Thread: Not again!

Personally, I would like to know if there has been any meaningful study into such hunting accidents as a collective group, rather than each incident individually case by case. The obvious trends here are bush hunting during the roar by generally experienced multiple party groups.
It doesn't strike me as a competence issue with using the firearm as such either. This is an issue with rationalising the compulsion to shoot based on what's seen and heard when hunting. The decision making around taking the shot is key here.
Making this a firearms licencing issue is not necessarily the answer as we don't see the same kind of incidents in F-class, Alpine hunting, 3-gun, varmint hunting, small bore and such like.
Is it as simple as people just taking pot shots at glimpses and sounds of possible game? Or is there more at play here, where external and internal influences impair an individuals decision making. We know light, fatigue, expectation, eyesight, complacency, attitude, excitement and many other things will affect a persons decision making.
A manifesto discussing outcomes from previous incidents and lessons learnt would be highly beneficial.
Rule number four could be expanded upon. I'm in favour of the mantra to assume it's a person until all doubt is removed.
Broadly speaking, I believe that it is impossible to completely legislate accidents out of society, but raising everyone's personal standards and knowledge can only be a good thing for any given application. Above all else one must accept that this could happen to them.

Originally Posted by Greig1605

An "inexperienced hunters" point of view.... I'd personally like to have the shooters mistake analysed and released just to get some kind of insight into how he made such a massive mistake, because that's what it must have been otherwise it's murder; and if he murdered the guy then this whole discussion is invalid. We all harp on about "inexperience", negligence, improper practice, poor practices etc but actually hearing what the guy did to fuck up so badly might help us all to not make the same mistake.

I am very inexperienced when it comes to public land roar hunting, something I was pretty keen to remedy this year...now, not so much. Previously I have passed up shooting opportunities at big and small animals because I couldn't guarantee 100% that it was safe. I'd hope that I'm not alone in that.

Originally Posted by Moutere

Personally, I would like to know if there has been any meaningful study into such hunting accidents as a collective group, rather than each incident individually case by case. The obvious trends here are bush hunting during the roar by generally experienced multiple party groups.
It doesn't strike me as a competence issue with using the firearm as such either. This is an issue with rationalising the compulsion to shoot based on what's seen and heard when hunting. The decision making around taking the shot is key here.
Making this a firearms licencing issue is not necessarily the answer as we don't see the same kind of incidents in F-class, Alpine hunting, 3-gun, varmint hunting, small bore and such like.
Is it as simple as people just taking pot shots at glimpses and sounds of possible game? Or is there more at play here, where external and internal influences impair an individuals decision making. We know light, fatigue, expectation, eyesight, complacency, attitude, excitement and many other things will affect a persons decision making.
A manifesto discussing outcomes from previous incidents and lessons learnt would be highly beneficial.
Rule number four could be expanded upon. I'm in favour of the mantra to assume it's a person until all doubt is removed.
Broadly speaking, I believe that it is impossible to completely legislate accidents out of society, but raising everyone's personal standards and knowledge can only be a good thing for any given application. Above all else one must accept that this could happen to them.

Both great posts guys, this pretty much sums it all up for me.

To say it shouldn't happen is right. But it does happen, and it happens to people that have tonnes of experience as well. Even deer callers and pro meat shooters have accidentally shot another hunter. And they hunted for a living.

Most people who have accidentally shot another hunter will state they were definitely looking at a deer. 100% sure. That's the weird thing about it.

I wonder whether in some cases the eyes see something and the brain fills the gaps in and turns it into what they want to see. It's a strange phenomena.

We have all seen those weird drawings where I see a duck and you see a rabbit. It's our our brains perceive things.

What this latest accident does is make me sit and consider hunting situations and ultimately what is required to positively identify and animal. Perhaps the biggest thing is to take your time? If it runs off go and find another.