Hunter shot west of Spences Bridge

[huntcoop]

Does anyone ACTUALLY know what happened? Perhaps it wasn’t hunter safety after all and suicide?

[hunter1947]

This bad news of this hunter being shot brings back bad memories to me I had a good friend die in my arms shot from another hunter when I was 19 years old.
There are so many rules when friends come into my hunting camp ,,so sorry for this man that got shot and feel bad for the person that shot him if he survived
this ordeal I wish him a full recovery and if he died my condolence goes out to his family and friends, such sad news to hear of ..

#1 when your in my camp with your rifles you have to have the bolt open at all times.
#2 never have a bullet in the chamber when your hunting with someone else..
#3never but never have that mussel pointing at anything else except shooting at your animal.
#4Always have your bolt open when in the truck or the leaver action..

#5 If you have a removable clip when in your truck or car have it out of the rifle.
#6 Never scope anyone with your rifle scope use your spotter or binoculars to look at
objects
#7Never carry a loaded rifle on your ATV or motorcycle..
#8When unloading your rifle point it at the ground not up into the air.
#9If you see your friend not controlling his mussel direction the right way don't hold back let him or her know about this unacceptable action..

I can't count the amount of times I have asked my fellow hunter after shooting there animal i say have you got a bullet in the chamber ??? your safety on ???
sometimes with the adrenalin you forget to put your rifle on safety after shooting your game animal I have witnessed this sometimes after a friend has shot
his animal he or she forgot to ether remove the bullet out of the chamber or put the rifle onto safety..


I might have missed a few pointers but got most of them..

[emerson]

Bird hunting, still hunting up close and personal, moving to get a better shot. There are lots of times and reasons to have your gun loaded while hunting so dont act like you know better, a safety is one thing but treating every gun as if it is loaded is rule number one even then accidents do happen.

I’m with you. Muzzle consciousness is a critical firearm handling skill. Often folks are just not used to carrying such a large responsibility and take it lightly in action if not word.

[pager]

This reminds me of a time many years ago when I went to Princeton to hunt mule deer. I stopped in Prince to go into the gun store and this was in the days that the guns were on the floor in racks and anyone could pick one up and handle it. I have always had the habit of always opening any gun that I pick up, I picked up a 270 rifle of the rack opened the bolt and out came a live round. Took it over to the counter and asked the guy what the hell, he said you will have to come back and talk to the boss when he is in . went back later and his excuse was he lent it to a friend to use on the weekend and when he brought it back he just put it back on the floor without checking it. so you never know.

[Arctic Lake]

Is there a news agency that has covered this ? Can’t seem to find one !
Arctic Lake

[Redthies]

Does anyone ACTUALLY know what happened? Perhaps it wasn’t hunter safety after all and suicide?

Well, Lytton is west of Spences Bridge, and last time I checked had the highest per capita suicide rate in BC, so it’s not out of the question.

I’ve also looked for news reports and seen nothing.

[Gateholio]

Best bet is to not have one in the chamber until you need it don’t you thinks Gates....that way all parties know the guns not going to go off.
Thats been my policy for years with guided clients and in cases were they don’t want to pay attention the hunt can come to an end quick.
Many years ago a client I was guiding was told twice not to be packing an un-safetied rifle.
The third time there was no talking.
He passed me his gun to go in an floatplane, the safety was off, I cracked the bolt to see a shell under the hammer....the rifle went in the lake and the hunt terminated right there.
Looked damn funny watching him retrieve his rifle in waist deep water.

I'm perfectly comfortable walking around with a loaded chamber, safety engaged. If I think I will be in a situation where I cannot control the firearm, it gets unloaded/unchambered.

If I was in a situation where I was not in charge (like a guided hunt) I would do as requested by the guide.

[mpotzold]

This bad news of this hunter being shot brings back bad memories to me I had a good friend die in my arms shot from another hunter when I was 19 years old.
There are so many rules when friends come into my hunting camp ,,so sorry for this man that got shot and feel bad for the person that shot him if he survived
this ordeal I wish him a full recovery and if he died my condolence goes out to his family and friends, such sad news to hear of ..

#1 when your in my camp with your rifles you have to have the bolt open at all times.
#2 never have a bullet in the chamber when your hunting with someone else..
#3never but never have that mussel pointing at anything else except shooting at your animal.
#4Always have your bolt open when in the truck or the leaver action..

#5 If you have a removable clip when in your truck or car have it out of the rifle.
#6 Never scope anyone with your rifle scope use your spotter or binoculars to look at
objects
#7Never carry a loaded rifle on your ATV or motorcycle..
#8When unloading your rifle point it at the ground not up into the air.
#9If you see your friend not controlling his mussel direction the right way don't hold back let him or her know about this unacceptable action..

I can't count the amount of times I have asked my fellow hunter after shooting there animal i say have you got a bullet in the chamber ??? your safety on ???
sometimes with the adrenalin you forget to put your rifle on safety after shooting your game animal I have witnessed this sometimes after a friend has shot
his animal he or she forgot to ether remove the bullet out of the chamber or put the rifle onto safety..


I might have missed a few pointers but got most of them..

Sorry to hear about your friend dying in your arms.

As a youngster living in Kirkland Lake 2 guys that went to the same school were accidentally shot & killed with a 22 if I recall.
One while walking on a frozen lake with a group by a ricocheting bullet & the other when group hunting & walking on a bush road.

When moving to Kitchener one of my classmates was accidentally shot in the forearm with a bigger caliber leaving a huge indentation.

Fully agree with your pointers.
In general I abstain from shooting at a running animal.

[Redthies]

I'm perfectly comfortable walking around with a loaded chamber, safety engaged. If I think I will be in a situation where I cannot control the firearm, it gets unloaded/unchambered.

If I was in a situation where I was not in charge (like a guided hunt) I would do as requested by the guide.

Well said Clarke.

[caddisguy]

Safety is a good thing to have, but it can give a false sense of security. If a "safety" ever helps someone in any way, they made a terrible firearm handling mistake. Never rely on a safety in any way, not just because you can't rely on it, but because it's purpose is to be there when you make a mistake... key is, don't make a mistake. I usually pretend my firearms do not have safety. Once in a while I will flick them on, but my focus is on muzzle control and handling. Safety might help if a twig tries to pull the trigger but that's about it. It's usually not going to help in a bump or fall (depends on the mechanics but likely not helpful) ... I have one in the pipe when I'm hunting alone or on flat terrain. If I am hunting with someone else or there could be slips and falls, nothing is chambered. Muzzles always safe direction in any terrain.

That aside, there are not much in the way of details as to what happened. Focus should be on hoping they are okay, condolences if not.... hoping for the former.