Amazing. One lucky dude. My take on this is that some of the guys out there want to shoot an animal so badly that they actually convince themselves that what they are seeing is an animal no matter what their eyes might be taking in.
I knew the other hunters were there, but I was well hidden in the trees, and decided to just set it out, and wait for them to leave.
Well they left all right, but not before sending an arrow through the trees missing my head by a mere 18 inches.
Turns out it was a pair of hunters, one with a compound bow, and the other with a smoke pole.
I imagine their plan was to try to flush the bull (ME) from the trees, by flinging an arrow through them, and the guy with the muzzle loader would then shoot him.
Whatever their thinking was, I was extremely PISSED. I yelled at them asking if they would like me to return fire.
Needless to say, they promptly hauled ass out of there. I walked back to camp after dark, but this time I DID NOT use my flashlight.
I hope hunters will be more responsible,,,more careful,, etc,, and glad that guy is gonna be ok,, I am shure he not gonna feel safe in the woods for a long time if ever,,
Wow. Pissed-off Rick Barbee. Not anything I ever want pointed in my direction!
I did all of my Elk hunting in CO; some years bow, some years ML. And whenever I became aware of another Hunter, I made it a point to make them aware of ME. AND THAT I WAS A 2-LEGGED.
One time hunting ML, my brother and I were sneaking up on a wallow from which we heard some cow-calling. Never saw the other hunter, but he had the sense to set his bow down out in the open where we quickly picked out the Flo Orange/Flo Green color scheme on his fletchings. We waved some blaze orange for a minute to let him know we knew he was there and backed off as quietly as we could.
Not very stealthy, but better to have all of the humans properly identified. 'Cuz JMO, the odds of somebody killing an Elk when 2 uncoordinated hunting parties are in the same spot aren't anywhere near as good as the odds of somebody getting shot.
Glad he made it through. Might want to have the guy who shot him be his hunting partner next year, that way he can keep tans on him. How the Heck do you shoot a human while elk hunting?
It is infuriating, but I have had a compound shooter draw on me in total darkness thinking that I was a deer. I heard the compound creak. I held and he pulled the release up and the arrow lofted high. He was planning on taking a 70 yard shot in the dark. I was not a forgiving soul. What scares me with the lock back compounds and crossbows is they point first and look second. When these kids are concentrating on their peep sites and glowing sight pins, they are not seeing much beyond them.
Isn't it the first thing you are taught by your Father when he takes you hunting?...Know what you are pointing your "gun" at and never point it at something you don't intend to kill.... Unbelievable..or maybe not :( Alex
You know, I got taken to task on the main board for saying that I thought it was all good that a particular state allows shotguns but not xbows for turkey, because I'd rather get peppered than skewered.
Maybe it's irrational bias on my part to think that a crossbow shooter is more likely to take a stupid shot than a compounder, or maybe not.
I asked the other guy to pm me with a list of accidental shootings by (vertical) bowhunters, but he has yet to deliver.
Just sayin'... Our record is probably better, though Perfect sure sounds like a better objective...
had a friend in Penn,,, that was a game warden, he had friends shot and killed during turkey season,, always wore orage,, I am thinking about it,,for bow season,,
GF, how dare you single out those poor defenseless crossbow users. They are even more dangerous during deer season. The ones that I know got the permit by fraudulently claiming to have a sore shoulder. They are worthless hunters with shotguns as well. They go around bragging about their long shots and shooting at any movement. They point first, aim second and think never.
My hunting accident was in 1972. Two guys opened up on me as I was crossing a stone wall in order to check out an old orchard. I saw them raise their rifles and reached back to push my 7 year old daughter down, slipped, and a grade stake went up my butt, through my intestine in two places, through my bladder, and out through my abdomen. That slip actually saved our lives as their bullets went through my baggy work pants just missing my crotch and leg. They ran up, saw me with crap and blood all over the place, and ran. My daughter helped me crawl to my truck where she drove to get help. Thankfully, she was a farm kid and I let her drive tractors and our farm truck. She received a hero award for saving my life. She was my daddy's girl and constant companion. My other daughter was a mommy's girl. They haven't changed even both are in their 50's with husbands and kids. We never found out who those two hunters were.
That's why taking 9-14 year old kids out hunting with deadly weapons isn't the smartest idea. If adults can mistake a human for an animal, well.... Was hunting with a friend and his young son rabbit hunting. My dog ran a bunny into a briar patch. Let the kid go in to see if he could get a shot. As rabbits will do, it ran out in our direction. The kid had been facing away from us but when he saw the rabbit running, he swung around and touched off a round. I could see what was about to happen and turned my back but fortunately the pellets went into the ground in front of me. He had neither the experience nor the maturity to correctly assess the situation and consequently took the action he did.
