Hunter shoots 2 people Accidentally, Kills one

[mettle]

​

Had the hunter been where he was supposed to be, abiding within the rules... wow.....

 

[jblomenberg16]

A horrible accident indeed. It sounds like the person that took the shot made several mistakes that day.

I don't in anyway mean to defend his actions, but offer an explaination;

How many legs does a deer have? Answer is of course 4.
How many legs do two people walking in the woods have. 4


The hunter hears something rustling through the woods. If it was low light, and his view was partially obstructed, AND they were wearing some clothing that was grey/brownish in color, AND they were walking in a way to make two sets of legs look "deer like" it may have appeared to him this was a deer. Because he was deer hunting, he likely wasn't thinking "peope" he was thinking "Deer."


Of course, taking that shot is risky since he didn't identify the target completely as a deer, and a good hunter shouldn't take that shot. Unfortunately, not everyone in the woods is a good hunter, has as much discipline in target ID as they should, etc. These kinds of accidents happen all too often. In fact, I'd wager that it is part of the reason hunters in some states are required to wear blaze orange.

I think any of us that have been deer hunting and seen a deer in the woods know that it is pretty easy to identify it as a deer during most if not all hunting conditions. Perhaps this guy was a first time hunter, and made an aweful mistake.



Or, perhaps deer wasn't the game he was hunting, and he intended to do this. That is a much more sinister explaination, and certainly not outside of the realm of the possible.

 

[Bucky623]

I hate to see people loose their lives for such a stupid reason. This guy is an incompetent fool.

...Officials say he was hunting on county owned property where hunting is not allowed...

The 'officials' and the media need to call the individual with the gun what he is. A poacher. He wasn't hunting, he was poaching and now he is a killer. He has left at least two and probably three families devastated.


Bucky

 

[Dryden]

A horrible accident indeed. It sounds like the person that took the shot made several mistakes that day.

I don't in anyway mean to defend his actions, but offer an explaination;

How many legs does a deer have? Answer is of course 4.
How many legs do two people walking in the woods have. 4


The hunter hears something rustling through the woods. If it was low light, and his view was partially obstructed, AND they were wearing some clothing that was grey/brownish in color, AND they were walking in a way to make two sets of legs look "deer like" it may have appeared to him this was a deer. Because he was deer hunting, he likely wasn't thinking "peope" he was thinking "Deer."


Of course, taking that shot is risky since he didn't identify the target completely as a deer, and a good hunter shouldn't take that shot. Unfortunately, not everyone in the woods is a good hunter, has as much discipline in target ID as they should, etc. These kinds of accidents happen all too often. In fact, I'd wager that it is part of the reason hunters in some states are required to wear blaze orange.

I think any of us that have been deer hunting and seen a deer in the woods know that it is pretty easy to identify it as a deer during most if not all hunting conditions. Perhaps this guy was a first time hunter, and made an aweful mistake.



Or, perhaps deer wasn't the game he was hunting, and he intended to do this. That is a much more sinister explaination, and certainly not outside of the realm of the possible.

That is flat out scary. Shooting at an unidentified target based upon the SOUND of four legs.!!! These incidents put hunters in a very bad light. Defending them makes EVERYONE look stupid.

 

[kedie]

RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

Know what it is, what is in line with it, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything you have not positively identified. Be aware of your surroundings, whether on the range or in a fight. Do not assume anything. Know what you are doing.​

 

[Jack Ryan]

If it was found an accident then yes they are to be of blame some what if proper clothing was not apparent according to law. Then again you have to be a fool to walk in the woods etc... During any hunting season without it.

No, you are wrong.

Life does not stop because it is hunting season. The fool is the one with his finger on the trigger who kills a person and thinks it is a deer. I believe that is a total lie each and every time it is repeated by a fool who killed someone. They didn't think it was a deer, they didn't know if it was a deer, they didn't care what it was, they just wanted to shoot their gun and they thought they had an excuse.

It cost some one their life.

Hence though when it comes down to the brass tacks...The shooter is the one whom is solely responsible for the for the commited act.

