Antler Rattler Shot

[GutshotApe]

From today's Eugene R-G Newspaper:

A 21-year-old Eugene man was listed in critical conditon at a Eugene hospital wednesday night after suffering a gunshot wound in a hunting accident that occurred near his home on McBeth Road.

Nicholas L. Peterson was hunting about 5PM in a wooded area using antlers in an attempt to attract a deer, according to the Lane Co. Sheriff's office. Another hunter, Trevor K.Foster, 19, of Eugene, fired a shot at what he thought was a deer and the bullet struck Peterson, a sheriff's news release said.

The shot struck Peterson in the arm and midsection.

Peterson was able to walk and crawl to his home where his father found him and called an ambulance. After finding the antlers, Foster and a companion hiked to the road and flagged down a vehicle to report the incident.

The investigation is continuing and the information will be submitted to the district attorney for review, sheriff's Sgt. Art West said.

:depressed: :depressed: :depressed: :depressed: :depressed: :depressed: :depressed:

[RogueFishr]

I will never understand how this happens I don't know how someone can pull the trigger without knowing 100% what they are shooting at. I hope the guy is brought up on (attempted) manslaughter charges. There is absolutely no excuse for this.

RF

[Gus Orviston]

.....and why did the guy have to crawl home. didn't trevor go see if he hit his target......or did he here the screams and ran?

do these people get to continue hunting, or do they lose their rights to carry again even if it considered an accident?

[ 11-07-2002, 11:20 AM: Message edited by: Gus Orviston ]

[lightline]

Three guys where working a medium size canyon and the the big bucks broke out below them. Two brothers where driving up a road and heard the shooting and parked along side the road and ran into the brush to see what was going on. One of the brothers stepped out from behind a wind fall just as one of the s******* shot at a buck down the hill and shot the guy through the chest. That one shot ruined several lives. the family of the man that was killed, his brothers, the man that pulled the triggerand his family. The guy that pulled the trigger never hunted or handled a gun again and never forgave himself for the accident. It is hard for me to believe that someone would take the risk of creating this kind of devistation in the hopes of maybe filling a big game tag.

[Boedy]

I can’t believe people can be so stupid when it comes to shooting at an animal. I was Elk hunting this year and was within 50 yards of 2 bulls and a bunch of cows. These elk were bugling and calling to each other and I was right between them. I was looking at a cow when an elk that was 3 times the size and very light in color moved to my right. Just as I turned its head went behind some trees and I couldn’t make out what it was for sure. I had what was almost surely one of the bulls in my crosshairs standing still but didn’t pull the trigger because I couldn’t see the head or horns. But these idiots didn’t even see a body and they are blazing away at what they think is a deer and hoping that it’s a buck. It will never stop amazing me that people will shoot at a sound or something moving in the brush. I won’t even shoot unless I am 100 percent sure that it’s a kill shot and safe behind. I pass on more bucks and Bulls then most because of this but I can sleep at night knowing that I have never killed anybody. There needs to be stiffer penalties for the idiots who do this sort of thing.

[winterkill]

If anyone ever shoots me I'm gonna haunt their a$$ so bad they will wish they were dead. You really gotta be a ******* to do this. It happened in my hunting party before I was old enough to hunt. My friends grandfather shot him thinking he was a buck (buck fever, he hadn't shot one in years) anyway, he had to help pack his grandsons body out. He never hunted since then. He was really careless with everything he did, and sadly it transfered to hunting. That was 7 years ago and the grandfather has since past away.

Before that we never wore hunter orange, but now everyone does, and we are extra careful. Our hunting party hasn't been the same since.
Be careful and know what you are shooting at.
Ian

[KingFisher85]

People these days, don't know what we are going to have to do to them. This just makes me sick
So did this guy have his hunters orange on?

[blacktail]

Man, it sure seems like there have been lots of accidents this year.

I cannot believe the stupidity of some of these "hunters".

Makes one consider taking up bow hunting.

