Know Your Target and BEYOND!

[timeout]

I have attached pictures of my Cousin's combine. The window was shot out late Saturday afternoon while he was in the cab, combining on his property. Our group had stopped by a couple hours earlier to show him some deer that we had taken on his property. We then went to Nate's and grabbed a quick lunch, then to my place to drive the pines. The shooting took place a couple hours after we had talked with him. We all gathered early that evening at the local bar and restaurant for some refreshments and dining. Nate and Judy had arrived ahead of us. The bar owner told Nate that it had been on the scanner my Cousin's combine window was shot out. I immediately called him to make sure that he was OK. We went to his place the next morning to view the damage. The window is curved at the outside edges. It appears to have been struck from the side by the bullet and the bullet probably glanced off upon impact, keeping it from entering the inside of the cab. Had my cousin been a foot or two further ahead, the bullet would probably entered a side window and may have struck and killed him. My cousin said the explosion when the glass blew was deafening. DNR and Law enforcement were called to the scene. I hope they contact all the farm and home owners in that area to question who all were hunting. My Cousin is a very lucky man. This is truly a black eye on hunting and could have been a life ending event. This is truly a grim reminder to be aware of what is beyond your target before you squeeze the trigger!

I can't get the photos to download. They were sent to my email by cell phone. Suffice it to say that the glass was exploded to a million pieces. The photos really bring it home how close to tragedy the driver was.

 

[5spd]

I am glad he was not injured in any way, besides being scared when the glass blew out.
The same thing happens many places unfortunately when hunters pay no attention to thier surroundings & backstop when shooting game.
I do hope they can pin it down to someone though.

 

[jonbearman]

I have tried to teach young hunters this for decades and they shuck it off.Last year I wrote about my freinds barn being hit by a local public range full of idiots,my uncles house south of rochester,ny has benn hit a few times by guys who cant think when the buck walks by and they hail mary it because they just cant let anything walk by no matter the cost. I am delighted that your family member is in good health and hopefully they will figure out what happened.

 

[CaptainMal]

That can be frightening.

Someone shot my windshield out on I 95 late one night in North Carolina. That probably was no accident but it was the sound that about had me crash. Glad your cousin is fine.

Curious...What kind of crops is he harvesting in oh so cold Wisconsin this late in the year?

 

[onelastshot]

Thanks for addressing an issue that never gets enough attention. At the age of 58 and more than forty years of hunting behind me I've been fortunate not to have experienced an accident where someone gets seriously hurt. That being said, I have experienced a few close calls, including one this year. Lack of common sense or firearms education, carelessness, stupidity, call it what you want, the end results are accidents.

Three weeks ago, meeting a couple of fellow hunters at 5:00a.m., a friend and his buddy, getting ready to drive over to a section of woods to deer hunt. When I asked both men to check their rifles before entering the vehicle, the buddy, standing next to the front passenger door slid the safety off. His rifle was pointer down but nevertheless pointed inside the floor of my vehicle. It sounded like an explosion when the rifle discharged inside the cab of my truck. The bullet pierced the floorboard next to the door frame missed the tire by an inch and miraculously buried itself in the gravel under the vehicle instead of ricocheting.

Three mistakes were made; the rifle should have been pointed away from everyone, he should not have held the rifle against his body when checking the chamber and, the rifle should have been checked the last time he used it and that morning before he left his home. As he started to put pressure on the bolt, the rifle shifted and the trigger caught a piece of his clothing. Unfortunately, the rifle's design requires the safety to be in the off position to open the action.

I managed somehow to remain calm, politely excused myself from the morning hunt advising them I needed to have the undercarriage checked for possible damage and, promised myself not to be in the same vicinity with the responsible individual ever again if guns were in use.

In addition to knowing your target and beyond, know the people you hunt with.

 

[jonbearman]

I used to hunt with a guy much to my disappointment that my best friend just had to bring him. We were walking up a hill side by side and the guy we will call ralph was a couple of steps behind.We were only 5 feet apart when his gun went off,deafining me and the other fella.I asked why he would fire between us and he said there was a deer in front of us.I chewed him out and that was one of last times I consented to hunt with him.He was smart as a tick and dangerous too.Till this day he is the one guy who has made me jumpy and actually scarred to walk into the woods anymore.It truly is amazing how stupid people can be.

