C'mon Man!

[Alpinord]

Really?


Hunter mistakenly kills moose in Silverton

Black said he spotted the moose lying down and in shadow around 6 p.m. Sunday, as light was beginning to fade. He told authorities he was 300 yards away and saw the antlers and head of the animal straight on.
Black did not have binoculars and was using only the scope of his rifle, which Lewandowski said often contributes to misidentifying animals.
The moose, which Black mistook for an elk, stood up, and he took the shot.
“It was too dark to see coloration,” Black said.

What else you got?

[Conundrum]

Good that the guy turned himself in. Bad that he shot something he couldn't identify. If it's too dark to know what you're shooting, there's a good chance you're outside of legal hours too. That's a pretty big f' up. I hope they yank his license for awhile.

[KQ]

If it's too dark to know what you're shooting, there's a good chance you're outside of legal hours too. That's a pretty big f' up. I hope they yank his license for awhile.

He may have been within regs sunset in Silverton that day was 6:34 PM:

Big game may be taken from one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise to one-half (1/2) hour after sunset.




This is kinda crazy. We have moose here and to me there is no mistaking them for anything else:

Already this year, six moose have been mistakenly killed in the northwestern part of the state, he said. In Colorado, an average of 12 moose are mistakenly shot annually, he said.

[Mudfoot]

If you are trying to kill something with a high powered rifle you should be pretty damn certain what it is before you pull the trigger.

[Conundrum]

He may have been within regs sunset in Silverton that day was 6:34 PM:

Big game may be taken from one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise to one-half (1/2) hour after sunset.

"Black said he spotted the moose lying down and in shadow around 6 p.m. " If he's as good at estimating when things happened as he is telling the difference between a moose and elk, I feel it might be tough to be sure what time the moose was shot. Plus, if it's too dark to 100% confirm what you're shooting, you might as well consider yourself outside of legal shooting hours (even if it's not) and head home for a beer. That advice would save this guy a lot of hassle.

[dunfree]

If he mistook moose antlers for elk antlers he doesn't belong hunting ever again. And he claims he saw antlers.

[Harry]

I have hunted all my life and I have never mistaken an elk for a moose.

[irul&ublo]

I have hunted all my life and I have never mistaken an elk for a moose.

I am both a Moose and an Elk.

[cmcrawfo]

At least he didn't confuse a mountain biker for an elk.

[riser4]

I am both a Moose and an Elk.

More probably a bear. NTTAWWT.

[neufox47]

Guide in Canada I know had a guy shoot a dairy cow thinking it was a cow moose. They had to go pay the farmer for the cow.

[Alpinord]

If you are trying to kill something with a high powered rifle you should be pretty damn certain what it is before you pull the trigger.

Do you remember the story from the '80s of some hunter parading his trophy 'elk' shot up at Falls creek, on the hood of his jeep down Main Street. IIRC, turns out it was a mule.

[Alpinord]

At least he didn't confuse a mountain biker for an elk.

Yeah, but at what elevation do deer turn in to elk?

[plugboots]

"Black said he spotted the moose lying down and in shadow around 6 p.m. " If he's as good at estimating when things happened as he is telling the difference between a moose and elk, I feel it might be tough to be sure what time the moose was shot. Plus, if it's too dark to 100% confirm what you're shooting, you might as well consider yourself outside of legal shooting hours (even if it's not) and head home for a beer. That advice would save this guy a lot of hassle.

This part reminds me a little bit of the Mclean thread. It’s probably legal that he was hunting within the time limit, but it doesn’t make it right. It was too dark to hunt, especially in the mountains on the shady side of a hill, cloudy vs. clear, smoky or whatever.
That was the intent of the law, that you should stop hunting when it’s too dark.

[iceman]

Guide in Canada I know had a guy shoot a dairy cow thinking it was a cow moose. They had to go pay the farmer for the cow.

Years ago I read about a farmer (maybe plural?) in Vermont who spray-painted "COW" in fluorescent orange in huge letters on his cows to keep hunters from shooting them.

Not sure if it worked.

[Micol]

[KQ]

Years ago I read about a farmer (maybe plural?) in Vermont who spray-painted "COW" in fluorescent orange in huge letters on his cows to keep hunters from shooting them.

Not sure if it worked.

They make safety blankets for horses




and

[Garth Bimble]

Moose are not a native species in CO. CPW brought them here because they are relatively low maintenance and can be hunted legally, which means easy $$$ for them. They've not only stood by but been actively engaged in the eradication of the wolf, grizzly and the wolverine and along with their rancher friends are continuing to try and eliminate the black bear, mountain lion and coyote. They could care less about this moose...it's the deer and elk that pay their salaries so as long as they're good just move on, there's nothing to see here.

[Viva]

I bet a moose would have an easier time obtaining a CO driver's license than a person.

Sent from my SM-G960U using TGR Forums mobile app

[DeepHelmet]

I have hunted all my life and I have never mistaken an elk for a moose.

