Rifle hunting

[Lawdwaz]

Doc- I assume you have never hunted PA?  Take a run down on opening morning and see the cars parked in all the State Game Lands parking areas, along roads and even in ditches.  We hunted up around Park Hill in Tioga and if you didn't get a parking spot by 5:45am you were SOL. 

The flashlights in the woods were like fire flies in Ontario County in July  

In other words, what Dan is talking about has nothing to do with a lack of hunters or hunting closer to the city with more guys & gals in the bush.

Stay cool today...................................

[growalot]

Well I hunt Allegheny and they have had incidences and very near...in the valley below us.....Although I find them fine there for the area is mostly wooded....the hunters down in our area still mostly use shotguns over the rifle....The two make a distinctly different sound...and unlike Livingston where shots seem to just run together especially opening day....there are long times between shots down at camp

I still DO NOT want to see rifles in Livingston county...it is far more populated..... far more open farm lands and chopped up into far smaller hunting properties....when you talk to a DEC officer who's investigating a reckless shooting incident...his words not mine and not my incident that time....and he tells you of another shooting incident involving a slug that they found had traveled a half mile to find it's mark...well sorry that tells me rifles do not belong...IMO

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Just an observation. There isn't an area south of 5&20 (besides Binghamton) that is as populated as the I90 corridor east of Syracuse and that has been opened to rifle over the past years. I grew up down there shotgun hunting and really have not heard the horror stories that so expect if it took place out this way.

[Pygmy]

Well, the fact remains that since most of the southern zone has been opened to rifle hunting, hunting accidents have not increased.

I'm sure all of the naysayers are disappointed, because all of thier wailing, knashing of teeth and rending of hair has been in vain...

I'll just save my breath... Ain't no skin off my snout...  I'm just happy that I can go hunt with my rifle rather than endure the abuse of some punkin slinger that crosses my  little beady eyes every time I squeeze the trigger. I'm done now...Fret away, y'all... ;D ...

[RobC]

Does anyone know the statistics on the distance of hunting accidents. Most stories i've heard are that some guy was walking through the bush without orange and his buddy shot him at fairly close distance or the guy falls or drops his gun while walking with his buddy and the gun goes off or a guy shooting himself while getting out of his treestand. I can't think of a time I heard a guy get shot from 1oo's of yards away.

[Doc]

Does anyone know the statistics on the distance of hunting accidents. Most stories i've heard are that some guy was walking through the bush without orange and his buddy shot him at fairly close distance or the guy falls or drops his gun while walking with his buddy and the gun goes off or a guy shooting himself while getting out of his treestand. I can't think of a time I heard a guy get shot from 1oo's of yards away.

I haven't seen any super-detailed reports on NYS hunting accidents, especially when it comes to "distances". You might check with your DEC regional headquarters. When it comes to media reporting, they often do not even report non-fatal accidents, so it's really quite hard to say if there is even a pattern to the distances. My "guess" would be that most accidents probably occur within 100 yards ..... especially with shotguns. However, that's not to say that longer range accidents don't happen. In fact I do recall a case where a bullet passed through a house wall and passed through a baby's empty crib matress a couple of years ago. That one was claimed to have been shot at a distance of a couple hundred yards.

[Bendog]

From NY Outdoor News back in February.....info provided by DEC

Here’s a case-by-case summary of the hunting-related shooting incidents investigated by DEC officers in 2010:

Small game and non-game

Jan. 1 — Montgomery County: The shooter was hunting rabbits on his own property when he shot his nephew. The victim, a minor, received serious injuries to both eyes as well as one lung.

Jan. 3 — Jefferson County: The victim, part of a group of three hunting rabbits, was walking through heavy brush when his shotgun discharged. He was struck in the arm and right shoulder.

Feb. 7 — Montgomery County: Two individuals were hunting rabbits when the victim slipped and his shotgun discharged, striking him in the right foot.

Feb. 21 — Dutchess County: Two individuals were hunting coyotes and one was unloading his rifle when he discharged a round into a truck. The bullet passed through the floor of the truck and struck the victim in the left shin.

June 11 — Sullivan County: The shooter fired three shots into the air in an effort to frighten a hawk away from chickens. Pellets struck a neighboring home and hit its caretaker in the arm. The pellets didn’t penetrate the skin.

Sept. 23 — Rensselaer County: An individual was attempting to load a shotgun to shoot a nuisance coyote, and discharged a round into her foot.

