Giving Hunting a Bad Name ... way ta go!

[texasjohn]

There will never, ever, be any law or device that replaces GOOD JUDGEMENT and KOWLEDGE of your equipment... this applies to hunting, driving, working with tractors and many other human activities. After 60+ years, I have concluded that all of life and its activities follow the laws of mathematics. Take any activity and look at the people who engage in it. Some will do an average job, some will be one or two standard deviations away from the average/median (I know the difference,, but who cares for this dixcussion) It is typically the folks who are on the outer fringes of one or two standard deviations who get in trouble.

I grew up hunting and understanding the risk of firearms. While in high school, I was out deer hunting on the ranch and heard our paid hunters take a shot, then another, than another, then another... about 12 in all... then all was quiet. They were about a mile from me in a totally different pasture. Then there was another fusilade of 10 or so shots, then all quiet.

I visited the hunters camp at noon and got the story. Hunter number 1 came across a javalena in a narrow 10 foot deep dead end rock gulley. The animal was trapped and in plain sight. The hunter emptied his gun at the hog at distances of 10 to 30 yards, then reloaded and ultimately ran out of shells. His buddy who was hunting close by heard the noise and came to investigate. He, too, emptied his rifle at the hog and reloaded until he ran out of shells. The hog was ultimately killed with rocks.

I learned then that a person carrying a gun does not always know how to use it.

 

[jd0716]

I agree that there are alot of morons out there hunting. That is the reason I will not deer hunt on public land. I do hunt small game on public land but am very cautious and have donne less hunting on public land since having kids/responsibility. Same reason I sold the motorcycle (not that I think that it is wrong for parents to ride, just a personal decision).

Unfortunately, somtimes there are just accidents and it has nothing to do with being careless. This may not be the case in this situation, as it sounds as though they were breaking the law, which is not very smart in my opinion. But, again, I can see how an accident can happen and somebody could be accidentally shot. In my opinion, it is no different than if any of us have been in a traffic accident, where we were at fault. Doesn't necessarily mean we should no longer be allowed to drive. Being under the influence or driving 100 mph is a different story.

just my .02.

 

[thingy]

Well,,that was a good two cents worth,,,I totally agree. Its dangerous hunting period,,and if you live in the middle of people shooting at deer with high powered rifles,,thats dangerous too.It gets even more dangerous the more people per acre you got hunting,,I hunt just by my self on my 31 acres,,,but next to me might be 6 guys around the edges.
Idiots will always find a way of killing them selfs,,all we can do is be as carefull as we can,and not be an idiot,,,but,,,,,,thingy

 

[jd0716]

What gets me is when a non hunter gets shot during hunting season its their fault for walking outside without orange on...BULL !!
One of my co workers told me he was sitting out,when he heard a noise coming through the bushs,he sees something ,not sure what picks up his rifle,points it ,takes off the safety ,then a voice says please dont shoot me.It was the landowner carrying out tree bows to make wreaths.Guess that will be posted next yea When he told this story at work there were 3 others who admit pointing there guns at people.unfreakinbelievable!!!
My dad taught us alot different ,these guys shouldnt be allowed to hunt in my opinion.
ALAN

I would agree that somebody should not have to wear hunter orange to walk outside of their house to get their mail, take out trash, etc... But, there is some common sense. My wife and kids do not go outside during our deer gun season, as we are surrounded by woods. Our neighbors moved here from the city 4 years ago. I always warn them before gun season because they like to wlk their dogs in the woods. Anyhow, 2 years ago, after I recommended he stay out of the woods during gun season, and definitely wear orange if he is in the woods, I am out hunting. I hear foot steps and think it is a deer coming around the bend (i could only hear footsteps in the leaves and couldn't see). Then whatever is approaching me begins growling. By this time, I am getting nervous because I don't wnat to be eaten by a dog. Finally, the dog and my neigbhor step around the bend to where I could see them. I scared them as bad as they scared me! Fortunately, I did not have my gun up and ready to shoot, or I think we would have all crapped our pants! That event was a reminder as to why I never raise my gun or take my safety off until I see my target and know what I am shooting at. You could consider me to be obsessive compulsive when it comes to gun safety, ask my nephew who just started hunting this year (he hunts with my dad & I because his father doesn't hunt).

 

[turnkey4099]

Yes, idiots with guns. No question. What I don't get is the 'hunter shot - no charges' thing. Just try shooting someone in defense of your home and find out how the 'no charges' thing works out.

Harry K

 

[Thomas]

I think they call that Buck Fever when a guy plasters his buddy because he say a deer. There is nothing wrong with a deer drive as long as you can trust the other people that you are hunting with. I guess that is why I hunt alone. That way I am only responsible for my own actions.

Morning JimR.
BUCK FEVER,yup for some its real bad,but yet to see a deer that look anything like a human as of yet.

Same here when it comes to hunting.

 

[pennwalk]

Well this thread cleared up one thing for me. I thought deer driving was when you got a big cooler of beer and loaded up a couple of buddies and all your dogs in your old red pick-up and headed off to the woods to chase deer. Even if that isn't deer driving the thing to avoid in that situation is wedging the truck between two trees. It takes years for folks to get over smirking when ever they see you driving through town with both fenders bashed in.

One thing I still don't understand is when a guy is a proven idiot with a gun why is he still allowed to have guns and to keep hunting?

About wearing orange in the fall. I do wear an orange vest during hunting season cause you never know when one of those guys up in the tree stands will mistake diesel snort for buck snort and you got to admit that a guy on a red tractor can look sort of like a deer.