Mike

[RogueFishr]

while I am an advocate of wearing orange, it shouldn't even matter if the guy was wearing complete camo. It is not an accident, it is negligence. Like was posted above, you should never pull the trigger without being 100% sure of your target.

RF

[Curlew]

I ran into a guy up hunting this year in WA. We started talking and right away I could tell he didn't have a clue what he was doing. He was from Tacoma and said he was over to get some meat from the freezer. We got to talking about what eachother had seen during the day and he said he hadn't seen much but did get off a "sound" shot early that morning. Yes a "sound" shot. I about fell over. I proceeded to explain that this area was 2 point or better area and I couldn't believe how stupid that was not to mention dangerous. He got ****** and took off. I ran into a sheriff later on and gave him a description of the guy and told him what he had said, but I never heard anything back.

Its hard to imagine but people like this are out there!

mike

[tag-a-long]

Here is my vote for hunters orange, and lots of it... There are too many stupid jerks in this world that are really too damned concerned about not shooting one this year Ever hear that round go whizzing by just over your head? Talk about something that will first scare you, and then p*** you off!!!!!!!!!!! Please be safe in the woods, and for Gods sake know your target and its backdrop...

[fishin]

I sure hope the young man that was shot makes it or else the bonehead doing the shooting may get to learn a new phrase.... can we say, Criminally Negligent Homicide .

[BlindSquirrel]

Yep - this is attempted murder! If and when they catch the person responsible -- they need to throw him/her in jail for a long, long time.

Blind Squirrel

[GutshotApe]

Update from today's R-G:

DEER HUNTER'S CONDITION SHOWS IMPROVEMENT by Rebecca Nolan

A 21-year-old Eugene man was upgraded Thursday to serious condition...........one day after he was shot in a hunting accident.

Nicholas L. Peterson was struck in the elbow and rib cage when another hunter fired a .270 caliber rifle rifle at him. The shooting occurred about 5PM wednesday near Peterson's home southwest of Eugene.

Investigators believe the shooting was accidental but were examining whether negligence or carelessness contributed to the incident, Lane Co. Sheriff's deputy Matt Keetle said. The information will be forwarded to the district attorney for review.

"Were still trying to put together what happened," Keetle said. "It sounds like he was pretty fortunate."

Deer hunting season closed wednesday so it was the last chance for hunters who hoped to bag a deer this year. Peterson was trying his luck in the wooded area between McBeth and Blanton Heights roads.

As the sky darkened into night, he held two antlers in his hands and banged them together in the hopes that the sound would attract a deer. The technique is not uncommon among hunters, Keetle said.

Instead, the noise caught the attention of Trevor K. Foster, 19, of Eugene, who fired a shot at what he thought was a deer. Foster and another hunter realized something was wrong when they found the antlers but no buck. They hiked up to the road and flagged down a police vehicle to report the shooting.

Meanwhile, the injured Peterson wrapped some clothing around his arm to slow the bleeding. He walked partway and crawled part way toward home. When he got within shouting distance of the rear of the house, he started yelling for his parents. His father heard him and helped him to the home's driveway, where medics and sheriff's deputies met him.

[chummer]

What you wear does matter! Question #1 on the hunter education exam: What is the best thing YOU can do to avoid being in a hunting "accident"? Wear Blaze Orange! Orange camo, solid orange, polka dot orange, orange that says "I'm not a target". I read guys on this forum who write that the reason they wear camo in a rifle season is because they don't like being scoped, and if they wear camo they won't be seen by other hunters. I would contend that is skewed logic. If a hunter sees some movement and he's not equipped with binoculars, he's gonna use his scope. If he sees movement that's orange, it would be logical to assume it's not an animal. I would venture a guess that a majority of rifle hunters do not carry binoculars because they think thier scopes serve the same purpose. But by wearing something orange, at least i can eliminate some unwanted "scoping" by someone who sees the orange with the naked eye versus someone who saw movement and can no longer see it, so he throws up ol'betsy to get a better looksee in the vicinity of the movement. I guess my bottom line is, and I know i'm preaching to the chior here, you're doing everything you can to be a responsible shooter, but do everything you can to avoid being a shootee.

