Thread: Hunter shot in Kaimai Range near Te Aroha

I go out a bit but don't shoot many deer as I have passed up so many shots that were what appeared to be a deer and probably were but for me probably and appeared aren't 100% identifying the target so I went home empty handed which sucks a bit but at least I didn't shoot anybody

Just hunt spots with no deer, then you'll know that everything you see is a human. If anyone needs some suggestions for such spots I can point you in the right direction

I've never bought it up here as the family of the people involved are members here also, but stuff it, here goes. When I was a kid a mates dad had his head blown off by his best mate of 25 years. Both very experienced bushmen. Mate was carrying a set of hind quarters pikau style out on dusk, which matched his mousy brown/ginger hair perfectly. Shooter gave a whistle as you do to get it to stop and turn. The mate carrying the deer stopped and turned and that was that. These were seasoned sika hunters, very well respected in the area. He swore black and blue it was a deer, describing the deers coat (which matched the carried hind quarters) the behavior of the deer (stopping and turning) and the position of the front legs which he aimed above for the shoulder shot (a small tree which he drilled through and into his best mates head)

Identify your target beyond all doubt please.The best piece of hunting advice I have been given, just like Maca49s mate, is that unless you can identify the age and sex of a deer, don't pull the trigger. Forget snap shots and running shots.

Be safe and vigilant everyone, and don't ever think that if couldn't happen to you as complacency is a killer.

Originally Posted by Pointer

Be safe and vigilant everyone, and don't ever think that if couldn't happen to you as complacency is a killer.

Summed up well and that is a very real story.

So you shoot and kill or maim someone, of course not on purpose, but you did break one of the seven rules.

And you claim what you saw it was a deer, your gun malfunctioned etc etc and you'll get let off with a rap over your fingers...

But in the courtroom and the personal jury of your own mind, you are found guilty, guilty, guilty, every night you stare at the ceiling and think about "the days before" when you could sleep. There is no lawyer in that court room to defend you against yourself, no talk of confirmation bias... or that it's human to err.

There is no room for complacency. We must both believe it could happen to anyone (even to Ryan Songhurst, God forbid), but we ALSO have to believe as strongly that it IS avoidable.

Originally Posted by gimp

Just hunt spots with no deer, then you'll know that everything you see is a human. If anyone needs some suggestions for such spots I can point you in the right direction

I've got a few secret spots as well I could pass on

I had a "discussion" with an older "acquaintance" once about a shooting death. I think the shooting happened in the 70's. The guy was a very experienced hunter and was hunting from a camp with some young boys (scouts or similar I think). Anyhow; he was hunting with one of them and sent the boy back to camp. The hunter saw a deer and shot at it. If I remember rightly he winged it. Anyway; the young fella on his way back to camp heard the shot and turned around and came back to see what had been shot. The hunter was looking for the deer; saw a movement; fired and killed the boy..... :-(

I maintained that the hunter should have been tried for manslaughter for firing at movement. He did go to court but got let off because there was not meant to be anyone else in the area and it "wasn't the hunter's fault". The "acquaintance" was a friend of his and reckoned that the verdict was right. Whereas I adamantly reckoned that it was bullshit. Firing at movement for god's sake..... His continued argument was that no one else was allowed in the area. I brought up the fact that a lost tramper etc (and many other scenarios) could have wandered in etc; but I couldn't get him to change his opinion. It did get a tad heated ;-) And; the acquaintance" was a hunter..... Scary shit....

shit sammie no matter how we cut it... the fella who made a fatal error of judgement will have to live with it for the rest of his life and the family of victim will have to bury someone long before thier due time
if you think "it cant happen to me" you are being part of the problem not the solution
if you think.....am I absofuckin certain its a LIVE,FEMALE/MALE DEER/ITS HEAD AND NECK ARE DOING PROPER HEAD N NECK THINGYS and DEFINATELY NOT a person...is firing zone safe, before you close bolt/fan back hammer/take off safety catch....well God willing you wont ever have to push your EPIRB for someone youve just shot,
did anyone notice 6 poor buggers also died on the road this weekend.

That's the bit I left out @Cordite, he topped himself not long after. Two families left without fathers.

Originally Posted by Pointer

That's the bit I left out @Cordite, he topped himself not long after. Two families left without fathers.

I hit the "Reply with Quote" butten 10 mins ago and still cannot put down words
You have hit the nerve - well and true

I wanted to say before - there are 2 fatilites in most of these cases/disarsters - I have often thought - it may have been easier on the one that took the unenteded bullet :-(

Originally Posted by Pointer

That's the bit I left out @Cordite, he topped himself not long after. Two families left without fathers.

@Pointer

Sure he is not the only one who has ended up doing that. We can talk about it, but who has the foggiest how it really feels? To be put beyond the reach of your friends and family and you then kill yourself too.

Be safe Sarvo. Be safe everyone. RIP uncle John and Mark

ok Im going to start another thread....there is one on other pub that gets bumped each roar.... please keep it to what we have seen/done and leave the judgements out.
the whole shit sammie brings tears to my eyes every year.

for what its worth my hunting mates all really like the hunting n fishing tee we bought that is patch work in design....cant think of plurry name but it really stands out well as it has orange/blue/lime green/camo/green..... pink n purple work too but guys a bit funny about wearing it.
the tepari products hats from oamaru stick out like doggies danglies...smurf blue.

30 plus years ago one of my best mates was shot and killed by a hunter in his party, mistaken for a deer. They were hunting sika in summer my mate had ginger hair and while out hunting strayed from his intended area and was shot. It was a case of not identifying his target, at the court hearing the shooter swore 110% that he was looking at a deer but the judge said you were 110% wrong.
He was fined a $1000.
Another case I know of happened to a friend of my brother, hunting in the Kiamia Ranges many years ago. It had been raining and the guy shot was wearing a yellow rain coat ( no fancy gear back then) they ( three of them ) had been stalking an area heavy with deer sign the guy who was shot came out on a clearing and paused for a break, when the shooter came out on the bottom of the clearing and raised his rifle and let strip. The bullet hit the scope on his rifle and sent bits of bullet and scope through various parts of his upper body. Bleeding badly his brother managed to patch him up the best he could and got help and he survived. The guy shooting was convinced he was a deer. ( the mind had been made up the next thing he saw was going to be a deer due to the amount of sign about.)
It's hard to believe anyone could make that mistake especially when the one shot was wearing a yellow rain coat, but there you have it. It shouldn't happen if the safety rules are observed but it does happen. These two cases illustrate that we must be careful all the time, be safe this roar.