9 Year Old Boy Shot in Orange County

[SteveMcD]

I posted this over on BOWSITE but the moderators didn't accept it. 

A Nine Year Old Orange County Boy was shot in the stomach yesterday by a family friend and member of the same hunting party. Apparrently the boy was taken out deer hunting with his step dad and other family members along with a family friend. After a while the boy took off his Blaze Orange Hat because he was hot, and was mistaken for a deer by the family friend. As a 40+year hunter and Hunter Ed instructor, I will keep my harsh criticism to myself. Knowing the shooter is distraught. Luckily, the boy was airlifted to Wesychester Medical Center and it is reported he will be okay. 

[Doc]

I keep hearing these hunting fatality reports and otherhunter wounding incidents dribbling out with different ones being reported here and there. I have to wonder if anyone ever publishes a season long tally of all of the states deaths and other incidents. Anyone who has ever tried to find a final tally of such info usually finds it pretty hard to come by and published totals always seem to be different depending on the news source. In previous years I have found that even DEC news releases seem to vary.

So if anyone was interested in knowing the full extent of such incidents and what the surrounding circumstances actually are, does anyone know of a credible place that keeps track of such things?

[SteveMcD]

I know as a hunter ed instructioner we get a full tally every year but it is only a summary.

[Doc]

I know as a hunter ed instructioner we get a full tally every year but it is only a summary.

So somebody, somewhere must have the info complete with details. I know when I was looking for info on blaze orange relationships to hunting accidents, there was info available but it was not as current as I would have liked it. I'll have to go back and see what the sources were that were listed.

[RPIBuckHunter]

Kind of sad that this can happen especially when the shooter is member of the same party.  When my Dad and I hunt together, we always know exactly where each other are at all times and know what our respective zones of fire are.

If this guy cites the absence of the boy's blaze cap as an excuse, I'm not so sure the presence of said blaze cap would have helped him much.  Did he see antlers on the boy, too?

[NYDeer]

Its a shame this stuff still happens.

When my son was younger, he tagged along into the deer woods many times. Once, we were set up in a ground blind, he saw a deer, but I couldn't confirm it off hand. The gun I had was open sights, so I grabbed the binocs.. Made out the deer, but, as I was just dropping them, the deer circled round & bound away.. My son looked really upset, said I let him get away. I had to explain right then & there, there was no 'do overs', or 'I'm sorry' when your shooting a gun. Know your target is kinda simple, but can prevent these type of accidents..

[Mr VJP]

Too many morons out there think if it doesn't have Blaze Orange on, it's OK to shoot!

[nyantler]

Sorry guys, but there is no excuse for mistaking a person for a deer... ever! If you were walking in the woods with a fur coat and antlers tied to your head... I still wouldn't mistake you for a deer. The guy is very lucky that the boys is going to be okay.. Thank God.

[fasteddie]

Know your target and what is beyond it . When in doubt , don't shoot . Makes you wonder what the shooter is seeing or not seeing !

[Santamour123]

I agree know your target!!! How many of us have lost a deer that was not hit just right?  Now how can that hunter tell us that he was shooting at the kill zone? 

[erussell]

Not sure how a 9 yr old could survive being shot in the stomach  with a rifle or slug?  Let alone walk out of the woods on his own. One tough little kid.

[Geno C]

im sorry, i cant belive that guys still cant properly identify a target before they let the lead fly... if i CAN NOT properly identify a deer and full body along with position of its body and also the back drop begind the deer,  i just plain will not shoot. theres other variables i look at but to see there are guys out there still  making this mistake is sad and this guy was a instructor? scary...

a stray bullet i can see happening more often then another human mistaking another for a deer. why because he heard crunching leaves or braches breaking so it must be a deer! ?? crazy...

[Mr VJP]

Not crazy.  Stupid!

Anyone who does this should have his hunting privileges removed for life, and that's after everything else he can be charged with.  There is no excuse, and should be no tolerance for, pulling a trigger without being able to see and identify exactly what you are shooting at.

[arrow nocker]

even though the shooter should have known the target i also blame the step dad.If i take my little ones in the woods we both look like two huge bright orange pumkins walking through the wood!!!An orange hat on a 3ft tall kid don't cut it.Kid should have had a vest on too and father should have had on enough orange that teh hunter shouldv'e seen the father.And the kid shouldv'e been standing right next to the father. Thats just plain stupid.Guys like that make me SO ANGRY!!!!!

[Doc]

What can you say about an incident like this that hasn't been said everytime another shooting takes place. The saddest part about all of this is that I am no longer surprised or shocked. It has happened way too many times for that kind of reaction. Every year we wait for the news reports of who shot who. We shake our heads and we curse and swear at the ignorance and recklessness, and we try to express the proper level of outrage. And yet we all know that the next year, no matter what we finally manage to say, there will be a new list with new victims.