It's not brass tacks or any other goofy saying intended to dismiss the simple and plain fact it is the person with the gun in their hand and their finger on the trigger's responsibility to know where that bullet is going, each and every time they pull the trigger regardless if it's the first shot of the year or they are getting their "quick follow up 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th or more shot at a running deer with their semi auto Ruger 44 mag or their really cool 458 socom they impressed all the other deer hunters with when they pulled it out of the truck that morning.

Who ever pulls the trigger, he is responsible for where each and ever single one of those bullets goes regardless of what hat any one else in the woods is wearing or what kind of noise they are making. Pull the trigger, no excuses.

 

[Big 30]

Edit: error on my part

 

[concrete dog]

this kind of stuff happens in mongo when the bird hunters are hunting when it is shot gun season.some have no common sense when it comes to what is in the line of fire

 

[jblomenberg16]

That is flat out scary. Shooting at an unidentified target based upon the SOUND of four legs.!!! These incidents put hunters in a very bad light. Defending them makes EVERYONE look stupid.

Please re-read my post. I'm not in any way defending him. I'm just offering up an explaination of what I think might have happened.

Anyone hunting has the responsibility of knowing and positively identifying their target before shooting.

 

[Integraholic]

lol

Dude, 1/3 of your total post count has not impressed me one bit.

 

[bwframe]

No, you are wrong.

Life does not stop because it is hunting season. The fool is the one with his finger on the trigger who kills a person and thinks it is a deer. I believe that is a total lie each and every time it is repeated by a fool who killed someone. They didn't think it was a deer, they didn't know if it was a deer, they didn't care what it was, they just wanted to shoot their gun and they thought they had an excuse.

It cost some one their life.


It's not brass tacks or any other goofy saying intended to dismiss the simple and plain fact it is the person with the gun in their hand and their finger on the trigger's responsibility to know where that bullet is going, each and every time they pull the trigger regardless if it's the first shot of the year or they are getting their "quick follow up 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th or more shot at a running deer with their semi auto Ruger 44 mag or their really cool 458 socom they impressed all the other deer hunters with when they pulled it out of the truck that morning.

Who ever pulls the trigger, he is responsible for where each and ever single one of those bullets goes regardless of what hat any one else in the woods is wearing or what kind of noise they are making. Pull the trigger, no excuses.

Correct!

lol

Scary, very scary!

 

[ATF Consumer]

Dude, 1/3 of your total post count has not impressed me one bit.

 

[ATF Consumer]

lol

 

[Frankingun]

this kind of stuff happens in mongo when the bird hunters are hunting when it is shot gun season.some have no common sense when it comes to what is in the line of fire

What is Mongo?

And as for the subject of the OP, lock him up and throw away the key. A bright young woman's life is over thanks to sheer foolishness. Yahoos like him make all of us look bad. And the report calling him a hunter instead of a poacher is to me a deliberate attempt at a smear on honest hunters. Any moron that you hear talking about making a shot like that deserves an immediate verbal smackdown.

 

[BloodEclipse]

Surely I misread this, Big, you're not blaming the victims, are you?



I think we can understand when in context of how many conversations have we heard at the gun shop of "hunters" shooting at noises or shadows. "I thought it was a deer, so I done shot", "I couldn't see, but I shot just in case" Simply terrifying.

The phrase "if it's brown it's down" sends fear down my spine. Umm, what if someone is wearing a brown coat?

We must police ourselves and make it clear that being trigger happy is unacceptable. Slob hunting must be eradicated.

Completely agree.
First off people who take shots like this are bad hunters and need to be removed from hunting.
How many of you have passed on a great deer because you didn't have the "SHOT". I mean you could have shot it, but it wasn't the "SHOT".
People who shoot at anything have no hunting ethics.
The guy should be charged with murder. He was hunting illegally. No punishment will hurt him as much as all the hurt he has caused others.

 

[Big 30]

No, you are wrong.

Life does not stop because it is hunting season. The fool is the one with his finger on the trigger who kills a person and thinks it is a deer. I believe that is a total lie each and every time it is repeated by a fool who killed someone. They didn't think it was a deer, they didn't know if it was a deer, they didn't care what it was, they just wanted to shoot their gun and they thought they had an excuse.

It cost some one their life.


