Chris (29) , my oldest son and his younger brother (24) are at their mom’s house in the middle of the afternoon near a creek in one of most affluent/historic neighborhoods (Myers Park) in Charlotte. Gun shots are virtually never heard here and would most likely a cause a swift and decisive response from both home owners and LE.

I was not witness to this but the is Chris’ accounting:
It is determined that the large raccoon is displaying obvious signs that it is rabid. It is showing no reluctance to approach him and his brother, was making crazed noises and chased a car up the driveway followed by flailing around and doing flips .

Chris had his LCP in pocket but decided to upgrade, so he went inside to get his G19 loaded w/ Gold Dots. In retrospect, the Mossy 500 would have been the best option. Meanwhile, the coon disappears into the woods. Chris wisely calls animal control to put in record that the rabid coon is in the yard. AC informs Chris that he can use a firearm to protect himself or others (green light).Soon the dog inside begins to alert them to the return of the coon.

Cutting to the chase, this is where this becomes bizarre. Let me first say that Chris was very mindful of trojectory and any potential collateral issues. Perhaps slight adrenaline dump was a factor. We are city folk here, mind you. From the time the first round was discharged, approximately 10 minutes transpired. The coon quickly and temporarily runs under the deck. After several rounds had struck the coon, it was still moving so he dumped a total of ten rounds until he finally achieved an obvious head shot, killing the coon.
The shocker is that apparently NO neighbors called 911 and no LE showed up accept for the Animsl Control unit and only after Chris called to report the incident. They collected the corpse and off they went.

Question to LE: was the preemptive call to AC the difference? Was LE essentially expecting this outcome subsequent to the call therefor perhaps dealing with any related 911 call accordingly?

Assuming this was in the front yard, my only thought is the people saw him shooting the crazy raccoon and went on about their business. Regardless, I'd imagine someone would call in hearing possible gun shots after 10 rounds being fired. Or seeing a man shooting a firearm in his front yard and not seeing the coon. Bit puzzling in my opinion...

Eighteen 911 calls? Fireworks. One routine call? Gunshots.

You would be amazed how many shootings are only a single call or even just somebody finding a body. Same with crashes. I had a fatality once where the guy smashed into a tree in somebody's yard at 70 or 80 MPH and an officer just happened upon it a little later. The residents "thought" they heard something, but never checked. I've seen enough crashes to know it was LOUD.

It was more likely sick with canine distemper.

Be sure your dogs are well-immunized against both diseases.

http://www.raccoonworld.com/raccoondistemper.html

10+ years ago I took one out with one Hydra-shok from a 229/40. I was real close and could not miss, I thought I did as he shook for close to a minute before finally dying.

This was a semi-rural housing development outside Davenport, I was a reserve LEO and we were dispatched to the incident. I had to write a short report (that's no longer the case) and then cleaned my gun when I got off at 0300.

Most of all, never shoot a suspected rabid animal in the head.

If examined by local health authorities (brain dissected) to prove a rabies case, impoosible with a head shot.

quote:

Originally posted by Sunset_Va:
Most of all, never shoot a suspected rabid animal in the head.

If examined by local health authorities (brain dissected) to prove a rabies case, impoosible with a head shot.

Good info. Chris was amazed at how inaccurate he was. I think the head shot unintentional.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
It was more likely sick with canine distemper.

Be sure your dogs are well-immunized against both diseases.

http://www.raccoonworld.com/raccoondistemper.html

I will pass this on. Thank you.

quote:

Good info. Chris was amazed at how inaccurate he was. I think the head shot unintentional.

It's a small target, moving and thrashing about, and if on the ground is below the line of sight, for which adjustments have to be made. The range, with a fixed target at a known distance, doesn't quite prepare one for this.

You’d be surprised at how long a shots fired call might hold before police responds. An hour plus isn’t uncommon. In Charlotte.

If the animal control officer got on scene and confirmed the shots fired were from you, a patrol supervisor would probably have cleared the PD call.

The city runs out of officers multiple times every day, so low priority calls like shots fired with no victim hold for long times.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
You’d be surprised at how long a shots fired call might hold before police responds. An hour plus isn’t uncommon. In Charlotte.

If the animal control officer got on scene and confirmed the shots fired were from you, a patrol supervisor would probably have cleared the PD call.

The city runs out of officers multiple times every day, so low priority calls like shots fired with no victim hold for long times.

As snooty we Myers park is im surprised there weren’t a flood of calls from panicked nanny’s and butlers lol.

How much time does the PD waste having to check on psych patients in the various Emergency Depts.

First off, good for your son. He did a service to the community.

There are two related issues here:

1. That raccoon was diseased. Whether it was distemper or rabies only testing will prove but either or both could be spread by that raccoon.

2. Raccoons are becoming all too common in suburban areas, becoming a huge nuisance and overpopulating in many areas. They have no predators in areas where the coyotes have been chased away.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
It's a small target, moving and thrashing about, and if on the ground is below the line of sight, for which adjustments have to be made. The range, with a fixed target at a known distance, doesn't quite prepare one for this.

Somewhere, in this great country of ours, there has to be a range that provides this kind of experience! I'll be looking for this idea on Shark Tank!

We have had coyote problems and over the past year going after our dogs. I keep an ancient Sears single shot.22LR by my back door I have shot three in our backyard. We live in a quiet neighborhood and not once has anyone called the LEO's.

I will agree it was more likely distemper. I am a veteran of many sick coon calls. I kept a box of 12 GA BB loads for my 870. That worked well.
And the post about needing the head for examination is true.

Ten rounds? I hope he reloaded in his workspace and checked his surroundings before holstering.

quote:

Originally posted by Monk:
Ten rounds? I hope he reloaded in his workspace and checked his surroundings before holstering.

By chance, your not in the coast guard are you?