'Possum in the henhouse, but not THAT 'Possum.

[Timestepper]

So, we have a guy at work that everybody calls "'Possum." Great guy, but kind of a pest at times. Do anything in the world for you, but doesn't take critique or even suggestions very well. Kinda' tough to talk to sometimes, even though he's a super nice guy.

 

I told you that to tell you this:

 

05:15 Eastern this morning and I'm walking out to the pickup to head for work a little early (still can't drive a big truck, but my company has been gracious enough to allow me 15 - 20 hours a week helping out in the office). Anyway, I happen to glance up at our henhouse just in time to see a 'possum walking past the open henhouse door - starting about this time of year we leave a light burning all night because it seems to settle our Bantam hens more and they produce better - the door of the henhouse is left open because there's a <nearly> critter proof enclosure around the front of the building.

 

My first thought was "Did I really see what I thought I saw?!!!" and I decided to walk/limp up and check it out. Well, I got up there and got into the henhouse just in time to see a 'possum tail disappearing under an old entertainment center in one corner that we use for both storage and nest boxes. I did a quick "beak count" and all the chickens were accounted for, so I figured he was small enough that he probably couldn't reach the roosts.

 

After arguing with myself for a minute or so I decided that I couldn't, in good conscience, just leave him in there for my wife to find, especially since there was no guarantee that he wouldn't get the chickens after they left the roost. So I limped back down to the house, grabbed a flashlight and my .22 rifle, went back up, leaned the entertainment center forward and propped it at about 45 degrees, then stepped to the back, hit the flashlight and popped him in the head. Standing the e-center back against the wall, I reached underneath and dragged the 'possum out and, with a glance at my watch, just left him on the floor of the henhouse while I headed in to wash my hands and put the .22 away. Then I jumped in the pickup and got to work with about thirty seconds to spare.

 

Being the great guy that I am and realizing that, unless I warned her about the dead 'possum, my wife would more than likely soil her bloomers and make a new door when she walked in and saw him lying there, I sent her a text and then talked to her on the phone to give her a "heads up." (For which she expressed great gratitude!)

 

An hour later my lovely wife called me back to tell me that there were TWO 'possums in the henhouse - one live (which she thought, at first, was the one I was talking about) and one dead - and no, she did not soil her bloomers (much). I told her to let the chickens out of the run, close the door on the henhouse and I'd take care of both of them when I got home about 12:30.

 

At 10:40 I was down in the shop talking with our mechanic Justin when I glanced at my watch. Seeing what time it was and planning on leaving work at 11:00, I said, "Well, I guess I'd better head back up to the office and shut the computer down, then go see about dealing with a 'possum - much as I hate to do it." Without missing a beat, Justin replied, "Yeah, he's a great guy - do anything for ya' - but damn, I can't stand to talk to him for more than three or four minutes!"

 

I still haven't quit laughing...

 

...TS...

 

 

*P.S. - Got home, took care of both henhouse 'possums, found where they'd gotten in and got it patched up so that it won't happen again. ...Probably won't tell the other 'Possum about it Monday morning...*

[TrickyNicky]

:lol:

Can't make stuff like that up.

Glad your feeling better TS, first the kidney stone last year, then the "incident". Hard to catch a break sometimes.

[DaveS]

Jackie told me this morning...only you Don!

 

DaveS

[RED333]

Good stuff, glad ya did not loose any chickens.

[vontar]

I expected you to be talking to your wife and someone walk and over hear you talking about shooting possum and and you would take care of it soon.

[Timestepper]

I expected you to be talking to your wife and someone walk and over hear you talking about shooting possum and and you would take care of it soon.

LOL!

 

Along those lines... Last year I was talking to our Safety Director about some critter problems we'd been having with our chickens when our Head Dispatcher and Salesman (a black gentleman) came back into the office just in time to hear me say, "Yeah, them damn thievin' 'coons from across the branch are at it again - just can't seem to leave our chickens alone, no matter how unwelcome I make 'em feel!" The dispatcher gave me a withering scowl that left me wondering who'd whizzed in his Wheaties and I headed on out to the truck. Twenty minutes later the Safety Director called me and he was laughing so hard he could barely get his breath. Evidently our dispatcher had sat there and fumed for several minutes and then blurted out, "You know of all the guys we have here, I never would've expected Don to turn out to be such a flaming racist!!!"

