Video: Snowmobiler shoots moose

[Erik88]

Justified or not?

 

http://www.outdoorhub.com/news/video-snowmobiler-shoots-moose-glock/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feb%2025%20Daily%20Newswire%20%281%29&utm_content=&spMailingID=45200718&spUserID=NDQxMjcwODQ0NDcS1&spJobID=383361267&spReportId=MzgzMzYxMjY3S0

 

 

I'm trying really hard not to judge this guy but I really feel this could have been avoided. 

 

 

[DaveTN]

Would he have done that to a bear? Doubtful he would have waited for it to move. What a waste; I think he should be charged.

[Tedro2022]

String that dude up by his balls!!! He had ample opportunity to go around or avoid the moose. If you're in their backyard you respect animals them as they may be dangerous. I hope he goes to the slammer and meets Bubba... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[peejman]

What a schmuck. That's hunting out of season at the least.

[TrickyNicky]

I'm thinking he could have, and should have avoided the whole thing. Once it attacked I can see no reason to believe it wouldn't have attacked again though.

Also I am aware of the legalities of "warning shots", but that might have also been a better option than clapping ones hands and barking like a dog. Maybe not though, never met a moose in person but every animal I have ever fired a gun near has quickly thought if a better place to be.

[c.a.willard]

Mixed feelings on this one, I could see where it could go either way.  Many older snow mobiles do not have a reverse, so he may not have been able to back out.   It looks like there may have been a path out of the area, but I don't know those woods that path may not have been passable to their machines.  There are a ton of what if's that could occur in this scenario, but without more information i'm not prepared to condemn the guy.

[TnShooter83]

Going on the facts that I know little about snowmobiles

 

1 How deep of snow can they go in?

2. How easy are they to maneuver?

3. how long would it take to turn around.

4. There was another person behind him. you can see this at the end of the video. Was this guy impeding rearward movement?

5. Was it a family member (a kid) behind him?

6. I'd probably would yelled at the thing to try to get it to "move". I know nothing about Moose.

7. It did charge him. More than once. And did attack him.

 

Yeah, I probably would have done the same. Based on what I can see in the video.

And based on the answers I see here, I'd be strung up and imprisoned. Yikes......

Glade you guys are not game wardens.

Edited February 26, 2014 by TnShooter83

[Guest TresOsos]

I think he could have got out of there or not approached or proceeded down the trail until the moose wandered off.

Crimial charges I don't know. Dumbassary and not using good judgement, he's guilty of that.

[A.J. Holst]

Unjustified. Moose is way down the trail, he keeps approaching. Moose is acting agressively and this jack off needs to get down THIS trail RIGHT now. isn't part of snowmobiling, 4 wheeling, hiking and the like to enjoy and take in all of the great outdoors, including those pesky woodland critters? What absolutely sickens me is it appears the moose isn't dead but mortally wounded and left for scavengers.

This dude needs to be the human trophy in a Far Side cartoon.

As a side note, 9mm looks to be an effective caliber on a 1200-1500 pound assailant and he carries in safe mode, no round in chamber until needed Edited February 26, 2014 by Gotthegoods

[221 Fireball]

Being a hunter who has hunted elk years back, and have had moose cross my path, this was just wrong. First, it was a young male, no antlers, and really couldn't of done much as long as the guy remained on his snowmobile. Maybe he wasn't aware or maybe he just was a dumbass, but causing all that ruckus drew that moose towards him. Moose hunters use grunt sounds to ATTRACT male moose during hunt season. If you look at all the snow, the moose was most likely using the snowmobile trail to browse on some vegetation that was probably uncovered from all the snowmobiles traveling that trail.

 

Bottom line IMO, a dick with a gun, with a video camera rolling, looking to play badass on YouTube. I would've erased that video from embarassment had I done something that stupid. The guy's obviously a hothead, wonder if that Glock would of also come out if some teenagers ambushed him with snowballs?

