I really didnt want to put this on here but it is important.

[Hoss]

PLEASE use your flashlight getting up and down from tree stands and back and forth out of the woods..

http://pryordailytimes.com/local/x47103 ... le-hunting

I know this guy. We have had coffee down at the local muffler shop many times. Good man.
THE STORY.
2 miles from town, and 4 miles from the hi-way. David 50 was back on some private land bow hunting last Sunday eve. It was dark and David was getting down out of his ladder stand when he said he thought he heard something behind him. About that time BOOM he was shot right above the belt line left of his spine with a 50cal muzzle loader. The shooter Jason Sitsler was only 30yds from him. Hunting out of season and on private land, discharging his weapon after legal shooting time..WOW. David hits the ground screaming. Thank God the shooter Jason Sitsler 30 ran to his aid and started applying pressure dressings to his wound which was big enough to stick your fist into. If not David would have died. The shooter Jason Sitsler used cell phone to call 911. David was packed out on a stretcher never loosing consciousness. The ambulance rushed him to the hospital where he has undergone surgery. There are 18 bullet fragments remaining in his body. He lost his colon and some intestines. He will have to have a colostomy bag the rest of his life now. More surgeries are planned in the near future. When David was asked about how or why he didn’t see or hear the guy he said “it’s so thick in there by the creek that I never saw him “.” He must have walked along the creek bank out of sight and silent on the bank”..
When the Sherriff asked Jason Sitsler the shooter what happened he said “It was dark and he thought a deer had ran down the ridge to the creek and he shot at it”
The article states that no arrest have been made yet but through the grapevine I heard warrants are out for his arrest..

I did not want to put this on here because of the obvious BAD light it puts on us (HUNTERS) as a whole. But the importance of the point I wanted to make outweighs it all..

Please use your light

[strum]

i was working my way in lastnight and it occured to me that i sounded just like a deer walking up the hill so i pulled out my light and started flashing it all around...didnt see anyone but i just had that feeling..
thats a horrible story ..one guy is messed up all his life and the other has to live with it,, i never have understood how a person can be mistaked for a deer..this is why people in our state have to take a hunter safty course..but even then people still do dumb things..

[sumner4991]

Wow. Sad story . . .this should never happen, yet, it happens a lot.

I agree Hoss . . .let's do our part because, we all know there are idiots in the woods.

[Hoss]

My wife and I were talking about this..Insurance, cost, whos liabale and all. I would not be a bit surprized if someday we have to have a insurance verification to hunt. Just like to drive a car..Thats what crap like this can start..I could see us having to have proof of "hunters" insurance just to go into the woods....

[denisdendenis]

good post !!!
be safe all
Denis

[rayman]

Very good post, thank you.

Must share that when I was in college, my room mate was shot and killed by accident by his 12 yr old cousin. Extremely tragic story. Rest-of-your-life kind of tragedy.

Once when sitting in a stand, as it was getting dark I heard a bunch of racket in a thicket behind me that sounded like maybe two bucks fighting. I knew that my younger cousin was hunting that afternoon, but didn't know where. There was a stand in that thicket. When it was just too dark to see, a large figure came out in the trail walking away. Had to make a split second decision and opted not to shoot. Turned out my cousin had sat somewhere else and it could have been the biggest buck of my life. Do not regret my decision in the slightest though.

Even though I hunt on private land under very controlled conditions, I still take a flashlight in the afternoon and shine it down on the way back. Safety first!!

[Shotnbeer]

I swing a light any time I'm walking in or out. If I'm on stand a daylight and see someone walking by I'll wave the light at them. I watched a guy looking at me through his scope while I was looking at him through bionoculars. scary

[VixChix]

Excellent reminder! Tragic story.

I have pretty good night vision and don't like to use a flashlight unless I really have to, but when I started hunting with Tim he told me to carry one, not for being able to see where I'm walking, but to keep any trigger-happy trespassers from taking a shot.

I have a little green penlight LED light which casts a good amount of light and doesn't mess with my night vision too much. I think Kevin introduced me to them once while turkey hunting. Very handy little light!

[one shot scott]

A very sad event when one hunter shoots another. I really wish people would stop shooting at what SOUNDS like a deer. Everything sounds like a deer in the woods when leaves are on the ground. Identify the target before pulling a trigger!

[Gewehrhund]

My wife worries about me getting shot cause I wear a gillie suit with out any blaze orange. She went out and bought and installed
by sewing, a bright red photo electric light to the top of my favorite camo cap. I always felt a little silly wearing it, But after reading this, I'm taking her out to supper and am going to wear my " rudolf hat" with pride. Thanks for the post!
Hunt safe,
Hank

My wife made me a "deer" suit.. She said it would help decoy in the bucks....I think she might be up to something...

[bob1961]

i'm sorry but no deer is worth shooting at sounds in the dark thinking it is a deer ...........bob

....

[Dereck]

I know a guy who intentional runs to his stand at short intervals so he sounds like a deer, and it works 8 out of ten times he has deer under his stand within minutes of getting into it.Bet he never considered this happening and neither did I.
I will be walking in and out with a light from now on.

[j.krug]

A very tragic story for sure!!

[Louvp]

Sorry to hear about this tragic accident that never should have happened.

It all goes back to the basic principle they teach in Hunter safety class
"KNOW YOUR TARGET & WHATS BEYOND" you never shoot at what you THINK is your game animal. I know in low light I've seen shadows or tree shapes that look like deer the longer you look at them. Its sad that these accidents continue to happen.

[mitch]

It is a good ideal to have a light to be safe from the idiot out there but if you forget your light or loose it you should not be shoot for it.It is a criminal negligence to shoot at an unidentified target.