Tuesday 22 September, 2020.
Bear shot with .22 rifle to "scare it" killed in Connecticut.
The two cubs climbed up a tree and the black bear stood facing and making noises at the dog, the police said.
O’Connor got a .22 caliber rifle and shot at the bear to scare it.
“The shot struck the bear, which moved about 30 yards to a neighboring property’s driveway, collapsed, and eventually died,” Will Healey, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, told the newspaper.
Image from La Crosse County website, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten
La Crosse County, Wisconsin may have engineered a new event, the cheap
ammunition event. Ammunition has often been accepted at gun turn-in
events, though it is not paid for. Some excellent deals have been found
for ammunition at these events.
The event will be held at 3202 Berlin Drive, La Crosse. It appears to be the local landfill, from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, the 24th of October, 2020.
The La Crosse event is specifically organized to collect unwanted ammunition. The county states it often receives requests to dispose of unwanted ammunition. Someone in La Crosse County organized this event to collect unwanted ammunition. They promised all ammunition collected would be incinerated!
Private parties can do better. They can promise the ammunition will be disposed of properly, which gives much greater and more frugal options. From lacrossecounty.org:
Residential ammunition disposal is a service frequently requested by our customers. We are happy to announce that the La Crosse County Hazardous Materials Facility will be hosting its first ammunition drop-off event on Saturday, October 24th from 8 a.m. to noon. This is a great opportunity for La Crosse County residents to dispose of unwanted or unneeded ammunition in a safe and responsible manner. All collected ammunition will be shipped to a licensed hazardous waste facility where it will be incinerated.
WXOW gives a bit more information. People who dispose of ammunition at the disposal site (near a landfill) must remain in their vehicles. Any ammunition greater than five pounds (Two boxes of 12 gauge or 650 rounds of .22 LR) will be required to pay a disposal fee of $5 per pound. ($12.50 per box of 12 gauge or $5.75 per 150 rounds of .22 LR.) The county will not accept reloads. It is not clear if they will accept smokeless powder or primers. They would probably take empty cases From wxow.com:
The drive-through event is open to La Crosse County residents only. Anyone who comes to the event must remain in their vehicles.
Disposing of the first five pounds of ammunition is free and $5 per pound after that.
They are accepting only factory rounds of .50 caliber and 8-gauge or less. No black powder, military munitions, fireworks, or explosives are accepted. No other waste materials are accepted during the event.
This presents an interesting scenario. After the first five pounds, the county will charge people more than the ammunition costs at retail to dispose of it by destroying it.
Might some widow, knowing nothing of ammunition, but wanting to get rid of it, turn in some boxes of 7mm magnums? .45-70? .455 Webley? Perhaps they will wish to rid themselves of cases of 5.56, or 7.62x39, which was purchased cheaply 20 years ago?
Enterprising Second Amendment types could make signs and advertise to properly dispose of the ammunition for free, or to pay for unwanted ammunition. They might even agree to dispose of black powder and reloading supplies. At gun turn-in events, folding tables have been handy.
I have heard of widows turning in many thousands of dollars of ammunition to police to dispose of it.
There appear to be only two entrances to the land fill. Perhaps it is a one way road. It would not be difficult to find a place where people could park and a deal could be made. If there are two entrances, Second Amendment enthusiasts who wish to perform a public service could arrange to cover both entrances.
Those disposing of ammunition could be asked if they had any firearms they wished to dispose of as well.
Wisconsin does not have any laws forbidding the purchase of ammunition or reloading supplies, or firearms, which I know of, by private parties. Felons are forbidden to purchase firearms, generally. This is not legal advise; readers should make their own inquiries.
If any readers attend the event on Saturday, the 24th of October, please take numerous pictures. You can contact the author at AmmoLand.
Pictures and a personal account of the action would be an excellent candidate for an AmmoLand article, but nothing can be promised or guaranteed.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
An Instagram model may have saved her family when she grabbed a firearm and engaged in a gunfight with masked intruders who stormed into her Florida home, reports said.
Ansley Pacheco, 26, was at home in Miami-Dade County earlier this month when armed intruders ambushed her husband, 7-year-old son and their friends while they were watching the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, according to Local 10 News.
Police were called to the 13400 block of Photo Drive just before 4 p.m. for a report of a vicious animal. The caller told officers he was walking his mixed-breed dog when a pit bull terrier ran up behind him and began attacking his dog.
At that point, the caller pulled out a handgun and fired one round towards the attacking dog, striking it in the back, Prince William County police 1st Sgt. Jonathan Perok said.
An off-duty Paterson police officer shot and injured a man who allegedly tried to rob him at gunpoint near his home in the city’s 5th Ward on Sunday night, multiple law enforcement sources said.
The officer was getting out of his vehicle near Pearl Street at about 10 p.m. when he was confronted by a group of four armed robbers, sources said.
ST. LOUIS — A 29-year-old woman who told police she was robbed and carjacked in St. Louis Monday shot and killed her attacker, 5 On Your Side has learned.
"He kept pushing his way in, he kept saying, 'You know why I'm here,'” said Traci.
Traci said the man then grabbed her, she screamed for help, and that's when her husband ran to the door and took over.
He went outside and held the man at gunpoint until police came.
One of President Trump's most consequential actions has been the appointment of Originalist and Textualist judges
on the Article III courts. Judge Amy Coney Barret is the latest
example. She is likely to make a critical difference for the Second
Amendment on the Supreme Court.
That will come to a halt if the Republicans lose control of the Senate.
A group in Arizona, which was organized in part by Second Amendment rock star Doug Ritter and his wife, Sue, has started informing Arizonans about the danger to the Second Amendment which McSally's opponent, Mark Kelly, represents. Here is a very recent release of the campaign they are starting:
Sue and I wanted to let you know about a very critical project here in Arizona to help protect our Second Amendment. The new "AZ 2A For McSally" Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/
AZ2A4MCSALLY @AZ2A4MCSALLY features a pair of videos supporting pro-Second Amendment Republican Senator Martha McSally. These videos spotlight the stark contrast between staunchly pro-2A McSally and Democrat Mark "Gun Grabber" Kelly on the issues of gun control and the Second Amendment.
