81 yead old shoots teen and a car. . . thinks it's a deer

[chomerics]

From the you have got to be kidding me files . . . :doh:

WAUSAU, Wis. -- Three hunters were fatally shot in 13 shooting accidents investigated by state game wardens during the nine-day deer hunting season that ended Sunday, the state Department of Natural Resources reported Monday.

Among the accidents: An 81-year-old hunter shot and wounded a teenage boy mistaken for a deer, and a motorist was struck by a bullet that passed through the vehicle's door after the hunter mistook the car for a deer, said Tim Lawhern, the agency's hunter safety coordinator.

The three fatalities were the most since five hunters died during the 2001 season, Lawhern said.

"I am always disappointed when people get hurt, and it is always because of a violation of the rules of firearms safety,'' he said in a telephone interview from Madison. "By and large, hunters are doing a good job.''

The 13 accidents, while more than double the number of year ago, continue a trend of safer hunting seasons going back more than two decades, Lawhern said.

The most dangerous season in recent times occurred in 1987, when eight hunters died in 53 shooting-related accidents, Lawhern said.

According to a 1908 newspaper account, 44 hunters were killed and 57 were injured during the deer season that year when there were only about 20,000 hunters, Lawhern said. Wisconsin implemented its hunter education program in 1967, requiring new hunters to take training in gun safety and proper gun handling.

The state sold about 630,000 hunting licenses for this season.

Last season, five shooting accidents occurred with one fatality, making it the safest season on record, eclipsing the previous record of 10 accidents and one fatality in 1997, the DNR said.

However, last year's hunt was marred by a tragedy in northwestern Wisconsin, where six white hunters were killed by an Asian hunter following an angry, racially charged confrontation over trespassing in a tree stand on private land in Sawyer County.

A St. Paul, Minn., truck driver is now serving six life prison sentences after a jury convicted him of six counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.

Tim Zeigle, chief deputy of the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department, said his agency reported no serious complaints during the hunting season.

Hunters had until 5 p.m. Monday to register deer shot during the season. The DNR expected to release preliminary totals Tuesday. During the first two days the season, hunters registered 161,286 deer, up about 8,000 from a year ago.

Karen Banaszynski, a clerk at Pulaski Shell, a convenience store in Pulaski in northeastern Wisconsin, said her store registered about 900 deer through Sunday, already up 125 from a year ago.

"Hunters seem to be happy,'' she said.

The three hunters fatally shot died in northern Wisconsin accidents, according to the DNR.

A 66-year-old man was shot in Burnett County as he participated in an afternoon deer drive, and a 46-year-old woman was killed in Chippewa County during a deer drive. In Marinette County, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the back as he was walking toward a vehicle by a 12-year-old boy who thought his gun's safety was on.

In a non-firearm incident, a 44-year-old man died of head injuries when he fell from a tree stand near Woodruff.

Lawhern said seven of the 13 shooting accidents occurred on deer drives, a strategy where a group of hunters who know each other walk through the fields or woods to scare deer and get them moving.

Only a fraction of Wisconsin's hunters do deer drives, according to DNR surveys, but for those who do, it is very much a part of their tradition, Lawhern said.

"If designed correctly, they can be safe and responsible,'' he said. "When somebody doesn't follow the plan or the rules of firearm safety, that is when trouble happens.''

http://www.startribune.com/stories/531/5751242.html

Man, that's just not right. . . a teenager, and a car? WTF?

[Raub]

Was it an Impala? :doh:

[Sweet Sassy Molassy]

Was it an Impala? :doh:

Holy ****, I must be tired. Because I'm laughing uncontrollably at that right now.

[chomerics]

Was it an Impala? :doh:

No, I think it was a Buick, but he couldn't see the i. . .

[TC4]

Sounds to me like the problem is that the season is only nine days long

Seems like that would make the hunters WAY too eager to shoot at anything

[DCNightHawk]

what hits me the most is the 12 year old boy who shot the 14 year old boy... why was he pointing a gun and pulling a trigger at a human being anyway despite him thinking the saftey was on. that is just stupid!!!!!!!

[chomerics]

what hits me the most is the 12 year old boy who shot the 14 year old boy... why was he pointing a gun and pulling a trigger at a human being anyway despite him thinking the saftey was on. that is just stupid!!!!!!!

stupid is as stupid does. . . or so says Forest Gump

[halter91]

no, i wasn't in Wisconsin.

[redman]

Time to hang up the gun, Gramps.

[Larry]

what hits me the most is the 12 year old boy who shot the 14 year old boy... why was he pointing a gun and pulling a trigger at a human being anyway despite him thinking the saftey was on. that is just stupid!!!!!!!

I would assume (since I always tend to give people the benefit of the doubt), (unless the article mentions that they're Republicans ), that it was a case of "rifle in hand, trip, gun went off".

(However, all them gun-totin lunatics who claim that animal rights aren't in the Constitution are Republican, so it's possible that it was deliberate, and the GOPs coverin it up.)

[chomerics]

no, i wasn't in Wisconsin.

:rotflmao: :notworthy

[dreamingwolf]

Sounds to me like the problem is that the season is only nine days long

Seems like that would make the hunters WAY too eager to shoot at anything

while that makes sense, I disagree. I know plenty of hunters that only have a small window to hunt that come away with nothing even when they see deer but let it go cause they dont have a clear shot.

If anything this guy might have out lived his hunting years. Hes 81 after all, not saying people cant hunt after 81 but maybe this is a wake up call for this guy.

[chomerics]

If anything this guy might have out lived his hunting years. Hes 81 after all, not saying people cant hunt after 81 but maybe this is a wake up call for this guy.

I'd sure hope so. . . I mean what did he say when he got home?

wife- "How'd ya do hun? Did ya get that 8 pointer you said you would?"

81 yr old.- "Ummm, not really"

wife- "What do you mean?"

81 yr. old- "Well I got something but it wasn't that 8 pointer I've been scouting. . . instead I got the Smith kid up the street and Jason's Chevy"

:doh::doh::doh::doh:

[dreamingwolf]

I'd sure hope so. . . I mean what did he say when he got home?

wife- "How'd ya do hun? Did ya get that 8 pointer you said you would?"

81 yr old.- "Ummm, not really"

wife- "What do you mean?"

81 yr. old- "Well I got something but it wasn't that 8 pointer I've been scouting. . . instead I got the Smith kid up the street and Jason's Chevy"

:doh::doh::doh::doh:

that was epee

He should be held responsible in civil court. Pay for the medical expenses and damages and have his hunting license revoked permantly. From that same article hunting safety is safer than ever.