It all boils down to the fact that hunter safety really is an individual state of mind. You can teach the fundamentals of safety, but there will always be a certain number of people who feel they know better, and that such things can never happen to them. They will laugh at your suggestions of safety. They will go out of their way to prove that hunting mishaps only happen to the other guy and that they needn't worry about such things themselves. I guess that's just human nature and you can't teach, cajole, or persuade "human nature".

Doc

[Mr VJP]

And those people should be removed from the field for life upon conviction.  One of the reasons we have this problem is because these unsafe shooters are not forced out of the field for life. 

That would go a long way in showing all hunters this is intolerable and the consequences are severe.

[Geno C]

And those people should be removed from the field for life upon conviction.  One of the reasons we have this problem is because these unsafe shooters are not forced out of the field for life. 

That would go a long way in showing all hunters this is intolerable and the consequences are severe.

so is drinking and driving but that doesnt seem to stop anyone...

[bpb]

I keep hearing these hunting fatality reports and otherhunter wounding incidents dribbling out with different ones being reported here and there. I have to wonder if anyone ever publishes a season long tally of all of the states deaths and other incidents. Anyone who has ever tried to find a final tally of such info usually finds it pretty hard to come by and published totals always seem to be different depending on the news source. In previous years I have found that even DEC news releases seem to vary.

So if anyone was interested in knowing the full extent of such incidents and what the surrounding circumstances actually are, does anyone know of a credible place that keeps track of such things?

Yepper the DEC has a list every year. I use to get it when I was an instructor.

You can FOIL the incidents from the DEC as well.

[Mr VJP]

Geno, unless the drunks who kill someone are removed from the road for life, the consequences are not severe enough for them to stop either.

[Geno C]

Geno, unless the drunks who kill someone are removed from the road for life, the consequences are not severe enough for them to stop either.

you think thats the answer? do you think the drunks removed from the road for life or hunters removed from the deer woods leagally for life will not find their way back in? i absolutely think they will. Its a harsh punishment to say the least and i dont think it really would change the mind of some people just becasue thet will loose there licenses for life. To me living with killing another hunter or child by mistake is 100 times worse and would eat me alive...

[Mr VJP]

Geno, unless the drunks who kill someone are removed from the road for life, the consequences are not severe enough for them to stop either.

you think thats the answer? do you think the drunks removed from the road for life or hunters removed from the deer woods leagally for life will not find their way back in? i absolutely think they will. Its a harsh punishment to say the least and i dont think it really would change the mind of some people just becasue thet will loose there licenses for life. To me living with killing another hunter or child by mistake is 100 times worse and would eat me alive...

If they do go back on the road or into the woods, they should get locked up in prison for that!  Leaving them with a license certainly is not the answer.  What other harsh sentence could we give them?  It would certainly be harsher than what they get now.  Some of these guys will kill a child and find a way to convince themselves they weren't to blame.

:

[arrow nocker]

Doubt that guy will ever want to hunt again if you ask me.He almost killed a little boy.He is probably still in shock.Think he is going to go out there again and blast at something  in the bushes.I doubt it.He should loose his hunting provliges just cause it make sence to take them to punnish him. But maybe the step father should be charged with endangerment.Its the parent's responsibility for the childs safety.

[bubba]

And those people should be removed from the field for life upon conviction.  One of the reasons we have this problem is because these unsafe shooters are not forced out of the field for life. 

That would go a long way in showing all hunters this is intolerable and the consequences are severe.

so is drinking and driving but that doesnt seem to stop anyone...

or a little nip to stay warm when hunting.  I wonder if the guy who did the shooting was trying to stay warm.

[Geno C]

Geno, unless the drunks who kill someone are removed from the road for life, the consequences are not severe enough for them to stop either.

you think thats the answer? do you think the drunks removed from the road for life or hunters removed from the deer woods leagally for life will not find their way back in? i absolutely think they will. Its a harsh punishment to say the least and i dont think it really would change the mind of some people just becasue thet will loose there licenses for life. To me living with killing another hunter or child by mistake is 100 times worse and would eat me alive...

If they do go back on the road or into the woods, they should get locked up in prison for that!  Leaving them with a license certainly is not the answer.  What other harsh sentence could we give them?  It would certainly be harsher than what they get now.  Some of these guys will kill a child and find a way to convince themselves they weren't to blame.

:

oh no im not saying leave them with a license or not am i saying they should not be punished... i think its a grey area tho for lines of convicting someone. im not saying what we should / should not do in a case like that. i was simply saying other then locking them up and throwing away the key, you can not 100% guarentee this person or other will do the samething again. i simply stated living with that on your concous is pretty bad, you know...

[Geno C]

Doubt that guy will ever want to hunt again if you ask me.He almost killed a little boy.He is probably still in shock.Think he is going to go out there again and blast at something  in the bushes.I doubt it.He should loose his hunting provliges just cause it make sence to take them to punnish him. But maybe the step father should be charged with endangerment.Its the parent's responsibility for the childs safety.

agreed...