Please pass this along to all your friends. Share this @AZ2A4MCSALLY FB page and videos on social media and anywhere you can.
The videos being run on social media can also be viewed/downloaded at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/umyw4w6z659yiba/McSally2A-2. mp4?dl=0 These videos are not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Arizona is a strongly pro-Second Amendment state, rated by Guns & Ammo Magazine as having the best gun laws in the nation since 2013. Despite a long anti-gun record and support from the Godfather of gun control, Michael Bloomberg, Kelly has tried to avoid the issue and portray himself as a centrist. We all know that is B.S.
Senator McSally has a perfect Second Amendment voting record and a perfect record of supporting President Trump's nominees to the Federal Courts. These over-200 appointments have started to tip the balance in these courts from activist anti-Second Amendment Judges and Justices to support for Second Amendment rights. McSally has pledged to vote to confirm constitutionalist and pro-Second Amendment Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.This is one of the most highly contested elections this year. Control of the Senate may hang in the balance. A Kelly win could swing the Senate to a Democratic majority under anti-gun Senator Charles Schumer who is committed to enacting the Democratic Party's radical anti-gun platform.Senator Martha McSally is the only choice for pro-Second Amendment voters. Senator McSally is a vote to save our republic and our freedoms.Please pass this along to all your friends. Share this page and these videos on social media and anywhere you can.Most gun owners in Arizona know they don't want Kelly, but many are unsure or skeptical about McSally. That can come back to bite us. Gun owners stayed home in Virginia in 2018 and in just two years gun rights in that state have gone down the tubes. Let's make sure that doesn't happen to Arizona and America!
Any Arizona gun owner who doesn't vote has effectively cast their ballot FOR gun control! Any Arizona gun owner who doesn't vote for Trump, McSally and the Republicans running for Congress and our state legislature is casting their vote FOR gun control. It's that simple.Sue and I beg you to help us turn out the 2A vote. We, the gun owners of Arizona, can make the difference in this election. We just have to get out the vote and we can win!Thanks for your support!
The campaign ads for the Senate in Arizona have not been showing much information about Second Amendment issues from either side. Now, there is coverage, but it is from independents such as AZ2AMCSAALY and the NRAILA. The information is important to get out, if the people of Arizona are to make an informed decision. The gun control groups are funding ads for Mark Kelly. They are careful to avoid any mention of guns. Everytown (Bloomberg's group) is said to have budgeted $5 million for Arizona, primarily against Senator McSally and President Trump.
Senator McSally has done much better on the Second Amendment than originally thought. Many Arizonan's worried about what she would do, once in office. As with President Trump, she has been a pleasant surprise. She is much better than Senator McCain was on the Second Amendment. Her opponent is much worse.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia Police say a man was shot and killed by a person he was trying to rob in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city on Tuesday morning. The shooting happened on the 2600 block of North Napa Street, shortly before 10 a.m.
CHICAGO - A licensed gun owner shot someone who allegedly broke into his home Wednesday in Albany Park on the Northwest Side.
The 46-year-old man heard what appeared to be someone breaking into his home at 4:52 p.m. in the 4800 block of North Kenneth Avenue, according to Chicago police. He went to investigate and was confronted by a 58-year-old man who doesn’t live there.
AKRON, Ohio — A 34-year-old man is dead following a shooting at an Akron liquor store Friday evening, and authorities are still trying to piece together what happened.
Preliminary information indicates a 38-year-old man had arrived in a Nissan and was later leaving the Country Market on East South Street when he got into an altercation with the victim. The 34-year-old then drew a gun and shot the 38-year-old in the hand, and apparently the 26-year-old driver of the Nissan then exchanged gunfire with the 34-year-old and shot him before fleeing the scene.
BATON ROUGE - Authorities say a 20-year-old man was killed and three people were injured during a home invasion late Monday night.
According to a representative with the Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD), 20-year-old Marcus Hayes Jr. was allegedly committing an armed robbery at a home in the 900 block of West McKinley Street around 11:10 p.m., Monday.
Six people were apparently home during the incident and police say one of them grabbed a gun and shot Hayes.
Officials say Hayes died at the scene of the crime.
Police say during the home invasion, two of the robbery victims were also shot and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
State police said Kwesi Skerritt, 38, of the Bronx, New York, was worried a gang was after him. Snyder had him wait outside on his front steps as he called 911.
"I called the state police, called 911, and I'm talking to them. I'm in the garage, and I hear this crash in the house," Snyder said.
Snyder said Skerritt crashed through a window into his home. The man didn't get any farther than that.
"I had the pistol cocked and ready, and he was standing there in the kitchen," Snyder said.
Skerritt was held at gunpoint by the 72-year-old Vietnam vet for 10 minutes until state police arrived. Snyder said he was able to keep his composure because of his experience in the war.
A 24-year-old Carson City man was arrested early Saturday for suspicion of felony home invasion after being shot in the foot by a homeowner who had attempted to scare the suspect away, according to a sheriff's office booking report.
Moses Aristides Sandoval was arrested at 5:14 a.m. in the 300 block of Corbett Street. According to the booking report, deputies were dispatched to the area for a report of a home invasion in progress. The homeowner informed dispatch they had the suspect on the ground at gunpoint and that they were in the backyard.
At about 1:30 in the morning of 2 January, 2019, four people attempted a home invasion/burglary in Yuma County, Arizona.
I remember the incident as it was reported. Very few details were given. Four people were shot. The location was not revealed. It was not in the City of Yuma, because the Sheriff department was the responding department. The identity of the defender was not revealed. The firearm or firearms were not identified. Deputies involved were not identified. From foxnews.com, at the time:
The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call at approximately 1:38 a.m. Thursday and discovered that four individuals were shot after breaking into a home.
