And how does the shooter live with that? In misery
By KW
He shot a pheasant. Then he shot her.
She died Saturday.
We don’t know the shooter, or the victim. Not yet. Details are few. We only know that it was one of those horrible hunting accidents that happens once or twice most years in South Dakota.
Authorities in Gregory County say the guy got out and shot a pheasant. He was getting back in the vehicle when his shotgun discharged and hit a 26-year-old passenger in the chest.
The sheriff’s office is calling it an accidental shooting. But it’s always more than that. It’s also almost certainly a fatal absence of safety measures that could have prevented such a gruesome accident. And it’s a burden of loss and guilt that will last a lifetime.
Be careful out there.
Guns kill.
Don’t let them kill you or someone else.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Not good. This is one of the reasons I always questioned road hunting. I know that road hunting is a sensitive issue in SD and I am not certain I would ever vote against the practice BUT saftey is a valid concern here. Maybe he was not road hunting but sure looks like it to me
Jeff: Sounds like road hunting. Don’t know for sure yet. But there’s lots that can go wrong in a road-hunting situation. And road hunters always need to be disciplined enough to never get in or out of a vehicle with a shell in the chamber, and carefully control the muzzle at all times. K.W.
October 28th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Road Hunting - another practice the state could do without!!
October 28th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
First, it’s the archer - not the arrow that’s the problem.
But besides that, it isn’t the road hunting - it is the keeping a loaded firearm in a vehicle. I always unload and tell others too - and get called paranoid —– but never get called late to dinner because of a load in the chest. It’s all about safety - in any setting - with any firearm.
October 28th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
This event did not occur because of road hunting. It occurred because the shooter ignored the fundamental rules of firearms handling.
ALL guns are ALWAYS loaded.
Keep your finger OFF the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.
NEVER point the muzzle at anything you’re not willing to destroy.
KNOW your target and what is beyond.
When those rules are observed, so-called “accidents” do not happen. They are not accidents anyway, they are acts of negligence or deliberate indifference. When you take gun handling lightly, you reap what you sow.
The firearms community bears a measure of responsibility for these events as well. There are those among us who tolerate lax attitudes, unsafe acts, and laugh off negligent discharges. There are those that will chuckle or roll their eyes at the clown at the gun store counter that talks about his “sound shots” that season, rather than calling him out, berating him, and sending him on his way.
I do not handle guns casually. I do not tolerate those around me doing so, be they in the home, store, or field.
Demand better of each other!
October 29th, 2009 at 10:23 am
I’m with you, SportGunner. I often think of how my Dad always started the days hunt by declaring that there are three main rules that must followed. Safety, safety, safety. With those three rules in mind, road hunting should not be anymore dangerous than field hunting.
I have enjoyed many hours of road hunting, and don’t consider it to be any more of a danger than hunting in the field. In fact, I have never had a close call by any actions which can be contributed to road hunting, which is not the case in field hunting through the blocking method. I have, more than once, experienced pellets hitting me by the act of a driver shooting at a bird below what should have been consideration to the blocker. Luckily, only once was there actual penetration of the skin, and that was very minor, but it does serve as a constant reminder that a few feet might result in an entirely different consequence.
I always pointed out to my kids, and now my grandkids, that it would be very difficult to live with the fact that your actions caused harm to someone else. I expect that this guy is finding horrendous guilt in his carelessness, and for his sake, I hope he finds a way to cope with it.
October 29th, 2009 at 10:33 am
I firmly agree with Lee and SportG. Blame the problem on the problem. Poor firearm handling and poor decisions are the problem here, not the act of road hunting. Unfortunately, too many people have also died while hunting in the woods, or other places that weren’t on a road, because of bad decisions and poor firemarm handling. Should we ban hunting in those scenarios too? I don’t think so.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:48 am
There’s a fine line between public safety and personal freedom. I don’t road hunt - not for safety reasons, but for sporting reasons - but, I would not take away that freedom from others. But, let’s get real here, guys. How can anyone defend road hunting in the name of “sport?” To stop the truck, get out, and kill an animal…I don’t get it.
This is a very tragic story and I pray for the family to find peace. Let it be a reminder to the rest of us. It only takes a split second for someone’s life to change forever.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I completely back what SportGunner says. I seldom hunt with people that are not close friends and family so I don’t encounter safety issues. Everyone knows what they are doing and everyone respects the firearms. Gun safety is the name of the game.
The gun range is a different story. When I am getting ready to go to the range sometime I feel like packing my rifles *and* a club so I can beat some sense into some of the people I have had the displeasure of being around. People swing guns around pointing them everywhere, start walking down the range without announcing it, don’t check guns to see if they are loaded when they pick them up, and much more. I have gotten into an argument on more than one occasion at the range with someone *demanding* they be safe around me and my family and friends.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I don’t think this can be classified as a “road hunting” problem although I do very much agree with Nemo that there is more tradition to the practice than there is sporting fair chase. Frankly, I think public acceptance of hunting would improve if we simply didn’t allow the practice of driving down public roads with loaded guns at the ready but, I am unwaivering in my thoughts about the public being able to hunt on any land it owns. I think Representative John Koskan tried mightily to regulate the behaviors of road hunters by demanding that the car be parked, doors closed and so forth before walking into the ditch to shoot; a scenario quite different than a hunter who parks his vehicle on an approach and walks a mile of road ditch with his dog. Unfortunately, the instant case does not sound like it was a case of walking a road ditch for a mile but rather stopping the car, jumping out and shooting a pheasant and then getting back in- makes a person wonder if the behavior was consistent with Representative Koskans idea of what road hunting should be.
