Wife claims Army vet husband freed a bald eagle with his big gun

RUSH CITY, Minn. - A U.S. Army veteran turned to his sharp-shooting skills to free a bald eagle trapped in a Minnesota tree.

On the Facebook page of the veteran's wife, Jackie Gervais Galvin wrote that the eagle had become entangled in a rope and had been hanging upside down from a tree near Jason and Jackie Galvin's Rush City cabin for several days.

Jason Galvin finally decided to try to shoot the rope on Thursday. He used a .22-caliber rifle with a scope to fire 150 shots before he finally severed the rope. The rope was only 4 inches long and the rescue effort took 90 minutes.

The eagle was never hit by a bullet. The couple wrapped it in a blanket and was taken to the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center.

"We named the eagle Freedom and hope to be able to release him near his home once he is back to health!" wrote Jackie Galvin. "What an amazing hero, my Army Veteran saving an eagle on 4th of July Weekend!"