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  1. #1

    Default Off duty Mass. policeman shoots woman while hunting...........

    I started a thread about blaze orange and the importance of wearing it a while back and, as usual, there were several folks who said it was the hunter's responsibility to identify his target before pulling the trigger. Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen. It was an open season. The woman didn't know it and was not wearing any blaze. Here in RI, popular hunting grounds are posted by the DEM with signs stating that any user of the public area in question is required by law to wear at least 200 sq. in. of blaze orange from the second week in November right through the second week in May, if I remember correctly. All open hunting seasons are covered that way, and there is less of a chance that accidental shootings will happen between the different seasons.

    Link to blaze orange rule in RI on one of my favorite sections of trail : http://www.mdc.net/~dbrier/yawgoog/trails/long-ell.html

    The story on the accidental shooting: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/02...stions-hunter/

    There's no such thing as too careful if you want to stay alive while using the woods when hunters may be present.

    Happy, safe New Year.
    Last edited by Tinker; 01-04-2012 at 06:55.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  2. #2
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    They should press charges against the hunter. If only to impress upon other hunters the importance of knowing what they're shooting instead of pulling the trigger for anything that moves.

  3. #3

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    There's an open grass park in our residential development, with swings and slides, etc., bordered by a quarter mile strip of woods in turn bordering a reservoir. We took a walk onto a path into those woods last week and suddenly a man holding a gun was _screaming_ at us for "scaring away the game." We see a solitary deer once or twice a year. Birds, and a load of squirrels. A skunk every couple of years. Das it. Frankly I think he was somewhat in shock at having almost shot us.

    Our bad. Orange from now on. All the time, everywhere, once you're off the sidewalk. There are shooting people out there!

  4. #4

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    This was not an accident, this was reckless behavior and dumb. This hunter/ LEO should have his guns confiscated and be band from hunting. I'm a hunter and only shoot at what I'm going to eat.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ALLEGHENY View Post
    This was not an accident, this was reckless behavior and dumb. This hunter/ LEO should have his guns confiscated and be band from hunting. I'm a hunter and only shoot at what I'm going to eat.
    +1 here especially as he is a State Trooper. We have stiffer laws for shooting a police officer, a life is a life, pain and suffering is pain and suffering regardless of who you are.

  6. #6
    Registered User LoneRidgeRunner's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by leaftye View Post
    They should press charges against the hunter. If only to impress upon other hunters the importance of knowing what they're shooting instead of pulling the trigger for anything that moves.
    ABSOLUTELY! Yes, it is the hunter's responsibility yo KNOW what he's shooting at even BEFORE he takes aim. Unfortunately, there's a lot of morons who just shoot at anything that moves. I Deer hunted most of my life and have seen lots of Deer and lots of hunters in the woods and they do NOT resemble each other in ANY way whatsoever. Any hunter who shoots someone while hunting should be charged with and convicted of premeditated murder. It's premeditated because when he took aim and pulled that trigger he intended to kill his target. But it's not a bad idea to wear some orange. Even if the hunter is charged and convicted ( he won't be though as they always call it an unavoidable "accident", the victim is still dead.

  7. #7

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    Some people actually depend upon game meat to bolster their food stores, some are just ardent sportsmen. All of them are out there to shoot game. Sometimes they (and we) make mistakes.

    This is just an example.

    And it was good to point out that hunters feel that they have a right to stalk game without noisy non-hunters scaring it away. They spend a lot on equipment and licenses, spend a lot of time dreaming and preparing for the hunt, and don't like noisy intruders any more than most hikers appreciate "locals" using shelters for parties.
    Trying to see through the eyes of others goes a long way towards mutual understanding.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  8. #8

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    You would think a (trained observer)state police officer,would know and identify his target(and beyond)as one of the 10 rules (commandments) of all hunters are required to do.The women on the other hand was not required to wear the 200 Sq. inches of hunter orange that all hunters of deer are required to wear by law.They call it an accident..and a bad one at that.But I have no doubt in my mind that the officer did not go into the woods that day and have the slightest notion this could happen to him,A trained observer.

  9. #9

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    Precisely the point. Many of us are in denial that things that happen to other folks "won't happen to me".

    What, pray tell, makes me any better than anyone else that I can dismiss common sense? The average person (in this country) lives in denial of their own mortality until "IT" happens to them, and if they survive, they'll probably live another day to deny many other common sense issues.

    Survival - it requires hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tinker View Post
    Survival - it requires hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.

    An EXCELLENT way of putting it...!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tinker View Post
    ... as usual, there were several folks who said it was the hunter's responsibility to identify his target before pulling the trigger. ...
    From your "tone of voice," I take it that you do not think it's the hunter's responsibility to identify his target before pulling the trigger???

    I wear lots of blaze orange if I know it's hunting season and I always check with the local rangers to ask while planning a hike. But that sure as heck doesn't mean I don't think it's the HUNTER's responsibility always, always, always, 100% when he pulls the trigger. This was a 66-year-old lady walking her two dogs, for pete's sake! This hunter should go to prison in my opinion. Is it ever legal to hunt deer after dark anyway?

    Rain Man

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    [I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35

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  12. #12
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tinker View Post
    Some people actually depend upon game meat to bolster their food stores, some are just ardent sportsmen. All of them are out there to shoot game. Sometimes they (and we) make mistakes.

    This is just an example.

