johnclif@cs.washington.edu (06/06/91)
There has been a lot of net traffic lately concerning the safety of hunting -- particularly concerning hunting accidents, or incidents of hunters shooting people unintentionally. It's often said that "hunters will shoot anything that moves," or "don't surprise a hunter -- he may reflexively shoot you" or other such nonsense. Unfortunately, we hunters are often the source of these statements. I think that the danger from other hunters is a very minor one, and certainly not a reason to give up hunting. I agree with the posters who view the act of shooting another person because it was "mistaken" as a game animal as inexcusable. Were I to be on a jury the defendant would be found guilty. There is absolutely no reason to shoot at any target which has not been conclusively identified. Shooting at movement in the bushes or at the sound of a turkey's call is as criminally negligent as shooting indiscriminately out the window of your urban residence. It should be punished as severely. I did once get a citation for 'target shooting' illegally. The incident occurred when I was hunting on a Wildlife Management Area for deer. I had fallen earlier in the day and hit my scope. Around noon, I came to an open area I knew well, and set up a target against a backstop of a sand enbankment. I fired a couple of shots to verify that the scope was still on, and a few minutes later, a game warden approached and asked if the shooting he heard was me. I answered, yes, it was. Why were you shooting? I had fallen and wanted to make sure my rifle was still sighted in. You can't do that here, I'll have to issue a citation. Why? Because target shooting is illegal in a WMA. Since when? The state Wildlife dept. added it to the regulations this summer. He handed me a copy of the hunting regs, and sure enough, it was added to the fine print. C'mon, I said, you're going to give me a $50 citation for firing two shots into a sand berm in the middle of the woods at noon on a weekday? I could confiscate your rifle, if I thought you were being irresponsible, he said. (My rifle is a pre-'64 Model 70!) I decided to shut my mouth and cut my losses. I can understand the reasoning behind such a rule, but to hide this in the fine print (Times 2?) and for a warden to cite a hunter whom the warden admits is being prudent is somewhat ridiculous. I looked at it as my donation to the Wildlife Dept. general fund. BTW, the warden and I talked about other things (in a friendly fashion) after I pocketed the citation. One of the topics was the number of firearms they confiscated yearly. He mentioned that most of the wardens had quite a few firearms they had confiscated from offenders. In other words, the wardens kept seized weapons personally. I learned safe gun handling from my father. My first gun was an air rifle, that I got when I was 10. It was kept in my father's closet and I could only shoot it if my parents were home and I had their express permission. Any stupid stunts, like broken windows, etc., would be punished by losing the rifle _forever_, along with a severe spanking. I never tested this provision. My father took me hunting before he would let me carry a gun. I had a Wrist Rocket slingshot, with which I would take the occassional shot at a squirrel, etc., (missing!), but the experience of seeing game and having the blood pump settled me down before I was allowed to carry a loaded gun. My first real firearm was a single-shot 20 gauge -- I wanted a pump or auto but after 20 years I believe my father knew best. My father always emphasized good marksmanship over firepower. It was better to get 2 quail for 2 shots than to get 5 quail for 20 shots. As a result, I can hold my own in a duck blind, dove field, or behind a pointer. No neophyte should be allowed to go hunting unless he/she has demonstrated clearly that they understand safe gun handling. The goal of every hunter should be to collect his game but not at the expense of safety or fun. Be safe, enjoy yourself, and get a few. John Clifford Developer, Applications Microsoft Corporation Disclaimer: I speak for me, Bill speaks for Microsoft.