Two Boys Shot and Killed in Separate Hunting Incidents

DrMike said:
Tragic story in my morning news read.

Hunting Accidents

Mississippi and Texas witnessed the death of two boys killed in hunting accidents. It is essential that we teach children safe handling of firearms and insist on adherence to the rules.
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As well as some adults. I have pictures of a 30-06 barrel spilt in half. The guy got mud in it and thought he could shoot it out. WRONG Sad to here about the boys. I believe now a days you should be required to take a saftey coarse to buy a firearm. To may people buying guns with no clue how to handle them.
 
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Way back when my wife and i took the Hunter Ed course, not so much that we needed it but graduates get a free bonus point when drawing for tags. At graduation . the heaad insructors ask us to be members of their group teaching the course. We said yes and taught for a little over sixteen years, leaving mostly from physical problem and federal government butting in. Then the state, probably by insistence from the feds had only game wardens teaching he class and we were just flunkies and gofers One portion I taught dealt with handgun hunting as I was the only one in the group who'd ever done it. One range day I would run the shooting portion with the kids using state issued .22 rifles. I did ti for most of the time I taught with no problems. Then the state said I had to be certified but never held a class for certification. They lost a few other instructors beside my late wife and me. Theirs, and the kids loss in my not very humble opinion. FWIW, I still have the original booklet that the kids used and the government mandated new one. They're not quite the same.
Paul B.
 
PJGunner said:
Way back when my wife and i took the Hunter Ed course, not so much that we needed it but graduates get a free bonus point when drawing for tags. At graduation . the heaad insructors ask us to be members of their group teaching the course. We said yes and taught for a little over sixteen years, leaving mostly from physical problem and federal government butting in. Then the state, probably by insistence from the feds had only game wardens teaching he class and we were just flunkies and gofers One portion I taught dealt with handgun hunting as I was the only one in the group who'd ever done it. One range day I would run the shooting portion with the kids using state issued .22 rifles. I did ti for most of the time I taught with no problems. Then the state said I had to be certified but never held a class for certification. They lost a few other instructors beside my late wife and me. Theirs, and the kids loss in my not very humble opinion. FWIW, I still have the original booklet that the kids used and the government mandated new one. They're not quite the same.
Paul B.
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I still remember the first FAC course I took (firearms acquisition certificate--required to purchase a firearm or ammunition in Canada; today, it is a PAL (possession and acquisition license) or an RPAL (restricted possession and acquisition license)) many years sago. The booklet called for looking down the barrel (from the muzzle) to verify that the firearm was empty! Granted, that bit of doggerel was changed in later editions of the handbook, but how many people were instructed in those first months to jeopardize life and limb because a bureaucrat who had never handled a firearm wrote the instructions?
 
During the years I guided hunting the number and degree of safe gun handling violations was extream, actually mind boggling. The upland hunters were by far the worst and I sent more than one guy home. With the repeat clients I was considered a hard ass, Ok. The worst offenders were middle aged guys who had hunted all their lives, occasionally the stone cold rookies needed a tune up but far and away the guys I would have trouble with for their entire two or three day hunt were the “old hands”
Not all of the old guys were bad many, most were very good and rode herd on the group. But the folks who should know better were the dangerous ones.
There is certainly a Constitutional argument to be made against requiring training to own a gun but there is no such argument for possession of a hunting license. Many states are phasing it in, I hope that effort continues.
 
DrMike said:
I still remember the first FAC course I took (firearms acquisition certificate--required to purchase a firearm or ammunition in Canada; today, it is a PAL (possession and acquisition license) or an RPAL (restricted possession and acquisition license)) many years sago. The booklet called for looking down the barrel (from the muzzle) to verify that the firearm was empty! Granted, that bit of doggerel was changed in later editions of the handbook, but how many people were instructed in those first months to jeopardize life and limb because a bureaucrat who had never handled a firearm wrote the instructions?
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Good Lord, save us!
 
The worst thing I can remember about teaching Hunter Ed was running the shooting ranges. it wasn't due to the kids screwing up but their fathers. usually yhe were one of two who wold call junior over and tell them I was doing it wrong and to do it daddy's way. I talked it over and I was told if the fathers didn't stop interfering with the shooting session as taught, junior would be expelled from the class and would have to start over in a different class. That could be fun as at the time there was a six month or more wait to get into a class. We were instructed to tell "daddy" politely that if he didn't stop countermanding what we were teaching, his child would be removed from the class. That usually took care of he roblem.
Paul B.
 
That is sad, gun safety is priority number 1. Children who handle firearms should be taught gun safety by their parents / grandparents and take some courses in Hunters Ed. Before shooting guns, always look around you and ahead of you before you pull the trigger.

