hunter shot

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

Sad news indeed. I experienced a viewing down a rifle last season at moose camp. I was looking down a cutline about 500m away was a brown object. I put up the binos...seen it was another hunter.....looking at me thru his riflescope. I raced down the cutline on my RED QUAD thinking this jerk was on a quad but when I got up to the spot, nobody. I come around a bend and seen a guy on a quad...talked with him for a few minutes but it wasnt him... Then heard another quad coming. Another hunter (this is what happens when a high grade gravel road is put thru.gone show now after 17+ years of very few hunters...anyhow another story) I asked this new fellow if he was looking at me thru his scope and he said he come from the SW so I knew it wasnt him... Then the first guy said his Dad was walking down that line... and I said you tell your Dad I better not see him or he will get more than an earful of verbal abuse. So I motored away back the way I came, to get back to camp and didnt feel like hunting for the rest of the day...

I found out later on our trip another hunter gave this guy the verbal abuse for the same thing, plus swinging an arm out of the bush when this other guy was close....good thing the guy looked thru his binos first at this bozo and not his riflescope thinking the arm was an antler.


Anyhow, we leave next weekend... Safe Happy Hunting everyone.

[Walleyes]

Originally Posted by river_runner

I was wondering when a statement like this would pop up What a noble justure to put your kids above the rest and so you sholud they are your kids.

The fact of the matter is red hat ,Orange hat camo hat it happen and nothing can be done to change it .Saying one person is better than the next person degrading half the hunter 's you have met in the past solve's nothing .



{What you accept you teach!}

Just saying that age has nothing to do with being a safe hunter,, if my kids are more experienced than a lot of hunters I have incountered in the feild then so be it..

The statement made by BUD about the woods being unsafe because we have 12 year olds out there hunting is false plain and simple..

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by lilsundance

The gentleman by Rob was wounded in the leg. .

The leg? So the shooter was an idiot AND a bad shot?

Yes, I know, he may not have been even aiming at that person/object....

Just saying that age has nothing to do with being a safe hunter,, if my kids are more experienced than a lot of hunters I have incountered in the feild then so be it.. To bad this statement makes you feel so inadequate thats just the way it is..

inadequate I dont thinks some how i knew your ego wouldnt let it goe .

I Guess thats just the way it is ..eh

[The Bit Runner.]

Its all a bunch of bull****,I just cant believe that people get shot hunting.I realize there are some very ohnest accidents and there will always be but when someone fires his rifle at something that hes not even sure what he is shooting at,HOLY S... Where did we go wrong as parents,Like buddy said earlier my old man would kicked my ass up to my shoulder blades.

First of all if you cant make a for sure kill shot at your animal you are hunting what are you doing even pulling the trigger.Have we lost respect for the animal as well.This is a very touchy subject to me and im sure many others.
The bottom line it should not be happening.Just my 2 cents.

[Walleyes]

Originally Posted by river_runner

inadequate I dont thinks some how i knew your ego wouldnt let it goe .

I Guess thats just the way it is ..eh

Geuss so

[BUD]

Originally Posted by Walleyes

Just saying that age has nothing to do with being a safe hunter,, if my kids are more experienced than a lot of hunters I have incountered in the feild then so be it..

The statement made by BUD about the woods being unsafe because we have 12 year olds out there hunting is false plain and simple..

Not every parent is as perfect as you or l , some are worse than their kids and so the kid gets taught the same way Dad hunts , and you can bet your morning donut some 12 yr olds are out on there own in the lease behind their farm , thats what l.m talking about and also in the field with Daddy and he says , stay here on the cutline Son and Dad will go into the bush a couple hundred yds in and try to push somthing out to you , meanwhile you or l pop out on the cutline , the kid gets excited and bang bang your dead or maybe you,ll be lucky if the kids a poor shot.
Not pickin on all kids , but every family teaches their kids a little different than the next one , some dont even care or know where their kid is.

