gary reeder
it wasn't a cat, unfortunately. It was a groundhog
Saturday, November 13, 2021, 22:09

I had been trying to get him for weeks. He had a big den just across the road from my house....in he church's parking lot. We were renting the house they normally give to the minister, which they didn't have at that time. I had just built a custom XP-100 in 224 Weatherby and was anxious to try it out. One Saturday morning I noticed him out my front window. He was munching on clover in the church parking lot. The front door was open so I eased the front screen door open just a little, enough to I could see him clearly. There were no cars in the parking lot so I knew there was nobody there, plus the groundhog was off to one side, at least 15 feet off to one side of the church. I rolled up an old pair of jeans and laid down on my stomach pointing the gun thru the open screen door and when the groundhog raised his head I pulled the trigger. In all the excitement I forgot my wife was asleep in the bedroom. With the muzzle of the gun completely inside the house, it was a bit loud. My wife used some words I hadn't heard from her before. It was a pretty thorough description of my relatives and my lineage. But I did get the groundhog and shortly thereafter the church folks asked us to leave and my wife eventually started talking to be again. But I did get the groundhog.