Venting about, bullets flying my way

[Curmudgeon]

There is a large group of neighbourhood hunters that do large drives - 20 or more people sometimes. We have managed to avoid convicts for the most part, except for some difficulty years back with them not understanding why they couldn't be hunting my property when Christmas tree sales were in progress.

A serious conflict happened Sunday. They did a drive that had a deer running on the skyline between my place and their shooters.  One sent 2 bullets directly towards me. The deer was between us. I was a little lower than the deer and 600 yards away. A second shooter also fired twice, sending a bullet through branches near my nephew.

I was a bit too low for the first shooter to see me when he fired. However, I only had to gain about 6 feet in elevation to be in full view. In any event, they had to know they were sending bullets into my property or beyond, an area with people.

After the shooting, I stood  in the open with my full orange showing, waving my orange hat. When I got the first jerk's attention, I gave him a high one fingered salute. I have no idea who he was, only that he was hunting with that particular group. He saw me. I never saw the second shooter though he or she had to be close by since the deer was still in my sight when those shots were taken.

I bumped into some hunters a short while later and vented. They hunt with an in-law of that family so I know my anger - already communicated - will be communicated through others. They allow a lot of people to hunt with them. I'm sure no one is going to fess up to doing it. I'll be talking to one of the brothers about it but don't expect much.

Why is it that people lose all sense when they see a deer? Behind me was a valley  600 lower in elevation with 2 hamlets. If the shots were high enough to clear my place, they would land down there.

Edited November 21, 2017 by Curmudgeon
Typo

[Lawdwaz]

Glad you made it through unscathed, just shaken.

[JALA RUT]

People lose common sense or just don't think of the risk when they get excited by seeing deer and some don't understand ballistics as to just how far a bullet can travel.  I can't give particulars but some years back, I arrested a guy that launched some rounds and ended up hitting a house, going through the exterior wall, continuing through the kitchen, through the hallway, and lodging into an interior door; luckily missing the woman walking in the hallway at the time by less than two feet.  This house was more than a mile and a quarter away from where the round was fired from.  Glad you and your nephew are OK!

[Jeremy K]

Never been a fan of driving ,stuff happens to quick for some people to react responsibly .

[Bowshotmuzzleloader]

I gave up driving deer when a slug whizzed by me,  people walking towards people with guns shooting, seems like an accident waiting to happen, I’m glad that you are ok, and it sounds like you have a serious problem on your hands.

[grampy]

Unless you implicitly trust the other person with a deer in between you, driving deer can get sketchy real fast. I don't trust most people that much. Some people just get tunnel vision when they see a deer. That is when safety and caution can be forgotten. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

[growalot]

Perhaps they should define "sky lined" in the hunting manual...because I guarantee way too may hunters haven't a clue..