[Flatfish]

I rattle from time to time.The antlers are painted orange to match my vest,hat coat and shirt(s).Terrible thing to happen.I wear Orange because of stuff like this.
mark and the wiggly dog.

[Killertraylor]

Every year I wonder how these things could possibly happen. I'm a strong advocate of hunter orange and like to hunt in Wa. where it's required. I once put my scope on a guy who was wearing a light brown shirt with a white t-shirt sticking out from under his jacket. At 400 yards, going through the brush, it looked just like a deer. At first I felt really bad as I hate being "scoped" - especially because I'm always wearing my orange. Even though he had brown clothing on though, it was easy to tell it was a person. I walked over to him and told him he should pick a different color to wear when walking through the brush - he didn't seem concerned at all. Do these idiots who shoot at sound or movement think they can just leave a doe sitting there if they shoot one? If I shot at sound or brown movement every chance I had I'd have about 5000 dead doe kills.

[Tanner]

This is the main reason I bow hunt. Every hunter should have to take Hunter's Safety every 10 years or something

[Tilla]

I won't say this was the primary reason I took up the bow. But it is a big contributing factor.

[riverrat]

i can't believe people are this irresponsible.....it is sickening.....a friend of mine was killed by his best friend a doctor several years ago moose hunting in northern mn.....how do you mistake a hunter in blaze orange for a moose?.....my uncle was shot in the hand bending over to look at his buck that he shot.....he was wearing blaze orange.....i had bullets wizzzzz-by while standing on a logging road in blaze orange while 3 yahoos were shooting at a fawn that was within 25 yards of me.....this was buck season with snow on the ground......blaze orange may stop a good hunter from scoping you but will never protect you from the idiots!!!!!!!!

[bigshark]

Well I'm bound to get flamed for the comment I'm about to make but I'm going to type it anyway. He thought he saw a deer? He's sure of that? Just what part of the deer was he putting the bullet into? How many times do we read the same thing. Shooting at sounds? Shooting ar movement? Shooting at horns? Sure he's a youngster and he will feel sick about it for the rest of his life. Its another sad story about being slow between the ears and quick on the trigger. Yes, I do feel sorry for the shooter but more sorry for the kid that was shot. I don't know if there is an answer to stop this kind of thing. What part of being sure of your target do you suoose he didn't understand. Sorry for the anger but it just keeps happening over and over. Any of us can foul up, I can't believe that there is one of us who hasn't. Mistakes can and will be made but this is the type that can't fall into the "easy to make" column. I'm sorry if I have offended any of you but this youngster needs to be asked more than"What in the devil were you thinking?" If he has this kind if decision making skills, do you think he's safe behind the drivers wheel? Safe to hunt again? What can be done that makes sense? Wish I had an answer. :depressed:

[ 11-08-2002, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: bigshark ]

[Boedy]

During this years Elk hunting trip I had a Cow elk run right up to me and stop 5 feet to the side of me. I was looking this cow in the eyes as it came up through the blow down only to stop where it did. It wasn’t until I moved that she jumped 15 feet in the air and ran off. By the way I had a blaze orange hat and vest on. I had always wondered in the back of my mind if all the orange really wasn’t spooking the animals some. Didn’t stop me from using it but I always wondered now I know.

[blacktail]

Doesn't sound like orange would have done any good in this situation. The report sounds like it happened at dusk.

Mike

[KingFisher85]

You know I'm not even going to say anything. All I'm going to say is that these yahoos [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img] that do this, GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! Never mind, I don't want to get into it.

People, people, once you pull that trigger, theirs no pulling back the bullet. Its as simple as that!

[ 11-08-2002, 11:41 PM: Message edited by: KingFisher85 ]

[chromebright]

I live in Hood River. There was a shooting "accident" near here this year. Up by Cooper Spur. A guy shot another guy from accross canyon saying he thought it was a bear.Well the guy from Odell was arrested last week and is charged with manslaughter. I do not know him personally but some of my family members do. Some who new him did not buy the "accident" story. He was careless and everyone should hope he pays the price.

