Florida man shoots himself in the face while loading rifle.

[The Backlash Cometh]

Who loads a rifle with the butt on the ground?

BRADENTON, Florida — A Southwest Florida man is recovering after accidentally shooting himself in the face while trying to fight off a skunk.

Daniel McDaniels, 31, was at a friend's house Friday when he spotted the skunk. He grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and began loading it with the butt of the rifle on the ground.

Manatee County Sheriff's deputies said McDaniels didn't know the gun already had a round in it when he accidentally tripped the trigger, setting off the gun.

The bullet pierced the fingers of his right hand and entered his left cheek. His injuries are not life-threatening.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/os-man-shoots-face-skunk-20101003,0,3843719.story

[Orrex]

1. And who shoots a skunk?

Glad he's okay, but really!

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Skunks are the one Florida woodland creature I haven't seen.

I've seen bobcats, and may have even seen a panther. But never a skunk. Yet, they are are prevalent as raccoons up in the northern states.

[Orrex]

5. I've seen a number of them live in the wild--shooting them is the last thing I'd do

I usually say something like "you win, Mr. Skunk. I'll leave peacefully."

Then I back far away, slowly.

[Lorien]

15. +1

I once ran over an already dead skunk on the road in Florida and the stench didn't leave my car for weeks. A person would have to have a below room temperature IQ to think of shooting one.

[NoPasaran]

44. Sounds exactly like the sort of person

Sounds exactly like the sort of person who would try to load an already-loaded rifle with its butt on the ground.

[csziggy]

33. A few years ago the Florida Wildlife guys did an informal survey of skunks

By asking residents to report any skunks seen dead or alive, or smelled. They were worried since sightings of skunks had dropped and they thought maybe they were becoming endangered.

Here is a pretty good article about the status of spotted skunks - my favorite kind:
http://67.23.237.46/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=642

[NNN0LHI]

10. I posted the wrong place. See post # 8

[CreekDog]

11. shoot a skunk you guarantee it will stink up the area

at least if you let it live, chances are the smell will go away.

[Jim__]

3. Fight off the skunk?

Sounds like he was either trying to chase off or shoot the skunk. It doesn't sound like there was any fighting involved.

[Taverner]

4. That's what I thought

How does a skunk attack?

[Lorien]

12. If he shot the skunk it would have the same effect as the skunk "attacking" would

stupid doesn't begin to describe this lowlife.

[virginia mountainman]

13. Skunks can be rabid...

My boss had an issue with a skunk, trying to get into her home, in broad daylight, a few weeks ago..

It was completely fearless, and tried to push thru her "doggy doors" and when her husband showed up, it started toward him, and followed him around the house.

He ended up shooting it..

Seeing a skunk out in daylight, especially one that is fearless of humans...Is a strong sign of a rabid animal. It never sprayed.

[pscot]

16. Backwards

:rofl:

[shraby]

6. If he shot that skunk, the odor would have lingered for days.

[monmouth]

7. This is red, red, wing-nut country. Karma was at work here..LOL. Why

would someone want to kill a skunk? 'Cause they could and they got a gun, so there....too sad.

[NNN0LHI]

8. Skunks may be hunted year round with no limit to the number that can be taken by IL licensed hunters

Rabies carriers.

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/directory_show.cfm?species=skunk

[Lorien]

14. "Rabies carriers" what a load of horseshit

rabies is a very, very rare disease that is most often carried by bats. Pest control companies are responsible for promoting the "everything wild carries rabies" propaganda, which is responsible from the needless maiming, poisoning, and deaths of millions of healthy animals every year. Haven't we humans done ENOUGH harm to the natural world already without promoting this kind of senseless fearmongering?

[SOS]

19. Recently

a woman approached me (in my capacity as a gardener) and asked to to stop someone from giving bread to a pigeon.
She said "They carry rabies"!

I informed her that rabies only affects mammals and that in the 150-year history of the NYC Department of Health there has never been a
confirmed case of zoonotic transmission of any disease from a pigeon to a human.

That was the end of that annoying conversation.

The misinformation is simply astounding.

[Marengo]

23. Skunks are a primary carrier

Several recent articles:

"Skunks Fuel Record Rabies Case Pace In Colo."

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/24687191/detail.html

"Arizona rabies spike blamed on skunks"

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Veterinary+news/Arizona-rabies-spike-blamed-on-skunks/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/658795


http://www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/ag/wildlife/skunks.html
(exerpt from this article: "Approximately 65 percent of the skunks checked for rabies tested positive for the disease during the past 5 years)

[Kaleva]

26. Cases of rabies are on the rise in Michigan

The biggest threat is to pets and livestock who may contract rabies from wild animals such as skunks.

