# Reality - It could happen to any of us.



## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

Nov 11, prior to 8 am, a young relation of mine, archery hunting, died in the field from a round fired by another hunter approximately 400 yards away off a road. He was a kindred spirit of mine, happy go-lucky, hard working young man, leaving two children and a wife. Loved the life, salmon fishing, out in the wilds and while he lived in Southern Ontario, he found a way to hunt as he loved archery.

It could have happened to any one of us. The shooter has ruined his life as well. Preliminary reports suggest he may have been hunting off the road.
His shot was fatal, hitting the center of mass. In this area, non-aboriginal hunters must use shotgun or rifle, but this took place on a Six Nations reserve, where other rules apply to those certified as aboriginal, so we guess that either the shooter was illegal or otherwise. Gun season for non-certified, ended Saturday Nov 10.

I am guessing that my young friend was NOT wearing Camo Orange or any Orange as an archer, which in this case, maybe have contributed to his fatality.

As is normal in cases like this, the Six Nations and OPP police are saying little as this is now an ongoing case.

Figure it as you may, the take-away here, is that my friend was probably mistaken for game, at long range, without ORANGE to differentiate him from the deer. Likely as well, the shooter did NOT see the WHOLE Animal, but managed to put a single round into the Center of Mass. Likely as not, it was not a shotgun slug, as finding an accurate elevation at that range strikes me as impossible, and definitely improbable. I guess my friend did not sense danger from his surroundings, or was complacent about wearing ORANGE, even in a disruptive ORANGE camo pattern. I find the whole thing senseless and tragic, and unnecessary as it was avoidable.

In my lifetime of hunting and being around weapons, this is the first fatality I am acquainted with first hand, and it is disturbing, as tragic and unnecessary. I debated writing about this, but I thought it better to say it all out loud and give it air. I don't think it will get it off my mind, but from my point of view it needed to be shared. Anyone of us could have been him.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

Orange, orange, orange. We all wear it during hunting season, regardless of weapon or if we're hunting, since hunters stray onto our property all the time. I'm so sorry for your loss.


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

My Condolences to you.


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## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

houndlover said:


> Orange, orange, orange. We all wear it during hunting season, regardless of weapon or if we're hunting, since hunters stray onto our property all the time. I'm so sorry for your loss.


 But he died on Rememberance Day, Veterans Day, so he is in good eternal company. Guess if you had to pick a day, it might be a good one.

Part of the job of the living is to take from it what good we can, and I will do my best to make sure his kids remember what kind of guy he was.........

DG


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

So sorry for your loss. Wasn't your young friends fault he was killed. Many an achery hunter here in my own state do not wear orange nor do the water fowl hunters. The fault lays squarly on the shooter, a slob hunter per chance. In my state road hunting is not legal. Not being able to tell a person from a squirrel is just plain out right dumb. I've never in my life seen any kind of deer up in a tree. Goats in peoples pens yes never a deer. People in trees also do not look any thing like a deer either.

The slob who pulled the trigger is the problem.

 Al


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## gunseller (Feb 20, 2010)

I am sorry for the loss. I do not hunt where I live durning shotgun season as I know several people who have been hit with slugs. I live in a shotgun state. I have also had slugs hit trees around me and more that once have seen shotgun barrels point out truck windows in my direction. In the area where I did hunt I made sure that the ones that I knew of that did this knew that if I was shot at I would shoot back. Without knowing more all I will say is stupid needs to be a target.
Steve


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## 349141 (Oct 16, 2012)

So sorry to hear this; my thoughts and prayers go out to you and yours. A co-worker of mine lost her husband last season when he stepped stood up in front of their pre-teen son who was taking a shot.

People need to be extra careful; this stuff is real and happens all to often.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

My condolences  My father's best friend died hunting in the woods. His friend walking in front of him tripped on a tree and fell on a rifle that fired and shot him dead. Life is so unpredictable.

A young girl in the next county was just killed when a man was cleaning his gun 1 mile away. She was shot through the head while pulling in her driveway.


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## denaliguide (Aug 30, 2008)

I was pretty afflicted by it, and will be for awhile. Its an object lesson, about hunting in mixed weapon areas and times as well as properly marking yourself as NOT GAME, and as a shooter, seeing the whole animal in good light and being sure. It sure was not worth it to the shooter, let alone the deceased.

Its going to be a lot more hell for the deceased family and the shooter, as signs are indicating that the minimum charge to be laid in this case will be
be "Criminal Neglect Causing Death". There will be a fecal storm to follow, no doubt, unless all act with great care and respect. This can end well, but it's got to be done with respect.


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

Haven said:


> My condolences  My father's best friend died hunting in the woods. His friend walking in front of him tripped on a tree and fell on a rifle that fired and shot him dead. Life is so unpredictable.
> 
> A young girl in the next county was just killed when a man was cleaning his gun 1 mile away. She was shot through the head while pulling in her driveway.