[FishBrain]

This is quite the scary story indeed.
I am a first year hunter, was out this past weekend with my cousin (been hunting many years). First thing he says to me in if you dont see the ENTIRE animal, are unable to determine species DONT SHOOT!, good words indeed. He made sure I bought a pair of Binos and stressed the orange hat and vest.
Its stories like this that made me a little scared about being out there, we could hear firing in the distance, and I was constantly looking over my shoulder when we were in the bush.
I for one am taking all the procautions I can when out there. I would hate to be the victim of some idiot, or even worse be the idiot. My kids want to come along, but I have told them they have to wait until I get more experience so I can teach them the proper/ethical way of a successful hunt.
I was shocked too at first when I found out that AB does not have any laws about blaze orange. A few of the other hunters we saw we dressed like they were going to war, I for one am wearing blaze orange, always!
all the best to the victim, hope he pulls through it and is able to hunt another day

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by BUD

Not every parent is as perfect as you or l , some are worse than their kids and so the kid gets taught the same way Dad hunts , and you can bet your morning donut some 12 yr olds are out on there own in the lease behind their farm , thats what l.m talking about and also in the field with Daddy and he says , stay here on the cutline Son and Dad will go into the bush a couple hundred yds in and try to push somthing out to you , meanwhile you or l pop out on the cutline , the kid gets excited and bang bang your dead or maybe you,ll be lucky if the kids a poor shot.
Not pickin on all kids , but every family teaches their kids a little different than the next one , some dont even care or know where their kid is.

I think you have to look at averages. I'm sure many 12 year olds can be safe. Walleyes says his are, and I have no reason to dispute that. I'm sure some are probably safer than me, a "self-taught" hunter. But as a group, I think 12 year-olds with a certain amount of training will not be as safe as 40 year olds with the same amount of training. It comes down to judgement, self-control, etc. There are many good 16 year old drivers, but as a group, they are not as safe as 40 year old drivers ON AVERAGE. That is simply a fact.

I'm not saying 12 year olds shouldn't hunt. I'm saying they need a lot of supervision, and that given not everyone is a great parent/trainer/supervisor, that probably makes things a BIT more dangerous out in the woods. What to do about that? I have no idea. This year I'm hoping the flashing light on the top of my blaze hat helps! I may stop carrying my deer on my back too. LOL

[TheClash]

that untrained uneducated 12 year old is going to be an ignorant 35 year old and a kooky 50 year old...age is not the defining feature...knowledge is.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by TheClash

that untrained uneducated 12 year old is going to be an ignorant 35 year old and a kooky 50 year old...age is not the defining feature...knowledge is.

Knowledge is one factor, but not the only one. The AVERAGE 12 year old does not have as good judgment about many things as the AVERAGE 35 or 50 year old. There are exceptions in both groups to be sure, good and bad, but if they were all equal in knowledge, wisdom, experience, we would let 12 year olds have their own credit cards, vote, marry, drive, serve in the military, etc.
A group of 100 12 year olds and a group of 100 50 year olds may all have the same knowledge if they all just passed the firearms and hunter training programs, but I'd still trust the 50 year olds more as a group out in the field. Less hormones, excitedness, etc.

If we lowered the driving age to 12, I suspect you would see some sort of rise in the accident rate.

[Walleyes]

Yes all very true Oko but the point is that it is against the law for a 12 year old to hunt alone,, they must be in the direct supervision of an adult.. Now what Bud says can as well be true that is if that 12 year old is left on the line alone it poses danger.. But they must remain "under the direct supervision"... Now if that adult is that eresponsible as to leave an inexperienced hunter alone on the line whether they be 12 or 16 or 20 who is to blame and who is the eresponsable one the 12 year old or the so called adult ????

And my point when we started this fisasco was to say that saying the woods are unsafe because we have 12 year olds out there hunting was false !!! it may be dangerous because we have adults out there not training these kids right and not following the law and supervising them but to generalise all kids and saying they ae not to be as trusted as adults,, sorry I won't accept that..

