Man Killed by friend in hunting accident!
 

http://www.courierpress.com/news/200...ting-accident/


Be smart out there this year, what a tragic thing.

That is unfathomable!

WOW!!!! What a tragedy!!! ALWAYS, ALWAYS MAKE DOUBLE SURE OF YOUR TARGET!!!!

This happend 10 mintues from where I hunt! I fish at the lake some but never have hunted it. This is the second accidental death there this year. A guy drowned in the lake in the early summer.

Thats a terrible thing to happen, having to live with it would be worse.

He thought he was a turkey..... wow.

I refuse to believed that that was an accident. No way you can mistakingly see someone as a turkey? In bow range?!

I would hate to speculate that it was anything but an accident.

We dont know the lighting conditions but I would guess they were poor. The victim was sitting. We dont know how visible he was as far as terrain or brush.

I am not trying to justify what happened or take away from the shooters responsability of being sure of his target. Without knowing any more details than the article I would hate to imply that this shooting was on purpose

How is anybody that braindead of an outdoorsman to shoot a man with a bow and arrow and think he shot a turkey?:eek2: Dumbest and saddest thing I have heard of in a long time

That is undoubtly a horrific tragedy for the families of those involved.

But in these "accidents" each year I just believe the continue to happen. Before entering the military I was a Deputy Sheriff. I could never see justifying this or any other such incident as a accidental shooting. These are all neglegent shootings. Had the people involved in such stories positively ID'd the target before shooting, none of this should ever happen. It seems these people are shooting something on sound. I never even touch my bow just on a sound I hear. I always wait til I know its my intended target first. I wonder if these states require a hunter to attend a saftey course in order to purchase a license. I just dont understand why people have to keep suffering because of tragedies of this nature.

I dont mean to sound harsh and uncaring, but I just get really boiled when someone loses their life meaninglessly. It also gives hunters as a whole a bad rep towards those opposed to hunting.

How do u mistake someone for a turkey. I person weighs 150lb to 250 lb and a turkey weighs 20 lbs. This is so sad and be safe out there everyone. I am scared to hunt state land for this reason. Stupid people who dont identify their target and let their arrows fly. Person needs to be in jail

Does the guy have a sight impairment or what? How do you mistake a guy for a turkey at bow range? WOW

Sad sad sad ..... Another reason I dislike hunting public ground!!! To many idiots!!!

Really? God forbid something like this ever happens to you. We don't know the details and lets just slow down a little before we throw the books at someone who just accidentally shot his close friend here.

This is terrible indeed. Another reason that I don't like to hunt public ground especially off the ground. I feel for all involved.

On first read. there is more to this than just a horrific event.

Wow, so sad

Was turkey seaon even in? Isn't it a little early for that? Another case of a couple young kids out hunting without supervison and turns tragic.

kinda agree with most here............how do you mistake your hunting partner for a turkey??? very very tragic indeed & no matter what - the kid that did the shooting will be doing a 'life sentence' regardless of what the law throws at him.........

No excuse for it. We're out there to hunt, but under the umbrella of safety. If a person isn't 100% sure of the target just pointing a weapon at it is disturbing enough.

I had 2 very foolish women on horses come into my scope last year. They weren't allowed in the area and to make matters worse stepped into a lane I'd seen a very nice buck minutes before. I heard a snort, raised the gun, looked down the scope, saw brown and waited for conformation only to see the head of a horse. I was shaking as these 2 idiots came by me smiling saying out loud how they could see me. My response was short and to the point "I saw you". Still disturbs me greatly.

Fortunately for me and those 2 women I shot a friend with a toy bow as a kid of about ten. The memory still haunts me. The kid suffered no injuries even though I hit him square in the back of the head, right where I was aiming. Kidding around I'd pointed the arrow at him and muttered some words, my vision went black all around except for the center of the target, unconsciously I loosed the arrow and saw it in slow motion fly straight and true. I know what happens when the brain starts to bear down on something. Unless a voice in your head starts screaming STOP, ya wont. I have a different O of kids being allowed to play with toy guns and bows as you can imagine. Saves lives in my book.

Make 100% sure of the target before beginning the shot and pray for a very loud voice in your head that constantly warns of danger. This kid obviously was not sure of his target and never should have begun the shot.

My sympathy for all involved.

There is no excuse for not clearly seeing your target and what's behind it before releasing the arrow. If that means you miss out on the big buck or tom because you can barely see it, so be it. At least you're not taking the chance you're going kill the neighbor dog or kid. Nothing is worth that. And isn't ethical bowhunting about great shot placement that is going to down the animal quickly? How do you achieve that by shooting willy nilly at movement?

Unfortunately, a father killed his 9 year old son in Minnesota last year (hunting with no license and under the influence of drugs and alcohol), shooting again, at movement. It's just so sad. That's why during the 9 day gun season here, the kids and the dogs stay inside, not because of me, but because I'm not willing to take the chance someone out there is going to mistake them for a big buck, which is ridiculous, but necessary to do so I can still tuck them in at night.

