How does this happen ?

[Doc]

It is kind of hard to understand what goes through the mind of someone mistaking  a person for a deer. Yes logically it can't be done, but there are a lot of hunting weirdness that can happen. Think back to some of the things that people have done when struck with buck fever. I have heard of them absolutely freezing and not being able to move. I have heard of people who get so excited that they empty out there gun into the dirt in front of them. Not everything that happens out there is logical. People think they see things that they really don't. Some get excited beyond their ability to control their senses and actions. And the more pressure we put on ourselves to get a deer, the more some of these weird things that occur. Stir in some questionable lighting and maybe the victim not taking advantage of adequate amounts of blaze orange (or none at all) and before you know it, you have a "perfect storm" of events that can cause some of the most bizarre happenings imaginable. None of that is offered as an excuse, but it does explain how some totally unbelievable and illogical things can occur.

Another thing that I noticed in the article is that we also are responsible for "filling in the blanks" too. Other than the headline, there is nothing that explains what the shooter "saw". His statement was that he "heard" what he thought was a deer. So we are envisioning looking at a hunter and morphing that into a picture of a deer. The fact is that the guy was more likely seeing bits and pieces and his mind was putting the picture together for him. Still not a blameless situation, but not a physical impossibility as the scenario where the guy is looking at a man and seeing a deer.

 

[Deerstalker]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

It is kind of hard to understand what goes through the mind of someone mistaking  a person for a deer. Yes logically it can't be done, but there are a lot of hunting weirdness that can happen. Think back to some of the things that people have done when struck with buck fever. I have heard of them absolutely freezing and not being able to move. I have heard of people who get so excited that they empty out there gun into the dirt in front of them. Not everything that happens out there is logical. People think they see things that they really don't. Some get excited beyond their ability to control their senses and actions. And the more pressure we put on ourselves to get a deer, the more some of these weird things that occur. Stir in some questionable lighting and maybe the victim not taking advantage of adequate amounts of blaze orange (or none at all) and before you know it, you have a "perfect storm" of events that can cause some of the most bizarre happenings imaginable. None of that is offered as an excuse, but it does explain how some totally unbelievable and illogical things can occur.

Another thing that I noticed in the article is that we also are responsible for "filling in the blanks" too. Other than the headline, there is nothing that explains what the shooter "saw". His statement was that he "heard" what he thought was a deer. So we are envisioning looking at a hunter and morphing that into a picture of a deer. The fact is that the guy was more likely seeing bits and pieces and his mind was putting the picture together for him. Still not a blameless situation, but not a physical impossibility as the scenario where the guy is looking at a man and seeing a deer.

 

I dont know especially if the victim was wearing orange . I noticed for some reason seems like most of these happen to family members or friends that shoot each other. Makes you think maybe they had a fight argument  and decided to end it out in the woods.

[wooly]

1 hour ago, Deerstalker said:

I dont no about that , i mean i have hunted same spot for hours and hours and after you look out in the woods for so long the rocks the stumps  off in the distance start to  look like deer .   your eyes can start playing tricks on you, but i never got to the point . Where i  actually rased my gun or shot at a stump or rock .

I look with my binoculars and wait patiently  untill i no what the hell im looking at .  And these are objectes that are colored similar to a deer . Now if someone has orange on seems inposible to think its a deer off in the distance and even camo is totally different than the color of a deer too now that  I think about it. And the gun a Hunter would be carrying would definitely stick out as not being a deer .

That's just my point.

Once you POSITIVELY idententify an actual deer, you go into tunnel vision mode. The last thing you're expecting to see is anything other than a deer in that spot.... especially another hunter.

If/when you lose track of that deer, it's easy for your mind to make a split second decision when you see those rocks, boulders, and stumps, or other movement you relate to those deer you had ALREADY identified.

It's a natural reaction for a predator to lock on his target that way by sights and sounds associated with what it's already confirmed. 

You just need to be smart enough to realize it happens and take precautions to make sure you're making safe decisions out there EVERY time before the bullet leaves the gun. The ONLY time mistakes get noticed to the point they become "hunting accidents" is after someone pulls the trigger on one.

