Moose loses to armed homeowner

[MissileCop]

This came out of the Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader today. I'd go to the site, but they were infected by a virus twice this week, and I don't feel like taking the chance. Good thing I can type relatively fast


Moose killed after attacking house, man

Limerick, Maine (AP)- A 550 pound bull moose that charged at David Morin was no match for his assault rifle.
Morin, who awoke to a crashing sound outside his home Wednesday night, said he acted in self-defense by shooting the moose when he went outside and the animal charged at him.
Morin said the moose was crashing its antlers against his home and refused to be frightened away.
He first grabbed a .357 handgun, and looked out the door. He tried to scare the animal away three times. He was concerned that the moose might smash the windows and charge through the house.
The fourth time he went outside, the moose started toward him. By then Morin had traded his handgun for an AK-47 assault rifle.
He shot the animal and killed it.
"I thought when I went out he'd go away, because I didn't really want to shoot him," he said.

Anyone up for a Bullwinkle Burger?

[MAURICE]

mooseburger?
sounds good

[Cosmoline]

I do not buy this story. I've been charged by moose many times, most of them a whole lot bigger than a 550 lb youngster! Up here they rush at people all the time, but deadly attacks are *extremely* rare. Even physical contact is very, very rare. I only know of one deadly attack, and that was under unique circumstances.

This time of year, the bulls will sometimes charge to get you out of the way If you get out of the way, they trot off with their head held high and that's the end of it. A moose charge would virtually never justify defense of life shooting. This business of attacking a house is very hard to believe. He might have been rubbing his antlers on the wood, but that doesn't mean he's trying to break in!

Up here we call this sort of thing POACHING.

[Quartus]

Up here we call this sort of thing POACHING.

Or it could have been a newcomer to the area, a city boy, who doesn't know moose behaviour so overreacted.

Or it could have been that the moose was injured and in pain, so acting abnormally.

Poachers don't usually like to get in the paper by killing game in their own front yard.

[Cougar]

By then Morin had traded his handgun for an AK-47 assault rifle.

What? This schmuck had an honest-to-goodness full-auto AK-47 assault rifle? You think he needed an assault rifle to combat the assault moose? I think not. Sounds to me like the homeowner used the rifle he had on hand to shoot a marginal caliber round to take out a relatively large beast. If the homeowner had used a lever action .30-30 would the writer still have said assault rifle?

We've got to purge this misrepresentation of non-PC looking guns out there. Funny how a lot of people think that the assault weapon ban banned full-auto weapons. I mean, that's what all the BGs in the movies have.

[/rant]

[Spectre]

Cosmoline,

Anything that is three times my size, self-mobile, attacks my house, and moves agressively toward me, I consider worth shooting. (And, if it's worth shooting, it's worth shooting twice...or more.)

[4V50 Gary]

Well, if the bark of a .357 doesn't ward it off, then the bite of the rifle seems reasonable to me. It's darwinism in its traditional sense with the weaker specimens getting themselves killed off.

[marycakexs]

I just want to clarify and defend the man at the center of this — David Morin — who happens to be my grandfather. He is not some “city boy,” a “poacher,” or a trigger-happy amateur who panicked at the sight of a moose. My grandfather is a retired Massachusetts State Trooper with decades of law enforcement and firearm safety training under his belt. He’s also lived in New England’s wooded environments long enough to understand and respect wildlife. This was not a man acting out of ignorance — it was a man who had a legitimate safety concern and made an informed decision.

To suggest that he “overreacted” or “wanted to shoot something” is both insulting and wildly speculative. This wasn’t just a moose passing through his yard — it was repeatedly crashing into his house. He made multiple attempts to scare it off, using non-lethal means. Only after those failed and the moose charged directly at him did he use a firearm to defend himself and his home. He didn’t go looking for trouble — trouble came to his doorstep.

And for those assuming this was about the thrill of killing an animal — my grandfather is not a hunter. He didn’t want to shoot the moose at all. He’s never been interested in trophies or mounting animals on his wall. In fact, after the shooting, he made sure the meat was donated to feed those in need. That says everything about his intentions. He didn’t want glory — he wanted safety, and when that was handled, he still thought about how to help others.

As for the AK-47 comments: let’s be clear. There’s a big difference between a civilian-legal semi-automatic rifle and a fully automatic military weapon. Most of you here already know that. My grandfather simply used what was available to him — not because it was flashy or excessive, but because he had reason to believe that his handgun wasn’t sufficient if the moose escalated the situation further.