According to a news release, Edith Guerrero, 36, Jaden James, 18, Leonardo Gonzalez, 27, and Jessica Aynes, 28, woke the sleeping occupants as they entered.
The unidentified occupant with the gun fired several rounds, hitting all four suspects and ultimately killing one.
I suspected a semi-automatic rifle might have been used. They are especially well suited to repelling multiple home invaders. The investigation was ongoing. More information did not surface until a few days ago.
A local radio show had a guest, a conservative woman who was explaining how anti-Second Amendment Presidential Candidate Joe Biden and Senatorial Candidate Mark Kelly were. She casually mentioned they wished to outlaw the sale of semi-automatic rifles. She said the gun used in the incident in January of 2019 would have been outlawed if Biden and Kelly had their preferences.
The host of the show is a friend of mine.
He helped to refresh my recollection of the incident.
By October, 2020 most of the cases stemming from the incident had made their way through the criminal justice system.
I contacted the Sheriff's department. A few inquiries lead to the revelation the firearm used to defend the Yuma County home was an clone of the AKM, chambered in 7.62x39.
Image AKM from Swedish Museum, CC 4.0 wikimedia
The AKM is a later version of the AK47, made for simplified manufacture. It is one of the iconic military rifles of the 20th century. Semi-automatic versions have become popular in the United States. It is well suited for home defense in a sparsely populated area.
The incident shows many uses of semi-automatic rifles, perhaps most incidents, are never revealed in the media.
I heard of the incident when it happened. I actively look for these situations, to document them. I routinely live in Yuma County, Arizona. I suspected a semi-automatic rifle was used.
It was only by chance the type of firearm involved in the incident was revealed. If I had not heard the chance comment on the radio show, no one outside of the people directly involved, and a few in the Yuma County government, would ever have known a semi-automatic rifle had been successfully used in home defense.
The reporting of firearm types in the media is abysmal. Reporters are seldom knowledgeable about different types of firearms. They are not curious about firearms or calibers. Consequently, we seldom know what firearms are used in self defense incidents.
Many have claimed that semi-automatic rifles are not useful for self defense. Incidents such as this one serve as useful counterexamples to show they are mistaken.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
According to a preliminary investigation James Robellard shot his
estranged wife, Lagina Lynn Robellard, and a 47-year-old man who lived
at the house. The other man, fearing for his life, was able to retrieve a
firearm and shot James Robellard in self-defense, investigators
believe.
The other man who was shot was taken to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional for treatment of his injuries. After consultation with the Somerset County State's Attorney's Office, no charges have been filed at this time against male victim, who has been treated and released from the hospital.
Rodney Darrell Mitchell, 21, of Tallulah, was arrested Tuesday and booked into Ouachita Correctional Center on a charge of aggravated burglary and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Mitchell was identified as one of three armed men who forcefully entered a Monroe home on Oct. 11. Two men reportedly threatened the male resident, demanded money and hit him with their guns. The female resident woke up, grabbed her firearm and shot at the burglars after one reportedly pointed a gun at her.
A 38-year-old Montgomery man who police accused of committing a robbery was fatally shot during the robbery attempt early Friday, according to a Montgomery police news release.
Surveillance video shows the moment when a San Francisco business owner jumps in to stop an assault on a tourist from escalating by showing his concealed carry weapon and scaring the suspect away
When researching incidents of firearms used to defend against bears, the surprising deadly potential of the common .22 rimfire cartridge becomes apparent. The most famous incident involving the .22 rimfire cartridge and bears is the 1953 world record grizzly bear.
It was collected by Bella Twin of Slave Lake in Alberta Canada. From my article at ammoland.com:
On 10 May, 1953, Bella Twin was hunting small game with her partner, Dave Auger, along an oil exploration cutline south of Slave Lake, in Alberta, Canada. She was 63 years old.
They saw a large grizzly bear coming toward them. Wishing to avoid an encounter, they hid off the side of the cut.
But the bear kept coming closer and closer. The bear got so close that Bella Twin thought it less risky to shoot the bear than to not shoot it. It was probably only a few yards away. Some accounts say 30 feet. Perhaps she saw it stop and start to sniff, as if it had caught their scent. We may never know.
She shot at the side of the bears head. Knowing animal anatomy very well (she was an experienced trapper, and had skinned hundreds, perhaps thousands of animals) she knew exactly where to aim to penetrate the skull at its weakest point.
She shot, the bear dropped. It was huge. She went to the bear and fired the rest of the .22 long cartridges that she had, loading the single shot rifle repeatedly, to “pay the insurance” as Peter Hathaway Capstick said. She made sure the bear was dead, and not just stunned. My father taught me the same lesson when I was 13.
There are other stories of very large bears being taken with .22 rimfire by native hunters. Here is an anecdote from a hunting forum. It sounds plausible, but is not documented as is the Bella Twin incident. From longrangehunting.com:
I just thought others might be interested in this account. A local Eskimo hunter in Wales AK took a ten foot Polar Bear with a 22LR rimfire with one shot behind the ear at 20 feet. Killed it instantly. There is no doubt as to the credibility of this story. I know the guy and he is for real. This is the largest animal I have ever heard of being taken with a rimfire. I think the 22 is the most underrated killer in the world.
Jerry
Much of the research I have done on bears has centered around the use of handguns for defense against bears. One failure has been documented where the use of a .22 pistol did not stop the attack.
The case is highly unusual, and worth reading. It happened to crew of the adventure cruise ship Origo, taking tourists into the Svalbard archipelago.
Another five people of the crew set out separately with only a .22 pistol and a flare gun. After an hour's march, the second party were met by a bear, 75m away and openly aggressive. The bear was distracted neither by warning shot nor flare and attacked one of the party. As he did so, he was shot, from a range of only 15m and turned against the man who had fired at him. This man tossed the gun to the first, who shot again. The process was repeated, with first one man being attacked and then the other. By the time the pistol was emptied and a knife drawn, one man was dead and another badly injured. The survivors retreated to the ship.(snip)
On examination, three shots to the head were discovered, none of them piercing the cranium.
