Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Forest Ranger mistaken for a Coyote

Well Steve, that is indeed sad for the shooter but final for the GW.

I stand by what I said about KNOWING what your target is before pulling the trigger.

While I am sure the fellow that did the shooting is full of remorse it won't bring the other man back. If I am not 100% sure of my target I do not pull the trigger. If he was using 1st or 2nd Gen night vision, well that stuff is kinda blurry and not very good for determining what you are seeing other than a green blurry outline.

I night shoot 'yotes and hog as predator and nuisance control on my daughters place using IR as a spotter and then white light before firing. You see, I am scared to death of doing what your friend did. I would rather give a critter a pass than have to live with that. She is just across a state 2 lane from a large WMA and the GFC guys have been known to wander onto her property looking for poachers and other outlaws, we welcome them doing so.

I will no longer condemn him as a non-hunter but still say his judgment was way off, he should have made positive ID before shooting.

I will say no more, but offer prayers for the dead Officer & his family and your friend as well.

I can understand a lawyer or politician being mistaken for a coyote, but most game wardens are much more upright.

There was a guy shot in TX a couple of years ago thought to be a hog by his "friends." I don't remember if he was killed though.

TLee, you hit the nail on the head - white light before firing.

Add to that, never shoot at eyes.

You real sure of that??

Maybe it was an older gay, female ranger who didn't believe in shaving her legs..

Although, the uniform shoulda tipped him off..

no, in fact it was a 37y/o man with a 4yr old daughter that will grow up without a daddy.

Ditto - what TLee said: Got nothing to do with it. You either identify what you are shooting at or hold fire, BOTTOM LINE.

I hear ya.. It was a poor attempt at humor...

In all sincerity, I hope the judge tosses this dude behind bars for about 10 years...

Terrible tragedy all around. Not to offer an excuse but many times when a person expects to see something they see what they expected and come to find out it really wasn't what they thought they saw at all.

Just saying this guy was hunting at night and expecting to see a coyote and saw a coyote.

There is a certain deer stand on my place and out from it a way is a down log with bush growing up behind it. Many times in low light or fog I have seen one fine buck standing there. Never shot it but I can understand how it could happen.

BCR

BCR,
Well said. I think most hunters can relate to a time when their eyes teamed up with their brain to try and deceive them.

Mr. Redneck,
This guy is a friend of mine and the last thing he deserves is prison. As of now there have been no charges filed and he was not arrested.

Know where you've been on that Boggy! Have experienced the same.

Especially irritating to me, is if someone with you trying to convince you they are sure it is a 'yote', hog, deer, whatever. Well, some times it is and sometimes it isn't!

Don't hunt with those types anymore, next time might be me!

On a lighter note, I had a friend who had a tree limb sticking out on his place that looked just like a nice buck. He decided to play a joke on another guy one season and while driving through the pasture one day with the guy he was going to play a joke on, my friend pretended to look in the direction of the tree limb and say, "Hey, look at that good buck!" He hardly even looked at the limb when he said it and was giggling to himself as his friend had him stop the truck. He was giggling even harder when his friend opened the door and rested his rifle. It was all he could do to contain himself when his friend lined up the shot and shot his "deer".

On the drive over, my friend was now giggling so hard that the other guy was beginning to suspect that something was up. And my friend was outright laughing out loud, right until....they walked up on the very nice ten point buck laying right beside the tree limb that looked like a deer.

Love it!!!!

great story.....thanks

Maybe it wasnt an accident... it has been known to happen!

Read the thread. It was an accident.

Your right, I didnt read the whole thread.

Sorry it happened.

Now I'm no expert, but I do believe my BS detector is going off.

I guess anything can happen, but this one doesn't quite jive, as tragic as it is. Lots of murders have been blamed on hunting accidents. I guess the full investigation will shed some more light on the subject. May have just been a accident some guy will have to live with the rest of his or her life. Being mistaken for a coyote , just makes you wonder.