He obviously forgot one of the cardinal rules of gun safety ... Have a good clear view of your target, before pulling the trigger. Also you are NOT supposed to hunt near inhabited areas.
Posted on 12/18/2001 9:07:24 AM PST by spunkets
Edited on 09/03/2002 4:49:48 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
STANLEY, Wis. -- The bullet, aimed at what looked like a white-tailed deer, struck its target with chilling precision. But as hunter Mike Berseth and his two buddies crossed a ravine and approached the lifeless figure, the thrill of the kill turned to shock and horror.
Lying on a gravel road was not a deer, but Berseth's 47-year-old neighbor, Debbie Prasnicki, who had been walking her two dogs near wooded Otter Lake on that chilly Saturday afternoon. She was wearing a white stocking cap when Berseth's bullet pierced her temple.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Absolutely. The "accidents happen" crowd that comes out of the woodwork around here on posts like this is nearly as frightening as the gun-toting imbeciles wandering the woods bent on bagging a quick trophy, caution be damned.
Is there a rule somewhere that says the citizens can only express (and act on) concerns about the highest statistical causes of death? On that kind of reasoning we should just not worry at all about Mr. Anthrax. I say nail Mr. Anthrax, nail this reckless hunter nut, and nail the drunk and reckless drivers too. It's not an either/or proposition.
He obviously forgot one of the cardinal rules of gun safety ... Have a good clear view of your target, before pulling the trigger. Also you are NOT supposed to hunt near inhabited areas.
Pretty much says it all right there.
Sounds like all of you are making excuses for negligent hunting but are willing to excuse anything else negligent and claim it as "accident." You can bet your bippy that from things like "accidental shootings" will come a cry to ban hunting, guns, etc.
Of all highway deaths in a year, the overwhelming majority are negligence - somewhere between 90 and 95 percent. I know that probably about 100 percent of the hunting deaths are negligence, but there's no comparison in numbers and I just wonder why people raise such a fuss about guns and not cars. Where's the huge outcry to ban vehicles?
Consider:
1. Vehicles crash on an average of every 1.7 seconds - nearly 20 million vehicles a year.
2. Vehicle passengers are injured in those crashes at an average rate of one every 6-10 seconds - more than 6 million people a year.
3. Vehicle passengers die in vehicle crashes at an average rate of one every 13-14 minutes - over 40,000 people EVERY year for the past 20 or 30 years.
Thing is - most everyone drives, so when one commits some kind of irresponsile act while driving, we cop out on the penalties because we may do the same kind of thing someday.
Horsepucky.
Not go into the woods because of the danger? Stick your heads in the sand and pretend danger doesn't happen in any other way, shape or manner. I don't question the concern about the deaths. If it were my sister, or my wife or my daughter?. Would I think that the person ought to be hung? I'd hope not, unless it could be proven that the person did it on purpose. That would include a hunting "accident" or a vehicle "accident." And after having been involved in highway safety education for over 38 years, I think I could be forgiving of the person even though I know that in 9 cases out of 10 negligence is the cause of the death.
Negligence in the guise of "accidents" is a human failing. Like or not. I don't make the rules. And so it goes.
John B********ff. Killed the biggest damn blacktail seen around here for quite some time. My brother, who shares the lease on their hunting land summed it up thusly: "That whisky-drunk assh*le shot the biggest f#%&ing deer I've ever seen."
I used the term I dislike anyone using.
Said "Sounds like 'ALL' of you...."
I don't like to be all inclusive when talking about any subject.
Better watch out. You never know when someone who's not paying attention to what they're doing might bump into you in the Mall, while you're shopping, and knock you to the floor or down the stairs breaking your "whatever."
Do you live in a vacuum?
Guarantee you one thing, Atticus. I drive, hunt and cut firewood and you're probably safer around me than I am around you in doing all those things. I know what I can and can't do and should and shouldn't do, but I don't know about you.
LOL! I have heard some wild/amazing drunken hunting stories. It ha always worried me to head out into the woods liqoured up with a high powered rifle but I have heard some hilarious stories about it.