I bowhunt public land with more folks, with more weapons with longer range and more overlapping seasons than ever before in my last 40+ years of hunting.
I have had to hunt more defensively just for my own piece of mind these days than ever before. wearing orange sometimes even when not required. Brighter flashlights and less moving about in the dark. More careful in the thickest areas below high overlooks ect.
Again just for my own piece of mind... really good people can make really bad mistakes.
My dad once told me that one of his proudest moments as a father came when he, my two brothers and I went as guests on a pheasant hunting trip; I was about to turn 16, but my younger brother and I could easily have passed for 12 back then.
Anyway, our host had mentioned to my dad that he had never seen 3 kids who made him feel safer around them than most adults. We all started shooting at about 12, and we all tagged along on hunts for a few seasons before we had started Hunter Safety, so I remember that the instructors were impressed with our awareness and knowledge. Again, we were several years older than we looked, it there were guys with real moustaches who knew less than the 10 & 12 year- olds in the front row...
So my reservations about kids being too young come more from the psychological impact side of things.... JMO it's not like it used to be for farm kids who got accustomed to slaughtering livestock at an early age, just because the whole process is so distant from day-to-day now.... Whole different world, so maybe it ought to be introduced a bit farther on down the road.
Lord knows that having to tag along and watch and wait for a few years never dampened my enthusiasm for this stuff. Actually helps teach that you don't need to have killed anything to say that you've been hunting... which takes the pressure off... which breeds patience.... which helps prevent "accidents".
As a whole, hunting is still safer than driving to work...riding a bicycle...or even crossing the street. It's when things like this happens, the subject comes to the forefront again. Yes...there are a few idiots out there. Most guys do like the rest of us and are safe.
And for the record, here in Pa., most serious accidents are either self inflicted or by the parties hunting together. And hunting accidents are down exponentially since the 50's and 60's. The data is available online with each state's website. It's tragic when it happens, but it is relatively rare.
There seem to be quite a few rifle hunters here in Oregon who get shot each year. I understand how it happens, I just don't get it, though, when it's because of "mistaken identity".
I have one close call with a girl and her older brother during youth season. One with a drunk thinking he was going to shoot what he thought was mountain lion at 500 yards from the road. And one from the bowhunting thinking he could shoot in pitch darkness. My family have had two hits, both on the same day and both from my older brother the celebrated area hunter's safety lead. He said it was their own fault both times because they didn't duck fast enough when he was shooting at pheasants. Have not spoken to the sob in 25 years.
Don't know about where you all live, but here in Hawaii you need to complete a Hunter Education course before acquiring a hunting license. Among other things, SAFETY is a major subject.
Well Shawn, just because you were a "responsible" seven year old, that doesn't mean they all are. Of course I'm not stigmatizing all kids. But how do you know which ones are going to act responsibly when the moment arrives, even if they've taken a hunter ed course.
The first thing my father taught me was ALWAYS be sure of your target and what's beyond! There are way to many shootings where people are "mistaken" for game. Thank God you where only wounded. I wish you a speedy recovery.
There are things we can do to protect ourselves. I never walk while hunting without a blaze orange hat. I also park my butt at sunset and do not move until it is pitch black. I then walk out with a headlamp. I have been hasseled by a warden, but explained my reasoning to him, showed him my scars and he almost puked and headed for his truck. We had a guy up here shoot and sound his brother-in-law with a muzzleloader. The wardens re-enacted the shooting with the camo clothes the victim was wearing and no charges were filed. The victim when shot, wearing full camo, on his hands and knees, with a dead branch over his head looked exactly like a deer. The wardens took pictures and it was amazing. An orange hat would have prevented it. I also hang my hat over me on a branch above my head if I hide in a blowdown or thicket. That way there is no movement as I turn my head but there is visibility. Of course I haven't seen another hunter in the woods in 9 or 10 years, but it is the one you don't see first who can kill you.
Don't feel like you are safe in a tree either. When I was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC around 1996, a bowhunter was shot and killed in his tree stand by a squirrel hunter with a shotgun. Be careful. There are still plenty of idiots out there. - John
In the US, and average of 28 people per day are killed by impaired drivers. Records established by hunter education organizations show that per year, about 1000 hunting accidents occur in North America (both U.S. and Canada) and of those about 100 are fatal injuries. Both of course are approximate based on data gathering from state commissions.