    And it was good to point out that hunters feel that they have a right to stalk game without noisy non-hunters scaring it away. They spend a lot on equipment and licenses, spend a lot of time dreaming and preparing for the hunt, and don't like noisy intruders any more than most hikers appreciate "locals" using shelters for parties.
    Trying to see through the eyes of others goes a long way towards mutual understanding.
    Actually, I don't believe there is "a right to stalk game without noisy non-hunters scaring it away." There are non-interference laws regarding fishing and hunting, but noisy non-hunters would have to be intentionally trying to interfere with the hunt in order to be in violation. Someone out walking their dog and making noise in the woods during hunting season may be annoying, and they may well be a fool, but they aren't necessarily breaking any laws. Every noisy person in the woods isn't necessarily trying to scare game - I have a relative who is loud and noisy everywhere. But whenever you have a lethal weapon, the burden is always on you to positively identify your target and what lies both in between you and that target and downrange. Mistakes with weapons are judged under a different set of rules, as they should be.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rain Man View Post
    From your "tone of voice," I take it that you do not think it's the hunter's responsibility to identify his target before pulling the trigger???

    I wear lots of blaze orange if I know it's hunting season and I always check with the local rangers to ask while planning a hike. But that sure as heck doesn't mean I don't think it's the HUNTER's responsibility always, always, always, 100% when he pulls the trigger. This was a 66-year-old lady walking her two dogs, for pete's sake! This hunter should go to prison in my opinion. Is it ever legal to hunt deer after dark anyway?
    Rain Man

    .
    My point was that hikers share in the responsibility to keep themselves safe during hunting season by wearing blaze orange.

    As for after dark and the close of the season, it was pretty close. The 911 call is the first actual record of time in the incident, so I'll let the authorities investigate and bring charges.

    This post was an FYI to fellow hikers, to help them make the decision to hike more safely during hunting season.
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tinker View Post
    My point was that hikers share in the responsibility to keep themselves safe during hunting season by wearing blaze orange.
    How well does that blaze orange show up after dark?

    The article did not say "dusk," but rather "dark." Two different things. So, since the article is what we're going on, then I'm still assuming it was dark rather than getting off on tangential hypotheticals.

    Rain Man

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  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rain Man View Post
    How well does that blaze orange show up after dark?

    The article did not say "dusk," but rather "dark." Two different things. So, since the article is what we're going on, then I'm still assuming it was dark rather than getting off on tangential hypotheticals.

    Rain Man

    .
    The reporter says, "It all went down around dusk, about 5:00 pm".

    Blaze orange does not show up well after dark unless illuminated by a remote light source. Your point? I don't want to put words in your mouth, but are you saying that because it may not increase the liklihood that you'll be seen that it isn't worth wearing it after dark during hunting season? Honestly, after dark during hunting season, if you're hiking and don't have a headlamp or other light source in operation while on the trail, you (one, not you personally, but anyone) should have your head examined before someone puts an extra hole (that God never intended) in it.

    Unfortunately, the reporter may be showing her lack of hunting knowledge when she said "muzzle loading shotgun."
    As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11

  16. #16
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tinker View Post
    The reporter says, "It all went down around dusk, about 5:00 pm".

    Blaze orange does not show up well after dark unless illuminated by a remote light source. Your point? I don't want to put words in your mouth, but are you saying that because it may not increase the liklihood that you'll be seen that it isn't worth wearing it after dark during hunting season? Honestly, after dark during hunting season, if you're hiking and don't have a headlamp or other light source in operation while on the trail, you (one, not you personally, but anyone) should have your head examined before someone puts an extra hole (that God never intended) in it.

    Unfortunately, the reporter may be showing her lack of hunting knowledge when she said "muzzle loading shotgun."
    1) The incident happened at just about exactly 5:00 pm, a full 10 minutes after he should have stopped hunting. Sunset was at 4:22 on Dec 31 in Norton, MA on the day of the incident. Those of us who spend time in the woods know that once the sun goes down the light level drops quickly, and yes 8 to 10 minutes can and does make a big difference in visibility at that time of day.
    2) Are you seriously saying that I need to wear a headlamp to avoid being shot by a hunter at night. Give me a break . . .

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    This is a classic accident. The woman was shot in the dark within minutes of the end of hunting season (probably several minutes after hunting ended).

    She was shot on her own property, according to her son. Other reports place her in a wildlife preserve across the street from her home.

    Mass. law says you 500' from any building. Google maps shows that street as fairly built up and it would be hard to find a spot in that area further than 500' from any building.

    Hunting is legal till 30 minutes after sunset. It is pretty dark in the woods here at 30 minutes after sunset. You'd have to be almost on top of them to distinguish a person from a deer in the woods then. The shooting happened about 5pm, which would be illegal and after the end of hunting season.

    Most hunters do not have permits for antlerless deer. You have to determine that the deer has at least 3" antlers before you shoot.

    Within 12 hours the state police were stating that it was an 'accident' and there would be no charges; the shooter was a state police officer. I think that the officer should serve jail time. It is clearly negligent use of a firearm (up to 6 months in jail).

    I did not go outside at all the last day of hunting season. I was afraid to go out on the last hours of deer season because some hunters become desperate to get a deer. I usually wear blaze orange going to my mail box during deer season and always wear it walking in the woods in hunting season.

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Snowleopard View Post
    This is a classic accident. The woman was shot in the dark within minutes of the end of hunting season (probably several minutes after hunting ended).
    I was under the impression there's no hunting after dark. If it was one minute after hunting season, it was no accident, but reckless and negligent. .

  19. #19

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    he was aiming for her dogs, after my dog-enduced sleepless night last night I'd've shot em too

  20. #20
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Is it an accident? Yes, but only in the same sense that driving 60 mph in a 25 mph school zone and hitting a child is. Reckless operation of a vehicle resulting in a death is typically a manslaughter charge. Reckless operation of a firearm should be no different.

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