[Guest Lowbuster]

I was taught to leave wildlife alone. Do not approach like he did. I would have shot it the first time it came at me, but it would have to come from where I first saw it. I would not have drove forward.

[Erik88]

I'm thinking he could have, and should have avoided the whole thing. Once it attacked I can see no reason to believe it wouldn't have attacked again though.
 

 

I would hardly call that an attack. The moose was being territorial and basically pushed him. The guy easily pushed the moose back and waited until it was leaving before firing. I think I would feel differently if the moose wouldn't leave him alone and kept "attacking". But even before that it seems like he could have gone around.

 

As a side note, 9mm looks to be an effective caliber on a 1200-1500 pound assailant and he carries in safe mode, no round in chamber until needed

 

You think that was a 9mm? It was  definitely a Glock, full size, but I couldn't tell what caliber.

[Guest RebelCowboySnB]

I am use to deer so I would have probably done exactly what he did.... Weather ya agree with him or not, I dont see a point in charges as I dont think a jury would convict...

[TrickyNicky]

I would hardly call that an attack. The moose was being territorial and basically pushed him. The guy easily pushed the moose back and waited until it was leaving before firing. I think I would feel differently if the moose wouldn't leave him alone and kept "attacking". But even before that it seems like he could have gone around.
 

 
You think that was a 9mm? It was  definitely a Glock, full size, but I couldn't tell what caliber.

A moose "push" to the head with a moose hoof could kill you. The guys likely wearing a helmet but could still be kicked in the throat or chest. A broken collar bone wouldn't be much fun either. One thing I can bet, once you've been pushed once I a moose I'm sure you'd be very keen on not having a repeat performance.


Still doesn't change the fact that I think the whole thing could have been handled better and again, probably avoided all together.

[221 Fireball]

I would hardly call that an attack. The moose was being territorial and basically pushed him. The guy easily pushed the moose back and waited until it was leaving before firing. I think I would feel differently if the moose wouldn't leave him alone and kept "attacking". But even before that it seems like he could have gone around.

 

 

You think that was a 9mm? It was  definitely a Glock, full size, but I couldn't tell what caliber.

 

I would guess it was a 10mm, don't think a nine would've put it down that quick.

[A.J. Holst]

I assumed a 9...you're are probably right about a 10. Jack off went big bore because of a history dangerous rogue moose attacks and realized with a small d!(K he needed a big bad a$$ caliber. Edited February 26, 2014 by Gotthegoods

[BlackHawk93]

This idiot has no need to be carrying a gun if you ask me. Or for that matter driving a snowmobile. Or for that matter being anywhere around moose. The moose clearly gave him multiple "look, leave me alone warnings" that, personally, this idiot should have picked up on. It's sad that the moose population is shrinking, and estimates are that by 2025 there will be no more moose left. They are an endangered species. My wife's girlfriend works in Alaska and is involved in a program where they are tagging moose with tracking mechanisms to better understand why their numbers are falling so rapidly. 

 

Any one of us, we have taken on the responsibility to be handgun carriers. Therefore, I think I can speak for a lot, if not most of us, that we have researched and trained and carried on in  a manner that is  considered "responsible" to have that card. This jerk, having been in an area where he was sure to run into one, should have studied a little about their habits and how they react to a threat. It's obvious to me, after watching this and just what little I've heard from my wife's friend, that this moose felt threatened, and is why it came at the idiot twice and then retreated. He should have left before even the first time. He definitely should have left after the second. 

 

As permit holders, just because we have the ability to carry and use deadly force does not give us the right to go out and act recklessly. My opinion stands that this person has no business being in the woods with a gun if he is going to start a fight with a wild animal. Do you think he would have been yelling at it if it was a huge brown bear? One with a cub maybe? Heck no he wouldn't have. And if he had, it would have shown his IQ. Which I think he actually did show by how many shots he fired. A sad waste of a life.

