Hiker killed shot by hunter who mistook him for a bear

[JimmyLyding]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 252D69.DTL

Actually, it reads as if the hunter shot at a dark shape in the dark. In a field. A tragic mistake costs a young US Marine his life.

[SuperstitionGuy]

This has always been a fear of mine while hiking off trail during hunting season. I even once surprised a game warden by hiking to within fifteen feet of him without his detecting me. Hiking very slowly and looking for wildlife I made the mistake of not acknowledging him until the last moment when my greeting resulted in his jumping up and around quite startled. Had he been a hunter he just might have after turning around pulled the trigger thinking I was some type of big game.

The game warden by the way was standing behind a tree observing an inground fish tank full of trout at the fish hatchery east of the Young Road. He was hoping to catch an angler that would be stupid enough to fish over the chain link fence surrounding the man made pond.

I would be interested in hearing what others have experienced while encountering hunters and game wardens in the wild.

[johnlp]

Very sad and all too common. Hunters will shoot at a shape or even noise without positively identifying their target. Worst of all, we don't seem to learn from our mistakes. You can read about this type of accident every year. Silver Creek Falls is a popular place. There are going to be people in the area.

[kevinweitzel75]

Thats sad to hear. Being an avid hunter myself, I always take notice of my surroundings and never shoot unless 100% sure that the "animal" in my sights is exacaly what I'm hunting for. A couple years ago, I didn't take a shot on a cow elk (the only one I saw the entire trip) because I knew there was another hunter down range of my shot. Not that I doubted my shooting capabilities, but there is always a chance that my bullet could have found the wrong target. Very sad situation.

[Tough_Boots]

Last year we were leaving the Peeley TH and stopped to talk to some hunters on the forest road. They had long range rifles and were scoping out an area across a pretty deep gully from a pretty far distance. I imagined they were shooting at motion at things that would have taken at least a full day just to drag out of some pretty nasty territory. Most of them didn't exactly look to be in the shape to accomplish that kind of mission, either. That kind of stuff worries me. Always wear bright colors during hunting season, have a whistle or something that can get someone's attention quickly if you hear a shot, and know how close you are to the forest/jeep roads that give hunters access.

[SuperstitionGuy]

Isn't it against the law to shoot from a roadway? I suspect the hunters Tough_boots witnessed were just scoping out the area and not actually going to shoot at game from the roadway. Probably looking for game trails and access routes for themselves.

If you hear a shot and hear the bullet go past you it's best to hit the ground in case the hunter has a semi-automatic rifle. Then take the rifle away from the hunter and throw it off a nearby cliff to teach him a lesson. He will definitely think twice before he shoots next time!

[PaleoRob]

It is always a bad sign when you hear the bullets going by you...

[nonot]

If you hear the bullet hit near you then you've already been lucky once. The one that gets you probably will arrive before you can react. With the amount of armed rednecks in the AZ forests, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

Accidental or not, I hope the shooter gets punished. Shooting without verifying your target is poor practice.

[kingsnake]

The shooting within distance of a road -- or worse, *at* or *across* a road (or trail) -- is frequently ignored. It is hard for "all violators will be prosecuted", when no one is out there to actually detect violators.

http://hikearizona.com/x.php?I=4&ZTN=1855&UID=0

[chumley]

With the amount of armed rednecks in the AZ forests, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

Maybe there are more responsible gun owners than your perception of "armed rednecks" would imply?

The shooting within distance of a road -- or worse, *at* or *across* a road (or trail) -- is frequently ignored.

Then again, maybe not. Take the rim area for instance. Take every road and stream on the map and draw a 1/4 mile border on both sides of them. That covers a vast percentage of the land up there. I guarantee you that rule is very rarely followed, and when it is, it might just be by coincidence!

[kingsnake]

Perhaps so, but then the consequences are inevitable and unpleasant.

[imike]

Some hunters seem to go into an altered state, with perceptions going wild... years ago, in Possum Kingdom Lake (Texas) a hunter shot a scuba diver... said he thought it was an alligator.

[chumley]

Some hunters seem to go into an altered state, with perceptions going wild... years ago, in Possum Kingdom Lake (Texas) a hunter shot a scuba diver... said he thought it was an alligator.

WTF?
Please tell me the hunter was actually on an alligator hunt or that would make even less sense than already does. (I thought hunting alligators required trapping/capturing rather than shooting?)

[fotogirl53]

The death of the hiker is a horrible thing. I fear hunters more than any other situation in the fall up here in elk country. I tie orange flagging tape to my backpack, wear orange or yellow shirts and have a hunter orange hat--not the most fashionable look, but at least I hope I increase my visibility. I also am selective about where I hike and cross check with the hunt book for what areas are active. Still, I've been close to rifle fire a couple of times.

[imike]

Some hunters seem to go into an altered state, with perceptions going wild... years ago, in Possum Kingdom Lake (Texas) a hunter shot a scuba diver... said he thought it was an alligator.

WTF?
Please tell me the hunter was actually on an alligator hunt or that would make even less sense than already does. (I thought hunting alligators required trapping/capturing rather than shooting?)

He was Deer hunting... there are no alligators in North Texas...

[Alston_Neal]

Well now it gets more weird....a scuba diver shot, mistaken for a deer?