Personally this scares me to death. I have hunted all my life and never thought about getting shot until I had children. I have a 3yr old daughter and my son was born 2 weeks before elk season. As I was driving to elk camp this year I could not stop thinking about what would happen if I got shot by one of these idiots.

I can still remember the lessons my father taught me about guns as a boy. Did these people miss out on any form of hunter/gun safety training?

[Salmon Stryker]

The moron doing the shooting must have been a heck of a long ways away from the injured guy if the wounded man had time to wrap his wound, walk and then crawl home before the shooter made it over to the antlers.

From that distance it's probably a good thing he rushed his shot at an unsure target for fear the deer might run off.

This makes me absolutely sick. I hope the injured guy comes out of all of this okay.

[pdxkevin]

This is a great reason to paint the rattling antlers blaze orange to match the blaze orange you are wearing.

[wife&3kids]

I was hunting for deer off Cooper spur this year when the accident happened. Lots of people playing pinball with the deer up there. My friend and I didnt take shots at a massive blactail/mulie beacuse of not having the perfect shot.. The next day, I jumped a deer, looked at it for at least 20 seconds at 25 yrds, had my scope on it for at least 10 seconds in the kill zone and couldn't put antlers on it. Deer jumps off and 4 seconds later BLamo!!! About 150 ft from me, was my friend and his son (I didnt know ) I called on my radio that someone just shot a doe. Well it turns out it was a very small spike.. It jumped out in front of them and he could see the antlers as clear as day....

As for the guy in Hood River who got shot.....On saturday, the guy who actually killed him sunday saw him with a black coat and backpack walking around. The shooter even talked to him and told him how dangerous this is. The next day , as ironic as it may sound, he actually got up and went back in the woods wearing black and a black backpack --- unbelievable...... As for the shooter ---what were you thinking pulling the trigger on something you couldn't clearly identify... Last time I checked bears walk on all fours and dont have a white face....

God bless both of their families thru this

[GutshotApe]

This article is in today's Eugene Register-Guard newspaper:

Deer hunter sentenced in accidental shooting

A deer hunter from Eugene who critically wounded another hunter in November (2002) was sentenced Tuesday to 20 days on the sheriff's road crew and $865 in attorney's fees and court costs.

Lane County Circuit Judge Doug Mitchell also banned Trevor Kory Foster, 20, from hunting during two years of probation. He was convicted of misdemeanor assault and negligently wounding another.

The victim, 21-year-old Nicholas Lee Peterson, said he hopes the case encourages hunters to be more careful. He still cannot straighten his left arm after being shot in the elbow and ribs with a .270-caliber rifle. Peterson said he feels lucky the high-powered rifle shot didn't kill him.

Foster fired the shot around dark on the final day of deer season as Peterson was in a wooded area between McBeth and Blanton Heights roads. Peterson was rattling deer antlers at the time, a technique used to attract bucks. Peterson walked and crawled to within shouting distance of his home, where medics were summoned.

In court, Foster apologized to Peterson and said the shooting was unintentional.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">

[jokester]

Another hunter, Trevor K.Foster, 19, of Eugene, fired a shot at what he THOUGHT was a deer and the bullet struck Peterson, a sheriff's news release said.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Another prime exmple of people taking shots that they're not 100% sure of.

.....and why did the guy have to crawl home. didn't trevor go see if he hit his target......or did he here the screams and ran?

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">I wondered about that too Gus....hmmmmmmmmm

-jokester

[Bait O' Eggs]

...20 days on a road crew ....cant hunt for a couple years

So he gets to walk along the road and pick up some garbage, get some light exercise, fresh air, ride in a nice comfy state provided truck to and from

Some doughball shoots at a sound without identifying it, he hits a person making that sound he shot at,

How about 20 years of breaking rocks by day, and 20 years of bubbas cell &#$)*)@) by night.

