[DaMadman]

The people Republik of Maryland doesn't really allow it, but I voted about usinf my weapon in defense against an animal attack.

I was working in my yard one afternoon after returning from hunting. I had my truck hooked to a stump trying to pull it out of the ground, and for whatever reason I was out of the truck when at around 1:30 in the afternoon a Racoon came acros the subdivision road into the yard and whe I stomped my for and yelled, it stood on hind honches and growled at me. I immediately grabbed my weapon from the truck and fired into the ground in front of the coon trying to deter it from advancing I grazed it and it rolled over and kept coming. well then my dachsund came around the corner and it and the racoon were about to have a go at it so I shot and killed the racoon. I am the type that would feed and befriend a racoon in my yard if it were coming around at night or early morning and acted like it was supposed to. I feared that this on was rabid, being out in the day and not being scared of me or the dog I wasn't taking the chance.

I've fortunetly never had to pull a gun on a person. Although I did have my shotgun with me while hunting when I cconfronted some trespassers and I think with the drunken state they were in and being 3 of them and only one of me things MIGHT have escalated if I had not been carrying my shotgun.
They were riding ATV's on our hunting lease and when I told then to leave they started to give me some grief about they had permission when I knew they didn't so I told them that if they wanted to wait for a Police officer to arrive and find out if they had permission the mumble some explicitives and left. No further problem.