Oct. 2 — Jefferson County: Two brothers were walking as they hunted waterfowl. The shooter discharged a round at close range, striking his brother in the leg.

Oct. 16 — Putnam County: The victim was reportedly picking mushrooms on a wildlife management area when struck by approximately 50 pellets in the left arm and leg.

Oct. 17 — Orange County: The victim was pheasant hunting when he reportedly accidentally discharged his shotgun, striking him in the lower calf.

Nov. 8 — Ulster County: The victim was attempting to remove a loaded shotgun from his ATV to go goose hunting when he discharged a round into his arm and shoulder.

Dec. 30 — Columbia County: While attempting to unload a rifle in a motor vehicle, the shooter discharged a round that struck a passenger in the foot.

Spring turkey hunting

May 1 — Chautauqua County: The victim was walking while turkey hunting when the shooter discharged a single round at what he thought were two turkeys. The victim was struck by about 100 shotgun pellets from the knee to the head.

May 2 — Oneida County: The victim was turkey hunting and was found deceased. An initial investigation revealed a self-inflicted, accidental shotgun wound to the head.

May 2 — Delaware County: The victim was hunting spring gobblers when the shooter discharged a round at what he thought was a turkey. The victim was struck in the head by several pellets.

May 3 — Genesee County: The victim was turkey hunting with his father when his father discharged a single round, striking the victim in the face and chest with about 40 pellets.

May 11 — Steuben County: The victim was turkey hunting when the shooter discharged one round, striking the other hunter in the body with about 40 shotgun pellets.

May 16 — Delaware County: The victim was walking with a companion while hunting spring gobblers. The shooter discharged one round, striking the victim with about 70 pellets in the arm, leg and torso.

May 29 — Livingston County: The victim was turkey hunting with his father and was sitting against a tree. When he shifted his position, his father saw the movement and fired a single round, striking the victim in the arm, chest and face. The victim was seriously injured and transported to a hospital.

Fall turkey hunting

Oct. 2 — Broome County: The victim’s father fired a single round at a turkey and 17 pellets struck his son in his left side.

Oct. 27 — Herkimer County: Two friends were turkey hunting when the shooter fired one round, which struck the victim in the face.

Deer hunting

Oct. 18 — Washington County: The victim was hunting deer when he reportedly accidentally discharged his muzzleloader. The shot struck him in the right foot, resulting in the loss of several toes.

Oct. 18 — Jefferson County: A group of four hunters were hunting deer along railroad tracks during the Northern Zone muzzleloader season when one fired a shot that struck the victim in the upper leg. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooter was using a shotgun, even though the incident occurred during the Northern Zone’s muzzleloader deer season.

Nov. 13 — Jefferson County: The victim was in his home when a rifle bullet entered through an exterior wall. He was struck in the shoulder. During questioning, a person of interest confessed to being the shooter.

Nov. 20 — Greene County: The victim was bending over a bear he had killed just minutes earlier when he was struck by a single shot in the right thigh.

Nov. 20 — Greene County: The victim was tracking a wounded bear when two shots were fired in his direction. One of the shots struck his backpack. He confronted the shooter, who said he was shooting at a fisher.

Nov. 20 — Cortland County: The victim was shot in the chest by his nephew while deer hunting. The shooter was attempting to shoot a deer; the victim died of his injuries.

Nov. 21 — Onondaga County: The hunter was attempting to place a carabiner around the trigger of his shotgun to pull the firearm up into a treestand when the gun discharged, striking him in the left foot.

Nov. 25 — Madison County: The victim was struck in the right thigh with one round fired at a distance of 75 feet.

Nov. 26 — Steuben County: The victim was part of a six-member hunting party. The shooter fired one round that struck a deer in the neck, and the round passed through the deer, struck a tree then his the right hand of the victim, breaking several bones.

Nov. 27 — Chautauqua County: The victim was found dead next to his vehicle with a self-inflicted wound to the chest.

Nov. 27 — Genesee County: The victim was working in his driveway when he was struck in the leg by a shotgun slug. A hunter had fired a shot at a deer from his treestand 1,060 feet away. The slug broke the victim’s skin but did not penetrate further.

Nov. 28 — Rensselaer County: The victim was dragging a deer with his son, and when they exchanged places the victim discharged a round into his left foot. DEC officials said the victim shot himself in the same foot two years ago.

