I blog this as a reminder to look, think and analyze every situation before we pull the trigger:
From Pennlive.com:
It was a fatal mistake that left a woman walking her dogs dead and a deer hunter facing a prison stretch.
The day before thanksgiving 2017, the hunter mistook the woman for a deer and shot. The hunter heard her screams and ran over to help, but it was too late. Court authorities and investigators said the shot rang out around 5:20 p.m., after legal shooting hours.
The hunter plead guilty last October to criminally negligent homicide and was sentenced to one to three years in state prison, according to Erie News Now.
The victim’s husband said he hopes the tragedy resonates with all hunters:
“From the beginning, I wanted the defendant to take responsibility and be held accountable,” he said. “I want the next hunter who thinks about shooting after hours to think, ‘There was this guy that went to prison. I should just go home.’”
Look, think, and know your target as a deer.
Every afternoon that you hunt, check and confirm the end of legal shooting hours. If it is 30 minutes after sunset in your state, check the official sundown time on your phone. 29 minutes later, unload that rifle and go home.
About 15 years ago I was black bear hunting on my private farm at 12 noon I got a glimpse of a bear sneaking into a dense tangle of blackberrys the thicket was about 3/4 of an acre in total size. I was ready when the bear came out the other end and as I was taking slack up on the trigger of the black form I hesitated ’cause it did not look right…boy am I glad I did…it was a hunter dressed in a black hoodie with black pants and black gloves sans the day glow orange required by law. A split second later and I would have killed him! Here is the odd part with snow on the ground I found where the bear entered the thicket and also where the trespasser entered from another direction. The trespasser never saw the bear but I showed him the tracks in the snow. When I asked why he was dressed the same color as a bear from head to foot his reply, “I never gave a thought to what I was wearing”.
Lesson learned do not rely on other to do the sensible thing abd ALWAYS look twice before pulling the trigger.