Dangerous times even in small town

[prof fate]

indoors and barn are sorta not the same.
when we see sign of critters we set up traps - when one is surprised by a critter then it's different. Why a shotgun? it's all I had available. A rifle i would have aimed. a pistol indoors, even a barn..way too loud IMO/IME.

The issue with opossums is they defecate something that causes neurotoxicity in horses - so while htey do eat ticks and bugs, then can kill a horse, so opossoms are on the shoot first list at our farm.

as for ground hogs - the ones here do not sit still long enough for you to aim for the head - and with 4" gras their heads are often a guess.

1 - with all the shooting you do and qualifications you have, you MUST be a better shot than me I can assure you, but how in the heck you can't hit a groundhog in the head between 0-50 yards is way beyond me when you know you're after him.

For myself, I knew the two ground hogs I was going after, and I was waiting for them and gun was on a rest (that's why I was waiting on them LMFAO).


2 - I would never shoot a shotgun INDOORS after a non leathal / non rabid animal. They have these things that are called "live traps" that work wonders (at worst, if the animial is rabid, you put the gun next to the animal's head and put a bullet in their head to end their life). See below for live trap, they really do work wonders and are worth the money.
View attachment 583350

 

[k0ua]

I've shot one of those several times over the years. Once I get a decent shotgun, that's probably going to be my next purchase. :thumbsup:

If you are buying new, be sure to get a MK4, the latest one. Taking down the MK1's MK2's and MK3's are a royal pain in the keister. The MK4 solves all of that with a single button push. I love my MK2, but I don't love taking it apart for a total cleaning. Well to be truthful, taking down isn't that bad, but putting it back together takes a "trick" and holding your mouth right. Not as bad as a colt woodsman, but close. Nothing is as hard to put back together as a Colt woodsman. I haven't owned one in years or put one back together in years, but from what I can remember, it can try men's souls.

 

[RSKY]

My experience mirrors that of prof-fate. It might be because I also shoot a lot and shoot competitively.


And as to caliber....it ain't rocket surgery. The only reason I carry a 9mm is because I am more accurate with it under pressure (less recoil so quicker back on target), it holds a lot of rounds, and it is marginally effective if I miss the kill area. I would carry a 12 ga if I could...but I can't. The bigger and more powerful the caliber, the better it will kill...IF YOU CAN SHOOT IT! Any bullet design that makes the 9mm effective will make a larger caliber more effective. Simple.

BTW, our pistols for home defense are matched S&W 686 .357 Mag revolvers as that is as much as my fiancé can handle and I do not need to worry about the gun jamming on her. Not MY first choice in a pistol but the best compromise for US. We can pick up each others guns and not worry about how they work. KISS. But I tell her that if the SHTF, and she has time, to get to the 12 ga pump and/or AR15 (again matched weapons in both locations so we know how they work...muscle memory is your friend). More energy is a good thing when something needs to die...do not use a pistol if you have something better.

Choosing a .22, .25ACP, .32 etc etc shows ignorance. Staying with those calibers, after reading about their effectiveness, and what LEO's use , shows stupidity. But if that is what you have it beats nothing. It is your life and that of your loved ones...so chose something better and learn to use it.

When I carry it is a small 380. The reason is that I can carry it concealed and nobody well realize I am armed. Just looks like I have a wallet in each back pocket. If I had a pistol even a little bit larger I could not conceal it near as well. Better to carry a marginal 380 as to not carry a 9mm or 45. All the data I have looked at from actual shooting show that the 22, 25, and the 32s are inadequate. The 380 is the smallest effective caliber. Ellefritz, who did the ten year, 1700+ case study of shootings, now carries a 22 Magnum revolver. Small, light, no jams, penetrating, and nine rounds.

From what I have read of the FBI move back to 9mm it is for the same reason you mentioned in your post. That is less recoil so quicker back on target for the second shot. Seems that the main factor in surviving a gunfight is shot placement, followed by putting a second shot on target in the head or body. Caliber and bullet design are irrelevant if you cannot hit a critical area. And no matter what the caliber or bullet design two hits in the head or body will persuade anybody to stop their attack.

The Ellefritz data also shows that a 12 ga shotgun with buckshot is the king of manstoppers and needed, this is from memory, 1.25 shots per stop. Center fire rifles needed 1.5 shots per stop and handguns averaged slightly less than two rounds for each stop. That last was excluding the 22LR, 25ACP, and 32ACP or 32Long. Those needed more than two rounds. Once again this is from a study of multiple actual civilian and police shootings over a ten year period.