 

It took the S.D. 5 minutes to quit laughing long enough to tell him that I'd been talking about raccoons and that when the lady who lives across the branch and feeds the darn things forgets to leave food out they invariably head for our chicken run. The next day the dispatcher told me, "I guess I owe you an apology." I said, "No you don't - I needed a good laugh, I'm just sorry that it was at your expense!" To this day he asks about our chickens at least twice a week. :rofl:

[hipower]

Not nearly as good as these stories, but I got a little one to tell.

 

We have a neighbor who likes to feed the roaming possums around us. H seems to think they are cute.

 

There's an old fence line sorta katty-cornered about 75 yards away that is between our properties. He's been dumping table scraps out there for over a year to feed them. So of course, every one in the area comes in to feast every night.

 

About 2 am some time back, our dog was raising a ruckus to get outside. Thinking she just needed to potty, I let here out the door and watched her tear out heading for the front of the house. Knowing this wasn't her usual potty area, I followed her.

 

Grabbing a flashlight, I stumbled out to hear what sounded at that time; like a huge fight. She was growling and snarling like crazy. And I could hear some almost hissing sounds. Found her with a possum caught up against a foundation vent screen.

 

Both were eyeballing each other pretty hard and getting louder.

 

Thinking the possum's behavior a little odd, and fearing a rabid one; I grabbed my dog by the collar, took her inside and grabbed a little Model 60.

 

By this time my wife is up, wondering and worrying about what's going on. I just say I gotta shoot a possum. Looking rather puzzled and concerned, she follows me out.

 

Dang. This short tale sure got long. Sorry.

 

I get back around front and sure enough, the possum is still there. So I shine my flash in his eyes and pop a wadcutter at the base of his skull and neck.

 

That little 38 w/c sure makes a lot of noise at 2 in the morning. Lights start pooping on around us so I think we should go back inside, so I to leave it and clean it up in the morning.  Some of our neighbors aren't to gun friendly.  Especially at that hour.

 

Anyway, later that  morning, my young neighbor comes down and says he found some large marble sized dropping in his garage, followed them and found a litter of young possums in his garage.

 

Being a concerned animal lover, he called Animal Control to come and get them out.

 

Evidently I had gotten the mother.  And he being such a sound sleeper hadn't heard the 38. Since he didn't mention it, I let it go by that I'd shot one earlier.

 

He said that his wife had really been upset at finding them in their garage, and really came down hard on him feeding the little critters.

 

Anyway, he's stopped dumping scraps there. And I've convinced him to clean up that fence row.

 

We still have some around, but now I use the Ruger 22/45 and the Augila subsonic to dispatch them. It doesn't seem to upset the neighbors as much. I told them it was a pellet pistol, like the Gammo rifle I shoot in the back yard.

 

That sucker is loud. It actually sounds like a 22lr round going off.

Edited September 27, 2013 by hipower

[vontar]

that is the best idea I have seen for Augila subsonic.  I guess I should pick up some.  Probably should keep a box or 2 around now.

[TrickyNicky]

 

 
That little 38 w/c sure makes a lot of noise at 2 in the morning. Lights start pooping on around us...
 

:lol: :rofl:

I did not edit that btw.

[hipower]

:lol: :rofl:

I did not edit that btw.

 

Alright, I can't type.  There it's out in the oopen.

[Guest sL1k]

I may or may not have dispatched a growling drooling hissing possum that had a good friend of mine (female) cornered in Red Bank, city limits.

Cci quiets are the way to go. :D

Great stories timestepper and hipower!

[hipower]

Thanks.  Someday I might tell how it really ended.

[Dolomite_supafly]

My "critter getter" is a 22lr AR with a suppressor. It has a light and a green laser as well as a red dot. It stays loaded all the time and gets grabbed first for any four legged nuisance animals that show up. About the only noise you hear is the casings hitting the ground. Hopefully around Christmas I will start using a suppressed 300 Blackout for all my critter getting needs.

 

When we had birds it was 2-3 times a week we had to deal with critters. And about once a month we had dogs show up and kill our animals. We will be getting more this spring so it will be game on again. It actually is pretty good practice trying to hit an animal as it is moving around.

Edited September 28, 2013 by Dolomite_supafly

[hipower]

I totally agree with the suppressed 22 as a critter suppression unit. I have a suppressor on one of my 22/45 pistols. But it was an impulse buy as a package deal a couple years ago, from an East Tn dealer at a local gun show. Decent price on the combo. But I really regret it.

 

The suppressor is not a type that can be dismantled and cleaned, and it's definitely NOT anything like a YMH it was compared to. It does reduce the sound of the fired round, maybe a little close to the 50% range. But nowhere as quite as yours, Dolomite.

 

 

NEVER impulse something like that. You pay up front, get the product later, and you get what you got. Not always what you might expect.