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/rabies_rising_in_michigan_heal.html

[Scruffy1]

28. Skunks are the most common rabies carriers

Am I afraid of skunks? No. But they can carry rabies. If you don't believe me ask any veternarian. The best thing to with skunks is leave them alone. They visit my yard in the night but the only damage is a few small holes where they dig looking for grubs. I have trapped them and actually sold their furs, too. That was a long time ago. Also had a pet one when I was young (descented).

[mitchum]

9. Alcohol

[Ozymanithrax]

17. Skunks eat the dog food from my back porch on any night I leave it out.

They are beautiful creatures.

But, they are not particularly aggressive, and not even a nuisance unless provoked.

[oneshooter]

18. Many 22 rimfires have a tube magazine under the barrel. n/t

[TheWraith]

20. Exactly what I was about to say.

Loading it requires removing the spring tube, which sits kind of like the ramrod would in an old-fashioned musket--parallel to the barrel. So if you're careless and leave a round in the chamber, it's entirely possible.

That said, shooting himself isn't the only stupidity this guy was engaged in if he was going to shoot a skunk with a .22.

[ManiacJoe]

21. It's been a long time since I used a .22 with a tube mag,

but aren't they normally loaded via a slot in the tube near the middle of the gun requiring the gun's barrel be pointed at the ground?

[TheWraith]

29. The type I'm familiar with is the Marlin Model 60...

...one of the more common semi-auto .22s. It has a notch where you can drop bullets into the tube, but the muzzle has to be pointed up in order for them to slide down into the mag properly. If someone doesn't have a proper gun rack, they could easily decide to putt the butt of the rifle on the ground in order to steady it with one hand and load with the other.

Even so, this accident requires at least the following chain of stupidity:

1. The person didn't check or clear the chamber before loading the rifle.
2. He left the trigger safety off while loading, with a possible loaded chamber.
3. He let the muzzle cover his face, with a possible loaded chamber and unsafetied trigger.
4. He managed to bump or hit the trigger hard enough to fire the gun.

[Liberal_in_LA]

22. poor skunk

[rug]

24. Don't fuck with Pepe.

[pipi_k]

25. I think the skunk really shot him but he didn't want to embarrass himself by admitting it. n/t

[cigsandcoffee]

27. That skunk was laughing his ass off... n/t

[opihimoimoi]

30. Skunk 1 hunter....0

[ChoppinBroccoli]

31. Yet More Proof That Darwin Was Right

Nature DOES weed out the weak and the stupid.

[Lucian]

32. I was hoping it would turn into a Darwin Award.

[krispos42]

34. It probably had a tubular magazine underneath the barrel

unscrew the end, remove the spring-loaded follower tube, fill the magazine, replace the follower tube, rescrew it, and start shooting.

Only, yanno, he skipped a couple of parts of the process.

[defendandprotect]

35. We all need rifles to deal with skunks -- !!! Wow -- !!

[ManiacJoe]

38. Most would disagree with your choice of "need", but

if I was to shoot one, I would prefer a rifle to a handgun because distance WILL be your friend. :evilgrin:

[defendandprotect]

43. Hey, the guy thought he "needed" it -- and then there are those STINK bugs coming ... get ready!!

[Unrepentant Fenian]

36. Was Limp Dick Cheney in the room at the time ???

[Swamp Rat]

37. Score 1 for my cousin, 0 for the stupid human!

:D

[Politicalboi]

39. I hope every time he

Smells a shunk, he feels pain. Unless that skunk was pestering him, I think he is just a yahoo with a gun who thinks he's the Grim Reaper.

[melm00se]

40. Who loads a rifle with the butt on the ground?

not my 1st choice when loading a gun but more than likely he was loading a tube fed .22 like:



or this:



both these require the removing of a rod from the tube and loading the ammo into a small slot near the end of the tube or thru the top of the tube.

[hayu_lol]

41. Ground squirrels are also a major...

rabies carrier.

[Obamanaut]

46. I do not like being in front of the noisy end. nt

[Erose999]

42. "You'll shoot your eye out, kid"

[Generic Brad]

45. Bet his injuries are date-threatening though

Some ladies find having your face blown off a bit of a turn off.

[Pavulon]

47. cant stop idiots...

some old rifles load with into a tube magazine but still what a moron.