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Should NEVER Happen

fbwguy

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Staff member
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Joined
Mar 19, 2018
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3,059
Location
Cato Arkansas
 
That is horrible! I can’t understand how people can just shoot at something just because it’s moving. How can you you not SEE AND KNOW exactly what you are shooting. Prayers for the family…
I agree, but it seems to happen a lot. I don't think it would ever happen, but I would actually like to have the shooters describe what they were thinking so we could understand better.

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This is one reason I wear my headlamp religiously while I'm on the ground during the low light hours of rifle season . . . I also wear my camo orange vest even when bowhunting during the muzzleloader and late rifle season. These seasons bring out the more casual hunters who may not be as safety conscious. Literally all of my close calls involving errant shots while deer hunting have come during the rifle season. That's a bit telling since I rarely use my head lamp and never wear orange during the early bow season. Its not an excuse but I always wonder if, as it gets later in the season, people get more desperate and see what they want to see. These are the times when it's extra important to take all the safety precautions you can.

I had a friend/coworker (unfortunately he's passed now) who once related to me a story about why he quit deer hunting. As he related it to me, he said he got out really early on opening day and was setup in his blind over looking a small valley. It was a really overcast morning and as legal shooting light approached he watched what he was sure was a buck walk over the opposite ridge and bed down opposite. He had it in his scope and considered shooting it but decided to just wait for it to get a bit lighter before touching it off just to make sure he didn't hit it poorly. As he sat there watching the buck it suddenly lit a cigarette. He said that scared him so much that he immediately got up, walked out of the woods and never hunted again. Take the story for what its worth but I'd vouch for this guy's character and poise in most any situation . . . this was just a situation where he had a pre-determined idea of what he saw and it took an extraordinary vision to change his perspective. That's some scary stuff to me.
 
About 20 years ago?? I was hunting a lease with a friend of mine, and his uncle for opening deer rifle season. There was 3-4 blinds on the property. Plus a few tree stands. In the morning we all usually said where everyone was going. His uncle one morning decided to not go where he said he was going, and went 200yrds down the field from me and sat in the edge. Well, as morning came up, I noticed a large object along the edge of the field that didn't belong. Out of instinct I pulled the rifle up to check it out. Whoops. I will also note he took his orange off. I was never getting ready to shoot. Knew it wasn't a deer. But for a brief second he was in my scope. Shame on him for not letting me know, also for taking off his orange.
 
Deer hunting has changed for most I’m afraid and not in a good way, the competitive nature of deer hunting is grossly amplified by the high speed communication we now so much enjoy, creating unnecessary pressure for everybody to one up friends, family, and neighbors to kill bigger racked deer making people reckless, taking chances, not being safe, it’s sad but true in my opinion.
 
About 20 years ago?? I was hunting a lease with a friend of mine, and his uncle for opening deer rifle season. There was 3-4 blinds on the property. Plus a few tree stands. In the morning we all usually said where everyone was going. His uncle one morning decided to not go where he said he was going, and went 200yrds down the field from me and sat in the edge. Well, as morning came up, I noticed a large object along the edge of the field that didn't belong. Out of instinct I pulled the rifle up to check it out. Whoops. I will also note he took his orange off. I was never getting ready to shoot. Knew it wasn't a deer. But for a brief second he was in my scope. Shame on him for not letting me know, also for taking off his orange.
I use binoculars for locking at deer. I never used my scope to look at something to see what it is.
 
That is horrible! I can’t understand how people can just shoot at something just because it’s moving. How can you you not SEE AND KNOW exactly what you are shooting. Prayers for the family…
Then there's the people that fire shots to "get things moving". Unfortunately theres been people on the other side of brush on the receiving end of those shots.

Another thing im not a fan of for gun season is blinds. Probably about the dumbest thing you can be in unless you're deep in the middle of a high fence area and you're the only person on the property. Defeats the whole purpose of wearing orange.
 
Then there's the people that fire shots to "get things moving". Unfortunately theres been people on the other side of brush on the receiving end of those shots.

Another thing im not a fan of for gun season is blinds. Probably about the dumbest thing you can be in unless you're deep in the middle of a high fence area and you're the only person on the property. Defeats the whole purpose of wearing orange.
I have several cheap orange vests I keep in the pockets of my popup. If we're using the popup those vests are deployed on trees in the immediate vicinity. I don't like not being able to be seen during rifle season either.
 
Then there's the people that fire shots to "get things moving". Unfortunately theres been people on the other side of brush on the receiving end of those shots.

