Man Hunting Raccoon Accidentally Shoots Self After Sneezing

[onehandle]

A Connecticut man was hospitalized Sunday after an ill-timed sneeze caused him to accidentally shoot himself during a raccoon hunt.

For several days last week, James Pace, 81, of New Haven, was bothered by a giant raccoon scratching at his door. Eventually, the scratching grew bothersome enough that Pace hatched a plan to stop the raccoon and its scratching for good. So on Sunday, Pace sat by his door, armed with a .22 rifle, waiting for the critter to return.

But before Pace could take his shot, he sneezed and fell from his chair, at which point his rifle discharged. Pace realized he was shot in the leg and quickly “secured the rifle” before calling his son. He suffered a non-life threatening wound to his shin and was treated a nearby Yale-New Haven Hospital.

http://gawker.com/man-hunting-pesky-raccoon-accidentally-shoots-self-afte-1204240958

[stevenleser]

1. If only there had been a good man with a gun to erm...

nevermind.

[Jenoch]

2. I say, give the guy a break,

he's 81 years old. Oh, he wasn't hunting either.

[snooper2]

3. score to date/ Raccoon 1 - Old Man 0

Round two next week!

[KansDem]

4. Hey, Jimbo! Ever considered one of these?

Of course, it isn't as much fun as blowing some critter's guts out, but then, you wouldn't be endangering yourself in the process!

Oh, and did the raccoon say "Gesundheit?"

[onehandle]

8. While trying to catch feral cats, we've caught a few of those.

They're usually cooler about the situation than the cats.

[KansDem]

9. Several years ago when we had a few unwanted mice in our house...

We used something similar to this:



Then I would take them way far away to a field and let them go...

[wild bird]

10. Here's our mouse traps.

Guarantee no mouse or bug lasts very long in our home.

[KansDem]

11. That third one looks formidable!

We have a black Maine coon that looks very much like your cat. Not much gets by him either...

on edit: Our mouse problem predates the arrival of Lunar (our Maine coon) by several years. Since Lunar's arrival, we not had to use a trap.

[wild bird]

12. Her name is Piper,

and she is the best mouser of the three, the middle one is Phoebe, she mainly likes to harass bugs, the top one is Prudence, she's a pretty good mouser also.

[ileus]

14. My kitties won't even chase a laser...LOL

Love the chocolate tip Siamese....my favorite Kitty breed.

[wild bird]

16. They are my wife's babies,

and my mouse killers.

[dionysus]

15. is the middle one siamese or tonkinese?

[wild bird]

18. She's a Seal Point Siamese.

She's my wife's favorite.

[dionysus]

19. i have a Coon.. kittehs are the best.

[MerryBlooms]

17. Gorgeous cats! Wow, just beautiful, I love Siamese (we have a LH Lilac Point).

We have two indoor cats who kill every creepy-crawly that comes into our home. They love leaving them down at the door of the den. I don't dare go down stairs without turning on the lights and checking to see if there's a buggy graveyard waiting for me!

[wild bird]

20. The black one, Piper, likes to deliver us her kills.

She doesn't tear them up, she just kills them and them presents them to us for disposal.

[BarbaRosa]

21. Except when the cat brings the mouse indoors to play with,

I've seen that.

[wild bird]

22. Luckily we don't have that problem.

Our cats are strictly indoor cats, too many coyotes around here for them to survive outdoors, also, I give the wild birds a break.

[unblock]

5. i've always heard that when you're in your 80s, even a sneeze is life-threatening

now I know why!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

6. Sneezing causes far more auto accidents, most are not fatal but some are.

Drivers who sneeze behind the wheel cause 2,500 accidents a WEEK - now experts say they should stay off the roads
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2278669/Drivers-sneeze-wheel-cause-2-500-accidents-WEEK--experts-say-stay-roads.html

Sneeze causes two-car crash in Farmington
http://bangordailynews.com/2013/05/21/news/lewiston-auburn/sneeze-causes-two-car-crash-in-farmington/

Sneezing fit leads to fatal Missouri car accident
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/sneezing-fit-leads-fatal-missouri-car-accident-article-1.1204032

[safeinOhio]

7. Raccoons are one of the smartest wild animals in North America,

except for when it crosses roads at night.

[ileus]

13. Safety first shooting legs later.

Good thing it wasn't a 218bee