Thread: Why do hunters continue to be accidentally shot?

Cognitive bias - If you can ignore the fact the authors of this may have their own bias the attached report offers the best insight into why these deaths still occur and why they probably will continue to:

http://www.huntersafetylab.com/wp-co...rs-review1.pdf

Can't be accidents More like negligence from the shooter

Antz

People being too comfortable in the fact they'd never get it wrong? Insufficient training?

Could only be two possible answers to your question @Mike H

Negligence = Failure to "Positively Identify Your Target".

Deliberate Intent = 'Target Was Positively Identified".

Cheers
Pete

Its pretty easy to point the finger and speculate at these tragic events. There is a shitload more people hunting even from when I first started years ago ( and Im not old ) To many people eager to bag something instead of thinking about safety first.

Originally Posted by oneshot

Its pretty easy to point the finger and speculate at these tragic events. There is a shitload more people hunting even from when I first started years ago ( and Im not old ) To many people eager to bag something instead of thinking about safety first.

That may be the case but since 1979 there's been on average one hunting fatality every 9 months. This is not just a recent occurrence.

i recon its because theres hunters and shooters some people just want to shoot something where a hunter has a specific target in mind and only shoots that target

What's that old saying ?

Definition of insanity : doing the same thing and expecting a different result....

Interesting Reading . A point that doesn't get mentioned is the pressure to shoot an anamil . As in fly in hunters paying $600 plus and felling the need to come home with a deer , or a internet hunter talked it up for two three weeks ..... or the president of the deer stalkers needing to live up to expectations ? .

Originally Posted by northdude

i recon its because theres hunters and shooters some people just want to shoot something where a hunter has a specific target in mind and only shoots that target

You can be a "shooter" without ever hunting. Lots of people involved in shooting sport on target ranges that never hunt... This is a hunting issue. The only sector in the NZ shooting community where this type of thing happens regular like clockwork is amongst hunters.

It is not a Firearms Licencing issue, it is not a shooting issue... It is a HUNTING issue, and it needs to be addressed as such.

What sort of distance are these incidents occurring at? We're talking 10's of meters, right? This technical solution might've worked, but it relies on widespread adoption, and once you put active safety measures in place, you run the risk of getting the opposite result, where a hunter thinks "well my gadget / balloted permit says there's no other hunters in the area, so what I'm seeing must not be human."

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk

People love a simple explanation or excuse. Something easy to comprehend. Taking a look through these threads from today and damn it's scary to see the amount of people who have an attitude that only idiots do this sort of thing. It could be any one of us here that makes this mistake.

My most powerful and frightening experience was a few years ago when a friend and I flew into a tussock basin I had seen a lot of deer in when shooting out of a machine months before. We were sidling along the open tops glassing down into these guts when a deer ran out of a gut about 300m in front and below us. It ran along the tussock for about 10 seconds then sat down, turned side ways and suddenly it became a hare only 60m away. I hadn't raised my rifle but I was absolutely gobsmacked. Clear, open tussock and I had shot plenty of deer by that stage in my life. My eyes didn't get a good perception of depth in that split second and my brain had literally made a decision to fill in the blanks and complete an idea I already had, I was going to see a deer in here.

Am I an idiot? Was I a once a year hunter? Every single one of us needs to recognise this can happen to us. It is not a simple fix.

The first step is for people to be aware of cognitive bias and the risks. I learnt it a few years ago after there'd been 2 or 3 deaths in one roar. I was so adamant I was going to absolutely treat every deer as a human until otherwise proven that I literally mistook a deer for a human. I was adamant I was watching a tramper. It took me several minutes to actually see that it was a deer. I swear I saw clothing and everything. This was the reverse of what has happened to people who are adamant they're going to see a deer. The brain plays tricks and fills in the blanks so they see what they want to see. Once you accept it can happen to you you'll be much more aware of it and less likely to be affected.

Whatever it is,speculation without the facts is really just that. However we,as a group, seem to be faced wit this type of event year on year with awfully similar circumstance leading to our speculated (educated guess) result.
Whats the answer, blowed if i know, all i know is i have spent many hours,days,weeks in and out of the bush and more often than not empty handed.
Now that's not to say i haven't seen animals or I'm a shit hunter what I'm saying is i have always taken the time to really watch my quarry and decide if, in fact, this is the animal i want or, lets face it, I've blown the shot.

I have watched some really good vids on you tube and in turn i have seen some bloody terrible vids. Some really bad firearms handling and attitudes are displayed and when you mention this to them they get really quite defensive or block/turn off comments. Are these the source of increased hunter numbers? I'm not convinced. What I can say is the younger (<25) guys aren't the ones that turn up to range days or interested in disciplined shooting (in our club).
Im with @ebf on this one, this is a hunting issue and as a group (hunters) we need to take ownership of it and make steps to preventing the yearly recurrence. Now before you get up me and say "I'm good, i know my shit" that may not stop you from being shot/at yourself.

It seems there's no simple answers just devastated families and a nervous hunting fraternity.

These are not "accidental" shootings, they are "unintentional". Calling them accidental makes them seem unavoidable. These are all preventable.