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fastforty · August 24, 2007, 01:54 PM

I had a pretty bad experience with .22 snake shot & a cat a few years ago. It's definitely not something that I'm proud of, in fact, it haunts me to this day. Information on said experience is offered as a deterrent to others who might think too highly of the cartridge.

(Trying not to be too descriptive)

I live out in the country on an acre, part of which is fenced yard. I had a spayed female cat who was born in that yard, and has *never* left it in her 14 years with us. A very large and wiley feral tomcat started coming over the fence, kicking our old and feeble pet cat's butt and eating her food on a daily basis. I tried every non lethal way possible (from the beginning he would quickly disappear on sight of me at any distance) to discourage the tom from ripping our pet up in her own yard.

One evening, I caught sight of him entering my garage through a partially open window. Since the rest of the building was completely closed, I strolled over and closed the window. Now what? Besides having a concrete floor & concrete block walls, my garage is piled with tons of other stuff that .22 bullets would love to richochete off of, not to mention that I really don't want to shoot up my possessions. In such close quarters, this really looked like a job for you-know-what.

So, after donning a pair of shooting glasses covered by a pair of shop safety goggles & loading up six rounds of you-know-what, I made entry. I found the cat hiding in a corner, & carefully placed a shot from 4-5 feet away (it patterned exactly the size of his body). To my dismay, the result was not terminal, as I had expected. I spent the next minute & a half chasing him around the garage, taking several shots from a distance of 1-2 feet. All six shots had scored direct hits, I was out of ammo & he was still running away.

Sound hunting ethics have always been at the top of my list & I now found myself in the middle of my worst nightmare. I HAD to put this animal down, and FAST (but I still wasn't willing to risk shooting myself by bouncing a solid bullet off of concrete). After reloading, I finally got the critter cornered & was able to place the muzzle behind it's ear, point blank. It was BARELY enough.

Again, this was a mistake that I made & still have trouble living with. By relating it here, I would hope to prevent others from making such a mistake.

DO NOT SHOOT ANIMALS WITH .22 SHOTSHELLS !!!

August 24, 2007, 01:54 PM	#22
fastforty Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 1999 Location: In a kornfield in kalifornia Posts: 1,161	I had a pretty bad experience with .22 snake shot & a cat a few years ago. It's definitely not something that I'm proud of, in fact, it haunts me to this day. Information on said experience is offered as a deterrent to others who might think too highly of the cartridge. (Trying not to be too descriptive) I live out in the country on an acre, part of which is fenced yard. I had a spayed female cat who was born in that yard, and has never left it in her 14 years with us. A very large and wiley feral tomcat started coming over the fence, kicking our old and feeble pet cat's butt and eating her food on a daily basis. I tried every non lethal way possible (from the beginning he would quickly disappear on sight of me at any distance) to discourage the tom from ripping our pet up in her own yard. One evening, I caught sight of him entering my garage through a partially open window. Since the rest of the building was completely closed, I strolled over and closed the window. Now what? Besides having a concrete floor & concrete block walls, my garage is piled with tons of other stuff that .22 bullets would love to richochete off of, not to mention that I really don't want to shoot up my possessions. In such close quarters, this really looked like a job for you-know-what. So, after donning a pair of shooting glasses covered by a pair of shop safety goggles & loading up six rounds of you-know-what, I made entry. I found the cat hiding in a corner, & carefully placed a shot from 4-5 feet away (it patterned exactly the size of his body). To my dismay, the result was not terminal, as I had expected. I spent the next minute & a half chasing him around the garage, taking several shots from a distance of 1-2 feet. All six shots had scored direct hits, I was out of ammo & he was still running away. Sound hunting ethics have always been at the top of my list & I now found myself in the middle of my worst nightmare. I HAD to put this animal down, and FAST (but I still wasn't willing to risk shooting myself by bouncing a solid bullet off of concrete). After reloading, I finally got the critter cornered & was able to place the muzzle behind it's ear, point blank. It was BARELY enough. Again, this was a mistake that I made & still have trouble living with. By relating it here, I would hope to prevent others from making such a mistake. DO NOT SHOOT ANIMALS WITH .22 SHOTSHELLS !!! __________________ When Banjos are outlawed, only Outlaws will have Banjos The Bible is my lawbook. I turn the other cheek when applicable, and spend the rest of my days resisting evil at every front, until I have breathed my last breath.