... and parents think football is dangerous.

[a47mlb]

What is going on this year? During waterfowl opener a teenager is shot in the back from 10ft by an adult who fell and his gun went off. Now on deer opener, a 14 yr old is shot in the leg with a slug during a deer drive gone wild.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!! I'm not at all anti-hunting. But use your heads out there, please!?

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SPRING HILL (AP) — Authorities in Stearns County say a 14-year-old boy has been shot in the leg while hunting with a group.

The sheriff’s office says the Melrose boy was shot Saturday about noon while hunting with his father and 12 other men.

Deputies say the group flushed out a deer and four men fired at it. One slug hit the boy in the left thigh.

The teen is expected to be hospitalized overnight.

Spring Hill is in Central Minnesota, about 40 miles west of St. Cloud.

[dooittoit]

Yes, I agree. After having slugs whiz by me last year and for the second time total, I am finished with slug hunting for deer after 17 years. It's a shame that I am not going to allow my two boys to hunt deer during slug season when their time comes. Archery only from now on for myself and for my boys when they are of age. The hunting community is worried about the next generation not hunting these days. I have never heard of safety as a factor in that but it definitely is a factor. ALWAYS know what is behind your target. It's not good enough to assume it's a safe shot. YOU MUST KNOW IT'S A SAFE SHOT!!!

[gatorhunter]

There are no excuses for "accidentally" shooting another hunter. Muzzle control, mc control, mc control!

I gave up on "organized" drives 25 years ago after the guy on my right ended up on my left. I hunt alone or with one other person and we set up to run and gun with rattling horns and grunts.

[goblueM]

Drives are dangerous. I'll never do one, ever

12 guys hunting? i mean, that just doesnt even sound like fun. You're not gonna get THAT many deer, and the ones you do shoot are gonna have ruined meat from the animal running and getting shot in several places

[RumRiverRat]

Drives are dangerous. I'll never do one, ever

12 guys hunting? i mean, that just doesnt even sound like fun. You're not gonna get THAT many deer, and the ones you do shoot are gonna have ruined meat from the animal running and getting shot in several places

I have been involved in drives with 20 to 25 guys that take 2 to 3 hours to complete in WI.

One of the ones we do every year has produced 3 to 12 deer.

Last year it produced 7, only one of those deer needed 2 shots to drop it.

We have been doing it for many years and we all know where to go and typically where the deer will come out or try and double back.

If I wanted to I could shoot a deer a day for the 9 day season.

I hunt Pierce and Pepin county and the deer are everywhere.

[LOTWSvirgin]

Thats why I choose to fish dureing lead fest rather then bowhunt

[deerminator]

I'm certain there are plenty of safe drives and drivers that know what they're doing. The problem is that there are likely just as many if not more that don't know what they're doing. I myself can't stand them. I consider it borderline fair chase at best. But that's just me. Do I think they should outlaw it? In no way whatsoever. We have enough laws already and let those who want to hunt that way do so. Its just not for me. And before I get off my soapbox, let me tell you why I can't stand them besides the safety factor. Three years ago, a gang of shooters closed in on a harem of does blasting away on neighboring land. A few escaped but that pretty much screwed bowhunting for the rest of the year. It was hard to see a deer during daylight much less in the dark they were so spooked. Sure, they're not "my" deer, but my chance at them was pretty much gone after that. That style of hunting and amount of pressure on the deer effectively ends the season - all in the name in having to flush some deer to kill. Why not accept the fact that you're not always going to get a deer from your stand in the few days you hunt gun season? Its hunting not killing. Take up bowhunting. Take up muzzleloading. Increase your chances other ways.

P.S. That's just my opinion and I'm entitled to it, just as are those who love drives and do them safely year after year. Good luck no matter how you're hunting!

[hugonian1]

4 Guys shooting at 1 deer. Come on, that's just ridiculous.

Sounds more like a meat shoot than hunting.

[a47mlb]

The crazier thing is that this area is not a wooded forest. It's wide open crop fields. Barely a tree in site. With four people shooting, I wonder if they even know who hit the young lad?

[lakevet]

What is going on this year? During waterfowl opener a teenager is shot in the back from 10ft by an adult who fell and his gun went off. Now on deer opener, a 14 yr old is shot in the leg with a slug during a deer drive gone wild.