Chris

 

[JimR]

Morning JimR.
BUCK FEVER,yup for some its real bad,but yet to see a deer that look anything like a human as of yet.

Same here when it comes to hunting.

Morning Tom,

I've seen Buck Fever up close and personal on one occasion. I was tracking a big buck that ran across a logging road in northern Ma. years ago. As I walked out onto that road. I saw an older gentleman with his shotgun aimed right at my friggin head. He was no more than 50 feet away from me. I was wearing a full hunter orange hunting coat. I immediately lifted my shotgun and pointed it right at his head and yelled at him to drop his gun or I would blow his head off. I then yelled don't shoot you idiot, I'm Human. Have you ever been in a situation where seconds seem like hours. This was it for me. My heart was pounding and I had all I could do to keep from shooting this guy. I knew he had no clue as to what I was as he had yet to lower his gun. I'm sure he saw the buck cross the road right before I walked out onto it. After what seemed to be a lifetime he lowered his gun. Not a word came from his mouth. He just started shaking. I told him to get the **** out of the woods before I turned him over to the wildlife officals.

Look what happened up in Maine a few years back. A woman is waving off a hunter from her back yard. She's wearing white mittens. The hunter blows her away with his high powered rifle. Can you say A-Hole.


Years ago, 1976 to be exact, a guy I knew was driving up a logging road in Maine with his two hunting buddies. They are in a two tone International Scout. The truck is brand new and the color is buckskin with a white roof. As they are driving up the side of a hill they hear a rifle shot. The guy in the back seat almost gets his legs blown off as the round pierces through the side of the truck just under the side rear window and exits through the floorboards on the other side of him. The bullet just missed his legs. They found the guy and took his gun away from him. They turned him over to the local authorities. I saw this vehicle when the owner brought it in for an estimate to repair it. He said the guy had a rifle with a scope on it. Now how stupid do you have to be to not know the difference between a deer and a vehicle?

I was out on the back forty, as we call it, behind our house deer hunting one year. I'm sitting just below a hillside of laurel bushes. I know the deer come out of here everyday and head for the swamp. All of a sudden, I hear something coming down through the laurel bushes. I lift my gun up slowly and wait patiently for the deer (HA) to walk out into the opening in front of me. Yes, my finger is off the trigger. We are required to wear hunter orange here in Ma. during shotgun season. I can see movement in the bushes. I see light brown sneaking down through the laurel. All of a sudden it breaks out into the open. There in full camo including having his face painted is a hunter. I stand up and make sure he knows I'm there. I ask him if he is stupid or what? He replies with what do you mean? I then asked where the H-ll is your hunter orange. He replies with, I'm hunting on private property and don't have to wear any hunter orange. I reply with, your lucky I don't shoot into brush when I see brown or you'd be dead. I have never seen him in my neighbors woods since then and that was at least 15 years ago. Talk about STUPID.

How about sitting behind a tree overlooking a valley during shotgun season. All of a sudden you hear three shots being fired. Two of the shots impact the tree you are leaning against. Fortunately for you, the tree is two feet thick, the slugs don't penetrate it. This happened to a former co-worker of mine. He gave up hunting that day. He had hung an orange vest on the backside of that tree just so other hunters would know he was there. The shooter claimed he was shooting at a running deer. My former co-worker told the guy he was a friggin liar. Even that night, 3rd shift, at work the guy was still white as a ghost. Those are the only stories that I know of from honest hunters and people that I have known. I've heard all kinds of other stories from people that I wouldn't trust or believe to be true. If you take to the woods, be careful. Your life is in someone else's hands if they are a stupid hunter.

 

[EddieWalker]

One thing I still don't understand is when a guy is a proven idiot with a gun why is he still allowed to have guns and to keep hunting?

About five or six years ago there was a story in the news about a University that did a big, mulit year study on people and stupidity. What they discovered is that stupid people don't have the ability to recognize stupid actions in themselves. It's as simple as that, they just don't get it.

You and I can do something stupid and realize that we've made a mistake and learn fromi it. Truly stupid people have no idea they did something stupid and will blame somebody or something else for what happened. I also think it's a lack of assuming responsibility, but that's just my opinion.

Stupid people will never get it and there's nothing anybody can say or do to convince them otherwise. It's just a genetic thing they lack.

While reading the examples everyone has given of stupid behaviour they've come across while out hunting, I keep wondering if any of those people who were doing these things get it? I bet they have a bunch of excuses and reasons why it wasn't there fault.

One of the dumbest people I ever met was a woman I used to work with. She spent all day calling everyone stupid, yet never realized that she was the one who couldn't do the job. She was the same way at home with her kids and husband. According to her, they were all stupid. When that article came out in the newspaper, it all made sense to me. We all knew she wasn't very bright, but never realized that she didn't realize it in herself.

Eddie

 

[DAP]

Uh ... here's a question .. if you are out hunting deer, that is, you are in habitat where you might find a deer and are equipped with a weapon that is typically used for deer hunting ... before taking a shot, do you NOT identify your target as a DEER first? Or, as some have intimated, you shoot at brown colors moving through the brush???

In this day and age, we no longer are DEPENDENT on wild game for sustenance, although it can be a supplement.

As such, it is sport usually. Therefore, before firing a round, I would want to be convinced that I was shooting at something I have ALREADY IDENTIFIED AS A VALID TARGET. I will say that those who disagree are not very good sportsmen.