Taking aim...

[katqanna]

I may have multiple vision, but I don't mistake humans for deer and elk.

Last week there was an article about a "hunter" from New York who killed a woman while "hunting", from 200 yards with his pistol, thinking she was a deer, and he shot 40 minutes after sunset. Another article added that the woman was shot on property the man did not have permission to hunt on.

Now there is an article, N. Idaho hunter shot by partner who mistook him for an elk.

I liked the response from the husband of the woman shot, but not so sure that it would have any affect on some of these cases.

“I’m not looking for vengeance, and I know Rosemary’s not either,” Mr. Billquist said. “There’s got to be some kind of lesson.”

Mr. Billquist said he was not a hunter but added that “not knowing what you’re shooting at when you think you’re shooting a deer, it boggles my mind.”

He said he was considering starting a foundation to offer hunting safety courses. First-time hunters must pass one or more courses before getting a hunting license in New York, according to state rules. Four people were killed in hunting-related shootings in New York last year, according to figures from the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

 

[Doublecluck]

There are people walking around the woods who have terrible eye sight and even worse judgment. They have guns.. watch out..

 

[VikingsGuy]

I can understand how the "Dick Cheney" event happens in upland hunting, I can understand negligent discharge loading/unloading etc., and I can understand how a bullet passes through the woods and hits a bystander that was never seen by the shooter -- none are OK and hunters using proper precautions should never cause these tragic situations, but I can understand how it happens. But I do not understand how folks can "mistake" a person for a deer/elk.

I'm not saying my hunting buddies are pretty, but they sure as hell don't look like an elk. How can you possibly see a shot and mistake people for ungulates? Are these idiots just firing shots blindly into the woods in the direction of noise? And if that is the case, then "mistaken for an elk" is a misnomer - it is "shooting blind" in my book.

 

[mtmander]

200 yards , that is far

 

[Slam]

In my experience ungulate hunters are the scariest.

 

[ignorethefringes]

200 yards, with a pistol . . . That guy needs to do some time. I don't care what they charge him with, but something needs to happen. I don't necessarily believe his story.

 

[FLXHunter]

In the same county a guy mistook a truck for a deer. Must be the deer tend to be bigger in that area!

 

[MThuntr]

I hear it's not uncommon to have guys pointing their rifles at you to see what you are through their scope because they're too cheap to buy binos. It hasn't happened lately but I did have it happen when I lived and hunted near Great Falls

 

[noharleyyet]

I have caught adjacent lease holders looking our direction with rifle optics....semi auto firing practice right on the fence line during prime hunting hours..etc. Good sense and guns are often at cross purposes.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Thinking folks are using loaded rifle scopes as binoculars gives me the chills. I will try to forget it before next season, or I will have to stay under the covers.