Yes, it is important too keep in mind that these bozos never even considered shot placement. They were just blasting away at shapes and sounds.
Even if they had shot an actual deer, they deserve to have their guns shoved up their @sses.
The accidents killed people of all ages this year, but especially the young.
A 14-year-old boy in Trembeauleau County shot his 21-year-old brother during a deer drive. In Price County a 15-year-old boy died when he stood up in a blind to see a deer and was shot in the head by his father. And in Wood County a 13-year-old boy shot himself in the head when he rested his shotgun on the ground and it fired unexpectedly.
Then later: And while gunfire deaths draw the most attention, heart attacks and falls from tree stands are two of the biggest risks to a hunter's well-being.
Now I hate to be a sceptic, but when you read about firearms related issues in the popular press, you have to be sceptical. Note that only in two of the cited accidents was it specifically stated that the person hit actually died: the woman walking her dog and the 15-year-old in the blind. With the other gunshot victims it was not specifically stated that they were killed.
The article also states that hunters die of heart attacks and falls. How many of the eight tragedies are the result of this type of accident? The article never difinitively states that all eight deaths were gun-related. I checked the Wisconsin DNR website, and there were 60 gunshot incidents in 2000, the last year for which data was available on the website. Of those, there did not appear to be a single death. So two gunshot deaths would be a significant increase in gunshot deaths, while the other six could have been miscellaneous slips, trips and falls.
Like I say, I don't want to sound like a cynic, but there are so many anti-gun reporters out there, who feel that the end justifies the means, that I never take anything written in the popular press about guns or hunting at face value. And most often, the scepticism is justified.
That said, always know for sure what you are shooting at before you pull the trigger. Always make sure that downrange is clear in case you miss.
Also, long time rural residents know to be prudent and wear orange while out during hunting season. It's the newer move ins from the city who scamper around with white hats or mittens and wonder why bullets whiz past.
Has it been a fruitful season for you? I have bagged two already this year. I hope to get one more.
Hope you have happy hunting for the rest of the season!
Sadly, this year was deadly. In part, a lack of snow made it more difficult to pick out targets. But that is no excuse for the obvious gaps in judgement and common sense.
On the other hand, if you send 1 million people out for a week to engage in any outdoor sport (fishing, boating, skiing, snowmobiling, etc) a few will manage to get killed. You are probably as likely to drown while fishing in Wisconsin as you are to get shot while hunting.
This is the kind of thing that frightens the hell out of me and is the very reason I never set foot on public game lands. On my last hunting outing, I had set up on a hill overlooking a very popular whitetail hangout. I saw a white tail come busting through the woods but I could have never taken the shot with absolute certainty, then I heard what must of been an 18 point buck coming right behind her and the next thing I know, my friend emerges from the treeline right in front of me. The brush was so thick I didn't see his orange until I saw him step out. I was expecting him to come out 300 yards to my left. I never even shouldered my rifle the entire time. If you are not sure about everything, just let it go, there will be plenty of other chances. Saftey above everything else.
My blood kind of boils when seeing threads like this from do good reporters and reporterettes who have no other agenda than to ban guns, hunting and take away our second amendment rights.
I totally agree that media articles which report on gun related issues are geared toward one thing. I hate the circumstances which give these radicals their "justification" in proposing that we limit legal gun ownership and all the rights associated with that right.
I will always rail against their hypocrisy in "caring" for human life and try to expose them for what they really are.
They generally have the comeback that someone has to care. How hypocritic is it to care only one a year? I'd wonder if that reporterette writes daily about the people who die of other causes. Maybe I'm being too hard on her, huh?
And I'd wonder if the people who are so righteous about gun hunting have always been "accident" free in their pursuits of life.
In all of life we have gotten to the point where we think the word "accident" means unpreventable. "Accidents" are, in the vast majority of instances, preventable acts which are caused by negligences, ignorance, stupidity - whatever. But I will also maintain that as a human, I am going to do stupid things and should expect the same from others. I try to confine my "stupid" acts to things which will not harm others. I only wish it were possible to expect the same from others. But, alas.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.