While hunting accidents historically are way down, IMHO it mostly gets down to the basic gun safety rules not being followed and ingrained and reinforced in your hunting group to the point they are instinctive and automatic. And those who pass on an unsafe shot should be praised more than if they got that trophy buck or filled their limit of ducks.

Anyone have any idea how many hospital visits/surgeries related to high school football each year? I definitely have way more friends/relatives with old football injuries.

lakevet

[Chef]

Just further justification for being a Bow Hunter. I'm usre thiose Deer taste mighty too with all that adrenelin coursing through their veins as thay run panic-stricken to get away from the meley.

[broken_line]

i got hit in the nose 2nd weekend of duck, it left a welt for 3 weeks.. as far as deer drives. our rules were, if the deer presents an unsafe safe shot and you shoot at it. you can go sit in the truck the rest of the day..

[a47mlb]

our rules were, if the deer presents an unsafe safe shot and you shoot at it. you can go sit in the truck the rest of the day..

... or carry the casket by yourself.

[BrdHunter01]

i got hit in the nose 2nd weekend of duck, it left a welt for 3 weeks.. as far as deer drives. our rules were, if the deer presents an unsafe safe shot and you shoot at it. you can go sit in the truck the rest of the day..

At that point in time it may be to late... Instead of sitting in the truck they may be getting the truck to rush someone to hospital. Worse yet, seeing a friend or family member at their funeral.....

My dad was almost shot twice. The second time the bullet whizzed right by his head toward the end of drive as everyone was gathering. A deer ran through the group and one of his "friends" decided the deer was more important than someones life. Needless to say he hasn't hunted deer since. He didn't bow hunt, he just gave it up and hunts strickly duck all season. His two kids (me and my brother) have never had the chance to hunt deer. I have always had the itch to try it. But when I do it will be with a bow or on private land in my stand ONLY! Its ashame how events of 20 years ago can effect and ruin the tradtion, experience, and perception of deer hunting for generations to come...

[Arctic]

I wonder how well the requirement for a Firearms Safety Certificate is enforced. If you were born after Dec 31, 1979, you are required to have it in order to buy a hunting license in Minnesota.

[a47mlb]

I wonder how well the requirement for a Firearms Safety Certificate is enforced. If you were born after Dec 31, 1979, you are required to have it in order to buy a hunting license in Minnesota.

... and the warden will ask for it during a field check.

[Lunker]

I agree, be safe. One killed and one injured this weekend. Then again at least 2-3 people died this weekend from car collisions that I heard of on the radio. I doubt anybody here is going to stop driving because of it. Your best bet is to be safe either way, but I am not going to quit a sport that I love, rather just take extra precautions about hunting around others.

[BobT]

That's just it. We hear about an accident involving a tool that is intended to kill by design and we go off the wall but it is by far more dangerous taking the drive to get to the hunting area than to actually participate in the hunt and yet we barely raise an eyebrow when someone dies in a car accident.

In the case of the firearm accidents, most of the time, the cause is really accidental due to carelessness and just plain not paying full attention. In the case of automobile deaths, in most cases, the cause is not accidental but negligence and violations of law such as speeding, passing on shoulders, running red lights or stop signs, driving under the influence, and one my favorites, tailgating. But we're more than content to continue labeling those as "accidents."

Go figure.

[BrdHunter01]

??? This is like comparing a potato to a kit-kat.... How many people drive every day compared to hunt for one or two weekends? Lets do the math boys.... Yea 3 people died in a car accident and one while deer hunting this weekend, I wonder how many people were on the road this weekend compared to deer hunters?

Wait a Sec..... Every deer hunter has to be on the road (unless your shooting from the roof) Huh? I can't quite figure out how you could possibly compare this?....

[Lunker]

500,000 people in the woods with rifles/slugs is a lot.

[BrdHunter01]

Correct, and i agree it is a lot. But still not comparable to the amount of drivers on the road... MN has more than 3 million licensed drivers, and 500,000 licensed deer hunters (which may be a high number this year). Do the math.... Of course people arnt going to stop driving, Its a neccesity these days. And of course people arnt going to stop deer hunting either, we live in MN. Lets just be safe out their.

[Lunker]

I agree. And I wasn't trying to defend hunting without logic or call it the safest sport out there. I was just pointing out that there are quite a few dangerous activities most of us are involved in, and should continue to be involved in while trying to avoid accidents and trying to be safe.

O, and to address the subject, football is probably more likely to cause injury than hunting, though not death. I have seen a couple of really bad football injuries, but no hunting ones yet...knock on wood.