[Deerstalker]

Btw you not supost to be using you scope to identify targets only when a target is identified do you ever point a scoped gun any gun  at it . Your  suppost to use binoculars for glasing your surroundings , Not the scope on your gun . If that guy did that his dad would still be alive if it was a  accident that is.

Which is  questionable. 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by Deerstalker

[growalot]

I was at camp and allowed one of the biggest bucks I have ever seen  get up from his bed and disappear...I had a perfect open shot with him facing me,heart side, in his bed. I was coming out of the swamp ...actually where our guest got his buck and glanced over to bank the deer would walk along that separated the swamp from the upper section of wht pine. the bank was a good 12 ft and steep...there he lay with the sun shining on him.. But he and his very  very big rack blended right into that bank and it made me doubt what I was seeing...I went as far as to wave ,squat ,stand ,duck and dive trying to get him to move...nope and that just made it worse.I then decided to slowly walk towards him ...Shot gun no scope or binos... I looked down for a split second and that's all it took. I saw him take one bound tail up...I really in my heart knew what I was looking at...but it just took one loose thread of doubt...to unravel me...I would do the same  today...but I also won't shoot at a jumped deer...

[Deerstalker]

1 hour ago, growalot said:

I was at camp and allowed one of the biggest bucks I have ever seen  get up from his bed and disappear...I had a perfect open shot with him facing me,heart side, in his bed. I was coming out of the swamp ...actually where our guest got his buck and glanced over to bank the deer would walk along that separated the swamp from the upper section of wht pine. the bank was a good 12 ft and steep...there he lay with the sun shining on him.. But he and his very  very big rack blended right into that bank and it made me doubt what I was seeing...I went as far as to wave ,squat ,stand ,duck and dive trying to get him to move...nope and that just made it worse.I then decided to slowly walk towards him ...Shot gun no scope or binos... I looked down for a split second and that's all it took. I saw him take one bound tail up...I really in my heart knew what I was looking at...but it just took one loose thread of doubt...to unravel me...I would do the same  today...but I also won't shoot at a jumped deer...

Thats why when  hunt with no scope  especial  actually even with my scoped guns i always carry a small light weight binocular around my neck . Dont go hunting with out it . Deer like to freeze in place some times hoping you dont see them before they take off  they can blend right into the surroundings. Its amazing the way they blend in to the woods . 

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by Deerstalker

[Steve D]

100 yd. Shot in the chest with a .270....doesn't sound like an accident to me.

[troutman]

Along the lines of what Doc said we really don't know what went through his mind and it is hard to figure out.  I think there may be a bit more to the story.  Did a search yesterday (ok I creeped) of their names on FB, and if I saw their correct pages, it appears the son is a veteran who saw combat in the Gulf.  Maybe PTSD is involved ??? 

Whatever the case...prayers sent....

[the blur]

And another hunter was just shot.   WTF.   In NY too.  

Most people need to go back to hunter safety class.

[pistolp71]

Absolutely positively no excuse. 

[the blur]

http://13wham.com/news/top-stories/reports-female-hunter-shot-in-caledonia

 

[Core]

On 11/25/2016 at 5:52 PM, ATbuckhunter said:

Obviously you don't "look" like a deer, but we all know that we jump to thoughts of deer when we see movement. I don't disagree with anything you said at all. We have a responsibility as hunters to clearly distinguish what we are looking at before we shoot. But like you said, there are some real idiots hunting.

I've seen a tree stump that looked like a bear and I've seen a beige rock that looked like a deer, so I can imagine a large mass at that distance initially seeming like it could be a deer at first blush.

The mistake this dolt made was not positively identifying what he was shooting at. I never took at shot at that black bear stump, and I've never shot at a rock.

Also this makes another case for hunter orange.

[Deerstalker]

26 minutes ago, Core said:

I've seen a tree stump that looked like a bear and I've seen a beige rock that looked like a deer, so I can imagine a large mass at that distance initially seeming like it could be a deer at first blush.

The mistake this dolt made was not positively identifying what he was shooting at. I never took at shot at that black bear stump, and I've never shot at a rock.

