendix and put a DPX through the base of the skull and pretty much decapitated it. Good. Lord.

Flummoxed, I went inside and interwebbed the possum brain, finding this article. I learn that one way to measure brain capacity is to see how many dried beans fit in the skull cavity: Racoon = 150 beans, house cat = 125 beans...possum = 25 beans giving it the smallest brain-to-body ratio among mammals. No wonder the .22's had a hard time finding it.

TLDR: shoot possums with a 9mm or bigger if you want them DRT.

[secondstoryguy]

I often use my duty weapon(G34) to perform "field euthanasias" on deer. I usually go for the heart/lungs. The 9mm Federal HST 124gr that we are issued works surprisingly well. I've also put down a few other animals to include a cow or two.

[Duelist]

KelTec P11 (I know, I was broke and it was cheap), 124gr Speer Gold Dot. Crippled deer, one shot to base of skull that hit a touch low. Severed the spine, passed through the trachea on the way out. Massive hemorrhage b/c the heart didn't know nothing was connected anymore - it kept going till it ran out of blood.

[GuanoLoco]

Had to dispatch this a couple weeks ago. Kids spotted it where my extended family group of 14 had walked about 5000 tines over the past week. Dusk, after a few beers, moved it to the grass with a leaf rake. Whole family had to come out to watch. Broke out Glock 19/HST 147gr. Shot strong hand only with weak hand finger in strong side ear. Barely missed the first static head shot then had to bear down and hit a back-and-forth moving head shot as it advanced back toward the deck and toward me. Second shot vaporized the head.

I was bitten by a copperhead not far away from where this one was found about 10 years earlier. Would not recommend a repeat experience.

I need to pick up some 9mm shot shells.

[Malamute]

The CCI 9mm shot loads work quite well on snakes and such. I keep a 10 rd mag with shot loads handy when walking about and just swap out as needed.

I had a possum problem in town once, or more than once. 4 shots with CCI Quiets in a rifle before it hit the magic spot. One before was with a yard implement. Not good. Not effective. Very tough animals.

Rediscovered eternal truth. Frozen stuff doesnt smell. Bag em and put in freezer until disposal time. Way better.

[Lester Polfus]

[QUOTE=Malamute;625385
Rediscovered eternal truth. Frozen stuff doesnt smell. Bag em, lLABEL 'EM and put in freezer until disposal time. Way better.[/QUOTE]

FIFY. I've learned a few things about being a married man. A few minutes to write "dead possum" on the outside with a sharpie keeps the marital skids greased...

[Clusterfrack]

Definitely not a carry gun... but here's my tactical rat shooter and some of the kills:

[Duelist]

My Crossman might be getting that light attachment! Woot!