I have never hunted and I have never mistaken a moose for an elk. Pretty different looking animals even to my unexperienced eye.

[m2711c]

[MontuckyFried]

If you are trying to kill something with a high powered rifle you should be pretty damn certain what it is before you pull the trigger.

Precisely. And not just positively identify the target, but also make darn sure you have a good shot. I have passed up many an elk and deer because I didn't want to shoot them up the ass or simply take a shot that isn't going to drop them as fast as possible in an effort to both be as humane as possible as well as not ruin the meat.

Identifying what you're shooting with 100% accuracy is kind of hunter safety 101. If you fail to do even that, you deserve to have your license revoked for life since you're obviously a danger to others. "AH! A BEAR!!!! [BANG!] Oh, woops. Guess it was a mountain biker. Lol. My bad."

[GeezerSteve]

Glassing through a scope is fucked up, especially in low light. Get some goddam bins. Won't matter for this jerk if his hunting privileges are taken away for life.

[KQ]

"AH! A BEAR!!!! [BANG!] Oh, woops. Guess it was a mountain biker. Lol. My bad."

that actually happened in Washington.

“Matter of time” until a hiker got shot

Originally published August 2, 2008 at 12:00 am

With the way hikers and hunters share the same backwoods and the same trails, it was only a matter of time before an accident like the one last weekend that killed a 54-year-old woman mistaken for a bear by a 14-year-old boy, Snohomish County sheriff’s Deputy Greg Rasar said Tuesday.

Rasar has been the county’s forest-protection officer for nearly 18 years and a law-enforcement officer for almost 30.


In that time, he’s seen a lot of dangerous behavior and a lot of close calls. He’s written tickets, issued citations and given scores of lectures.

“We have tried all different kinds of ideas to educate people,” he said, “but none of them were idiot-proof or bulletproof … it was just a matter of time until somebody was accidentally shot.”

Rasar said many state prohibitions on firearms don’t apply to hunters and that stricter regulations and setbacks from campgrounds, trailheads and other populated areas could be useful.

“It would help if there were a tool that law enforcement could use on irresponsible shooters so that when we get complaints we could actually do something instead of saying, ‘Sorry, what they’re doing is perfectly legal,’ ” Rasar said.

He said that while the state does have a statute that makes it illegal to recklessly discharge a firearm alongside or across a public highway, it’s hard to enforce.

“It’s very, very hard for us to prove negligence or recklessness unless somebody sees someone shooting in the road.”

Many hikers, he said, are unaware that hunting is legal on most of the state’s public lands and do not pay attention to hunting-season dates.


Pamela Almli, an experienced hiker from Oso, Snohomish County, who was aware of hunting seasons, was killed Saturday on a marked hiking trail on Sauk Mountain, Skagit County. She was shot from about 120 yards by a 14-year-old who told police he thought she was a bear.

The boy and his 16-year-old brother had been dropped off at the mountain by their grandfather.

Prosecutors will review the case, but no charges have been filed. Investigators with the Skagit County Sheriff’s Department have not released their incident report. They said it is legal in this state for a 14-year-old who has been licensed and has taken a hunter-education class to hunt without adult supervision.

On Tuesday, members of the online group Hunting Washington were upset over the accident, which they said gave true sportspeople and legitimate hunters a bad name.

“Those kids should have been supervised,” said member Scott Green. “Even a sharp and safe kid should be supervised.”

Green said the shooter broke a cardinal rule of hunting: He failed to positively identify his target with binoculars before firing.

“We do not condone or accept the actions taken by this person and feel that we, as a community, must take a stand against such blatant disregard for safety of those we share the woods with,” wrote Green in an e-mail statement Tuesday.

The group would likely oppose additional hunting regulations, but has started a memorial fund to promote educational awareness and outreach programs in Almli’s honor, Green said.

“There are already regulations on the books and there are so many hiking trails that there is no way you could do a setback from them,” Green said.

Rasar said Forest Service personnel don’t like to make judgments about what kind of recreational uses is acceptable. The land is there for people to enjoy and use and protect, he said. He said he’s not sure there is a perfect solution.

“The fact is that a lot of people hike and a lot of people are out there shooting, too. Sooner or later, they cross paths and a tragedy can happen,” he said. “This is one that’s going to haunt people on both sides for a long time.”


and in Oregon:

U.S. Marine shot dead by grandfather and grandson out hunting - after they mistook him for a BEAR
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Glassing through a scope is fucked up, especially in low light. Get some goddam bins. Won't matter for this jerk if his hunting privileges are taken away for life.

According to Montana state rules he's got a ways to go before that happens.

[lifelinksplit]

I'm sure Montana mags remember the guy who shot a llama(and pretty sure field dressed it) over in paradise valley thinking it was an elk. Took it to the game check station and everything. Whitetail for a muley...maybe.

People are stupid.