RE: Tragedy
 

Here in Minnesota had a 13 yr old shoot a member of his hunting party because he thought he was a bear. Pretty sad and scary.

RE: Tragedy
 

Hunter education is an excellent tool in educating the young/inexperienced about gun safety and safety practices of hunting. I personally take a loaded gun, with safety on when I am tracking or walking through the woods in shooting light, however, when my kids are with me, the gun goes unloaded, I don't care if a world record buck stepped 10 yds in front of me broadside, ain't NOTHING in this world more important to me than the safety of my babies! Even when my gun is notloaded, my 6 year old daughter was taught to walk beside me, not behind or in front of me. My gun is carried at that point over my shoulder and pointing behind me.

Hunter education is good, but what's even better is having a safety conscious, responsible adult surveying the situation constantly, making it the safest possible atmosphere to introduce youngsters and beginners to the great sport. The father should have, IMO, been far more safety conscious than he was apparently being, however, it's water under the bridge now, and more importantly, maybe someone will learn from this situation and be able to prevent it from happening to them or their loved ones. We are OBLIGATED to pass on safety procedures we have learned to younger generations, the future of the sport is in our hands, and at times, the future of a young person rides on our shoulders as well.

Obviously age is a big factor in determining responsibility, however, as parents and hunting mentors, we encourage our children at very young ages to enjoy the outdoors and the sporting luxuries it provides to us. If we choose to take a 10 year old, a 6 year old, a 21 year old out into the woods, we should also educate them on the safest ways to handle a gun. My daughter wants to hunt next year, however, at this point I do NOT feel she has the patience, listening skills, etc... to comprehend what I would tell her about gun safety, so for now she will only observe the safety practices I have been taught through hunter ed and my husband. When she is ready, I will carry her gun, load her gun, guide her through the shooting process and so on and so forth, when she is 16, if she has sufficiently sunk it in as second nature, she will be allowed to hunt on her own. Until then, she is only an intern on God's earth.

Please, no matter how responsible you FEEL a child is, use your better judgement, knowing that death is a finality, even certain injuries. Realize it is not the gun that kills people, animals, whatever, it is the person using the gun. PERIOD.

My heart goes out to all families this season who have lost loved ones due to irresponsible gun handling skills and hunting styles... you have not deserved what you have received, please take your experiences and unfortunate situations and turn them into prevention for future sportsmen.

RE: Tragedy
 

sorry to hear this, this is why i'm very strick with my two little ones. 8 & 12 who loves to hunt,they get excited and don't think,my oldest son shot down a buck last weekend and we had to track it, before we started, all three guns where left in the truck, and i had to cut the deers throat.its better to be safe and lose a deer than be sorry. i'll tell them about this.what a sad tragedy.

RE: Tragedy
 

Thanks for sharing this - prayers out to the family. Tragic.

RE: Tragedy
 

I am really sadened to hear about this. As a father of 3 who takes his children hunting i always worry about 1 of them getting hurt out in the woods. The thing i do and maybe you other parents might want to consider is.. I only take 1 of them deer hunting at a time. It is hard enough to keep an eye on an inexperienced young hunter at any given time let alone all 3. just take a different child each time i go. When we squirrel hunt, i usually take 2 of the kids at a time. no loaded guns till we get to our spot. Find 1 big tree and i put a kid on each side of it and me in the middle.

RE: Tragedy
 

HUNTER EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT...
HOWEVER....IT STARTS WITH THE DAD...
I"M SURE THE BOY TOOK THE COURSE AND PASSED WITH FLYING COLOURS....
BUT IT ALL GOT FORGOTTEN WHEN HE SHOT HIS DEER.....
DADSHOULD HAVE NEVER ALLOWED THAT BOY OF HIS TO CARRY
A LOADED GUN WHILE TRACKING A WOUNDED DEER...
DAD SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONLY ONE WITH AN "UNLOADED GUN" DURING THIS TIME..
BUT THATS ALL HINDSITE..
YOU KNOW MAYBE PARENTS SHOULD BE REQUIREDTO TAKE THIS COURSE WITH THERE KIDS TO REMIND THEM OF SAFE GUN HANDLING AND HUNTING PRACTICES NOT FOR THEM SELVES& TO ENSURE THAT THE HUNTING PARTY IS SAFE...
FOR THOSE WHO DISAGREE "THINKING WHY SHOULD I" OR "I MAKE SURE MY KIDS ARE SAFE...."
WELL SITUATIONS HAPPEN, AND THINGS GET MISSED, WHEN PEOPLE GET EXCITED.....
HELL IF COPS AND SOLDIERS CAN ACCIDENTLY SHOOT THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER, AND THATS WITH PROPER TRAINING .........
KIDS WILL TOO.......

RE: Tragedy
 

I agree, Jeff. Sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture and then taking a test while your bored out of your mind is one thing, being in the field and working on your first kill with the adrenalin pumping is another. Hopefully, other folks will learn from this misadventure and not duplicate the results.

I certainly feel for the family. Losing a family member is difficult enough, much less the additionalpain and guilt they are having to cope with.

To everyone else, don't let this discourage you from taking a young hunter into the woods, but use it instead as a reminder that accidents happen. Be alert and know that the unthinkable happensbecause people don't think it will happen, and they fail to plan accordingly.