[kennedy]

i have hunted and fallen thousands of times and never had a gun go off on me. Safety always on and as birds flush ,safety off and shoot. SIMPLE. i'm amazed how nobody gets shot at the pheasant preserve sites. Every year i see people cross shooting at each other and thank goodness nobody has been hit with some lead.

[Baitcaster]

I hunted every year of my life until I was about 25. I learned from my father and other hunters we went with over the years. I have seen safe and unsafe hunting practices and took the hunter training. I carried a 22 for grouse and rabbits along the way, then a shot gun with slugs for close range damage, a 303 and then a 30-06. All while a young boy. Yes I grew up doing it therefore it was instilled in me the common sense rules and respect for others my quarry, trespassing etc... I hunted by myself all the time and was more succesful for it. Blaze orange was always mandatory then. I would never have dreamt of wearing anything else while carring a gun.
My point being it is not so much the age as it is the maturity of the individual. If one lacks experiance or maturity then they need to be teamed up with some one who is so they can learn for everyone sake.

[Copidosoma]

It honestly amazes me that this sort of thing still happens. I should be able to go out in the bush in a crappy deer costume (antlers included) and have NO FEAR of being shot. I can't believe that people take discharging a deadly weapon so nonchalantly that they would shoot at something unless they are 100% sure of what it is.

[duffy4]

Originally Posted by sparky660

It seems most of you are jumping to conclusions without any concrete information. Until it is known what really went down all this whining,well, is just whining and wasting valuable space. Maybe it was a ricochet(spelling), an accidental discharge or maybe is wasn't and accident. Typical of most people to assume the worst and get up in arms without any real info.

Agree. There are all kinds of possibilities as to what may have happened. But almost everybody here are making assumtions and thinking the worst.

Robin in Rocky

[TheClash]

Originally Posted by Walleyes

Yes all very true Oko but the point is that it is against the law for a 12 year old to hunt alone,, they must be in the direct supervision of an adult.. Now what Bud says can as well be true that is if that 12 year old is left on the line alone it poses danger.. But they must remain "under the direct supervision"... Now if that adult is that eresponsible as to leave an inexperienced hunter alone on the line whether they be 12 or 16 or 20 who is to blame and who is the eresponsable one the 12 year old or the so called adult ????

And my point when we started this fisasco was to say that saying the woods are unsafe because we have 12 year olds out there hunting was false !!! it may be dangerous because we have adults out there not training these kids right and not following the law and supervising them but to generalise all kids and saying they ae not to be as trusted as adults,, sorry I won't accept that..

agreed, but how many 12 year olds are hunting alone?..that is my point. that these 12 year olds need to be taught properly...and i fully understand the inability to make good judgment calls..i plan to be a jr high teacher haha...


and btw at 12 i was a better driver than many of the people i see on the road today. again i believe it is quality time behind the wheel or the rifle...rather than an arbitrary age.

[TreeGuy]

Some excellent comments here guys. I am the one who brought up the 12 year old thing, so I guess I started it.

I just recall the two people hit by a bullet last year while riding their quad. I believe the shooter was 14, but I'll need some reminding as I've heard nothing about the situations since.

I don't think this is a blaze orange issue. The closest I've ever come to being shot was while I was checking my little trapline at the age of 14, while in full blaze. Someone opened up on a deer that was between the two of us. Unfortunatly, the deer and the shooter were in the adjacent hayfield that was seperated by about 50 yards of bush.

There were 5 rapid shots. One hit the ground 6' away from me, one 6" from my foot, and a wizzer passed so close to my head that I could smell and taste it! I got small quick, started screaming and shot back! .22 single shot, and aimed high above the bush in his general direction as quick as I could shoot and reload! Got lucky, also took home a beauty mink and blanket beaver that morning, but that's another story!

