MN season marred by horrible accident

[RNC]

Over this last weekend the worst possible thing that could happen in the woods happened here in Minnesota. A father took his 9 year old out hunting with him. After getting his son set up hthe dad told him to stay put while he swung around ot check on some birds. The son ended up moving and the dad shot him in the chest at 25 yards. Dad carried the boy 1/4 mile out of the woods and called for help. The son was pronounced D.O.A.
 
There are all kinds of ways to look at this. As a dad I cant imagine the mental/emotional trauma this man is going through. As a member of the Law Enforcement field I see a dumb senseless act. As a hunter I see a person who ignored some of the very basic rules we all learn in firearm safety that resulted in the most horrible of accidents. So everyone out there please please beaware of everyone that is out in the woods and may be near your hunting area.  

[Fan Club]

I'm at a loss for words, oh my.
 
That's horrific. Was the lad hunting with a gun at that age or just accompanying his father? Separating was evidently a huge mistake and being sure of your target is priority one with firearms.
 
Here in Michigan, just last year they lowered the minimum age to hunt with a firearm from 14 to 12 with mandatory Hunter Safety certification. I'm thinking that's about right. I'll be taking my 12 year old grandson firearm deer hunting this fall for the first time. I'm not sure he could have been trusted with the responsibility three years ago.
 
Prayers go out to the grieving family-
 
Jeff

[swpatrkyhunter]

My prayers are with the greiving family.
 
 This is a perfect example of why there is a need for education in safety in the handling and use of firearms. As bad as I feel for the father I am also upset that he left a child alone like that and took a shot without being sure of his target and the whereabouts of his son. Unfortunatly thesse things happen. Thankfully it is not often. We are all human and as such prone to make mistakes. Ones like this are very sad. I can only imagine the greif the father is feeling.
 
 My heart goes out to him and his family.

[RNC]

To answer some of Fan Club's comments on youth hunting. Here in Mn everyone born in 1973 (I believe thats the correct year) or later must have basic firearms training. The youngest you can hunt with an adult is 12 and you must have the gun safety training. Parties can hunt alone at age 14. So the boy was just out for the day with dad.
 
It will be interesting to see if there will be a push to require that some blaze orange must be worn while turkey hunting. Already yesterday on various talk radio stations there was a lot of chatter against hunting in general and that there is no longer a need for it. Unfortunately this will be used by anti-hunting parties. Anything that involves a young child is seen as more serious and tragic (I myself see anyone injured in a hunting accident as tragic). Our legislature is trying to wrap up our current session and one of the topics has been dedicated funding for natural resources, it will be interesting to see if there is any discussion of this event to see if any new saftey laws come out of it.

[Fan Club]

a push that requires that some blaze orange must be worn while turkey hunting.....

 
Seeing as you are in law enforcement you'll need some facts to address the ongoing discussion about this subject. Up until last year when the regulations were changed, Pennsylvania required turkey hunters to wear a blaze cap while moving. The NWTF was instrumental in helping to prove that the orange was not beneficial and there were indicators that it actually had the opposite effect as the incidence of turkey hunting accidents in PA were higher than the national average. When hunters are searching for a bright red turkey head, sometimes a flash of orange is all it takes. If you google the NWTF and PA DNR websites I'm sure you can uncover additional info.
 

On various talk radio stations there was a lot of chatter against hunting in general and that there is no longer a need for it.....

 
It's not broke so don't fix it. Something has been a positive influence for hundreds of years and now its obsolete? It really worked when folks stopped spanking their kids didn't it? When the kids took to video games instead of playing outside. As there are no statistics on getting hooked on the outdoors instead of drugs. or shooting game instead of each other, we'll never know how many young people hunting has saved. That is unfortunate, but each of us must be an ambassador for the cause.

[JPH]

Could someone post or PM the names of those involved (I assume that it is a matter of public record)? I have said a prayer for them but I find that naming someone in my prayers adds focus.
 
We can and should debate the broad implications of an incident like this. But the only thing that will heal those impacted by this directly, is grace.

[tom slayer]

why would my post get deleted... im sorry if i offended someone on here but i believe that the only people that would get offended would be someone who would shoot at a crack in the woods without looking..
 

[swpatrkyhunter]

RNC. Being from Pa. I must say that Fan Club is right about the orange requirments change in my state. To be honest, In my opinion orange requirments during the Spring Gobbler season is silly. Think about it. Even without orange the child was shot at 25 yards. Even without my glasses I can tell what I am shooting at no matter what color it is. 25 yards! It was a terrible accident, a mistake. But it all boils down to being sure of your target! If the child had been wearing an orange hat and all that was seen was a glimpse of it he might have been shot in the head. Education and resposibility. People need to be held accountable for the things they do. Not change the laws to work around there ignorance. More often then not theactions ofthe bad apples in the barrel end up dictateing the rules for the rest of us who take the time to learn and act in a resposible manner. I feel that anyone who hunts should be required to take a refreasher hunters safety coarse every few years. mAybe if that father would have taken a refreasher this terrible moment may have been avoided. Maybe not. But because of one tragic instance a new set of rules should not be applied.

[RNC]

Ok Fan Club I agree with what you are saying about orange, I can see where a flash of color could lead someone to believe a turkey was present. I wasnt advocating the use of it during turkey season. In fact after 25 years of bowhunting I fell very foolish wearing it if I go small game hunting with friends. But I can also see where it has helped reduce shooting acidents during the firearms deer season and small game hunting so it does have it place. I was just wondering if the topic would come up in our legislature seeing how this just became a hot topic here.
 
I also agree with if it isnt broke don't fix it. I believe that my brother and I are better people and matured faster when our dad took us hunting. The responsability if killing an animal is pretty headed stuff for a kid and being taught the right way to go about it and respecting the game we take increases the value of that animal's life. The down side is we all have seen the knee jerk reaction to an incident like this and the anwer is to add rules/regulations. If they take the time to look through the history of MN's turkey hunting this is the first death since structured turkey seasons started in 1978. 

JPH the family name is Klaseus. Dad's name is Anthony and the son was named Hunter.  Both of our local papers have carried stories on this accident. If you Google MN turkey hunting accident you can see the story yourself.

[STEROIDCHICKEN]

my heart goes out to the family....my youngest daughter is on pins and needles to get he first bird. she is eight years old and i could never leave her alone..birds or no birds. i have taken her a couple of times already this year on property where i am the only one on it and i still worry.
 
my prayers go out....