Another thing im not a fan of for gun season is blinds. Probably about the dumbest thing you can be in unless you're deep in the middle of a high fence area and you're the only person on the property. Defeats the whole purpose of wearing orange.
Regulations here say that you have to have 144 square inches of orange visible on all sides of the blind for this very reason.

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Regulations here say that you have to have 144 square inches of orange visible on all sides of the blind for this very reason.

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Only the hunter must wear it here. On blinds, that size requirement is awfully small if you stay at the minimum...thats only a 12x12 patch. A multiple person blind, the orange would be rather spaced out, even on one man blinds its sketchy to me.
 
This is the very reason why I no longer gun hunt. Maybe if I have private land I would. Opening day of Ohio gun season my landlord brings his grandson hunting on 80 acres about 4 pm I hear a shot down the hill. Of course I think they got one. I grab my Binos walk down the hill to check it out. Get down the hill at the power lines and on the next ridge over I see the buck on his feet. I watch him to see if he’s hit. Buck is fine. Bam !!!! Another shot fired !!! I’m standing where I can see but hopefully not get shot at. Still don’t see any hunters. Buck is standing about 400 yards over the next ridge. I’m thinking undoubtedly they not shooting at that deer. Because behind where the buck is at one ridge over is two houses behind him. Long story short they was shooting at the buck. The grandson , which is a grown man in his late 20s shot at the deer less than a 100 yards missed. Then waits to shoot again 400 yards out. The deer or no one else got hurt that day , but he had no idea where the second shot went or what stopped the bullet. Just to crazy for me to be roaming around in the woods during gun season.
 
This is one reason I wear my headlamp religiously while I'm on the ground during the low light hours of rifle season . . . I also wear my camo orange vest even when bowhunting during the muzzleloader and late rifle season. These seasons bring out the more casual hunters who may not be as safety conscious. Literally all of my close calls involving errant shots while deer hunting have come during the rifle season. That's a bit telling since I rarely use my head lamp and never wear orange during the early bow season. Its not an excuse but I always wonder if, as it gets later in the season, people get more desperate and see what they want to see. These are the times when it's extra important to take all the safety precautions you can.

I had a friend/coworker (unfortunately he's passed now) who once related to me a story about why he quit deer hunting. As he related it to me, he said he got out really early on opening day and was setup in his blind over looking a small valley. It was a really overcast morning and as legal shooting light approached he watched what he was sure was a buck walk over the opposite ridge and bed down opposite. He had it in his scope and considered shooting it but decided to just wait for it to get a bit lighter before touching it off just to make sure he didn't hit it poorly. As he sat there watching the buck it suddenly lit a cigarette. He said that scared him so much that he immediately got up, walked out of the woods and never hunted again. Take the story for what its worth but I'd vouch for this guy's character and poise in most any situation . . . this was just a situation where he had a pre-determined idea of what he saw and it took an extraordinary vision to change his perspective. That's some scary stuff to me.
I never really thought of wearing my headlamp during low light hours for visibility purposes, but that is a good idea. I hate being in the woods during gun season. I wear enough orange that I bet they can see me from space, and I like it like that. Friends give me a hard time for it, they'll wear an orange hat and call it good enough. Not for me, I subscribe to the George Carlin way of thinking about the average idiot... I've been in the woods on public land on opening day and have seen guys in full camo, no orange, and I can only think to myself that this person must be an absolute moron.
 
I honestly can't see how you can shoot a person unless you are shooting at movement or sound. I've also heard of too many stories of people get shot before legal shooting hours so the headlamp idea is awesome.
 
I say this every single year because it happens every single year, but someone in Virginia gets shot while running dogs for deer as them guys just unload on any deer no matter where that deer is at or running to.
 
I honestly can't see how you can shoot a person unless you are shooting at movement or sound.

My brother shot a small 8pt with the rifle this year. The deer was wounded and running and he opted to put it down even though it's not what he hunts for. Bullet went through a smallish tree (not a sapling) and dropped the buck. 30-06.

He was elevated and the shot was completely safe, but I was amazed the bullet passed through that tree.

It was a reminder to me that when things are happening fast, its just a deer. Shooting is inherently dangerous. Bullets carry way more than most of us anticipate.

Some years ago, there was an investigation into a kid that was struck by a bullet. Ultimately, it was determined the shot was taken like a mile away. That was a .22.

Uphill shots, scary. There's the big buck on the top of a ridge, how many pass that shot? I'm not perfect, but that incident gave me the knowledge to do so, and I have.

I've personally seen bullets wizzing through the woods as they pushed through boughs and brush. In the moment, those hunters were aiming towards deer...but deer move and have no idea where other hunters are.