The amount of deaths are low, but they are still 100% preventable and that is the issue with hunter ed. We have improved a lot over the decades here in Pa., but one death is one too many. It is not limited to age, and as a matter of fact, it is less likely to happen with younger hunters...that is also part of the data in PGC stats. Since hunter ed courses were established in our state, the accident numbers have dropped as a whole compared to the number of hunters in the woods....and we have a large number of hunters...around a million.
Yes George the statistics tell the real story and I am so glad here in PA, as you have show, is doing excellent work as far as safety.
I thought I remember too when I read the reports a few years back that the most likely shooter in an accident was something like 35 to 45 years old and 15+ years hunting experience. I am not real good at remembering but it sure was not the youngest hunters as many of us would have guessed including myself.
I was hunting Louis Wetzel state forest in West Virginia and had the park ranger tell me that the year before 2 guys were hunting together and went out together before daylight. One got in a tree and the other was heading on to his tree. Somehow in the dark he got turned around and ended up walking under his buddys tree again. His buddy said in the dark the treestand on his buddys back looked like antlers and he chose to shoot before daylight. He shot down thru his buddys chest from above killing him. I just can't imagine how the guy who shot that arrow has to feel even to this day. How do you tell your friends wife and kids. People don't stress hunter safety enough. You ruin a life and take a life needlessly. I started hunting at around 6 or 7 with a 410. My uncle had a strict rule. If you did anything he saw as unsafe he felt you needed another year to learn. I was so afraid of not being able to hunt that I watched my muzzle more than the rabbits,lol. My oldest son killed his first deer at 9, but he had been thru hunter safety and bowhunter safety , plus my drilling him with safety in mind. Back in those days if a kid passed they had to do it themselves. There was no internet courses or tests. Dnr gave the courses and tests in person. Dads waited outside. My youngest son wasn't ready in my opinion till he was in his teens. take each of your kids case by case. Some will be ready and some not.
I put my Marlin 3030 up for sale at a local gun shop just because I didn't want to going to the woods again, I've had hunters shoot over my head, I've had smoke polls, owners, raise their rifle and just say "Boom if you would have been a deer man, you been dead" jerks like that keep me out of the woods in gun season.
As a hunter ed instructor for about 40 years now, with about 5,000 hunters of all ages certified, I can assure you that the hunter safety courses have had a tremendous impact on reducing hunting accidents. As George said, hunting is now one of the safest outdoor sports one can take part in. Accidents still happen, but fortunately they are rare. We still have to emphasize the importance of wearing a safety harness/climbing rope when hunting from a tree stand, as there are entirely too many serious accidents each year from falling. We must keep working hard to involve young people with our sport, since it seems that participation is declining - too many other distractions, I guess. If you really want to help, volunteer to help with your state's hunter ed program.
I grew up overseas in West Africa and was taught how to hunt by local hunters. We had a myriad of animals to hunt; large and small. The most important lesson I was taught was by an old hunter when he left me sitting in my blind at the age of 13 years. As he walked away he turned around and said, "when I come back to pick you up you can tell me you didn't see anything, you can tell me you shot at a bushbuck and missed or I killed a warthog and its over there, but if I ever hear you say I think I shot a bushbuck or I think I shot a warthog it will be the last time I allow you to hunt in this area, because if the best you can say is "I think" you are not paying attention."
Think I was about 14 first time I heard of "sound hunting", didn't take it very seriously, mistakenly assumed nobody would be dumb enough to shoot at " sounds like a deer". At the age of 16,hunting on our own land, stepped on a twig, couple numbnuts assumed it was a heavily armed Saskatchewan whitetail, and I had a couple shots go zinging into a tree near me. The required blaze orange I was wearing dinna seem to register either...
A few years ago it was last day of the season muzzleloader here and a lady was walking her golden retrievers and she ended getting shot. Turns out the hunter was a state cop.
How about the guy up in MN who got center-punched? Twice. Knocked him RIGHT OFF HIS ATV!
Scary thing is that with all TV shows (where they ALWAYS score) and all the hype around big antlers, I think there's an inordinate amount of pressure on being "successful". If guys are afraid that Tag Soup cases ED, the Stupid level is going to keep going up.
30 years ago, it was NORMAL for it to take seven years for a bow hunter to get his first deer, and most of those were probably does. Now everybody wants instant success, and that absolutely cannot be improving anyone's judgment.
I am a hunters safety instructor. In Arkansas our deer season runs 5 months and the majority of hunting accidents are falling from tree stands. Many of those are older individuals. In Arkansas someone getting shot accidentally is much more rare than many other hunting related injuries. I agree with GDS.