Posted on 04/08/2013 10:53:03 AM PDT by JohnPierce
-- IMAGE HERE --
A Massachusetts man is facing charges of illegal possession of a firearm and failing to secure a weapon after using a shotgun to kill a bear that began chasing him in his own backyard while he was stocking his bird feeders.
The man in question is 76 year old Richard Ahlstrand of Auburn Massachusetts and the bear was 7 feet tall and pushing 400 pounds. But despite the reasonable fear that a 76 year old man might feel in such a situation, the local prosecutors have gone after Mr. Ahlstrand with a vengeance.
When he went out that afternoon, he took his shotgun because he had seen the bear the day before and feared that it might still be around. But local officials have used Mr. Ahlstrand’s bird feeder and the presence of the shotgun as the basis of additional charges of illegally baiting a bear and illegally killing a bear.
Apparently, the only thing that Mr. Ahlstrand could have done to satisfy local officials would have been to lay down and die. He says that “They got me set up now like I’m some kind of murderer. And then the environmental guy told me ‘You should have called me instead of shooting it.’ What was I going to do, say ‘Mister Bear would you excuse me please while I go make a phone call?’”
-- VIDEO HERE --
The ‘Innocent Victims of Gun Control‘ series of articles details the effects of gun control policies on law abiding citizens and exposes the lie that gun control is only aimed at criminals.
Yawn.. if he was a badass FReeper he would have used a knife.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1670661/posts
There are bears in MA?
What jury would convict him? Oh, wait — this is MA right?
He forgot the shovel.
The Bruins, they play at the TD Banknorth Garden.
Out of curiosity, I google-mapped Auburn, MA.
As woodbutcher1963 points out in post #19, Auburn, MA is a suburban neighborhood.
Personally, if I were one of his neighbors, I would not be too pleased with him that he was hunting bear in his back yard.
IMO, there are legitimate purposes that animal control serves. This would be one of them.
I don't think a call to 911 would be warranted, but a call to animal control reporting a bear in a suburban neighborhood would not be an unreasonable step to take.
Thanks -
This is the most pertinent comment so far.
Don’t feed the bears, dummy.
I used to enjoy watching all the different birds at my bird feeders. Then came the bears.The first couple times I figured no big deal because seeing bears around here isn’t that unusual. But they caught on quickly that there were easy meals in those feeders and started coming around more frequently so I stopped feeding the birds.
In MA if that shotgun was not registered, he is lucky he is being charged only with that. The law calls for a mandatory year in prison for possession of an unregistered firearm.
Now, if the shotgun was out of ammo after he unloaded on Mr. Bear, then he can't be charged with the second count. For, by law, in MA it is legal to open carry a 'low capacity' firearm...like a shotgun...in public. If registered in the first place. More info needed.
Ping to show my son after school.
You can't have an unregistered anything in MA.
Motor vehicle, trailer (any kind) pet, livestock, firearm...you name it, the State knows about it. I can't wait to get the frak outta here.
This could make a great case to take to the USSC, to challenge the registration requirement.
The guy is a 76 year old moron.
1. He lives in a neighborhood. You don’t go blasting bears in a neighborhood. Auburn is fairly thickly settled.
2. He let his FID expire. *DUH*
3. You call animal control. If they won’t do anything THEN shoot the damn thing but always remember the three “S” rule:
1. Shoot it.
2. Shovel it.
3. Shut up.
Praytell, how would you do that?
FMCDH(BITS)
Yes, there are black bear in MA. There are also coy wolves, fishers, and lately cougars. And I’m not taking the human female over 40 kind either.
The bear called 911 just before he died of his wounds.
(Post a picture of a 3-day old bear cub here).
The bear had a tough childhood and such a bright future stealing bird food. The real animal is the human armed with an assault-AK-47-style-automatic shotgun that was prejudice against bears and specifically racists against BLACK bears.
WE would prefer if you called them African American Bears.
a couger or two has been confirmed in Indiana of all places as well. The DNR is in zipped lip mode about it but most are fairly certain they introducted them secretly.
As a side note. I saw two flocks of turkeys here in NH(about 10 miles north of the MA border)on my way to work today.
Each flock had 1-2 Tom’s strutting their stuff with their plumage all puffed out. Spring is in the air.
Twenty years ago, you never saw turkeys around here. Now I see flocks of 10 or more once or twice a week.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.