The victim had three years experience with the Origo, with many bear observations, and there were sufficient weapons on board to equip everybody.Those stories are the exceptions. The most common experience with bears and .22 rimfire firearms involve black bears causing trouble, who are dispatched with the ubiquitous .22 rimfire Long Rifle cartridge. Here are several incidents.
A black bear with cubs had chased Mr. Nutter up a tree. When the sow came after him, he was able to shoot and kill it with a .22 pistol.
Johnson picked up a stick, and pummeled the brute, and the bear dropped the woman and charged him. It was waylaid by the lunch, which it began to devour.I suspect it was not a casual stroll to the plane, or a slow walk back to the bear.
In the meantime, Fletcher got a .22 pistol from the plane, walked to within a few feet of the animal, and killed it.
She climbed up and walked straight down the trunk toward me and my pea shooter.
Her head swaying and teeth popping, I held my shot. From behind the flimsy barracade of twigs, I took aim for her throat, and yelled for the dogs to take her. They moved by didn't answer the challenge.
She stood 20 feet away, with all her attention focused on my throat. I had, in a way, brought a knife to a gunfight.
With eight rounds left in my 10 round clip, I pulled the trigger with my sights on the swaying bruin's throat.
One. Two. Three. Four. If anything, these rounds just angered her more.
Five. Six. Seven. Eight.
Click...
On the eight shot, something happened. Rocket, that old redbone hound, charged up into the bear, sinking his teeth into the sow's side. They both went flying. from the log, claws flying and teeth snapping in midair.
As the dogs fought the sow, Earl reloaded. Then, as the sow came at him again, he fired 10 more shots from his Ruger .22 pistol.
The dogs distracted the sow once more. The fight moved into a thicket.
The sow was found there, dead from two .22 rounds that had reached her
vitals. There were 14 .22 caliber holes in her. A bio of Walt Earl is included at the end of the book.
In a bizarre case from 1992 in Alaska, the .22 pistol was only used as a noisemaker to scare off the bear. When the husband left to get help, taking the pistol with him, the bear returned and killed his wife.
July 8, 1992, Glennallen Alaska .22 black bear
Thirty-three-year-old Darcy Staver and her husband, Army Capt. Michael Staver, were vacationing at a cabin off the Glenn Highway about 160 miles northeast of Anchorage near the community of Glennallen when they were confronted by a black bear in 1992. It broke a window to get into the cabin where they were staying and drove them out.
The couple sought safety on the roof. Michael fired several shots at the bear with a .22-caliber handgun to try to scare it away. It left. When it did, he jumped down from the roof and took off to get help. He took the gun to defend himself, thinking his wife would be safe on the roof. She wasn't. While he was gone, the bear climbed a spruce tree next to the cabin, got onto the roof and killed Darcy.
When Michael returned with help, she was on the ground dead with the bear trying to eat her. The animal was shot and killed.
Larry Kanuit reports that Michael was very careful *not* to hit the bear, for fear of enraging it. P. 251 "Some Bears Kill"
In Missouri, a man defended his dog with his .22 rifle. The man/dog/rifle combination is deadly.
Bear killed with .22 rifle in Marquand 400 lb. black bear may 17 2005
The man said the bear stood up on its hind legs as the man's dog advanced. Standing up, the bear was 6 feet tall.
"He was afraid the bear was going to tear up his dog," West said. "So apparently he shot the bear three times."
The man used a .22-caliber rifle. The wounded bear ran into the woods, West said, and the man called the Bollinger County Sheriff's Department, which contacted the Department of Conservation.
The bear couldn't be located that night. The next morning, the man called the agency and said he'd found the bear dead 150 yards from the shed.
Monday morning, conservation agents retrieved the bear, a male, and stored the carcass in the walk-in freezer of a Fredericktown, Mo., taxidermist.
In Ohio, a "tame" bear escaped. A neighbor shot the bear with a .22, above the eye. On a bear, that shot will miss the brain. The bear ran off.
2008 Marengo Ohio, black bear:
November 24, 2008/Marengo, Ohio:One of three pet black bears escaped a chain-link enclosure and went to the home of a neighbor, who encountered the bear on his porch. The bear’s owner shot the bear with a .22 caliber rifle when the 300- to 400-pound animal reared up and charged him. The bear was hit above the eye and fled into the woods. Deputies and an Ohio Division of Wildlife officer using night-vision goggles searched for the bear, who was shot and killed approximately an hour and a half later.
In Arizona, a black bear invaded a tent and attacked a man who was inside with his family. Fortunately, another camper was armed, and drove off the bear with his .22 handgun.
The bear had entered the man’s tent and attacked him. His fiance’ and a one-year-old child were also in the tent and were able to escape unharmed and sound the alarm to other campers in the nearby area.
Reports indicate that another camper at a nearby campsite shot at the bear several times with a handgun at close range after the attack. The bear left the area, and it is unknown at this time if or how many times the bear was hit.
.22 caliber mentioned at fox10phoenix story
A week later, on the other side of the country, in New York State, a father protected his family from a black bear. The bear was killed.
30 June, 2012, black bear killed with .22 rifle. From patch.com:
A Stony Point resident hosting a family barbecue shot a black bear he deemed a threat to his guests when the bear would not leave his property Saturday afternoon.
The incident took place at approximately 1 p.m. at 567 Willow Grove Road, Stony Point Police Sgt. John Wood told Patch. Guests, including children, were outside when the bear came onto the property and at the time of the shooting, but police did not know how many.
More details were revealed in "The Bullet" read by Firearm Pop in a video .
The bear was killed with one shot, and weighed about 160 to 175 pounds.
A year after the black bears were shot on opposite coasts, another black bear was shot with a .22 in New York State.