[TMF]

In defense if the shooter, I'm pretty sure I heard the moose refer to him as a creepy cracker before attacking.


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[K191145]

I'm thinking he could have, and should have avoided the whole thing. Once it attacked I can see no reason to believe it wouldn't have attacked again though.

Also I am aware of the legalities of "warning shots", but that might have also been a better option than clapping ones hands and barking like a dog. Maybe not though, never met a moose in person but every animal I have ever fired a gun near has quickly thought if a better place to be.

 

As far as a moose goes, a warning shot should be excused, I guess depending on what state your in. I think I might have popped a couple in a tree to see if that would scare him away while I was at that distance and I don't think I would have driven closer. From what i've heard moose are more aggressive and dangerous than bear during their rut. Now if the moose just started charging me I would defend myself.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

They put Moose down in Alaska for much less than this...

She did attack him...

BUT..

He could have waited or backed up a bit to see where she was going.

[Guest Emtdaddy1980]

I grew up in NH and had a snowmobile of my own at age 7. Back then moose were pretty common up there and were as thick as flies around my aunts property in Maine. From my own experience this guy was an idiot. There was plenty of room to turn around when the moose was first spotted, so the guy is not proficient with his snowmobile for starters. Secondly, Moose are pretty much legally blind by human standards, and do not have a particularly large brain in relation to their body. When they here a strange noise they get curious and go towards it to investigate. Due to their poor eyesight they have to get pretty close to identify that noise as human, and although not too bright, moose are with it enough to recognize that man is one of the few predators they have. So this guy was also ignorant of the wildlife he was likely to encounter. He basically called it in with his weird little shitzu bark or whatever that was. He reminds me of the idiots from New York and the Massholes that used to flood the roads in NH/Maine during leaf season. Inevitability at least one per year would get their ass stomped when they got out of their car and tried to photograph a moose up close.

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[221 Fireball]

They put Moose down in Alaska for much less than this...

She did attack him...

BUT..

He could have waited or backed up a bit to see where she was going.

"She" is a he, a youngster male. That little dangly thing under his chin is a dewlap. Only male moose have them. I think the other poster was correct in that he was curious, as most youngster anythings are.

 

Watching the video again, and comparing the size of this young moose to the snowmobile, this was no 1000-1500 lb moose like a giant bull can reach. This was probably a 500-600lb yearling at best.

 

Again, IMO, too much testosterone and firearms...bad mix. :2cents:

[Chris]

He provoked that charge in my opinion. No reason he couldn't have waited til the moose moved on.

Also, there is no reason he couldn't have finished the moose before driving on.

To my eyes it looked like he spined it and left a wounded animal behind.

Bad for the critter and potentially a serious danger for anyone else coming down that trail.

Are his actions criminal? That depends on the letter of the law.

Is his carelessness and stupidity responsible for this entire event? You betcha.

[K191145]

As some have said, this guy obviously is un-educated about how to deal with a moose. It seems like he treated it like a deer "thinking" that he could easily scare it away by yelling/barking at it, when that didn't work he thought it would run away if he drove closer to it. I don't believe he wanted to shoot the moose but freaked out when the moose charged him, he was then scared chitless and thought the moose would charge again and shot the moose. He took the moose for granted at first and made bad decisions. Personally as far as wildlife goes I see nothing wrong at all with popping a round in the ground or tree to scare something away, I use firecrackers to scare small critters away from my garden and it works, temporarly, until the little bastdids come back the next day. Animals naturally don't like loud sharp noises, now that doesn't always work but if the animal is at some distance away in your path it's worth a shot. Now if they suddenly come from the brush charging to kill you, shoot for your life.

[K191145]

Oh yea, after thinking about it the dumbest thing this guy did was to post the video online, if he really felt bad about killing the moose I would think he would have erased the video like someone said earlier. Instead he thought he was going to be macho man, look what I did.
Charge the idiot and give him a painful fine. Maybe that will motivate him to educated himself about local wildlife.