Many moons ago, some friends and I hunted whitewing in a grain field. I remembered taking a load of # 7 birdshot on the side of my face from 30 yards. A friend's son was hunting left of us, when he aimed at a whitewing flying towards us really low and it flew between us across a grain field. I had a bad feeling when I saw the bird coming, looked to my left and saw him swing his shotgun and leading, then i turned my head away and felt a slap on the left side of my left face and boy that hurt. Yelled at him to watch where he is shooting, then I walked off the field and told his old man about it and he was pissed as heck. He called his son off the field , was scolding him, told him to look at my face and grabbed his shotgun away and grounded him for the rest of the day. I looked in the truck mirror and there was a few # 7 pellets embedded in the left side of my cheek where I had to squeeze them out. Had about 25 hits on the left face, scalp and neck and never forgot how hard those little # 7's can endure pain on your face and neck. I'm glad I turned my face away, common sense and quick instinct, before those pellets could have damaged my eyes.
 
This year in my area of Eastern Oregon we had a twenty-something year old shot through both legs by a sixty-something year old in camp. The elder was strapping a loaded and ready .300 Win Mag to his pack and neither man was paying heed to the muzzle. The bullet caused immense damage resulting in the amputation of the offside leg.

I was guiding an eighty-something hunter this fall who when attempting to make his rifle safe actually discharged it mere inches away from my feet. Luckily it was pointed at the ground instead of at my legs.

Treat all guns as if they’re loaded.

Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

Never point at anything you don’t intend to shoot.

And I would add, make your firearm safe (as in UNLOAD IT!) whenever nearing a vehicle or campsite.

It is crazy to me just how frequently hunters are killed or wounded in these accidental shootings.
 
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Any true sportsman who reads of such incidents will grieve for the needless injury and/or loss of life. Aficionados of the shooting sports know that each such tragedy will be used by those who are opposed to the shooting sports in an effort to rally the unthinking public to condemn hunting and to restrict all firearms.:(
 
This short tale involves me and two other for a very close call deer hut that would have resulted in certain death of a Nevada Highway Patrolman.

One year when I was still living in Nevada My wife and three of my oldest step kids had filled their tags. I'd taken a couple of neighbors out on deer hunt and both scored. With four deer in the freezer I really wasn't too anxious to fill my tag, mostly because my feet hurt badly due to a bad pair of new boots.

One of my coworker called me the last night before the end of deer season saying he had no luck and could I give him a hand? With sore feet I reluctantly said OK. Next morning he was not only late but brought a friend, the NVHP. I'd thrown my .270 int his truck when he stopped to pick me up As we drove up the road to get to the top of the mountain, I'm sitting in the middle, coworker driving and NVHP riddling shotgun. I'm literally dozing off as they have the heater going full blast. Anyway, as we're going up the road I tel coworker stop the truck. There's a whole herd walking right to us. Cowoker jams on the brakes and he and NVHP bail out and blaze awa. No there isn't a single round in my rifle as I had not loaded it prior to leaving the house. I slap one in and take out a nice fat eating doe, coworker had brought down a doe and NVHP gut shoots a small forked horn. I see a shot at the but aand shove another round into the rifle and swing onto the buck. Just as I'm about to shoot all I see in my scope is NVHP's bright blond hair. I doubt theer was a half pound of pull left on the trigger and to this day do not know how I stopped myself from pulling that trigger.

This was something I added to my "lectures" in the Hunter Ed class. You can bet serious money on the ass chewing I gave that idiot.

I stayed at the truck and got my hands dirty and tagged the two deer taken while the two others went looking for the buck. They never found it. I think I probably could have found it but walking was frankly too darn painful. I did tell coworker that if we hunt together again, leave NVHP behind. He's not welcome to hunt with me.
Paul B.
 
Sad to hear of this tragedy. Here in WV anyone born after Jan 1, 1975, has to take a hunter safety course before purchasing a hunting license. Underage below age 15 are allowed to hunt under adult supervision. This hasn't eliminated hunting related accidents but has reduced them significantly. It's a good thing required. Dan.
 
wvbuckbuster said:
Sad to hear of this tragedy. Here in WV anyone born after Jan 1, 1975, has to take a hunter safety course before purchasing a hunting license. Underage below age 15 are allowed to hunt under adult supervision. This hasn't eliminated hunting related accidents but has reduced them significantly. It's a good thing required. Dan.
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Yep, there is also the "apprentice license" that allows someone for one year to hunt without taking the hunter education class, provided they are always directly supervised by a licensed hunter, I think its either within arms reach or ear shot. It's what I used with my SIL when he decided at the last minute he wanted to try hunting this year. Next year he'll have to take the safety class.
 
hunter24605 said:
Yep, there is also the "apprentice license" that allows someone for one year to hunt without taking the hunter education class, provided they are always directly supervised by a licensed hunter, I think its either within arms reach or ear shot. It's what I used with my SIL when he decided at the last minute he wanted to try hunting this year. Next year he'll have to take the safety class.
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Forgot about this Howie. Thanks for bringing this out. Dan.
 
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