View Full Version : Glock 34 / Federal 9mm HST 147 gr / rabid ? raccoon
Devildawg2531
10-17-15, 15:40
Not sure if this is the appropriate location as I considered hunting and general but I wasn't hunting - please move if not appropriate. Interesting thing a few days ago - had a sick (maybe rabid?) raccoon in my grandmothers yard and she called me to dispatch as it was acting very erratic / drunk almost? It was moving but had flies around it AND MY 87 YEAR GRANDMOTHER had hit it in the head with a shovel trying to kill it - toughest / sweetest lady ever. I grabbed my G34 which I keep in the house with a 33 round Glock mag. Couple of notes I've never shot a raccoon before and never shot a possibly rabid anything before.
Here was the interesting things that I didn't expect.
1. From about 10 yards I shot it twice in the chest and it dropped; was still breathing and legs moving.
2. I moved closer and observed for maybe a minute and not wanting it to suffer I shot it twice more in the head and it was done.
3. Of the 4 shots I had 2 FTE from the 33rd Glock mags. The G34 is my IDPA gun and has never had any issue before with regular mags - I switched my G34 to normal mags after this.
I would have expected a faster result from the HST?
Are the 33 round Glock mags considered as reliable as the 17 rounders or just for fun?
As far as the Raccoon, just, because it was still squirming, doesn't mean it was still alive, or that it was going far if it was, just that there were still nerves firing. Have had birds in the past, that I hit solid, and shoved in the pocket of my hunting vest, that would continue to kick for a good bit of time, even though I rung their necks to make sure that they were dead. Living things can do strange things when you kill them.
As far as the FTE. Were they failures to eject or failures to extract? Not sure if I would say that it was a mag issue, unless it was something involving the feeding. But then again I never rule anything out. With that said, was it a factory Glock mag or aftermarket? Have had few issues with factory mags, aftermarket not so much.
Devildawg2531
10-17-15, 16:02
As far as the Raccoon, just, because it was still squirming, doesn't mean it was still alive, or that it was going far if it was, just that there were still nerves firing. Have had birds in the past, that I hit solid, and shoved in the pocket of my hunting vest, that would continue to kick for a good bit of time, even though I rung their necks to make sure that they were dead. Living things can do strange things when you kill them.
As far as the FTE. Were they failures to eject or failures to extract? Not sure if I would say that it was a mag issue, unless it was something involving the feeding. But then again I never rule anything out. With that said, was it a factory Glock mag or aftermarket? Have had few issues with factory mags, aftermarket not so much.
Yes it was a Glock factory 33 round mags. I would categorize both as failure to eject - the fired brass was caught on the ejection port / top slide. I racked and continued - just disconcerting as this is my HD gun. I only have maybe 100 rounds through the 33 round mag but the G34 has never had any issue with regular 17 round mags so I switched to 17 a regular mag.
Sometimes neither animals nor people go down like we think they would. Don't overthink it or worry. The mag issue would bother me until I resolved it.
sevenhelmet
10-17-15, 22:21
Out of curiousity... Why did you shoot it from 10 yards? If you can get closer, get closer.
Devildawg2531
10-17-15, 22:30
Out of curiousity... Why did you shoot it from 10 yards? If you can get closer, get closer.
Possibly getting bit by a potentially rabid animal that was wobbling around wasn't on my things to do list so I shot it from about 10 yards. What distance would you have preferred?
Shooting it in the head means the state can't test it for rabies.
Rabies can be transmitted by fluid contact so keeping your distance was smart.
Racoons are tough as shit. If it went down after 2 shots, I'd be perfectly ok with that. It's about getting it down, not making it completely still. For comparison, I heads hot a coot with 22 yellowjackets, the thing went down and looked like it was running, but was on its side, so I put 9 more rounds at his head (moving). And it stopped at the last shot. There were multiple holes in the head, 2 or 3 right in the brain. It was dead after the first shot and was just nerves.
For the gun, have you shot that same combo before? I always test exactly what I'm depending on before trusting it. Same ammo in same mag in same gun?
A 33 round mag for a raccoon ?
One or two shots from a .22 is all you need.
Good thing you found out your combo is messed up on something that could not shoot back.
Most critters don't stop moving the instant you shoot them.
