Bobby Nations, Come on Down! You're the next Contestant

© 2009 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
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Killing a Florida Panther is Wrong!

(Unless it happens to be gnawing on your leg...)

Recently I commented on the killing of a Florida Panther. Bobby Nations (Cool Name tooo!) has called me on the carpet for my commentary. Which by the way is cool by me; it allows all of us to sharpen our wits and pencils!

"I have to respectfully disagree with your rant here if for no other reason than you can't know what you are talking about because you don't have all the facts about the incident, which you admitted more than once in the post itself. The article to which you link gives almost no facts about the shooting except that the hunter was in a tree stand. Interestingly enough, it never mentions his name or whether he was being charged or not charged. What other sources of information did you use? Could you amend this post to include those links as well so that we could get all get on to the same page here?

Now, it seems to me that the authorities in GA made the call not to charge Mr. Adams based upon a greater knowledge of the hunter's situation and mindset at the time he pulled the trigger. I dislike backseat drivers and second-guessers generally, but especially those who would do so of peace officers. IMO, it's incumbent upon us to give them some respect here by extending the benefit of the doubt instead of presuming that they are falling down on the job as you seem to do (or worse, complicit in a crime).

Finally, referring to Mr. Adams as a "sportsman" complete with scare quotes is asinine. You don't know the man and apart from this one incident you have no data to base your conclusion upon. And what difference does the kind of gun he used to shoot the cougar make in whether he did the right thing or the wrong thing? You got something against blackpowder?" Bobby Nations

Bobby Nations,

I freely admit that I wasn't there, but I did add that it was my OPINION, and quite frankly I still stand by it.

I've spent more than enough time in the great outdoors to know what's going on. The way society has changed over the years, leaves me little faith in people's honesty and integrity.

I love BP by the way. Anything to make outdoor pursuits more challenging is welcomed by me.

Now if I felt threatened, I would probably wait for muzzle contact before firing. Especially with BP. What I could see from the photos was a shot that penetrated from on high and apparently dead center. Looks like deliberate shooting to me. If you have the time to line up like that, then you have time for other tactics.

Now I don't deny the possibility that luck might have had something to do with the shot, but maybe I've got a lot more nerve than Mr Adams.

Just google it up and you can get everything just like I did. And last but not least, HE made his decision, and HE made it public record. I just tell the news and give my opinion... just like you are doing.

And while I am at it, it is a FLORIDA PANTHER: Endangered, hello! I don't make the rules Bobby N, I just want them enforced fairly and impartially. I am sick and tired of ignorance and buffoonery being excused.

Cheese and Crackers! What do we have to do to get that through the thick skulls of the population at large? We pander to every single little problem anyone has, we allow parents to think that they are raising princes and princesses, we excuse, ignore, and accept bad behavior because we're lazy, scared, or benumbed to it. I for one am quite tired of it. I'll call a spade a spade and that's that. Adams shot a Florida Panther. Florida Panthers are endangered. It is against Federal law to shoot endangered animals. There is not one shred of credible evidence that the endangered Florida Panther was in fact threatening Adams. His word just isn't good enough for me to accept it without corroborating evidence. This is my OPINION, and I'm stickin' to it!

Always good to be challenged on things. It keeps you honest and thinking.