It's not brass tacks or any other goofy saying intended to dismiss the simple and plain fact it is the person with the gun in their hand and their finger on the trigger's responsibility to know where that bullet is going, each and every time they pull the trigger regardless if it's the first shot of the year or they are getting their "quick follow up 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th or more shot at a running deer with their semi auto Ruger 44 mag or their really cool 458 socom they impressed all the other deer hunters with when they pulled it out of the truck that morning.

Who ever pulls the trigger, he is responsible for where each and ever single one of those bullets goes regardless of what hat any one else in the woods is wearing or what kind of noise they are making. Pull the trigger, no excuses.

My Bad...No Need for name calling(troll)
I reread the article and see the beef here on my replies.
He was not to be hunting on that property at all and the kids were well in there rights.
The rest I have mention about, safety, ID'ing your game and who is to blame(shooter) I still stand firm on.

Never the less it is a tragedy!!!

 

[jforrest]

I'm not trying to place any blame on the victims, but I think this should be a reminder to all of us hunters. Not only for our firearm safety, but also as we walk to our preferred hunting spot in the morning and whenever we leave. I personally assume everyone in the woods is an idiot and do my best to NOT appear to look like a deer. In low light situations I use a flashlight, when there is light the more orange the better, you can always take off the extra blaze orange in the stand.

 

[copper]

Very Sad for the family and friends... I too have hunted on private land where we always had to be careful of farmers in there Carharts. It seems as though every year we hear of an accidental shooting and it is always unbelievable to me that this can happen. I could never pull the trigger on something that i didn't totally recognize as something that should be shot.

 

[finity]

No, you are wrong.

Life does not stop because it is hunting season. The fool is the one with his finger on the trigger who kills a person and thinks it is a deer. I believe that is a total lie each and every time it is repeated by a fool who killed someone. They didn't think it was a deer, they didn't know if it was a deer, they didn't care what it was, they just wanted to shoot their gun and they thought they had an excuse.

It cost some one their life.


It's not brass tacks or any other goofy saying intended to dismiss the simple and plain fact it is the person with the gun in their hand and their finger on the trigger's responsibility to know where that bullet is going, each and every time they pull the trigger regardless if it's the first shot of the year or they are getting their "quick follow up 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th or more shot at a running deer with their semi auto Ruger 44 mag or their really cool 458 socom they impressed all the other deer hunters with when they pulled it out of the truck that morning.

Who ever pulls the trigger, he is responsible for where each and ever single one of those bullets goes regardless of what hat any one else in the woods is wearing or what kind of noise they are making. Pull the trigger, no excuses.

A huge +1. Good post. I'd give reps but I'm not allowed right now.

I've only been hunting for a few years but I have NEVER been able to figure out how a person "looks like" a deer. You don't shoot at legs, or noise, or color, or movement. If you can't see a deer head/face with two ears, a brown body & a white tail IT'S NOT A DEER.

I never walk to or from the stand without a light, but even that wouldn't have saved me in this situation.

Murder plain & simple.

Please re-read my post. I'm not in any way defending him. I'm just offering up an explaination of what I think might have happened.

The problem with doing that is that you are minimizing the seriousness of his responsibility.

"See, somebody else thought the same thing was a reasonable explanation. It's not murder but just a tragic accident. Can I go home now?"

What is Mongo?

It's a little bitty town in north-central IN. It's also the local name for the Pigeon River FWA that the town of Mongo sits right in the center of.

 

[finity]

He was not to be hunting on that property at all and the kids were well in there rights.

Even if he WAS allowed to hunt on that property the kids would have still been "well withing their rights". If you are not hunting you don't HAVE TO wear orange. Is it a good idea, yes. Could it save your life, yes.

Do I think it should be required on public hunting ground during hunting season for non-hunters, yes.

If the hunter can't see you at a distance (which could happen with natural colors in a forest environment - even without camo) then there is no good way for the shooter to verify what's beyond his target. If you see orange don't shoot. If you are wearing clothing that blends in with the woods then you are taking some (the majority? - all?) of the responsibility off the shooter.

This is in no way to be construed as my making any excuses for the hunter in this story. He intentionally shot at what he "thought" was a deer without verifying it actually was a deer. It is COMPLETELY different than what I was referring to.