New or not I'd order a Wolff replacement spring http://www.midwayusa.com/product/513044/wolff-magazine-spring-glock-9mm-luger-33-round-magazine-5-pct-extra-power
Actually I'd sell that mag, test a new one with hst, and drive on..
At work I've had to dispatch a lot of small animals. Skunks, raccoons and possums have always taken more than one shot and when they're in the road, trying to be slick and running them over has never worked on the first try either. The thing about those animals that you have to remember is that their vital organs are extremely small and therefore hard to hit, especially with a handgun, even at 10 yards. The other thing about them is that, unlike humans, they have no conditioning to fall or give up when they've been shot, their only instinct is to try to survive so "one shot stops" are very unlikely. As for your malfunctions, I have no idea.
Raccoons are a mofo to kill.
My 33 rounders don't work in my G34 either.
This may be the first documented failure of the 9mm that will reverse the recent return to the 9 craze.
You read it here first. :p
This comes as no surprise. You shot a varmint with a defensive cartridge designed to stop a human. I shot a raccoon with .45 caliber 230g HST with the same results.
Auto-X Fil
10-27-15, 11:45
Shooting it in the head means the state can't test it for rabies.
Rabies can be transmitted by fluid contact so keeping your distance was smart.
Rabies is effing scary. Keep away and use gloves and extreme care to dispose of the corpse. I had one tested this year - came back positive. I was nervous for a long time.
I've shot woodchucks with 240gr Speed GD from a .44 Mag that didn't drop on the spot. Same round plopped a big whitetail buck right over at 100yd, and dropped a coyote at 60yd like David Ortiz clubbed him over the head with a bat. A good part of that is that the GD is a tough bullet that doesn't start expanding for several inches, but there's also a whole lot of random chance involved in stopping a living animal from moving.
I've shot a deer with a 3200fps 165gr Ballistic Tip that turned the lungs, heart, and half the ribcage into soup, only to have it run 100 yards before dropping. There's enough ATP in the muscles to do that, and if the brain is still connected, it's possible. In fact, I've shot probably 10-20 deer with perfect engine room shots that ran 20 yards or more, which is usually enough to completely disappear in our woods. I've hit just as many that dropped on the spot with similar shots, and a whole bunch more that for whatever reason I didn't want to move, so I wasted at least one front shoulder anchoring them on the spot. They can't run without bones, ligaments, and nerves all working on at least 3 legs.
Moral: Guns kill effectively. They don't usually stop immediately. In a defensive situation with an attacker who is crazy enough to keep coming despite being hit, you're waiting on blood loss (a darned long time), shock (hopefully sooner, but drugs can delay it), or a CNS hit (keep punching center-mass, the spine is back there somewhere).
Oh, and if you want to talk about hard to kill... opossums. I'm like 10% convinced I should inject myself with 'possum blood on the off-chance I get some of whatever makes those buggers so tough.
sevenhelmet
10-27-15, 11:54
Possibly getting bit by a potentially rabid animal that was wobbling around wasn't on my things to do list so I shot it from about 10 yards. What distance would you have preferred?
Rabies concern is valid. I just read that you finished it off with a shovel and thought, why not 3-5 yards. But I wasn't there and can't say I would have done any differently.
ramairthree
10-28-15, 01:05
Did you limp wrist it?
If you have used it at the range a lot, and been fine,
Possibly the circumstances altered your usual technique.
I shot a lot of them growing up, if light let you see eyes after treed, with a 22 WRF 1890.
If they were up an evergreen just and you could not see from the ground to shoot, with a 22lr pistol after climbing up.
Head shots though.
Usually dead right there,
Sometimes a little kicking or fight left in them for a minute or so.
You would be amazed sometimes how far a deer or even little animal can go or for how long after a lethal shot.
I have seen a guy sprinting towards me do a 180 and and jump a stone wall, go 10 yards past that, where he opened a door and got partway through a house then sit down And last a few minutes looking like a couple of 5.56 rounds blew his spleen through his aorta and out his liver and kidney.
Sometimes neither animals nor people go down like we think they would. Don't overthink it or worry. The mag issue would bother me until I resolved it.
This. Raccoons are a lot tougher than you'd think a fluffy trash bandit would be. Seen them take multiple rifle shots before giving up.
Good lesson in not setting expectations before you pull the trigger, and a blessing in disguise for revealing an issue that needs troubleshooting with your steel.
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