Also this makes another case for hunter orange.

Yea i too have seen rocks stumps that look like deer but  i never shot at them and nothing that was blaze orange and had a gun on them  have i ever mistaken for i deer 

Wonder what type of close he had on .

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by Deerstalker

[the blur]

Most of these articles are void of information.

 Clothes.   Orange?

 Private land, public land ?

Alcohol ?

Brain dead shooter ?

 

 

[Deerstalker]

15 minutes ago, the blur said:

Most of these articles are void of information.

 Clothes.   Orange?

 Private land, public land ?

Alcohol ?

Brain dead shooter ?

 

 

Yea really never any specifics but here is another example bet you never have mistaken orange trail tap blowing in the wind  as a deer or anything alive .  Unless he had something on that was colored like a deer find it hard to believe anyone could be that dumb unless they are crazy or on drugs ..

[Steve D]

Or color blind

[Elmo]

5 hours ago, Core said:

I've seen a tree stump that looked like a bear and I've seen a beige rock that looked like a deer, so I can imagine a large mass at that distance initially seeming like it could be a deer at first blush.

The mistake this dolt made was not positively identifying what he was shooting at. I never took at shot at that black bear stump, and I've never shot at a rock.

Also this makes another case for hunter orange.

I've also heard "deer" in the bush only to have a squirrel jump out so many time.  Never shot into one of these bushes at all.

[sweet old bill]

I ware a orange camo hat and vest to be safe. I think it should be required for a minimum of you have to ware a orange hat.

[Doc]

9 hours ago, the blur said:

http://13wham.com/news/top-stories/reports-female-hunter-shot-in-caledonia

 

Three hunting fatalities this year. Sounds like the numbers are reversed from what was the trend before this year. I hope people don't start equating this with all the changes to rifle in the southern tier counties.

Relative to this report, I really am shocked that a person could be mistaken for a deer in a wide open cut bean field. And they still are calling it a hunting accident? I'm thinking they would call it a hunting accident even if she was tied up.

[Core]

If this keeps up I could see them mandating a minimum coverage of orange, though there was no minimum last year and no deaths.

[growalot]

Never mentioned if she had orange on...I'd bet a bunch of money that a middle aged women hunter had a lot of orange on. Gut shot,my God that's an awful way to go...God bless her soul and watch over and comfort her family and friends. We have friends that lived on that road. Pretty open with hedge rows dividing fields when we lived out that way.

[chas0218]

On 11/26/2016 at 2:43 AM, Adkhunter1590 said:

Kinda like this? Would kinda more go along with guys shooting before legal light. But same idea

Now just add a human blob under the branches and you got yourself a person standing next to a small tree that got shot. I have been in the woods with blobs that look like deer bedded down through binos or the scope come to find out it was an overturned stump. Crazy the tricks your mind will play on you.

[Merlot]

And lets put to bed the shooting 1/2 hour before sunup and 1/2 hour after sunset idea. Things seem bad enough without adding fuel to the fire.

[Nomad]

Keep in mind , people lie . The guy who shot his dad in the chest is not going to say, " I saw a guy walking out and put my scope on him to see who it was, and must have had my finger on the trigger", he's not going to say " I saw a bush move and figured there must be a deer in there and shot." 

They always say " thought it was a deer."

The old timer who fell out of his stand, we won't ever know I guess, medical issue ? Slippery ? Stand broke ?  When we respond for a person down one of the first things I ask is, " did you fall because of a trip/ slip or a medical condition , dizzy, ect .

The group walking out where the one shot the woman walking out with them?

Pretty sure they won't say they always walk with safety off and finger on trigger while muzzle is pointing at others .

byw the " safety " is between your ears . Most of my handguns don't have an external safety you switch on  or off . Follow the four basic gun safety rules .

[Deerstalker]

1 hour ago, Merlot said:

And lets put to bed the shooting 1/2 hour before sunup and 1/2 hour after sunset idea. Things seem bad enough without adding fuel to the fire.

I see guys at 4 am all ready in the woods on public land im suprised they dont change that so your not even aloud to enter the woods until sunrise .