One more example, seven years ago in Minnesota, an old-timer decided to shoot the deer he saw 200 yards away from his front porch. After he fired the shotgun slug perfectly into his target, he saw the horse with the 12 year old girl on it crumple to the ground. The slug had just barely missed one of her legs.

Know your target. Maybe that person or animal shouldn't be there for whatever reason, but I'd rather not be responsible for taking their life.

As sad as these types of things are to hear, there really is NO EXCUSE for it! :nonono2:

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I started thinking more about the stance of let's slow down and wait til we know all the facts. I am not one to cast stones and I am not going to beat this guy up. He's probably doing that plenty himself already and will to some extent for the rest of his life. That said, I can't help but thinking again that there is no excuse period for shooting at a target you can't clearly see or something like movement in the brush. So while the guy may or may not deserve jail time (I'm not going to argue that), he does need to take responsibility. Too few people in today's society want to do that. There's always some excuse or someone or somethin else at fault.

Fall Archery Turkey season is in in Illinois. Sad indeed. Since I'm pretty sure it is not Judgement Day, I'll leave that to others. :confused0024:

Pretty sure too but the days not over and you know a day to the Lord is like a thousand years... :)

I think more are judging the schooling of hunters, not the kid.

I agree 1shot, killing a human for a turkey with archery equipment was more than an accident or poor judgment. He can't distinguish between a turkey and human, but makes a shot through brush to kill this hunter??? I may be off base, but I believe the investigation will determine this was not a hunting accident.

If i were the Game Warden that kid would never hunt again..he wouldnt beable to get a license..Thats Crazy..a....TURKEY??

Just stupid

-NICK

Bump, I see a second thread was opened.

I have a hard time believing this was an accident. It's terrible what happened and I feel for the family but what dumba$$ shoots a human in bow range? He is either the worst outdoors man who ever lived or he did it on purpose and is a psycho.

Maybe the guy was a millionaire and the kid wanted it all....in these days and times anything like that doesnt seem out of the ordinary, but I bet he is having a really hard time explaining that to ANY of the DNR guys that are investigating. In most states the guy will ultimately forfeit his hunting priviledges until passing a rigorous hunting test, most likely years from now for the ability to ever hunt again! just my opinion

Yeah completly insane,some people have no business being in the woods,I find it kinda hard to belive but it happend,I am guessing it was dark enough to where he couldnt see his sites let alone make out a target I mean thats when we get outta our stands right when we cant see our sites? There is no excuse for it hopefuly it will be a good lesson for this kid and other hunters that lack the means necessary to hunt safely and the lack of brains to make out your target before shooting at anything.I am guessing this is a case of someone being handed a bow and never being taught anything about it and possibly his first year in the timber,I never took the hunters safety course because my brain tells me naturaly what is right and what is wrong but agree some people sure could use it,it is required in the state of Illinois but if one person sells you a hunting license you can use that hunting license the very next year to get another without showing proof you have takin the course,I buy my license online so im on the sytem perminatly so I will never have to show proof that I took the hunter safety course which is good for me but not for everyone.Long story short just use your head out there and this stuff would never happen.

USARMY i do agree why would you ever draw back or raise your wearon if you aren't 100 percent of what your shooting
Just my opinion.

I am kinda leaning this way also...
just real hard to believe.

Like Ray Phillips, this happened close to where I live and hunt. Very sad situation, and I feel for both families. I keep coming back to the same question, didn't the shooter know that 99.999% of turkeys would have been roosted long before it was dark?

My sons have started hunting the recently, so I sat through the IL hunter safety course with each of them, once in 2007 and 2008. I think there needs to be a mandatory hunter EDUCATION course for young hunters. Alot of parents drop the kids off and have no idea what they have learned (or not) and assume its now safe for their kids to hunt alone. Nothing could be further from the truth IMO.

real tragedy..i am from and hunt around xenia illinois and heard about this..i know it was an accident but arent you suppose to b sure of your target before even thinking about taking a shot at it???!!

Sad story, but I have to ask; Who the hell can't tell a man from a turkey? I thought it was a Cardinal rule to identify your target.

Tragic, but the idiot who shot his friend should be tried for manslaughter. Being a dumb a$$ is no excuse for the death of another person.

we do not know many things, hate to jump to conclusions here, however, very very very sad and unfortunate

Bow Hunting Accident
 

I wouldn't jump to accuse anyone until it is investigated. I see you are from Virginia, I grew up there, not where you are, but in the S. West part of the state near Ky. About 40 yrs ago squirrell hunting there was the big thing. One day after school there was some boys that went hunting after school. They were up on a ridge, and one of them got turned around and somehow thought he saw a squirrell. It was his friends hair sticking out from the side of the tree. It was investigated by the police and ruled an accident.

There must be some humongous turkeys out there? I've shot a lot of turkeys with a bow and I gotta tell you not one of them have I ever snuck walked up on in bow range.

Not sure if the friend was bow hunting as well but last I knew turkeys didn't wear camo?

One thing is for sure either this was no accident or this kid shouldn't have ever been allowed to play with anything sharper then silly putty.

that jus sux

I've read somewhere that 90% or higher of hunting accidents aren't really accidents.

I tend to believe that. They more often than not are not accidents. Merely convenient excuses.