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

[Panzer1]

Has anyone seen this woman. Maybe she looks like a deer.

panzer

[4eyedbuzzard]

Has anyone seen this woman. Maybe she looks like a deer.

panzer

Nah, wasn't that. Her dog must have antlers.

[mrclean417]

Some people can barely drive, others can handle multiple tasks. It's the same in the pilot world. Some folks are tasked flying their 150 and yet our 'average' fighter pilot monitors 30+ systems while trying to complete a mission, ie they ain't your average folks. I'm a little more anal. I can't stand when folks take their attention away from driving to light up and smoke. But then I grew up trapped in a back seat with smoke and ashes hitting me in the face. Just the price of being a child of the 60's. Last I heard the NTSB wants to ban the use of all cell phones including hands free. Somehow running a CB is still ok though.

As far as not fully identifying his target, I'm sure almost everyone has done their best to identify their target, but friendly fire accidents kill our service men all the time. They're trained professionals. I

If you're hiking in a hunting area, you are a possible target even wearing blaze orange. I'm sure the hunter is not trying to shoot a person. It's a shared responsibility. If you can't go hiking in a no-hunting area, where I'd still wear the blaze, then consider if it's truly worth the risk. It's kind of like swimming across a lake where there aren't normally swimmers. Might be legal but your at the mercy of the boaters to spot you. They don't mean to run you over either and will feel terrible the rest of their lives.

Frankly, I'm a little surprised though that the racist attack above has been allowed. 'Hicks' while certainly not as offensive to most of us as the good ole N bomb, F bomb, C bomb and any other letter you want me to use so that you must use the actual word in your mind and I can say I wasn't trying to be offensive, is still being used in a racist manner and should be reprimanded.

[Newb]

In his defense, she looked an aweful lot like a moose.

[strollingalong]

Oh and Mexico too

[Ender]

All, keep it civil and relatively on topic here. This is not a thread for discussing racism, gun laws, insulting each other and insulting their character, etc etc etc.

IOW, play nice.

[leaftye]

An accident is missing your target, not shooting what you aimed at.

[Tinker]

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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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.

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


That trooper is incredibly stupid, ignorant, careless, and self-centered...thinking he could shoot at something that "looked like a deer". And ending up shooting an innocent civilian.


He should be arrested...just like any civilian probably would be...and be convicted...and sent to prison...in with the general population.

Then shot.

[Creek Dancer]

The decision not to wear blaze orange when its not required, but when it's smart to do so, comes down to this - - Do you want to be right? Or do you want to be dead right?

And I agree the shooter should be prosecuted, just like anyone else. Being a law enforcement officer should not give him a pass.

[leaftye]

I would totally wear blaze orange if I was off trail or on a trail that didn't see much use. It shouldn't be required in any way on superhighway trails like the PCT or AT.

[Tinker]

Hi...


That trooper is incredibly stupid, ignorant, careless, and self-centered...thinking he could shoot at something that "looked like a deer". And ending up shooting an innocent civilian.


He should be arrested...just like any civilian probably would be...and be convicted...and sent to prison...in with the general population.

Then shot.

You have the right to express your opinion, and much of it is probably shared by many of the posters here, but I disagree wholeheartedly about the "shot" part.

It may well be that the hunter had the type of ego that gave him a pass to not follow the rules. If so, I agree with the main body of your comment.

[Pathfinder1]

Survival - it requires hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.

An EXCELLENT way of putting it...!!

[Tinker]

The decision not to wear blaze orange when its not required, but when it's smart to do so, comes down to this - - Do you want to be right? Or do you want to be dead right?

And I agree the shooter should be prosecuted, just like anyone else. Being a law enforcement officer should not give him a pass.

Re: As to being a LEO - absolutely agreed. One of my friends from church is a local LEO who pulled over a drunk driver after the guy took off on him and blew through a red light. The drunk argued that he was the nephew of a big-shot retired public official and should be "given a break". After conferring with several other officers on the scene, my friend issued him a ticket, telling him that he'd already had two previous "breaks" and his luck had run out. Kudos to him. When it comes to reckless endangerment who you know should never be a factor.

[Migrating Bird]

Here are a couple of links to additional articles on this "accident"

http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/01...KIM/story.html

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/reg...took_for_deer/

Below is the Legal Definition of Hunting in Massachusetts

The verb “to hunt”, in all of its moods and tenses, includes pursuing, shooting, killing and capturing mammals and birds and all lesser acts such as disturbing, harrying or worrying, or placing, setting, drawing or using any device commonly used to take mammals and birds, whether or not such acts result in taking; and includes every attempt to take and every act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take mammals and birds.

The accident occurred on the last day of muzzle loader (black powder) season, with a single shot 50 cal. muzzle loader - just think of what he could have done with a repeating weapon?

When I was 6 my mother enrolled my brother and I in an NRA gun safety/target course. I hunted for years both with a gun, black powder and bow, although I do not hunt anymore, I am not anti hunting. It is my firm belief that this hunter should be charged period, the fact that he is a state trooper makes his defense all the more damning.

Note: I underlined and bolded the type above.

M. Bird

[Rain Man]

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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[Wise Old Owl]

Hey Tinker after a argument on a previous thread this year... I called the game lands authority and discovered the blaze orange is required of the hunter the woman or person walking "It is strongly suggested" it is not unlawful not to wear blaze orange.

[Wise Old Owl]

Has anyone seen this woman. Maybe she looks like a deer.

panzer

yea found an early picture....she's 66 today notice the nice doggie she was walking.

[bronconite]

Hey Tinker after a argument on a previous thread this year... I called the game lands authority and discovered the blaze orange is required of the hunter the woman or person walking "It is strongly suggested" it is not unlawful not to wear blaze orange.

Why do you insist on repeating this false information? On PA State Game Land between Nov 15 and Dec 15 you are required to wear at least 250 sq in of orange. The actual Law was posted in the previous thread, along with the link for verification, by ki0eh, which I will include below. There is no such thing as a "game land authority". What was the title of the person you talked to? Was it an actual WCO (wildlife conservation officer)? Either way, they were wrong. Please take the time to read ki0eh's quoted post below.

58 Pa.Code 135.41(c) Additional prohibitions. In addition to the prohibitions contained in the act pertaining to State game lands and § 135.2, except with the written permission of the Director, it is unlawful to: * * * (21) Except on Sundays, be present on State game lands from November 15 through December 15 inclusive when not engaged in lawful hunting or trapping and fail to wear a minimum of 250 square inches of daylight fluorescent orange-colored material on the head, chest and back combined or, in lieu thereof, a hat of the same colored material. The material shall be worn so it is visible in a 360° arc. Persons using shooting ranges are exempted from this requirement.

Quoted from http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/05...bchapCtoc.html but you have to scroll down far enough.

[Tinker]

Hey Tinker after a argument on a previous thread this year... I called the game lands authority and discovered the blaze orange is required of the hunter the woman or person walking "It is strongly suggested" it is not unlawful not to wear blaze orange.

I don't remember arguing. Discussing and disagreeing, maybe.

I don't care if I'm wrong or right as per my thoughts on the news link that I gave when I started this thread.

I just know that it's right to care about everyone, and, in this case, it means fellow hikers. And your life is more important than my ego.