This guy got off way to easy IMHO.

[justdave]

I agree this young man got off pretty light if compared to Petey. Nicks doing pretty good though, has a great attitude and work ethic in his re-hab. He's back to fishing a lot and hunting as well. My boy is a pretty good friend and former baseball team mate. It's good to see him on the road to recovery. He has the dis-abled permits, but won't fish the ramps, he looks at it more of an inconvenience.

[salmoncatcher]

you people should stop making negative first assumptions. maybe he was tresspassing on someones property and the guy who shot him thought he was the only person on that property

[Gus Orviston]

Oh yea, I forgot, if you are alone, or at least think you are alone it is okay to do the following;

1. Shoot blindly into the brush since anything that could be there is ok to kill- he clearly didn't know what he was shooting at because...uh...it was a human! [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]

2. After shooting, no follow up on the target location to examine for blood because if you are on private property basic ethics go out the window?

[ORoutdoorsman]

This is a terrible accident! And the reason it happened is because the person that did it is not responsible and does not listen to the advice given to him in hunter safety. This person more than likely came into hunting on his own, without anyone every showing him the ropes, and stressing the importance of being safe. I think something that everyone needs to do, is if they know of a youth that wants to go hunting, but has no one to take them, they need to find the time to get that person out hunting. Kids who have no one to show them the ropes are more likely to cause a hunting accident in the woods. I think that if someone would take these kids out atleast once, and really show them how to hunt, that this would eliminate alot of the problems. Because while you may not want some kid tagging along on your hunting trips, it is worth it in the long run for you and everyone else to make sure these kids understand the importance of safety and good sportsmanship. And while it may lessen your chance that year for taking an animal, it gives a youth the chance to not only be safe in the woods, but gives them the opportunity to get out and learn to enjoy the outdoors, rather then causing all of us more heart ache. I personally would be a big supporter of a hunting and fishing mentor program. I think that it would eliminate alot of stupid accidents like this that we have. JUst my opinion though.

[jokester]

you people should stop making negative first assumptions. maybe he was tresspassing on someones property and the guy who shot him thought he was the only person on that property

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">salmoncatcher,

No matter if it was private property, BLM, or National Forestry...the guy should have been 100% sure of what he was shooting at before he pulled the trigger. What's one of the first rules they teach you in Hunter Safety...BE 100% SURE OF YOUR TARGET!! He obviously had no clue what his intended target was, because the article said he shot at what he "THOUGHT" was a deer. I'm sorry, but if I "think" there's a deer there, i'm gonna make for darn sure tootin that 1) It IS IN FACT, a deer and 2) That it's a legal deer before I even shoulder my gun!!!! This is why they invented binoculars.

-jokester

[ORoutdoorsman]

Thats right Jokester, if you shoot at a person rattling, you are a completely irresponsible hunter. Because reguardless of anything else, you cannot pull off a responsible shot on a deer if all you see is movement. If you can see exactly where on a deer you are shooting, you should not be taking the shot. If people hunted responsibly, and made sure they took responsible humane shots, no one would get mistaken for deep if people even put this much thought into taking a shot. Because if you just shoot at movement, you are just hoping to hit it and anchor it, which is irresponsible. And if you make sure of your shot, you wont mistake a person for a deer.

[Old Coot]

I noted a couple of remarks about bowhunting. Take note that idiocy is not limited to firearms users. This from the ODFW Hunter Ed site:


97/5 Baker County

The victim and the shooter, each with a hunting partner, were bugling for elk late afternoon in the general archery season. Each heard the other and mistaking the sound for a bull elk moved towards the other hunters. It was now almost dark (after legal shooting hours) and they were still bugling at each other and moving closer. The victim stood up on a road and was shot with an arrow in the stomach from about 20 yards. The shooter was cited for assault while committing a crime (hunting out of legal hours). NOT FATAL

:shocked:

[Killertraylor]

Thanks, GSA for the update. Judge must not have been a hunter. This stuff is just unexcusable in my book.