I think the firearm accident statistics will bear out the notion that more firearm accidents occur while in the field than in a vehicle but that might just be a function of the numbers; that is to say there are more hunters hunting in the fields than are driving around in vehicles trying to shoot things from the roadway on an instantaneous and circumstantial basis.
Regardless, any hunting related death or even injury is tragic yet avoidable. Maybe Lee’s thoughts on carrying loaded firearms in vehicles is a direction we should take as a culture. We’ve taught safe handling of firearms in vehicles as well as elsewhere for decades and yet there is always difficulty with people either forgetting or ignoring even the most basic of safety precautions. Other states have found practicality in the issuance of citations as reminders to people who carry loaded, uncased firearms in vehicles. If we’re looking at fines as a means to remind people not to feed wildlife, isn’t it fair to consider a fine as a reminder for people to be extra cautious and careful with firearms in vehicles. I know I know, the old NRA argument that such a proposal is an infringement on our right to keep and bare arms?
October 30th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Additional statutes are rarely the answer. Especially when we have so many already. Simple Assault (SDCL 22-18-1) and Manslaughter (SDCL 22-16-15/20) both contain provisions applicable in events such as these. (They could use a little polish though.) I would prefer to hold those who create problems accountable, rather than encumber those who do not.
Further, if there are to be higher standards than the four basic rules, I would prefer to establish and enforce those myself. The lowest common denominator in my hunting or traveling party is different than in others.
Currently, SDCL 41-1-1(15) establishes that the gun is “loaded” when rounds are contained in the chamber, clip,or magazine. I believe that definition is in Title 22 or 23 as well, but I can’t find the reference. If there was to be a restriction, it would seem that revising the definition to include only loaded chambers would be least offensive.
October 30th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
One under th hammer is always unsafe and foolish in my opinion. Tho’ none in the firearm is foolish also. I carry five shells in my 6 shot revolver. An empty under the hammer. If I can’t get it done in five shots, I probably am doing something wrong or shouldn’t be using a gun anyway!
As to a shell in the chamber in a rifle or shotgun, same thing. Only maybe more so. How long does it take to jack one into the chamber? It’s just not worth it as these poor people have found out.
A weapon should never be able to fire until the second you need to fire it. Any other time, it is just foolish and dangerous and unnecessary, in my opinion.
rd: Amen. K.W.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
rd… I wouldn’t say it’s always unsafe or foolish. The readiness condition of the firearm is neither inherently safe or unsafe, it’s simply a state of being. What is safe or unsafe is the behavior and actions of the shooter. However, it is true that certain states of readiness are more forgiving of shooter induced errors than others.
The readiness condition of the firearm should depend on what you’re doing, and the immediacy of deployment in a given activity. A shooter can adequately guard against a negligent discharge by employing a manual safety, rather than rely upon operation of a bolt, slide, or lever.
I much prefer to have fewer large range of motion tasks to perform when bringing a firearm to bear.
I do not typically carry long guns with loaded chambers in vehicles, regardless of activity. However, magazines are always filled and seated unless they are soley being transported or stored. When I’m walking the field or sitting on the stump waiting, my chambers are loaded and available manual safeties are engaged.
Handguns carried for hunting or defensive purposes are loaded to their full capacity. In the majority of revolvers of recent, quality, and domestic manufacture, there is no need to leave a cylinder empty. In those revolvers, it is mechanically impossible for the hammer to contact the firing pin outside of major component failure. I do not use semi-autos with safeties, so they are not available to enage. Instead, I practice Rule 2…trigger discipline.
In matters such as these, it’s vital that gun owners know their limitations. Many, perhaps most, underestimate theirs. Pride, apathy, or practiced inexpertise don’t help. Additional layers of caution are prudent for some. Some elect to employ them anyway, and they should do what works for them.
Sport: I’m with you on guns in vehicles. I would never put a loaded weapon in a vehicle relying only on the manual safety. They can fail, or not be completely engaged, or in some cases - depending on configuration - get bumped off. The only guns in a vehicle, or the back of a pickup riding from one hunting spot to the other, should be those without a shell in the chamber or, with double barrels, cracked open. K.W.
November 1st, 2009 at 11:50 am
Sport, I guess we will just have to disagree then.
By the way, please don’t ask to come hunt with me or on my land.
November 1st, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Sport - I understand your point - but the key to safety is to maxiize, not minimize the margin of error. I get to hear all the stories why people don’t need to empty their magazines when they get in the vehicle — but an empty gun is even safer than a “safe” loaded gun. I haven’t had to call somebody and tell them a friend or family member was shot on a hunt I was involved in - I plan to keep it that way — maximize the opportunities for safety.
November 11th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Safety should be a constant state of mind in handling firearms and a conscious effort. No game trophy is worth a human life and ruining a wonderful family and friend tradition through a tragedy like the one above. Muzzle control is I think the most important in the end, if it’s pointed in a safe direction and is discharged accidently no person is hurt. The empty firearm, open action, on safe is very important always, but if you fail in this prelude the muzzle must be in a direction away from people. In group hunting, hunt only with safe individuals you know are safe, and safety is the biggest concern. It’s no enjoyable hunt with people who wave barrels around. We all feel safe when we see an empty firearm with the action open and pointed a safe direction. Vehicles limit muzzle control so empty and open action is good.