And for those calling this “poaching”? That term doesn’t even remotely apply. This wasn’t a hunting trip. This wasn’t for sport. This was a defensive situation at his own home, and it’s disheartening to see people leap to conclusions when they weren’t there to witness what happened.

Before labeling people with terms like “poacher” or “incompetent,” maybe consider that sometimes wild animals behave unpredictably, and protecting yourself and your family is not just a right — it’s a responsibility. My grandfather did what he had to do in the moment, and I stand by his decision.

[4V50 Gary]

Welcome and thank you MaryCakes for adding insights into this incident.

As they say around Frostbite Falls, Moose Must Die!

[2wheelwander]

Cosmoline,

Anything that is three times my size, self-mobile, attacks my house, and moves agressively toward me, I consider worth shooting. (And, if it's worth shooting, it's worth shooting twice...or more.)

THIS. I'm sure he decided to shoot the moose, then vandalize his own home to just to enjoy the experience of shooting a moose. Yeah, thats what happened.

[stagpanther]

Zombie thread come back to life? I live in Maine--seen plenty of moose (they're huge and if they come at you you're potentially in big trouble unless you successfully retreat--or put them down). I knew a Keith Morin that lived in NH and Morin is a pretty common name in Maine and NH. And yeah--Mooseburgers and steaks are good, but tricky to cook without turning em to leather (don't ask me how I know).

[Sharkbite]

If the Moose was simply doing damage to the front porch..thats a home owners insurance issue. If that Moose was a danger to somebody…it gets shot. I would treat it just like a human doing property damage vs trying to get into my house to hurt me.

Thank your Grandfather for his years of service and im glad he HAD a rifle to grab and not just his handgun.

[stagpanther]

I would treat it just like a human doing property damage

I would treat it like a 1,000 lb human swinging 4ft long 100 lb nunchucks.

[Sharkbite]

I would treat it like a 1,000 lb human swinging 4ft long 100 lb nunchucks.

Fair enough!!!!

[mehavey]

Google < Moose killed after attacking house, man >
And read the page full of entries on dead men.

Don't fool yourselves.
Moose can be/are lethally dangerous.

[4V50 Gary]

Yes it's a zombie thread but I'll let a daughter defend her father's action.

Moose are nothing to be trifled with. Boris was right too.

https://youtu.be/79TVMn_d_Pk?si=vi7mZ0vbO7exYB3Z

[stagpanther]

Moose can be/are lethally dangerous.

The biggest danger moose present IMO is that you don't see them before hitting them with a vehicle at night. Despite their enormous size they are easy to miss seeing--their color I would describe as the color of midnight.

[mehavey]

....the color of midnight....

True.... true.

[eastbank]

who cares what the nay sayers say, he,s here and the moose is not. moose kill people.

[FITASC]

Zombie thread come back to life? I live in Maine--seen plenty of moose (they're huge and if they come at you you're potentially in big trouble unless you successfully retreat--or put them down). I knew a Keith Morin that lived in NH and Morin is a pretty common name in Maine and NH. And yeah--Mooseburgers and steaks are good, but tricky to cook without turning em to leather (don't ask me how I know).

Called adding pork shoulder to the grind; just like venison

[stagpanther]

Called adding pork shoulder to the grind; just like venison

That's what I do--use bacon.

[Double Naught Spy]

who cares what the nay sayers say, he,s here and the moose is not. moose kill people.

Actually, you justified that people kill moose.

Most people killed or injured by moose are when they drive their vehicles into them, sort of like with deer.

And, he may not be here any longer. A retired Maine State Police officer named David Morin died on April 11, 2025.

[4V50 Gary]

May he RIP.

Herman Goering was Germany's Master of the Hunt and here's how the Luftwafffe hunted moose in Finland.

"To provide ourselves with fresh meat we turned to a rather unusal method. Moose were quite plentiful in the far north. we coculd see their tracks in the snow when we flew over the Tundra. The Finns hunted these animals on skis, sometimes chasing them ffor days until the moose had literally run themselvves to death. That was out of the question for us.

We used our Fieseler Storcch to hunt moose. With this machine we could land anywhere, in oopen terrain or on frozen lakes. In winter, skis replaced the wheeled undercarriage. We flew over the tundra in the Storch, followed the tracks in the snow and then shot the moose from above with submachine-guns. It wasn't very sportsmanlike of course, but effective. Afterward we landed right beside the animals. We had an Oberleutnant who was a professional hunter. He always took part in these 'hunting sorties' and butchered the animal o the spot. A moose provided a lot of meat, which tasted wonderful. Each animal provided enough for the entire unit to enjoy roast moose or a good soup for almost a week."