Coyote Hunter Killed

[Flash]

Hunter was shot Coyote Hunting near Webster. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of all 11 hunters. Not sure what happened here but man that would be tough to be part of. I guess as FMers and Sportsmen, we are part of it.

[almostthere!]

It is sad to lose any hunter to either neglect or accident.

How did it happen?

[Mark Christianson]

Scary stuff.

(WCCO) Faribault, Minn. There may be charges in the case of a Jordan, Minn. hunter who was shot and killed while coyote hunting Saturday.

Michael Wagner, 26, was hunting with his uncle and several acquaintances -- in all, a group totaling 11 people -- near Webster, Minn.

According to Sgt. Bill Skarupa, a spokesperson for the Rice County Sheriff's Department, Wagner had just fired at a coyote.

Moments later, "a friend heard a muffled shot and heard the victim scream, 'Oh, my God!' And he went to the ground and died very quickly," said Skarupa.

Five other people in the group had fired shots at about the same time. Authorities said it remains unclear if one of them fired the fatal blow or if Wanger accidentally shot himself.

Investigators collected all 15 guns used by the hunting party as evidence. There were a variety of high-powered rifles capable of shooting at a long range.

The explosion in the coyote population in Southern Minnesota has made coyote hunting more popular recently. There is no season for coyote hunts and hunting licenses are not required.

Investigators interviewed the 10 people who were hunting with the victim, who were described as shaken and distraught.

An autopsy is being performed, and those results could help answer the question of whether one of the other hunters shot Wagner. If so, charges may be filed in the case.

"Very tragic, what the outcome is," said Skarupa.

Skarupa said Wagner was wearing camouflage, as was everyone else in the hunting group. Blaze orange is required for deer hunters but is not required when hunting coyote.

[almostthere!]

"Muffled shot"... Now that sounds suspicious. Some one was careless with his/her rifle.

Now, that is sad.

[Dave S]

Quote:

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"Muffled shot"... Now that sounds suspicious. Some one was careless with his/her rifle.

Now, that is sad.

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Let's not jump to conclusions before all of the details are out. A muffled shot could lead to many different details, with the majority being incorrect.

[bassNspear]

My thought and prayers are with the family. Its to bad that there was a death in the party. Please pray for the family of the hunter.

[gorrilla]

sad stuff, and yeah lets not speculate on here guys, we don't know the details.

One thing I do know is when I coyote hunt its a one or two man deal. 11 guy in camo working a section all with rifles and not shotguns(like most guys did it in the old days) does scare me though.

[Borch]

How sad. My prayers go out to the family and hunters in the group. It's something no one hopes to see happen to a person they love.

[Bassboy1645]

gorrila is right......when i first heard it on the radio my eyebrows imedatily went up. I thought for sure the story was wrong. then i suspected out of season hunting for another pecies and that was simply a cover up. 11 guys hunting yotes wiht highpower rifles in full camo?? GIVE ME A BREAK!!! the point is someone got shot......i still dont buy the coyote hunting story. If they were in fact hunting yotes then they must not be very experienced. to me it sounds like all the idiots from deer season saw a bunch of yotes and decided to have another round 'deer season style' minus orange, plus shootign at noise, movements what have you. I dont buy this story like i said. Oh and as i learned from my own experiences there are no such things as 'accidents' srry if i sound a little harsh.

[bassNspear]

Just a bad deal

[Dave S]

Quote:

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gorrila is right......when i first heard it on the radio my eyebrows imedatily went up. I thought for sure the story was wrong. then i suspected out of season hunting for another pecies and that was simply a cover up. 11 guys hunting yotes wiht highpower rifles in full camo?? GIVE ME A BREAK!!! the point is someone got shot......i still dont buy the coyote hunting story. If they were in fact hunting yotes then they must not be very experienced. to me it sounds like all the idiots from deer season saw a bunch of yotes and decided to have another round 'deer season style' minus orange, plus shootign at noise, movements what have you. I dont buy this story like i said. Oh and as i learned from my own experiences there are no such things as 'accidents' srry if i sound a little harsh.

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Bassboy,

you need to step back rethink before you post. There could be a million things that led up to this person being shot and the details aren't out yet. Please refrain from making judgemental comments until then. There are many many people affected by this tragedy and there's always a good possibility that some of them frequent this forum.

As far as these guys hunting something else other than coyotes? I disagree. There are many ways that people hunt coyotes. Driving them, as this group was, is one of them. Others use dogs, manual calls, electronic calls, rifles, shotguns, and even trapping.

I personally don't agree with NOT wearing blaze orange while driving the coyotes. This would be a case where the intent is to get the coyotes moving towards the standers and it's not so critical to remain next to invisible. As we now know, it's better to be seen.

We can educate, preach, complain, or criticize until we're blue in the face but it will not take away the fact that these incidents will continue to happen year after year and families and friends will go on in life without people like Mr. Wagner, who I'm sure, was a great individual.

[bassNspear]

LEP you have a great point. There is no reason for anyone here on FM to start talking smack or anything like that. Hopefully we will be able to hear what happened, and if you dont, that thats ok as well. Someone has died, there is no reason for anyone on here to bad mouth it.

[gorrilla]

LEP a agree with you,

Bassboy, you understood me wrong, I wasn't debating that they were coyote hunting, I just think its not the best idea to do drives in camo with rifles, at least not with more than a couple guys who know each others whereabouts.

Let me extend my sympathies though, to the families and friends involved. Hunting is supposed to be fun and safe...

Lets use this as an eye opener and learn something from this tragedy.

[fishermann222]

It is a tragedy that it happened. No need to speculate why. I am sure everyone involved feels horrible. Say some prayers for the family and friends and those involved.

I think to speculate what might have happened when we don't know is very disrespectful to a fellow hunter who has passed away.

Just my thoughts for what they are worth.

[bassNspear]

Pray for the friend that has past away. No need to get all wound up about it on here.

[Valv]

LEP7MM thank you for your post, I was very close to lock or copletely erase this thread since it was taking a turn for the worse.

This is a tragedy, and it has to be dealt as such.

Getting back to the facts, did anybody hear anything on what cased this accident or it's still under investigation ?

[Dave S]

No problem Valv. As fellow coyote hunters, this is a terrible loss to us all.

I haven't heard any more news on this as I've been checking everytime I get the chance.

[icehousebob]

One possibility that hasn't been mentioned is trigger malfunction. Many guys tune their varmint rifle triggers very light for long range shooting, sometimes too light. I've seen a couple that could be jarred and set off. If you had several guys who had just fired, they were probably working their bolts and the jarring of the bolt closing might have set off an accidental round. There is still no good excuse for having a gun aimed at another person.