A surprising number of people shoot at bears with .22 rimfires to scare or harass the bears. They are surprised when the bears die.
The retired New York State Trooper in the story does not have much respect for the .22 rimfire.
According to court papers, Hazimof told game officers he shot the bear outside his home because he wanted to scare the bear out of his yard. Hazimof shot the bear with his .22 caliber rifle.
Ralph Huebner lives near where the big black bear was found dead. The retired New York State Trooper says killing a bear with a .22 isn’t easy.
"Pretty unlikely he had to make a specific shot in a very vital spot in order to hit it because a .22 doesn't have that penetration, doesn't have the impact,” said Huebner.
A Montana man was having trouble with young grizzly bears killing his chickens and presenting a danger to his children. He says he shot at them to scare them off, with his .22 rifle. All three grizzlies died.
May 28, 2015, Three Grizzlies with a .22 rifle, From flatheadbeacon.com:
Bartos interviewed Wallen about the second dead bear, and Wallen stated that he had chased away and later shot at the bears during a previous night when the animals had approached his chicken coop while family and friends were around. Wallen stated two grizzlies had arrived and he first drove them off with his pickup truck. After they came back, he told Bartos he fired several shots at the bears and they fled. Another grizzly later emerged to pursue the chickens and Wallen said it was the bear he shot at and Clark eventually killed.
On June 4, another neighbor of Wallen’s returned home from vacation and discovered a dead grizzly bear that had decomposed in the grass near her home. Bartos responded to the report and an investigation discovered the animal had been dead for roughly one week.
Court records state that investigators determined each of the three grizzlies was killed by bullets from a gun consistent with Wallen’s rifle.
A year later, in New Mexico, a husband who was defending his wife and their dogs, said he fired a shot "in the bear's direction". The bear collapsed after running a short distance.
The startled cubs bawled out for their mother, which came running around the corner. The woman fled into her house, but her dogs slipped out the open door. A fight ensued between the adult bear and the dogs, during which the woman attempted to scare the bear away. The woman’s husband arrived armed with a .22-caliber pistol and fired a single shot in the bear’s direction, Peralta said.
The bear ran off and collapsed about 40 yards away, dead from the gunshot wound, Peralta said. One of the cubs was found near the house and the other was found in a tree.
Another shooter in Wyoming claimed he was only trying to scare off a grizzly bear by shooting it in the rump. The bear turned, the bullet went between the ribs and into the liver. The bear died.
October, 2017 Casper Wyoming Grizzly Killed with a .22 from powelltribune.com:
Attempting to scare off a grizzly bear with a gunshot turned out to be a costly mistake for a Casper man, as the round from his .22 caliber rifle wound up killing the animal.(snip)
“I had multiple encounters with the bear that day and the last time it came in, it started circling me,” Stalkup said in court. “And rather than trying to kill it, I tried to scare it off with a .22 by shooting it in the rump.”
However, according to Stalkup, the bear turned when he fired. The bullet went through the grizzly’s ribs and fatally injured the animal, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department concluded, after Stalkup called the agency to the scene.
On 22 September, 2020, a man tried to scare a black bear in Connecticut. He shot at it with a .22 rifle. It died. From apnews.com:
The two cubs climbed up a tree and the black bear stood facing and making noises at the dog, the police said.
O’Connor got a .22 caliber rifle and shot at the bear to scare it.
“The shot struck the bear, which moved about 30 yards to a neighboring property’s driveway, collapsed, and eventually died,” Will Healey, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, told the newspaper.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Lee Anderson does not recommend hazing bears with firearms. From mt.gov:
“I don’t recommend shooting towards bears with firearms or even BB-guns to scare them out of your trash,” FWP Warden Captain Lee Anderson said. “It is often an ineffective hazing tool and depending on the circumstances, it can be illegal. We have investigated cases of people intending to scare bears and inadvertently killing them with small caliber rifles (.22), birdshot from shotguns or ricochets from other firearms.”
For many years trappers have used .22 firearms to dispatch trapped bears and other animals. Here is a video of a trapped black bear shot with .22 pistol on Youtube
A persistent joke on the internet is a .22 or .25 pistol is sufficient for bear defense.
The jokers say, "just shoot your partner in the leg, then you can run faster to escape the bear".
It is a bad joke. As seen from the above examples, a .22 rimfire has enough energy to kill bears, if the shooter does their part.
I do not recommend .22 rimfires as the preferred firearm for defense against bears. However, a .22 rimfire is much better than a pocket knife, a stick, or a rock. It has enough energy to do the job, if the shot placement is precise and/or the shooter has a means of preventing the bear from getting to him while the shot/shots take effect.
Do not underestimate the lethality of .22 rimfire.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Monday night, the homeowner, 26-year-old Ansley Pacheco, showed 7News where the chaotic chain of events unfolded.
“Everybody got onto the ground. My son just stayed there on the couch,” she said, referring to her 7-year-old son. “I grabbed him, and I ran straight to the bathroom.”
The homeowner said one of the armed subjects discharged his firearm.
“He started shooting at me,” she said. “They shot at me about seven times, six, seven times.”
When asked whether she considers herself fortunate to be alive, Pacheco replied, “Yeah, I do.”
SAN ANTONIO - A burglar was shot and killed by a neighbor after breaking into a South Side apartment.
The deadly shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. Sunday at The Flats at Big Tex Apartments on the 400 block of Blue Star near Probandt Street.
Police said a man climbed onto the fourth-floor balcony of the apartment then broke in through the door.
The man who lived inside the apartment called his neighbor for help and ran to safety.
More HereSan Diego police said a man walked into La Michoacana, a market and taco shop at 1702 Vesta Street, with a gun around 10:40 a.m. and demanded money from two cash registers. The store owner, a 40-year-old man, handed over the money then grabbed his own gun as the suspect walked away.
The store owner “challenged the suspect” then shot him twice when the suspect turned back toward him, according to police. The armed robbery suspect was shot in the stomach and wrist. He was taken to the hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, police said.