Dec. 4 — Ontario County: The 16-year-old hunter reported that he tripped while hunting squirrels and discharged a round into his left foot.

Dec. 4 — Allegany County: The victim was part of a 10-member hunting group. The shooter fired one round which struck the victim in the lower left abdomen. He suffered a fractured pelvis and other injuries.

Dec. 4 — Monroe County: The victim was descending a treestand when he accidentally discharged his shotgun. He was struck in the left thigh and suffered a broken leg and other injuries.

Dec. 4 — Livingston County: The victim was hunting with 11 others and was involved in a deer drive when the shooter fired a round that struck him between the shoulder blades. He received serious internal injuries.

Dec. 5 — St. Lawrence County: The victim was hunting deer with six others when one member of the group fired a shot that struck him in the left rib cage. An investigation revealed the round may have ricocheted off a small tree; it didn’t penetrate the victim.

Dec. 8 — Steuben County: An 18-year-old shooter was hunting with two other teens, ages 17 and 14, Upon returning to their vehicle, the shooter discharged a round from his rifle while attempting to unload it. The bullet struck the 14-year-old in the right knee.

Dec. 11 — Cayuga County: The victim was hoisting his shotgun into a treestand and passed a carabiner through the trigger guard, discharging one round into his left foot.

Dec. 11 — Orange County: A 9-year-old boy was assisting in a deer drive when he was struck in the abdomen by a round fired by a member of the hunting party.

[Lawdwaz]

Not enough detail in many of those incidents but it sure doesn't seem the rifle/shotgun safety issue comes into play much at all.

Most of it is just plain stupidity.   

[Bendog]

From all indications, and from DEC, there have been no accidents that can be attributed directly to rifle use in the areas approved for rifles in recent seasons.......I would, however, say the accident in SE NY in which a child was struck and killed by a round from a 300 mag might qualify, however....that occurred a couple years ago

[Lawdwaz]

From all indications, and from DEC, there have been no accidents that can be attributed directly to rifle use in the areas approved for rifles in recent seasons.......I would, however, say the accident in SE NY in which a child was struck and killed by a round from a 300 mag might qualify, however....that occurred a couple years ago

And again, probably a degree of stupidity involved in this horrible event also. 

[wdswtr]

Stupidity doesnt even qualify for some of these guys.  The nov 28 one has to top the list.  The guy shoots himself in the foot and then it says he had shot himself in the same foot 2 years ago.  I guess the old saying holds true.  You cant fix stupid. 

[Doc]

I am amazed at all the different ways that hunters have found to kill, wound and maim themselves and each other. It appears that in 2010, they simply threw all rules of safety away. Perhaps this explains why I am so hung up on defensive hunting techniques. Even these people who are doing it to themselves show a marked tendency toward stupidity, and those people are out there among us and capable of sending bullets our way.

I did note that there was a couple ricochet incidents and another that involved a pass-through on a deer. So those that think the odds are completely against a bullet or a slug finding its way through the woods and into their body might just consider some of these. And this is the results of only one year.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Yeah the guy that did it twice was pretty stupid, how about this moron...

Nov. 21 — Onondaga County: The hunter was attempting to place a  carabiner around the trigger of his shotgun to pull the firearm up into a  treestand when the gun discharged, striking him in the left foot.

[Lawdwaz]

So, you can't fix stupid so what do we do?

Grease up the guns and bury them until people get smarter?

Each time I watch AFV (America's Funniest Video) I laugh my ass off at the stupid stuff people do with dirt bikes, skateboards, 4 wheelers, bulldozers, blah, blah AND blah. 

Anything can be dangerous if the "not so swift" is at the helm.

What percentage of people DON'T have an accident with a firearm?  99.999999999999% I'd guess.

Well, I've got a big decision coming up.  243 or 7mm08 for the Wyoming County deer I'm going to hunt?  OR, 223 Ackley, 257 Roberts, 300WSM, 375 H&H? :-\

In Ontario County, it'll be the tried and true 209 ML or the XP100R. 

Hopefully I don't do anything stupid enough to hurt myself or anyone else.

[Doc]

Here's a cheerful thought ...... Some of those people that you see on America's Funniest Home Videos are probably hunters.

[Lawdwaz]

Here's a cheerful thought ...... Some of those people that you see on America's Funniest Home Videos are probably hunters.

And even friends & family

[wdswtr]

Got a text today that the Gov signed the bill and Rifles are a go for this year.