WVU Mountaineer Mascot No Longer Allowed To Hunt With Musket

[Aglifter]

Reveille used to have a guard of cadets w sabers....

[Flintlock Tom]

Meanwhile in San Diego...

The Aztecs (SDSU) mascot carries, and throws a big, honkin' spear. He could easily slaughter half the people in the field seats.

At the School Board meeting for San Diego Unified School District, the agenda included a vote to end firearms training in JROTC programs. The color guard that presented the flag at the beginning of the meeting carried M1 Garands.

[MiddleAgedKen]

When I was a yoot, one of the teams my high school used to play was the (Warren, OH) Western Reserve Raiders. Their mascot had a feathered lance he used to throw -- if it stuck upright in the turf, the Raiders figured they would win. (They didn't always, but they were pretty good, back in the '70s.)

[mekender]

No, it's not a "musket," it's a Kentucky Long Rifle. However, I think due to tradition and general ignorance, because it's a muzzle-loader, they refer to it as a "musket."

As for other mascots with deadly weapons, in the print version in USA Today, there was a list on the sidebar. FSU was mentioned.

Right because a blunt tipped spear is so deadly compared to what he could do with the horse he rides...

[Windy Wilson]

What is a rifled misket, then?
Our hs mascot carried a large toy sword and shield.

[Flintlock Tom]

What is a rifled misket, then?
Our hs mascot carried a large toy sword and shield.

Muskets which have been upgraded by adding rifling, or a rifled barrel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifled_musket

[John_in_Longview]

after a YouTube video was posted of him taking down a black bear. The tradition of the Mascot hunting with the muzzle-loader goes back DECADES. According to the article, there hadn't even been any complaints, it was just some PC, douchebag (some redundancy) college administrator being "proactive."

West Virginia did issue a statement on the matter:
While Jonathan Kimble's actions broke no laws or regulations, the University has discussed this with him and he agrees that it would be appropriate to forego using the musket in this way in the future. There are some provisions regarding the gun, but none that prohibit its use outside of University-sponsored functions or for hunting purposes. It is also worth noting that powder is used when the musket is discharged at public functions.

This just really ticks me off...

GRRR!

At least the vast majority of the comments support him...

Sometimes you get the bear West Virginia and sometimes the BEARS get you! Sic'EM!

[308Mike]

If I lived nearby, that would just make me want to use a muzzle-loader even more to take bear - just to piss them off!