Authorities have not said what spurred the argument in the home or how many people were involved, but they said the 33-year-old man grabbed a 17-year-old girl by the hair and choked her during the incident. The boy grabbed a gun from a bedroom and shot the victim in the shoulder.
The man, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital but died there a short time later. No other injuries were reported in the shooting.
Around 4:45 p.m. an off-duty officer was flagged down by a witness who stated a person was being robbed inside Neiman Marcus. The victim told the officer he checking out at the cash register when he was attacked by multiple Black males in an attempt to steal his bag.
During the attack, the victim pulled out a weapon and shot at the four suspects.
Image courtesy Dean Weingarten, small portion of guns turned in, Phoenix, 2014
The Grand Rapids Michigan Police Department has announced they will be running two gun turn-in events in Grand Rapids, two weeks apart.
The police department said it will be holding two buyback events where people can get rid of firearms in exchange for a prepaid gift card with no questions asked.
The first will be held Saturday, Oct. 24 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 1534 Kalamazoo Ave. SE. Then on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Genesis Non-Profit Housing Corporation.
Participants are asked to bring their weapons unloaded and stored in the trunk of a vehicle.
Gun turn-in events have become rare in states where private sales are legal. Private buyers advertise at the events and ruin the propaganda value for those who want the population disarmed.
Sign at Milwaukee Gun Turn in May, 2014 Courtesy Dean Weingarten
The gun turn-in events scheduled for Grand Rapids is likely to bring in a few guns, and to run out of gift cards very quickly. An event in Phoenix, Arizona, with over $200,000 budget ran out of gift cards after collecting over 2,000 guns.
The Grand Rapids turn-in events have split the funds between two events. Either the cards will run out at the first one, or funds will be kept in reserve. In both cases, private buyers can benefit. When the cards run out, people who brought guns to turn in will be open to any reasonable offers. Grand Rapids has a budget of $15,000 total, to be used for gift cards to exchange for guns at both events.
People who sell their guns will receive generic gift cards ranging from $50 to $200 depending on the type of gun and its condition.
Guns like assault rifles and semi-automatic handguns in good condition will yield more than, for example, hunting rifles and firearms not in good condition, according to police officials.
Generally, a gun must be in working or near-working condition to be eligible, but it’s a case-by-case basis. Rusted antique weapons, however, will not be bought.
Grand Rapids police Sgt. Dan Adams said the buyback will be “completely anonymous.” Those buying the guns won’t ask sellers for any identification or even if they live in the city, he said.
Michigan residents can help make the turn-in in Grand Rapids more effective by standing on
the curb with your "Cash for Guns" sign, or at a folding table, willing
to offer more than the gift card for firearms that are more valuable.
It would be best if numerous private parties were available, as more
good guns could then be transferred into responsible hands.
This action serves many useful purposes. It stretches the turn-in budget
so that more guns can be taken off the street. It helps keep fearful
widows from being defrauded of most of the market value of the gun they
are turning in. It prevents valuable assets from being destroyed by
bureaucratic inflexibility. It is a win-win-win situation.
Private sales of firearms in Michigan are covered by this wikihow.com article. Laws change, so Michigan private buyers should perform their own research to conform with the law. A generic pistol purchase permit is needed in advance for a private pistol purchase.
A key to being a successful private purchaser is to make the exchange easy for the seller. Look for easy places for people to park so items can be looked at prior to purchase. It is not unusual for people bring several guns to these turn in events.
Many academic studies have shown how ineffective these events are at fighting crime. From the Freakonomics" web site:
When it comes to gun buybacks, both the theory and the data could not be clearer in showing that they don’t work. The only guns that get turned in are ones that people put little value on anyway. There is no impact on crime. On the positive side, the “cash for clunkers” program is more attractive than the gun buyback program because, as long as they are being driven, old cars pollute, whereas old guns just sit there.
When private purchasers show up at these events to offer cash for guns, it is cheap activism. It shows guns are valued by many members of the community.
The so called "buybacks" (Buyback is an Orwellian propaganda term. You cannot buyback something you never owned.) were common a few years ago.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Police responded to a home on White Cap Way at 5:51 a.m. for reports of an attempted home invasion robbery with shots fired. Officers were told by the residents they had observed a suspicious vehicle parked outside of their home and two men with a firearm got out and began to approach the house.
Out of fear, one of the residents armed himself and opened the front door, shooting several rounds into the ground and in the direction of the vehicle, he told police. The unknown men then drove away, officials said.
Police reports show around 1 a.m., an Idaho Falls Police officer was called to investigate an anonymous 911 regarding a disturbance at a home near Vernon Avenue and Wheeler street, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com.
Investigators found a man sitting outside of the house bleeding from his face. The man said his friend, 30-year-old Ruben Hernandez, had kicked in his door and attacked him as a result of a domestic dispute.
He told officers that Hernandez showed up at the home banging on the door after exchanging text messages with him. Ultimately Hernandez forced open the door, busting the frame, police said.
That’s when the victim, who was armed with a rifle, shot at Hernandez but did not hit him.
The victim said the shot did not scare Hernandez away and he continued to charge at him, punching the victim multiple times in the face and head, according to court documents.
Winsett said the contractor was in the 1700 block of South Fares Avenue when he claims he was attacked by another man. That employee pulled out a pistol and shot the other man.
As of Friday afternoon the incident remained under investigation and Winsett was not yet able to say if it was self-defense or not. The second man was shot in the eye with a 9 mm pistol, Winsett said, but was conscious and able to talk to police. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.
According to deputies in Harris County, the victim said he planned to meet the woman at an apartment complex along Uvalde Road in Northeast Houston when two men walked up and tried to rob him at gunpoint.
The victim said he pulled out his own gun and shot one of the men before taking off. He drove to a nearby gas station where he called for help.
Police tell us they were called out to the shooting around 1:30 a.m. in the 8800 block of Old Homestead Dr. in southeast Dallas.