Even on private, I've discovered folks trespassing to hunt. Tracking a deer. Whatever. A reminder you may not know where other hunters are either.

Pray we make good decisions, take good safe shots, and make them.

I always use a headlamp on public, even during archery. Seen an arrow shot through the woods at nothing. Some treat an xbow like a shotgun, so I apply gun season rules for my protection.

The one area I need to be better, orange on my pack.
 
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This is one reason I wear my headlamp religiously while I'm on the ground during the low light hours of rifle season . . . I also wear my camo orange vest even when bowhunting during the muzzleloader and late rifle season. These seasons bring out the more casual hunters who may not be as safety conscious. Literally all of my close calls involving errant shots while deer hunting have come during the rifle season. That's a bit telling since I rarely use my head lamp and never wear orange during the early bow season. Its not an excuse but I always wonder if, as it gets later in the season, people get more desperate and see what they want to see. These are the times when it's extra important to take all the safety precautions you can.

I had a friend/coworker (unfortunately he's passed now) who once related to me a story about why he quit deer hunting. As he related it to me, he said he got out really early on opening day and was setup in his blind over looking a small valley. It was a really overcast morning and as legal shooting light approached he watched what he was sure was a buck walk over the opposite ridge and bed down opposite. He had it in his scope and considered shooting it but decided to just wait for it to get a bit lighter before touching it off just to make sure he didn't hit it poorly. As he sat there watching the buck it suddenly lit a cigarette. He said that scared him so much that he immediately got up, walked out of the woods and never hunted again. Take the story for what its worth but I'd vouch for this guy's character and poise in most any situation . . . this was just a situation where he had a pre-determined idea of what he saw and it took an extraordinary vision to change his perspective. That's some scary stuff to me.
My grandad had a similar story. He was sitting on the ground watching a hillside and saw a buck. As he was looking at it in his scope he saw something flash...the watch on a bowhunter's wrist. Kid was head to toe camoed-up standing against a tree between the buck and my grandad. Not a spec of orange on and the club they were hunting was organized so that each member had a tract of 100 acres or so that were exclusive to them. Kid wasn't supposed to be there.

They kicked him out for breaking the orange during rifle season state law and hunting another member's parcel. Grandad threatened to whip his ass if he ever ran into him again.
 
I've also heard of too many stories of people get shot before legal shooting hours so the headlamp idea is awesome.

With some hunters, there’s only so much you can do.

I hunted an antler restricted area in MI. On the opener I was heading to a spot I scouted, before daybreak.

I see lights behind me, and two hunters come rushing up the hillside clearly trying to beat me out. Maybe I should have stopped and talked with them, but I kind of just worked over the top and to the side some from where they seemed to be heading and, frankly, where I had been planning to hunt.

I set up on the ground, back to a tree, overlooking a kind of open flat. Not long after, I see a deer heading towards me. Only because there is patchy snow in this flat can I see that this is a legal buck, a nice one. He walks by me less than 10 paces away and I let him walk because it isn’t legal shooting.

A few minutes later, bam. Those guys shoot the buck. It’s still dark. They were hooting and hollaring over the buck before sunrise. To boot, there wasn’t any snow in those woods, no way they could count points.

That deer walked to them after walking right past me. So, that bullet had to be traveling my direction. They knew where I was, and they couldn’t have been 100yds away. Yet they shot anyway, in the dark, at a blob.

From then on, I hauled in and hunted from tree stands.
 
Many years ago, rifle season of the deer gun hunt, I was on a watch over a small swamp. The swamp was depressed with a small ridge line at it's closest edge.

I saw a patch of tan colour moving along the close edge of the swamp, just the other side of the ridge line, so upped the rifle and put the crosshairs on it, safety still on....waiting to get a clear view. Imagine my surprise and horror as one of our hunt gang walked into a break in the ridge line. He had blonde hair and wasn't wearing a blaze hat, nor any hat for that matter.

Gave him royal **** for not wearing the legally required orange hat. He never did that again.

Boy am I glad I followed the cardinal rule of shooting....always make sure of your target!!!
 
I have run at a wounded buck trying to get another one into him before he could run off.

Like I said, I’m not perfect. I’ve come to realize how epically stupid this really is.

I seem to recollect some of the crew from THP doing a lot of running, sometimes with loaded weapons (as well as some other hunters who I respect) and I think that is really a poor example to follow.

That guy who fell and was speared by his broadhead was an eye opener.

I’m not a proponent of European gun laws, but the designs many of the big companies have adopted for safety mechanisms make sense if we’re going to be running through the woods like Chingachgook. No way your rifle is going off in a fall with some of those.
 
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