How would you have reacted?

[THEFERMANATOR]

My neighbor has some kids watching his place as his wife is sick and he has been over at his other house and in the hospital with his wife. To date these kids have just been your average teenagers out mudbogging in the lake at night and other mischief. Well earlier this week the water in the lake got high enough that a gator moved in, and these kids decided they wated to get the gator. Earlier tonight they were trying to shoot the damn thing at about 30 yards with a 22 rifle and one ricocheted off the gator and hit my moms house. Needless to say I lost it and basically threatened to bash there heads in if they ever used a gun in a stupid unsafe manner. This of course was when they got smart with me and denied trying to shoot the gator when my wife and mother both watched them do it. I know I shouldn't go loosing my tempur, but when I find out a bullet ricocheted off my moms house with my mom and wife down there, I pretty well went into orbit as one might would say.

Then to top it off I find out the kid is only 17, yet he doesn't go to school or anything, and now his mom is threatening to call the cops on me. I basically told her if the kid is dumb enough to fire a gun at water where bullets can bounce off(yet she swears a bullet can't bounce off of water), then he's mature enough to get an *** woopin. The wife went off on me of course saying you can't do things like that, but it's just how I am. After it happened I called the property owner and he said he would be up tommorrow, but said you gotta do what you gotta do. And he fully understands and said he would probably have reacted the same way.

Just wondering if I'm a complete loose cannon, or if others would have reacted the same way. I know when Iwas 17 I would have expected a serious woopin from anybody if I would have done something that stupid, but the kids mom says "he gots enough gun smarts"(these were her exact words) to know better than to do something like that. Is it just me or have most people lost all common sense?

[charlie_the_tuna]

i guess he should consider himself lucky he didnt pull that sh!t near my family. i would say you exercised more restraint than i ever could have. we dont get alot of gators up here and there aint alot of mudbogging going on up here either but i might have tore into that stupid kid and asked questions later.
guess thats why i've always found myself in trouble. whoop his a$$ ferm and make it a good one so he dont pull that sh!t again.

[bradford]

The kid got off easy. I would have done the same as you Ferm. You're smart to contact the property owner and inform him and let him handle it though. Kids that age do stupid stuff obviously and you don't want them shootin up your place for revenge after you beat his ***. I wouldn't worry about the cops, I would think they would be on your side. Common sense isn't common.

[spareparts]

keep the video camera handy(these kids have theirs ready for utube at any moment), keep your cool, don't lay a hand on a minor. If they get the rifle out again, take video and call wildlife. I don't know about Fl. law, but their breaking five or six SC laws($$$$$) shooting at that gator. If they start smarting off to you, start recording, you'll be suprised how fast they back off, especially the parents. Keep your cool and play it smart

[reelapeelin]

keep the video camera handy(these kids have theirs ready for utube at any moment), keep your cool, don't lay a hand on a minor. If they get the rifle out again, take video and call wildlife. I don't know about Fl. law, but their breaking five or six SC laws($$$$$) shooting at that gator. If they start smarting off to you, start recording, you'll be suprised how fast they back off, especially the parents. Keep your cool and play it smart

X 2...be a shame to go to jail over the turd...

[nipper]

So did you whoop his azz or not?

[Road King Cole]

I think both the kid and mom should move back to their trailer park where they belong.

I bet if they did call the cops, they would have been on your side.

[Blue_Runner]

It would have been hard not to bust him upside his head.

[nipper]

OK, I am not at all knowledgeable about guns, but can a bullet really ricochet off of water?

[RidgeRunner]

You handled it right in my opinion. In the eyes of the law, If you lay a hand on the 17 yr old you are in the wrong. You really should have called the police. They would have started a turdstorm that the ungrateful youth and his mother would not soon forget.

Protect your family, whatever it takes.

The mother of the 17 yr old has no idea how serious this is, or could have been. She should have been begging you not to call the police, made her son apologize after admitting what he did and taken away his rifle on the spot. What is wrong with these people?

[RidgeRunner]

OK, I am not at all knowledgeable about guns, but can a bullet really ricochet off of water?

Definitely a big YES. I have seen it happen. You can hear the bullet singing as ricochets off the water, gator (whatever) the trajectory gets screwed up and the bullet will make a whizzing sound. Don't ask how I know.

[THEFERMANATOR]

A 22 long rifle doesn't have enough power behind it so it skips like a rock off of water. Larger calibers disintegrate on impact because of how fast they are going. I didn't hit the kid when I found out how old he was. The mom wanted to call the cops and I told her to. The kid wouldn't look me in the eyes so you could tell he was lying about shooting at the gator, and yes it's a big time felony down here to shoot at a gator(I've got an uncle that can tell you all about that one, 20 years probation over it). I talked to the property owner this morning and got things sorted out. I thought I was pretty calm in the situation all things considered, but of course the wife thought I was insane in how I handled it.

[spareparts]

you know, there's an episode of Blue Collar Comedy somewhere in this story

[THEFERMANATOR]

you know, there's an episode of Blue Collar Comedy somewhere in this story

As Ron White would say "You can't fix stupid".

[reelapeelin]

What is wrong with these people?

Ignernt!...:you:

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Well, put it this way, you acted more classy that i would ever act. Just make sure don't leave any bruises. :bat::bat::bat:

[Chalupa V]

@ nipper: Oh yeah. Mythbusters did an episode of just that. If the angle is just right, it's no different than skipping a rock. Also, a gators hide is very tough, and as far away as they were with a .22 it's very feasible that it hit the gator and bounced back in any given direction.

@ ridge: That ideaology just doesn't exist anymore, at least since the late 50's it seems. I'm only 28, but I was raised with a lot more common sense than that. I've been trusted with a gun alone since I was about 7, but I had to earn that trust and keep it. I have kids, and they would learn the true meaning of a$$whoopin from me if they EVER pull a stupid stunt like that! That is, after they appologize to the victim, fix any damage, and relinquish any and all priviledges to firearms!
:devil:

Sorry to hear that ferm and good luck to ya with that situation!

[THEFERMANATOR]

The kid did apoligize to my mom at least, but I'm still pretty pissed about the whole deal myself. Things have been alot quieter over there after the neighbor came up and talked to me.

[randlemanboater]

Sounds like you handled it the right way Ferm......its just like in sports, the ref never sees the first foul and the guy retaliating gets in trouble, had you beat the kid up, you risked getting jammed up.

If I were you, I would make a few notes on the incident in case something else comes up, even get a picture of the damage if there is any.

That way if need be, you can report the kid to Wildlife and let them deal with him.

[Jack]

Well Ferm, i just happen to be 17. If that would have been me i would have expected to get a major whoopin. I have been shooting guns since i was 4 years old and i know not to shoot at the water like that. I feel if he was dumb enough to pick up the gun and do something so ignorant he should have gotten what he had coming to him.

[Hammerhead]

You did right by your family and the boy too. He HAD to learn something.

Biggest azzwhuppin' my Pop ever gave me was when I was 8 ( 1960 ), I stayed home sick from school. When everyone left I took my winchester .22 pump Pop jus gave me out back and shot at ducks in the lake behind our house. After about 15 minutes Pop showed up ( neighbor called'm at work ) and gave me a well deserved session with the belt.

He took the .22 and nailed it to the wall over the fireplace for 2 years before it was mine again.

I dunno why firearms safety isn't taught as SOP in school. It should.

[phatdaddy]

HH, reminds me of a story a friend of mine tells. he got one of his dads guns when all were gone and was "pretend" hunting Zebra while Wild Kingdom was on TV. you guessed it, it was loaded and the family came home to a freshly killed RCA...