 

[timeout]

That can be frightening.

Someone shot my windshield out on I 95 late one night in North Carolina. That probably was no accident but it was the sound that about had me crash. Glad your cousin is fine.

Curious...What kind of crops is he harvesting in oh so cold Wisconsin this late in the year?

Actually he is way behind, should be done by now. He was doing some beans, has some of those left. He has done a bunch of corn, but has a long way to go, including all of my farm. It could well snow at anytime here. They are calling for 50's Sat. Sun. & Monday, 40's Tuesday. I've seen it be super nice well into November here and overnight get so cold you can scarcely stand it. If you don't like the weather here, just wait a day, it will change! By the way, I despise winter more with each passing year. I do have lots of work shop projects for this winter though.

 

[onelastshot]

I used to hunt with a guy much to my disappointment that my best friend just had to bring him. We were walking up a hill side by side and the guy we will call ralph was a couple of steps behind.We were only 5 feet apart when his gun went off,deafining me and the other fella.I asked why he would fire between us and he said there was a deer in front of us.I chewed him out and that was one of last times I consented to hunt with him.He was smart as a tick and dangerous too.Till this day he is the one guy who has made me jumpy and actually scarred to walk into the woods anymore.It truly is amazing how stupid people can be.

Several years back I spent a Thanksgiving with the Wife's family at their property in Vermont. The deer season coincides with the holiday. In Vermont, anyone can hunt on any land public or private that is not posted. The in-laws property was posted but the adjacent piece of land was not. We were in my father-in-laws back yard closing things up for the winter; he had holiday music playing that could be heard through outdoor speakers.

The music was interrupted by two rifle shots; close enough to me that I actually heard the buzzing noise they make when they pass by your head in close proximity. I immediately went inside, called the local constable and the state police.

When the constable arrived we searched the area where the shots came from and found a tree stand fifty feet from the boundary line in a stand of pines, approximately 100 yards from the house. The shooter, obviously upset that someone had the audacity to play music and use their own backyard during deer season, must have decided to send a message.

The state police let the constable handle the matter and he was less than useless. In short, the constable let us know that deer hunting was very important to the people who lived in the wonderful small town and suggested we refrain from playing outdoor music or doing yard work during the season so as not to interfere with the hunt. In spite of growing up in the town of less than 1200 people, knowing everyone on a first name basis and over 30 years on the job, he claimed he had no idea who might be hunting the area. We were outsiders who owned a vacation home in their town and in their mind didn't belong. They didn't take kindly to outsiders buying tracks of land and then take away the locals right to hunt by posting the property. It was more than obvious, he knew or had a very good idea who was hunting the area, very likely a friend or relative. His last suggestion verified our suspicions; let the matter drop he advised, if you make an issue of it things will only escalate. In other words, if you insist on filing a complaint and ask for a full investigation, you stand to have your vacation home vandalized, or worse,
while you're back home.

After the constable left I took a chainsaw and made kindling of the tree stand and cut two branches making it impossible rebuild in the same spot. I also made a point every afternoon we were there to use the deer runs and scrapes in the area as my own personal latrine.

There are far too many idiots who call themselves sportsman and hunters who's foolish actions undermine are sport and compel others to join the ranks of the anti hunters.

 

[Lapua40X]

One good way to minimize the impact of careless hunters and reduce the number of idiots you're exposed to during the hunt is to spend you hunting time above 8,000 feet in places like Wyoming and Colorado. Few trees, lots of shale, steep rocky slopes, strong miserably cold wind and lots of other natural conditions keep all but the heartiest hunter (who is usually more experienced) away. Some of the zones hunted in those types of regions require 8 - 10 mile long uphill climbs on foot to reach game. It's wonderful to be lonely in them hills. ;D
Hey, the out of state tags, license and the long trip can be a bit of a struggle but I figure those elements of the cost as life insurance.

 

[mr45man]

Quote
I also made a point every afternoon we were there to use the deer runs and scrapes in the area as my own personal latrine.
That's a good one, had to do the same thing when a hunter put up a stand
about 10 yards from the property line and facing my way.

I had to post the land because of slob hunters, you would not believe some of the crap they did before i had it with them, some friends, relatives etc.
I don't blame any one for posting there land.
John H.