Michigan man shoots brother after mistaking him for deer on hunting trip
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A Michigan man accidentally shot his own brother after mistaking him for a deer on a hunting trip.
Deputies from the Ionia County Sheriff's Office responded to a call of an accidental shooting early Saturday evening in a field in Boston Township, Michigan. Upon arrival, they determined that a man, 29, had shot his brother, 28, while the two were hunting together, according to a press release posted by the Sheriff's Office on Facebook.
The shooter was "some distance away" from his brother when he thought he saw the deer moving and making noise. He fired a shot and quickly realized he had shot his brother. The shooter immediately called 911, and he and his brother walked out of the field to meet medical first responders.
Given the extent of his injuries, the victim was airlifted via helicopter to a hospital. He was in "serious but stable condition" at the time of transport.
An investigation into the exact cause of the shooting is ongoing. The Ionia County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Just as a safety reminder to our hunters out there.
If you can't clearly identify your target, don't shoot.
That would seem to be common sense; but I guess not.
Lol one would think so
Which is why I would support requiring gun safety lessons prior to being able to purchase firearms in all States. You might think a lot of things would be common sense, like making sure your guns are secure from children or not to shoot before you've clearly identified your target, but sadly, not everyone has been equipped with the same common sense.
I can't think of a reasonable argument for "I need a gun now, I don't have time for a safety course or waiting period" that isn't likely criminal. If you're that in fear for your life from some immediate threat, go to the police, explain to them why you need protection if someone is, what you believe, an immediate threat you can't wait a couple days to arm yourself against and make wise decisions like a gun safety course.
Lol that or the way I learned with a Sgt Major yelling at us for 10 straight weeks on how to properly handle and shoot a weapon, severely punishing any who screwed up. Repeating safe handling, IA and stoppage drills until it was impossible to do them incorrectly. Ah basic training, so many fond memories
I would rather they have such classes in primary and high school.
Teach them a little bit (age appropriate of course) each year to keep ingraining those habits and thoughts.
They can include it in a mandatory life lessons class that everybody would take each year. My god, we have universities now teaching such life lesson classes because students are coming to college without the basic knowledge on how to function in life. Our entire educational system has moved to teach to pass mandatory testing rather than teaching children how to learn. What a shame.
My Niece and Nephew were taught at a very young age about gun etiquette.
The do's and don't with handling, when and where to point etc. If they didn't follow the rules they had any privilege taken away.
Michigan requires that you have a hunters safety course before you can buy a deer license if you were born after 1960.
Accidents do happen, slinging bullets in a corn field is dangerous and not wise to do. Ive pulled a few deer stalking corn fields with my bow.
That's my question. What is "some distance?" Was the corn in? I've walked corn. I've walked within arm's length of deer in corn fields. If you can see it, and assuming its not in the same row, its close, I'm leaning toward he was close enough to distinguish animal from human based solely on sound.
Lol apparently not
Hell, they don't even have time to teach basic finance in school. And I can't imagine schools wanting to take on the liability of something like this; just wait until the first time one of the students turns the gun on other people. Not to mention, you couldn't make it mandatory, because not all parents want their kids shooting guns (and not all kids SHOULD be shooting guns).
I didn't say shooting guns, I said gun safety. A lot of children have no clue what damage a gun can do, all they see is what they see on TV where it's nice and clean and the bad-guy shows back up in the next show. How many young children even know what to do if they see a gun lying on the ground? Too many of them would just pick it up and start playing with it because they just don't know what it can do, to them they are just playing.
I've been a proponent of a life lessons class for many years now because too many children come out of high school without the basic knowledge of how to make a budget, how to balance a checkbook, etc. Basic gun safety could be include in such a class. And such classes should be included in every grade both primary and high school. The repetition will help make the knowledge stick in their brains.
Ah, got it. Yes, that's a good idea, but it would probably still make some parents' heads explode. But I agree that every child should know what to do if they find a gun on the ground, at a friends' house, or wherever.
My nephew was not allowed to play with toy guns. I was babysitting once and I saw him pointing his finger and saying, "bang, bang!" As soon as he realized I had seen him, he said, "I mean, squirt squirt!" - heh.
Also, insure the firearm is unloaded before you clean it. We actually had a cop/FA Instructor shoot himself in the foot while cleaning his pistol without making sure it was unloaded first.
Right? I'm having a hard time picturing the scenario, biased, I am sure, by my frame of reference. Assuming it was accidental, am I to believe that, in their search for a wounded deer, the brothers split up and wondered aimlessly through the corn, without knowledge of where any other member of the hunting party might be? I suppose that could be the case. If it is, then this is the example to be used in hunter safety programs, for generations to come, on how not to do it, and why.
Lol like you I am only guessing at the details but that's what it looks like.
Did you ever call your rifle a gun? I did once and it cost me 50 push ups. I also had to recite in front of my squad...
This is a rifle.
This is a gun.
One is for shooting.
One is for fun.
LMAO no I learned that lesson fast after seeing what happened to others, a buddy and I did however touch the MCpls motorcycle once and had to do pushups until he told us to stop (I gassed out at 78).
I had long forgotten that old rhyme, thanks for the memory.
When we were in the field with our rifles, they were not to be out of our hands for any reason. You ate with them, slept with them, and went to the privy with them. I leaned mine against a tree for all of 5 seconds to tie my boot, recovered and it was gone. The DI had plants to take any rifle not in someone's possession. It cost me another 50 push ups to get it back.
Lol good times, the army does love its pushups. Worst rifle thing I ever did was hang it on a tree limb while doing a canvas tear down during a sleep deprivation exercise. Unfortunately it was sunset when we started and pitch black when we finished. I can tell you that finding a rifle in a tree in a forest in the dark is not easy, thank god I had some buddies helping or that would have gone very badly for me.
I never thought I would make it through BCT much less end up doing 23 years.
There certainly were moments weren't there. One thing I've always noticed is no matter how pissy a moment or situation is, it doesn't take long for it to become just another funny story.
I was 25 when I entered the Army. I ended up being the barracks mom.
"Be sure of your target, and beyond!"
That one I learned almost 50 years ago......
You hear a few of these stories every year. Buck Fever is a real thing I'm afraid. I was taught fire arm safety from my father and learned at a very young age to always know what was between me and what I was shooting at as well as what was beyond what I was shooting at. Dad was a rather forgiving man for most things but not for gun safety.
Yep every single year
I often mistake my sister for a jack ass, but I would never shoot her.
Because no deer ever yelled " OMG you shot me, you fucking shithead, you dumb brother fucking piece of shit "?
lmao
I was running rabbits with a few guys and I stepped out on a lane then I seen another guy pop out on the lane, Then some pheasants flew up between us...he unloaded. I watched the BB coming that hit me just under my eye. I was pissed. He took off and run for the truck. About a week or so later the scab under my eye that wouldn't heal popped out the BB.
And no I never hunted with that poaching asshole again, it wasn't pheasant season.
One of my friends was hunting when one of the guys he was with shot a farmer's horse. He had to pay the farmer $1000 - and none of the guys would ever hunt with him again. They figured next time it might be one of them.
When I went to school we had hunter and gun safety as part of PE class
I like that! We never had that around here, but it makes me wonder how many accidents or even anger-shootings we could prevent if gun safety were a standard part of the curriculum.
The Dick Cheney school of hunting.
DON'T SHOOT
Lol obviously, no real deer would have a chili dog stain on its belly fur.
That or caught dead drinking Coors.....
I wonder what OH DEER 10/31 means.
"Antlers up, don't shoot"