Thing is, it is a terrible tragedy. Any firearm accident is preventable is the worst thing.

One has to know what his target is. I can never comprehend how these things happen. Shooting at an object is nuts. Be sure of your target and beyond. Carry binoculars, never use your scope to see distant objects...

As far as tripping on something and discharging the firearm, well one should not be walking with a partner with a shell chambered. There is plenty of time to chamber a round when game, actual game is spotted. And the cleaning incident? Why the heck and how does cleaning a gun cause it to fire? Sheer carelessness! 

Tragic carelessness causes firearms accidents, and none of us who could be on the receiving end are immune to other peoples stupidity. Therefore we need to share the word whenever we can.

I was calling coyotes one day last year, and was walking back to the truck, my FIL had my .22 in his hands, and even though I knew it was empty, it FREAKED ME OUT how he was carrying it like a shovel, or a stick, or a dang bucket. He had no regard as to where it was pointing. At the sky, my head, my grits, my back, the truck, the horses, the ground, the sky, etc... I immediately lectured him on commandment number one, after pointing out his errant and careless carrying method.

We can never be too careful.

I once had my .22-250 fire on me as I was changing positions on a coyote, and walked a few steps closer so I could get off to the side of the barn for a clearer shot, as he had moved. I had moved the cocked hammer to half cock, but my thumb slipped, and it fired. Because I always carry my firearms with the muzzle pointed at the ground, the mistake was harmless. But it gave me pause and shocked me so badly. A .22-250 is a loud gun! And I cringe to know if I was careless, and had a hunting partner nearby, who knows? 

We all need to read and re-read the ten commandments of Firearm safety once a month or so. And stick with the rules laid out therein. 

I am so sorry for the losses as stated, we need to be more careful, and the shooter should always get reprimanded to the furthest extent of the law. Unless it is a true, unpreventable accident like a long range deflection on a shot at game for example.

Again sorry for your losses. And sorry for my rant, but I am passionate about firearms safety, and we need to do our part to teach how to avoid these pointless "accidents". Which are often less accidents than stupidity.


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## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

Tragic.

In 45 years of gun handling, I have made two significant errors. Fortunately, neither caused any bodily or property damage.

I think about both instances regularly...and even though they occurred 30 and 10 years ago, they both still give me the willies. Both could have been averted if I had kept my "booger hook off the bang switch".

Now, I know to keep my finger off the trigger until absolutely ready to shoot. But it still (somehow) happens once in a great while. That is where following the other rules (like always keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction) come into play.

This is a very somber reminder of how fallible we are.


Tim


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I personnal feel fire arm safty should be taught in school along with drivers ed.
Dam fools look at people thru rifle scopes many times. Dam fools walk with fingers on triggers, dam fools are for ever cleaning a fire arm that discharges, so much B/S.

 Al


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## Chief Cook (Apr 24, 2011)

So very sorry to hear about this tragic loss. So many families torn apart. Hunting is such a wonderful part of my life, but even when I am sitting still in the turkey woods, I wonder about WHO ELSE is around.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

400 yards...hmmm, DH never has taken shots unless he can CLEARLY see, and that means MUCH closer! I agree orange should have been worn, but really feel, along with knowing plenty of folks who have hunted over my lifetime, a shot should NEVER be taken without clearly identifying the target. Funny, orange wasn't worn on my grandparents' ranch, regular hunting, zero accidents. They followed that one rule- Clearly ID what is being shot at, or don't pull the trigger.

I am sorry you lost your friend to this avoidable tragedy. Also, I am grateful you posted this as it may very well save a life!


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

alleyyooper said:


> I personnal feel fire arm safty should be taught in school along with drivers ed.
> Dam fools look at people thru rifle scopes many times. Dam fools walk with fingers on triggers, dam fools are for ever cleaning a fire arm that discharges, so much B/S.
> 
> Al


The great thing about The 10 Commandments of Gun Safety is that you usually have to violate several of them at once for something bad to happen.


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

I teach hunter education. stories like this or in the previous thread about making serious mistakes with firearms send a chill down my spine. The course we teach is done over two evenings and a Saturday for a total of about 12 to 14 hours. I would not want it to be manditory as we have far to many laws as it is, but I would love to see a voluntary effort to sit through similar courses as refreshers for "experienced" hunters. Hunting and shooting are two of the safest sports around but that is only because we make them so. Many of the Dads who have hunted for years come to the course with their sons, daughters or wives and afterwards we are repeatedly thanked up down and sideways for what we taught. You can see during the classes that they are as focused as the students. Just a reminder to sit through a course or better yet become an instructor. We need all the help we can get.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I am so sorry for the loss of your relative.


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