RSKY

 

[4570Man]

If you are buying new, be sure to get a MK4, the latest one. Taking down the MK1's MK2's and MK3's are a royal pain in the keister. The MK4 solves all of that with a single button push. I love my MK2, but I don't love taking it apart for a total cleaning. Well to be truthful, taking down isn't that bad, but putting it back together takes a "trick" and holding your mouth right. Not as bad as a colt woodsman, but close. Nothing is as hard to put back together as a Colt woodsman. I haven't owned one in years or put one back together in years, but from what I can remember, it can try men's souls.

I found a Browning buck mark to be a much more practical gun because of the difficulty if putting together the mark one. Both guns aren’t very nice in the new models. I’ve had a High Standard victor, Browning medalist,and Smith 41 most of which I’ve since sold. Those are all 3 way nicer guns than the buck mark or ruger. But those have a 1k price tag for a slick one so if you just want a beater than probably not a good candidate.

 

[RSKY]

We were coming back from a movie Monday night and had to make a detour around a large group of blue lights and EMTs and the coroner's vehicle. Found out the next morning that a lady walking home from the chicken processing plant was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. Shortly after the police got there a call came in to the State Police from a woman saying she had struck a deer in the same area. That woman has now been arrested. No driver's license, no insurance, nothing but a beater car. In the pictures she looked just like the other druggies that appear on news sites after crimes in our area.

The woman killed had two small children.

Most of the crime and a great many of the accidents in our area are due to the meth heads. I have lost any feelings of compassion I ever had for them.

RSKY

 

[Gary Fowler]

Not a ground hog, no way. With a pistol?

Since you sound like an unbeliever, I will recount this story. Many, many years ago when I was dating my first wife, I had a Ruger MarkII .22LR pistol (the one with a tapered barrel) that was a really nice shooting gun. My girlfriend wanted to shoot it and having never shot any gun before, I went thru the spiel of how to use the sights. A rabbit jumped out in the middle of the country road that we were on and she decided to shoot at it. Well I explained that it was way out of range at over 100 yards away. She wanted to shoot it anyway, so she took careful aim and pulled the trigger. The rabbit fell over immediately which really upset my girlfriend that she had killed it. I stepped the distance off and it was over 100 steps to the rabbit from where we were. The rabbit had been shot right thru the eyes. Girlfriend must have been aiming well over the rabbit and just lucky (on unlucky depending on your point of view) to have hit it at all.

My Dad told me a tale once about how he was showing off his expertise with his Winchester .22 semi-auto. One of our farm workers wanted a demo so my Dad said to watch that fenceline which was way over 100 yards away. He took aim and fired and a small sparrow bit the dust. Everyone was impressed. He later told me that he was aiming at one on the fence wire that was about 16" above.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I have experienced similar shots, but attributed it to the trajectory. Seems that on a .22 rifle, if you sight it in for say 25 or 30 yards, the bullet is on it's upward trajectory, and it will actually shoot high beyond 25 yards, and will be back on target at about 75 yards. I recall shooting at a bird that I estimated to be 75 yards away, aiming dead on, knowing that it was too far away to hit with a .22 rifle, and lo and behold! Blew it out of the tree! I couldn't figure it out, and kinda felt bad because I really hadn't intended to kill the bird...then someone explained trajectory to me, and it seemed to fit the situation.

 

[k0ua]

I found a Browning buck mark to be a much more practical gun because of the difficulty if putting together the mark one. Both guns aren’t very nice in the new models. I’ve had a High Standard victor, Browning medalist,and Smith 41 most of which I’ve since sold. Those are all 3 way nicer guns than the buck mark or ruger. But those have a 1k price tag for a slick one so if you just want a beater than probably not a good candidate.

Have you looked at a MK 4? Takedown and reassembly in about 2 seconds. It doesn't get any easier.

 

[4570Man]

Have you looked at a MK 4? Takedown and reassembly in about 2 seconds. It doesn't get any easier.

Yes and those and the new buckmarks are both junk IMO. Sure maybe they shoot, but they’re a far cry from what they once were and an even farther cry from something like a Smith 41 or a High standard Victor.

 

[Sigarms]

Since you sound like an unbeliever, I will recount this story.

I was being sarcastic for God's sake.

Growning up as a pre teen, I had the BEST 22LR a kid could ever hope to own IMO (about 45 years now as my aunt gave it to me when her husband died). At 50 yards with decent ammo on a rest, you hit what you were aiming at if you did your part.



I just find it amazing that I was lucky enough to kill a ground hog with it within 50 yars with one shot.

Also got another ground hog within 50 yards with the .22 below



FYI, I believe people could take a groundhog with a .22 pistol, but in all honesty, I'm not good enough to try and take the shot because the animal deserves better IMO.

I've done enough shooting to know that the gun doesn't make the shooter, but a decent gun you trust can sure in heck help.