Back in high school, we lost a classmate to a hunting accident. I can't remember exactly when it took place, but I do know it occurred some time during late 2009 or early 2010.

The classmate, an acquaintance of mine, was out in the woods near his house squirrel hunting with a friend. From what we were told, the guy's friend was handing him a 22 revolver (which was illegal by the way; under 18s aren't allowed to hunt with handguns in Tennessee). Apparently abandoning all common sense, the friend handed it to him loaded and with his finger in the trigger guard. Then, my acquaintance, also abandoning all common sense, grabbed the revolver and pulled it toward himself by the barrel. The gun fired and the bullet struck him in the neck. They tried to airlift him to Vanderbuilt, but he never made it there.

That was a sobering moment for the rest of us. There were always plenty of us at school who hunted, but I think that was the first time someone any of us personally knew was killed in a hunting related accident.