There, they found the owner of La Pulga de Autos, a car lot in town. The owner said he saw suspects steal a vehicle from his lot, just under two miles from where he shot them.
After witnessing the theft, the owner told police he chased them down and shot at them, hitting one in the arm. The suspect shot was taken to the hospital.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is unlikely to have acted, as policy, to deliberately hurt President Trump's chances at re-election. This does not mean a faction or individuals inside the ATF did not do so.
Several sources have been willing to talk, off the record, about what is going on in the ATF. None are currently inside the agency. None were willing to be quoted. All have had considerable contacts with the agency over past years.
One source confirmed the Ammoland article by John Crump
on 8 October was "on the money". It was claimed Associate Deputy
Director Marvin Richardson was quite upset with John Crump's Ammoland article.
In the article, sources inside the ATF state Acting Director Regina Lombardo is "not loyal to the president". They state Associate Director Marvin Richardson believes pistol braces "violate the NFA".
Believing pistol braces violate the NFA appears to be a common position inside the ATF. ATF rulings on pistol arm braces have been contradictory.
An
Acting Director of the ATF is not required to be personally loyal to a
President. They should be expected to follow DOJ directives.
Lombardo was next in line after Acting Director Thomas B. Brandon retired at the end of April of 2019. The simplest thing to do was to make her Acting Director while waiting for approval of a direct appointment by President Trump.
GOA actively worked to prevent the appointment of Chuck Canterbury. That meant Lombardo continued on as Acting Director, at least through the election.
The Giffords organization, which seeks numerous restrictions on gun
ownership and use, approved of Lombardo's appointment as acting
director. From Giffords press release:
“Regina Lombardo is a career special agent who has served our country at ATF for over 25 years. We support her ascension to the top role at the agency. Congress and the Trump administration must now provide the increased funding and resources she needs to succeed in an agency that has been historically underserved.”
As someone who has studied bureaucratic dynamics for years, it appears ATF is being obstructionist, waiting out the election.
The inference is many inside the agency think there will be a different President in 2021, a different Attorney General, and those pesky DOJ memos directing them to carefully follow the Administrative Procedures Act will go away when the next administration takes over.
A
significant source of power in the ATF is to make rulings with private
letters, reverse them, change them, and never worry about having those
rulings challenged in court. The Trump administration, through the DOJ,
as part of its regulatory overhaul, has been working to change that and
to make ATF rulings more transparent.
A common theme has
been: the ATF is more chaotic than most bureaus, and has factions inside
which work against one another. It leaks repeatedly to Congressional
members, and resists Congressional oversight. At the same time, the
Congress has been deadlocked, unable to enact reforms which are needed.
Acting Director Regina Lombardo has a reputation of being reasonably competent, but not a rock star. Getting control of a chaotic ATF is no easy task. ATF has always been rather political.
The Honey Badger Cease and Desist letter may be an attempt to circumvent the DOJ memos.
The
Boston Field Office of the ATF issued the Honey Badger Cease and
Desist letter. They claimed the Firearms and Technology Division
determined
the firearm is a short barreled rifle. It is not clear if Lombardo
and/or Richardson approved of the letter before it went out. In a well
run Bureau, such a sensitive item would not be sent out without approval
from the top brass.
If people inside the ATF made the pistol brace letters
to hurt President Trump, they have a poor understanding of the
electoral dynamics. Such shenanigans are as likely to show the need to
keep the Trump administration in control to bring the ATF into line. It
is not easy to know how such moves will effect voters.
The smart bureaucratic move would be to do nothing so close to an election. It would be easy to justify to a Biden administration, as they could claim to be following the DOJ directives. What administration would want a bureau inside the DOJ to resist their directives?
As a political move, the brace rulings signal overconfidence of a Biden victory.
The ATF is part of the Administrative State. The Administrative State will reflexively resist attempts to control it and reduce its power. A strong, reform minded director of the ATF is needed to change the organizational mindset.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
SPARTANBURG CO., SC (WSPA) – Deputies say there will be no criminal charges against a man who shot another to death at a QuikTrip in Spartanburg County Tuesday night.
According to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting happened around 11:00pm at the QuikTrip on Reidville Road.
The coroner said 58-year-old Russell David Berry of Duncan was shot in the torso and taken to Spartanburg Medical Center where he later died during surgery.
“The homeowner went back in the house and retrieved a handgun and when he came back out the same male stopped in the roadway of Greengate Drive on the side of the house and approached the homeowner with an aluminum bat,” Miramontez said.
In the confrontation that ensued, the resident shot the man at least five times, she said.
No charges will be filed in the case, because Sheriff Donald Valenza said 34-year-old Dantrail Mills was trying to break into a Kinsey home when he was shot by the homeowner. On Sunday, Oct. 11 around 2:00 a.m. the Houston County Sheriff’s Office received a call for a possible burglary in progress on Nomad Circle.
Mills was armed and had parked about 90 to 100 feet from the home. When Mills entered the home he was met by a male resident who fired multiple times.
Mills is no stranger to law enforcement. He’s been arrested more than 20 times. He was currently on federal probation.
A man carrying a legally concealed handgun was robbed Wednesday night on the Far South Side, shot in the thigh and returned gunfire in the thieves' direction as they fled, Chicago police said.
At the scene, authorities were told that one suspect was shot inside the house during an altercation with a homeowner.
The suspect, identified by a coroner as Dallas White, 21 of Summerville, was transported to an area hospital were he succumbed to his injuries.
The home invasion happened along the 900 block of Chalk Level Road. Police said three men “entered (the) premises and began shooting.”
Two men were shot. One returned fire, police said.
We’re told the incident happened just before 11 p.m., at a residence on Wheatleys Pond Road. It was reported that a suspect forced entry into the home and was confronted by the 87-year-old homeowner/victim. The victim reportedly had a handgun and extended towards the suspect, but the suspect was able to take the gun away from the victim before fleeing on foot in an unknown direction.
