Alabama Rabid Bobcat Attack: Rifle makes a Dangerous Club

Gun Watch ^ | 18 July, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

A Sardis, Alabama woman, Michelle Russel, was attacked by a rabid bobcat in her front yard on 13 July, 2015.  Her friend, Register, had a .22 rifle in the house, but the cartridges were in a tool shop.  From greenvilleadvocate.com:

“I kept yelling, ‘There’s a bobcat out here.’ He immediately got his gun and ran to his tool shop to get bullets,” she said.

 

Register got the rifle loaded, but not before the cat attacked Michelle:

“The cat just full-force jumped in the air and bit my arm. If I had been facing him, he would’ve probably got my neck and my face,” she said. “I had no idea what to do.”

Russell twisted and turned, but could not shake off the bobcat.

Register witnessed the attack, but could not get a clean shot. He swung at the cat with the stock of the rifle.

Register managed to knock the cat off Russell, releasing her arm from the locked jaw. But, the cat landed on its hind legs and jumped right back onto Russell. She turned away from the lunging cat and raised her arms to protect herself.

The delay of having to retrieve cartridges from a different location made a significant difference in this case.  If the cartridges had been handy, been kept in a loaded magazine, or in the rifle, the response time would have been greatly reduced, and the bobcat would likely have been shot *before* it attacked Michelle.

Register continued to use the rifle as a club until he knocked the 30 lb bobcat off of Michelle.   Register hit the cat with the stock, but it is better to use the barrel if you must swing a rifle like a club.  The barrel delivers a more concentrated blow, is less likely to damage the rifle, and you do not end up pointing the muzzle in your direction.  In this case, the rifle was loaded!

Once Register knocked the cat off the second time, he shot the cat four or five times, until the rifle jammed.  Considering the abuse that the rifle had just been given, a jam is not too surprising.  The rifle's stock was cracked from the blows.

After the rifle jammed,  he used it like a baseball bat a few more times, then ran to his car to retrieve a pistol.

“After being shot at least four or five times with a .22, the cat was just sitting there licking his leg when Brandon returned. He shot him and that was it,” Register said.

It is hard to argue with success.  Register Brandon got the bobcat off of his friend Michelle, and was able to kill it.

But holding a loaded rifle by the barrel and using is as a club is a dangerous practice. 

In some cases, defenders have pressed the muzzle of the rifle against the attacking animal to reduce the chances of hitting the person being attacked.

 ©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

A 30 lb bobcat attacking you would not be any fun.

[taxcontrol]

5 rules of a gun fight

1) gun beats no gun

And a gun with no bullets is not a gun, it is a club.

2) hit beats a miss
3) fast beats slow
4) big holes beat small holes
5) many holes beat one hole.

[NFHale]

But... but... #BobcatLivesMatter!!!!!!!!!

[lee martell]

Great action story, but is his first name really ‘Register’?
Doesn’t matter, but I tend to doubt it.

[Salamander]

How horrible!

When I went through a similar ordeal with 3 rabid coons, I got my loaded 9 mil from the bedroom and shot them.

No wrasslin’ needed.

[cuban leaf]

My shotgun and .22 are always loaded. My SKS and 30.06 are not. they are for different purposes.

[Boogieman]

“Register hit the cat with the stock, but it is better to use the barrel if you must swing a rifle like a club. The barrel delivers a more concentrated blow, is less likely to damage the rifle, and you do not end up pointing the muzzle in your direction.”

Okay, not pointing the rifle at yourself is a fair point, but with any blunt weapon, you do more damage by swinging the heavier end at the target, that is basic mechanics. Because the club is a lever, swinging the lighter end at something is turning the power of the lever against you, so it would quickly negate any benefit from a “more concentrated blow”.

[exnavy]

Imagine a .45 loaded hanging in a holster somewhere on her body, obvious solution to a problem.

[Boogieman]

Maybe the parents hadn’t decided on a name, and then they were told that the hospital needed a name to register his birth?

[17th Miss Regt]

When I went through a similar ordeal with 3 rabid coons, I got my loaded 9 mil from the bedroom and shot them.

#blacklivesmatter

Oh! Racoons!

[circlecity]

"After the rifle jammed, he used it like a baseball bat a few more times, then ran to his car to retrieve a pistol."

It sounds like the pistol was loaded so I wonder why he didn't just go get it in the first place.

[Lazamataz]

I was going to ping you to this article.

But you wrote it. LOL

[DemforBush]

Yikes!

Glad they survived. The bobcat, especially given its rabid state, could have killed one or both of them. I’m also glad neither was shot by an accidental discharge.

[demshateGod]

My wife went for a walk this AM. I reminded her it’s legal to carry in Kansas w/o a permit. “If nothing else you’ll be safe from dogs,” I said. Nothing to report, but the gun was on the hip with one in the chamber.

[elcid1970]

Thank God they’re alive. But those rabies shots are going to be painful as all get out.

[Vinnie]

We had a local police officer attacked by a domestic cat . Couldn’t get it off his leg.
He eventually shot it off with a Sig 220 !

Bobcats are bad bad. If the injuries in the photo were the only ones, she was lucky.

[Pollster1]

Even though cars can be dangerous when driven, I keep gasoline in my car instead of in a separate shed.

Even though electricity can be deadly in an accident, I keep many appliances that I might want on the spur of the moment plugged in instead of in the attic away from outlets, and I do not keep the breakers for most electrical circuits tripped when those circuits are not in use.

And, even though firearms can be deadly (actually because they can be deadly when that capability is needed to protect decent people), I keep my firearms loaded but in a safe location/condition for the potential presence of children.

If a rabid bobcat (or worse, an Obama-voter) attacks me, attacks a family member, or attacks a neighbor, I don’t want to have to club the bobcat to death or dial 911 and wait for help.

[Redcitizen]

You gotta have the right .22 ammo for the job.

[Mears]

I had the rabies shots a few years ago.

They were no worse than some other procedures that I have had.

.

[elcid1970]

A long time ago (1950’s) the rabies vaccine was described as “fourteen shots around the belt line; the first one the weakest, the final one full strength rabies, all administered to build up immunity.” That’s what we kids were taught.

A nurse told us how once a rabid animal had bitten several children in our town; the doctor went from house to house giving the required shots and how the screams of the children being innoculated filled the entire neighborhood.

That’s what they told us. Later, I asked an animal control officer if there was such a thing as a rabies vaccine given before the fact; he said yes, he got one every six months & if bitten, did not have to get the full treatment.