Thread: Hunter shot in Kaimai Range near Te Aroha

On one of my first hunting expeditions, long before any of you bastards were born, I was with a mate the same age as me, his dad was a very keen hunter. We got on to a spiker, only separated by about 20 metres of bush. We could clearly see it head through the bush trying to reach the high branches, but we could not see his body. My mate was adamant that we could shoot until we identified it fully. Sat watching the movement for about 10mins till it decided to bolt. Great training from his dad that someone of 16-17 had the nous to identify the target completely. Must have left an impression as that was at least 50 years ago. Tally that weekend, two hinds, a stag and a different spiker. I was suitably shagged by the time I got back to the Hillman combie station wagon

Originally Posted by matto1234

Ugh wrong quote... I have been tracked/indicated in the Bush by a weimaraner once

That must have been a huge 'Oh fuck' moment in your life. Did you throw stones and poke at it with a stick?

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

There is an absolutely failsafe process that will ensure that you never shoot a person in the bush which involves the simple procedure of identifying your target. Do that one thing, properly, and it will never happen.

That's the problem, these people are most often doing this but reach the wrong conclusion.

Originally Posted by PerazziSC3

Nothing is impossible so they say.

I honestly cannot say it would never happen, I could slip and trip cause an accidental discharge and shoot myself for all I know.

Accidents happen and that's the fact, careless acts happen, people die. You cannot deny facts.

I will leave it there as you have closed your mind off to others opinions

Like others you just danced around the question. I too could have a "genuine" accident with a firearm but I sure as hell will never line someone up and put a bullet in them. If you read the earlier post I made comparing these guys that shoot people with rapists, and then use your way of thinking, do you also come to the conclusion that since it's physically possible you could end up raping someone one day?

Originally Posted by Moutere

That's the problem, these people are most often doing this but reach the wrong conclusion.

No they're not. They SAY they are doing that, but they're not, or it wouldn't happen. The research is always going to be flawed because they are always going to stick to that same story.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

No they're not. They SAY they are doing that, but they're not, or it wouldn't happen. The research is always going to be flawed because they are always going to stick to that same story.

There are plenty of cases where family or a member of their own party is brought down by a measured and calculated shot.
Your last line is just opinion.

Originally Posted by Moutere

There are plenty of cases where family or a member of their own party is brought down by a measured and calculated shot.
Your last line is just opinion.

Yeap exactly, and they didn't identify their target did They? No they didn't, or they would have seen it was a person not a deer.

Originally Posted by Moutere

There are plenty of cases where family or a member of their own party is brought down by a measured and calculated shot.
Your last line is just opinion.

They did not identify their target. End of story.

It is a scary scenario to think there are people running around the bush with firearms that see things that are not there

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Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Yeap exactly, and they didn't identify their target did They? No they didn't, or they would have seen it was a person not a deer.

Correct,
Show me a shooting accident or incident where one of the seven basic rules haven't been broken and I'll eat my hat.
I guess my approach is accepting in the heat of the moment it's not quite cut and dry as that.

My experience with decision making and succumbing to visual illusion is industry based.
It's easy to bring on certain visual phenomena in a flight simulator, I've had a couple of instances in the hot seat too.
Having experienced my eyes seeing one thing and my brain rearranging into something else I have no doubt it can happen with a hunter.

Originally Posted by savage270

Why do people bother meat hunting at the busiest most dangerous time of the year? misidentification shootings would be eliminated in the roar if people hunting in april were only looking for trophy stags. Fill ya freezer up spring/summer. Iv never heard of a mistaken id shooting where the victim was mistaken for a “12pt stag with great length and strong tines” its 100% always just “thought he was a deer”

Perhaps in part, it's because NZ was know internationally as a sparsely populated, bush rich country with deer behind every tree. A 303 to be bought at every country servo and to hunt, our god given right. Sounds plausible until about 35 years ago, when successive governments allowed immigration, foreign land sales and forests' to be sold off. All this in turn, has led to an over exuberance of 'hunters', vehicles and limited huntable land for the masses. This is my take, but I've been wrong before...

Firearms accidents have decreased massively over the past few decades, your hypothesis doesn't hold up very well.

Originally Posted by R93

It is a scary scenario to think there are people running around the bush with firearms that see things that are not there

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I think that has sumed up the whole thread rather well mate


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I go out a bit but don't shoot many deer as I have passed up so many shots that were what appeared to be a deer and probably were but for me probably and appeared aren't 100% identifying the target so I went home empty handed which sucks a bit but at least I didn't shoot anybody

Originally Posted by BRADS

I think that has sumed up the whole thread rather well mate


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I am sure all of us that venture bush have seen things at first glance we thought were animals. Shape, colour, movement, location etc.

A few seconds or minutes spent scrutinizing will usually sort it.

Seeing something within a few meters and being convinced it is an animal when it is not, is different level shit I have no experience with. I cant understand or fathom it.
Probably happens to bigfoot witnesses

If I ever had an incident where I was 100% sure I am looking at an animal and it turned into a human I would hang up my boots.

That is why I firmly believe miss identification stems from attitude.





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Originally Posted by R93

I am sure all of us that venture bush have seen things at first glance we thought were animals. Shape, colour, movement, location etc.

A few seconds or minutes spent scrutinizing will usually sort it.

Seeing something within a few meters and being convinced it is an animal when it is not, is different level shit I have no experience with. I cant understand or fathom it.
Probably happens to bigfoot witnesses

If I ever had an incident where I was 100% sure I am looking at an animal and it turned into a human I would hang up my boots.

That is why I firmly believe miss identification stems from attitude.





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Great post
Couldn't agree more


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