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Video: WVU mascot uses famous musket to kill actual bear

A recent video shows WVU's mascot killing a bear with the school's famous musket.

Jared Wickerham

You know that musket that WVU's mascot carries around during games? Well, it's a real gun, and Jonathan Kimble, 24, who plays the mascot, recently used it to kill a bear. He's wearing a WVU hoodie, and after he shoots the bear (which is seen tumbling out of a tree and to the ground), he shouts, "Let's go Mountaineers." Here's the video. (Yes, there's video.) If you're squeamish about hunting, be warned.

West Virginia sent a statement about the incident:

"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."

Well, that's good, I guess. But it's amazing to me that a gun that's used as a prop in a stadium filled with tens of thousands of people is also used for hunting. It's always a little jarring when someone does something so stereotypical.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.