I really think that alot of accidents occur because of people shooting while they are excited/focused on the game animal, and forgetting about the backdrop. You HAVE to know where that bullet is eventually going to hit. This is one of the most important things that will be stressed to my son in the next few years of preparation.

I hope the victim is doing well and a speedy and full recovery.

Tree

[TheClash]

i guess with out the details we do not know if the man that was shot was also being aimed at...or if it was an errant shot or a ricochet...etc.

[Albertadiver]

Sounds like the discussion is coming full circle now. Has anyone found out anything more?

Myself, I grew up young on a farm out east of Innisfail near Pine Lake, I would go with my family as a boy when my older relatives were hunting. I was too young to carry a firearm although I was out shooting gophers on my own by grade 2 if I remember correctly. Started out snaring them.

Unfortunatly we had to leave the farm, and I missed out on a lot of valuable life lessons. I've had my PAL for years, and shoot regularly, but now I'm getting back into hunting again. I'm making sure I'm going with more experianced guys for my own learning. Fortunately I have great friends willing to teach and share. On that note, I picked up my first whitetail general tag for the first time ever today. I'm giddy as a small school-girl!

I'll certainly be wearing my surveyor's flashy vest and blaze orange toque. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I think proper supervision of youth is important, and I really like Treeguy's comment on reminding ourselves of our backdrop. Case in point, myself. I'm going to bet that when I have a nice whitetail in my sights I'm going to be quite excited. I'm going to have to force myself to take a breath, pause, be sure of my target and my backdrop. Forcing myself to do that I think is going to be tough at first because my excitment level is going to be high. I'm sure others have been there done that, and I'm sure others are going to experiance that in the future.

My limited .03 cents.

[altaberg]

Originally Posted by Copidosoma

It honestly amazes me that this sort of thing still happens. I should be able to go out in the bush in a crappy deer costume (antlers included) and have NO FEAR of being shot. I can't believe that people take discharging a deadly weapon so nonchalantly that they would shoot at something unless they are 100% sure of what it is.

and what's behind it.

I second this opinion, aren't you required to have clearly identified sex and species for one? Most where I hunt I need to know the difference between a mulie and a wt for example. That takes me at least some time with binoculars.

Anybody out there hunting with a rifle who doesn't even have binoculars on them should get a ticket IMO.

[sickfast]

Please have the guy charged with attempted murder or attempted manslaghter and never let him own a firearm again...I was sick when i read the story in the paper...God bless the pure man that was shot and i hope he sues the ******* for everything he has...

[ksteed17]

.but what was the guy doing using a decoy in the rifle zone with no plackards or anything to let people know this was not a real deer.

i dont know about you but i have known very many deer to STAND completely still for more than a few seconds, at least twitch an ear or something, you should know something was up just by watching it for the few seconds you were aiming at it.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by sickfast

Please have the guy charged with attempted murder or attempted manslaghter and never let him own a firearm again...I was sick when i read the story in the paper...God bless the pure man that was shot and i hope he sues the ******* for everything he has...

To be charged with murder there has to be intent to kill a HUMAN.

A fellow in Ohio about 20 years ago bow killed another archer who had a baker climber on his back.
The guy shot him before legal light so could not identify him.
He saw the stand and it looked exactly like a set of fork horns in the dark.

The guy was charged with murder, and was acquitted.
There was quite a controversy in Bowhunter Magazine about it.

The charge would have to be something else, but yes, I think he should be charged with SOMETHING.
I'll ask our chief crown prosecuter up here and see what he thinks.

Cat

[duffy4]

Does anyome have a link to any FACTS on this event? Or at least a news report from one of our fine papers who always report the truth?

[sickfast]

He shot at him and hit him...That is a intent to kill a human...

Originally Posted by catnthehat

To be charged with murder there has to be intent to kill a HUMAN.

