October 22, 2012
9-year-old girl in a skunk costume shot by a man who says he thought she was a skunk.
Sorry, I'm not believing this. How far away would the girl need to be to look like an actual skunk, and why would you shoot a skunk that far away? In fact, under what circumstances would you shoot a skunk? I don't hunt small varmints (if you will), but it seems to me that if you had a skunk in the vicinity, you wouldn't want to do anything to aggravate it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
33 comments:
"Police say the man hadn’t been drinking."
-- There goes my first theory. How small would a 9-year-old have to be to be mistaken for a skunk? Or are skunks much, much larger than I think they are?
There goes my first theory.
Me too. 9 year olds are pretty big. I mean, I guess she could have been wandering around on all fours in the woods, but still.
At least it sounds like she wasn't hurt too badly.
It's easy enough if someone is dumb enough to shoot at a glimpse of something obscured by leaves and bushes.
But that's how people are usually accidentally shot.
(My parents would never let us run around the property during hunting seasons, even if no one had permission to hunt on our land, because there is always someone who sees a movement and shoots a person... or a cow.)
Stupidity can be dangerous sometimes.
Dementia.
As to skunks. Usually people hire a pro to trap them because shooting them ends up with a ton of stink.
He shot her with a shotgun. Even if it was full choke, you are only looking at most 200 feet away.
A 9 year old in a costume at 200 feet doesn't look like a skunk.
I smell a rat.
Was the shooter Mr. Magoo?
"I don't hunt small varmints (if you will), but it seems to me that if you had a skunk in the vicinity, you wouldn't want to do anything to aggravate it."
Ann, you would expect that shooting a skunk would do more than aggravate it.
That's assuming you hit the skunk, Anton.
Main reasons for shooting skunks are
They're after the chickens/eggs,
They're getting into the barn/shed,
One that might be rabid.
I recall the story of a woman who was shot to death because a hunter mistook the whites of her mittens for a deer's tail.
It can and does happen.
This guy should be shot for being mistaken as a rational human being. What an ass!!
This article says, "the girl...was over a hillside" and that she was wearing "a black hat with white tassel."
So I'm guessing the guy saw only her head and shoulders above the hillside and thought he was seeing a skunk on the hillside.
He's still an idiot for shooting without being absolutely certain, of course, but it makes the misidentification itself somewhat easier to believe.
One that might be rabid.
That's a good point. There was a story on the radio just this morning about the increase in rabid skunks this season here.
Still.
Another casualty in the GOP War On Women.
Things are getting worse. It used to be that the worst thing that would happen to a girl wearing a skunk costume would be unwelcome advances from a French skunk.
There was a CSI episode about a man in a costume killed by gunshot. That was the episode that jumped it over the shark for me.
It would have been the skunk that ate Pittsburgh to be the size of a 9 year old.
I did shoot a skunk once - from a distance. Unfortunately, my dog had got there first. We had banish him for two weeks. The smell from where I stood made my eyes water.
If she was in a black cat costume and leaned against a freshly painted white pole; he'd have tried to have sex with her.
If you saw a skunk the size of a nine year old girl coming at you, you'd shoot too.
"One that might be rabid."
Seems to me you'd only shoot if you had a very good shot at it which would mean it would need to be close, in which case, you'd be worried about the stink. I can't see shooting unless it was close enough that it couldn't possibly be mistaken.
On the other hand, if it was a girl, and the shooter thought he saw a skunk, he may have thought the "skunk" was closer. His perception of distance may have been off as he was so sure of the skunk outline/markings that he imagined it was at the distance that a skunk looking that size would be.
That's how the lawyer can defend him. It's all about distance perception.
So, what are we saying here? The guy deliberately targeted a 9-year-old girl and is using the skunk story as a cover?
I'm just glad that he only hit her shoulder. Sounds like she'll live, and he'll owe her for the rest of his life.
I knew someone who had a de-scented skunk named Rosebud as a pet. She was small and ferret-like. Then I saw one 'in the wild' in my front yard. This one was huge (though not nearly the size of a nine-year-old child). It was, however, about the size of a smaller nine-year-old's torso. I'd say it was approximately 12 x 18 head to butt (without tail) and slightly oval shaped. It was also quite short, maybe 6 inches at the shoulder.
He shot her with a shotgun. Even if it was full choke, you are only looking at most 200 feet away.
A 9 year old in a costume at 200 feet doesn't look like a skunk.
This. There is no way a normal sane person who wasn't drunk or isn't blind can mistake a girl for a skunk.
And YES. Don't shoot the skunk. Leave it alone. The minute you shoot it, it will spray all over the place.
Was the shooter Mr. Magoo?
Hey!!!
This sort of story always irritates me. The first rule of gun safety is to know what you're pointing your gun at. If I was on this guy's jury I'd vote to lock him up and make him sit through gun safety lectures for hours at a time.
My dad would keep the Jerseys home during deer hunting too.
Yeah, I don't believe the guy's story either.
Having shot numerous skunks, I'd like to make a couple of points. Never, ever shoot a skunk with anything bigger than a 22LR. 22 Short is preferable. Don't shoot them in the head as they will spray every time. Best shot is to shoot from the side and try to hit both lungs, but hit one lung for sure. Then walk away and let it expire.
A full grown skunk is a lot bigger than most people realize. In addition to the spray, a skunk is a formidable fighter. It is a member of the weasel family, sort of related to the badger side.
Anyone shooting s skunk with a shotgun in a non-emergency situation should be beaten severely about the head with said shorgun for 20 minutes...rinse and repeat.
Post a Comment