The victim got out and began to fight with Frankenfield, police said. The suspect pulled away and now on the passenger side of the car, fired a shot that shattered a window in the 2002 Volkswagen Golf and the round became lodged in the window frame on that side of the car, police said. The victim then reached into the driver’s side of car and pulled out a weapon of his own, police said.
The victim chased Frankenfield through the parking lot and onto the sidewalk along Broad Street, police said. Frankenfield fired another shot that whizzed by the victim before the suspect ran out of sight, police said.
At about dusk, the hog disappeared into some tall overgrowth along a canal and wasn’t an easy target for the deputy. When Andrus maneuvered around the hog to push it back to the deputy, it turned and charged Andrus from about 20 feet. Andrus shot and killed it.
“It wasn’t exactly my easiest moment in the world when it came at me,” he said. “Luckily I had my .45.”
Person County deputies said around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, a male neighbor
was shot while attempting to break into a home along Rhododendron Lane.
Brittany, a 32-year-old mother of four, was taken back to jail after pleading guilty in Jackson County Circuit Judge Jenifer Holt’s courtroom.
She pleaded guilty to killing Todd Smith, an acquaintance, in the kitchen of her home in Stevenson. It happened early on the morning of Jan. 16, 2018 — just hours after Brittany said Todd raped and strangled her.
When officers arrived at the scene, they learned that one person had been shot at the home. That person was rushed to a nearby hospital, but later died from his injuries.
Investigators say the homeowner heard a commotion in the backyard and went to investigate. At that point, the homeowner spotted the alleged suspect trying to break into a separate apartment in the backyard.
Officials say the homeowner fired one round at the suspect, who was hit.
In the first two parts of the series, I wrote of how we arrived at the current situation, historically, and what exists today, in terms of the technology and legal system, for individuals to make their own silencers utilizing the ATF Form 1.
Because of the tremendous bureaucratic and monetary infringements imposed by the National Firearms Act (NFA), very few form 1's (required to legally make your own silencer, short barreled rifle or shotgun) were processed as late as 1990.
In the year 1990, only thirty years ago, a total of 399 Form 1's were processed by the ATF.
In 2000, the annual number had more than tripled, to 1,334.
In 2010, the annual number had continued exponential growth to 5,169.
By 2013, it was almost doubled again, at 9,347.
In 2014, it had more than doubled again, to 22,380.
It took two more years, to 2016, to more than double again, to 49,985 Form 1s per year. That was the peak, so far. Record firearms sales in 2020 lead to the prediction over 50,000 Form 1's will be processed this year. The figures for 2019 Form 1's have not been released at this time, but should be out soon.
About 120 times as many Form 1s are being processed each year, as were being processed 30 years ago. Entire forums on the Internet trade information on what works and what doesn't. Forums such as silencertalk.com are potent places for political organizing.
Analysis of the ATF figures show about 75% of the current Form 1s are for silencers. Most of the rest are for short barrelled rifles (SBR). SBR Form 1s have probably dropped off as pistol arm braces gained popularity.
The vast increase in the number of legal silencers is altering the political and judicial landscapes.
Such visible numbers are a sign of political and judicial strength. Second Amendment supporters have every logical argument to repeal the National Firearms Act. They do not have the political support in Congress to do so...yet.
The inclusion of silencers in the NFA may be the worst public
health blunder made by the Federal Government. Tens of millions have been
adversely affected.
Two million legal silencers are merely the start. There are about 100 million firearms owners who could benefit from owning inexpensive and effective silencers in the United States. Market saturation of silencers in the United States might top out in the area of 200 million.
Different silencer models meet different needs. The perfect silencer for your .22 rifle or pistol will not be the same as for your deer rifle, home defense gun, long range target gun, or sporting shotgun. There are over 450 million privately owned guns in the United States.
Growing knowledge and awareness of the political injustice of the National Firearms Act is creating political power. Numbers and knowledge combined make political power.
More and more gun owners have educated themselves and learned how ignorant of, and hostile to, many politicians are of fundamental Constitutional rights.
The good news? Many of those politicians can be educated.
Incremental movement to restore Second Amendment rights has been working for the carry of firearms (the "bear arms" part of the Second Amendment). It is working to soften and remove infringements on the "keep" part as it relates to silencers and size restrictions.
Consider a recent appellate court case in Florida.
A man was arrested for carrying a handgun concealed, without a permit, when an officer saw the grip of the handgun inadvertently exposed in a pocket. The officer did not have any other reason to stop or arrest the individual, except for the sight of the handgun grip.
The court ruled against the police, because concealed carry has become so common in Florida, the police had no reasonable suspicion a crime had been committed, merely by observing someone was carrying a concealed weapon.
It is no longer unusual to see someone firing a silencer on the range. It is legal to hunt with a silencer in 40 states. Todd Rathner of the National Firearms Act Freedom Alliance was instrumental in lobbying to remove legal burdens to hunt with firearms in several states.
Full Disclosure: I have known Todd Rathner for many years, and consider him a personal friend. He is a talented and extremely effective lobbyist. He has had enormous success in removing infringements on the ownership and carry of knives.
Only eight states now forbid silencer ownership. Silencers are becoming very popular in the 42 states where state law doesn't infringe on your right to keep and bear the common firearm accessory.
Those states are shown on this map from the American Suppressor Association:
Miles said he was justified in killing the dog because he feared for his safety when it got on his property. The dog's owner doesn't agree with what he's saying.
“He could have stayed in his camper, but he came out to shoot that dog because he wanted to,” Candace Harms said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police say the clerk of an Ohio convenience store shot and killed one of two suspects during an attempted robbery, and the other suspect and a woman who was in the store were arrested later.
The son, whose age wasn’t provided, began to fight with one of the intruders, prompting the other man to shoot him in the abdomen and right arm, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Wednesday morning. The father then shot at the men as they ran away.
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