I have never been hunting but is it possible to “mistake” a bear or cow for deer? I am thinking no but I will leave it to those more experienced than me. Just a thought.
Well the problem with hunting is that every year there are a lot of inexperienced people out in the woods with a hunting license. You would think that it would be hard to mistake a Bear for a Deer but sometimes people are just looking at a flash of movement in the underbrush and they get itchy and fire one off. It happens.
A cardinal rule of hunting (and all shooting activities in general) is to never fire if you're not certain of your target and what's behind it. If this rule is followed, no, it's not possible.
As with many of life's endeavors, people don't always observe the rules.
When you are looking at something moving in the brush at dawn or dusk, it could be very difficult to tell what it is, that’s how hunters shoot other hunters. But the first rule of hunting is you should have a clear enough view of your target before you fire so that this doesn’t happen. I am surprise he didn’t “shoot shovel and shut up”.