A fellow in Ohio about 20 years ago bow killed another archer who had a baker climber on his back.
The guy shot him before legal light so could not identify him.
He saw the stand and it looked exactly like a set of fork horns in the dark.

The guy was charged with murder, and was acquitted.
There was quite a controversy in Bowhunter Magazine about it.

The charge would have to be something else, but yes, I think he should be charged with SOMETHING.
I'll ask our chief crown prosecuter up here and see what he thinks.

Cat

[Bang Drop]

Originally Posted by sickfast

He shot at him and hit him...That is a intent to kill a human...

That's one of the dumbest things I've seen posted on this site. Until you know the facts how about you stop slandering the person and saying he or she intended to murder another person.

[sparky660]

Originally Posted by Jester

I tried....yes I really tried..to understand this post but ....I/m lost..??

I'll break it down for you Jester. Up until my post the details of why or how the hunter being shot were not known. Most of the posts were jumping to conclusions that it was carelesness. Some were passing judgement with little or no info on the situation.

[MK2750]

The hunting community as a whole has done and continues to do a great job in providing a safe and healthy outdoor experience. This is not happening through regulating age limit, blaze orange attire, the mandatory use of binoculars, the gun registry or any other government influence. It comes from spending time with our children, understanding their level of maturity and mentoring their development. It has been passed down from father to son and from sportsman to sportsman for thousands of years.

There are a number of kids being raised in the city and larger towns by single parents and from completely different backgrounds then our own. It is no wonder some are entering our sport without truly understanding safety, respect and good judgment.

I read a day or so ago, one of the members flying off the handle because of a stupid question about the law. We must remember that children, non-hunters and people with limited education/English skills may be asking these questions and that this site is an excellent opportunity to pass on some of basics of good sportsmanship both from the regulations and that we consider common sense.

Let’s not let this incident cast a shadow on how safe hunting and the shooting sports are, especially with so many new hunters and folks just curious about hunting frequenting this site. I feel much safer in the bush then walking down the street or driving in the car; the animals are much more predictable.

My 2 cents-MK

[martinbns]

I have a few of things to say.

First on the 12 year old thing, I started taking my son hunting when he was about 8, he had safety drilled into him by me and the various others we hunted with. It was made clear to anyone in our group, they all had the right to give him advise or discipline him over safety issue and truthfully one has never came up. By the time he was 12 he and I shared a gun when hunting, he killed his first whitetail when he was 14. When hunting he is a cool customer, far cooler than most of the adults we have hunted with over the past 4-5 years.

Second, I never go hunting without wearing at least a blaze hat, I've been scoped a few times and it scares the sh!t outta me, happens less with the blaze hat.

Third, the closest I've ever came to being shot was at the Ft McMurray range a few years ago, while wearing a blaze vest. It was in Sept/Oct when all the idiots are out trying to sight in their 303's. THere was a few guys there, most morons who couldn't hit a deer at 100 yards if they tried. I was shooting at 100 yards, 200 yards, 300 metres and 385 metres, the boys were mostly at 50 and 100 yards. I called range closed, put up the sign, we all walked down range, checked our 100 yard targets(there weren't many holes in them from the boys), I went on to the 200, 300 and 385 metre targets and when I was at the farthest one I was surpised by the sound of a quad.
It seems the rest of the "boys" had gone back, all sat down to shoot some more when a good member pulled up on his quad(he had been doing some work) he saw me dressed in blaze from the waste up in plain view 400 yards downrange with these idiots all bent over there rifles trying to hold them steady enough to hit a target at 100 yards. Thankfully they were all terrible enough shots to not know how to use a bench rest properly or bullets would have been flying all around me. When we got back in I was steamed, nobody said a word accept a youg guy I had helped out earlier who hadn't lined up, but also hadn't noticed me. The other 4 35-50 year old "boys" just packed up and left. If one of them had said anything to me I probably would have shot him with his own gun(would have been the only thing it had ever hit that it was aimed at).

Age is not the issue, it's proper training and supervision.