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Post by cambygsp on Feb 2, 2009 16:21:05 GMT -5
MIDLAND, Mich. -- A Michigan woman will face a misdemeanor firearms charge in the death of an Indiana hunter shot while sitting in his blind. Midland County Prosecutor Michael Carpenter has authorized one count of careless discharge of a firearm causing injury or death against 26-year-old Lea Ann Dunn of Coleman. The Saginaw News reports Dunn will be arraigned later this week. She faces up to two years in prison and $2,000 fine if convicted. Police say Dunn shot at a deer from her blind on Nov. 16 in Warren Township, about 120 miles northwest of Detroit, hitting 33-year-old Corey Welch of Indianapolis. He died two days later. Efforts by The Associated Press to reach Dunn were not immediately successful. www.indystar.com/article/20090202/NEWS02/902020379
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Post by Decatur on Feb 2, 2009 18:07:06 GMT -5
I would like to know the rest of this story. While tragic, accidents do happen. If it was an accident and not negligence, the fact that she killed someone would be punishment enough.
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Post by crazybuck on Feb 2, 2009 20:34:30 GMT -5
I agree Decatur. Too many people want blood.
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Post by festus on Feb 2, 2009 21:47:01 GMT -5
Agree also Decatur, and the fact that it was a male or female hunter is absolutely irrelavent.
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Post by indyrusty on Feb 2, 2009 22:40:09 GMT -5
I would like to know the rest of this story. While tragic, accidents do happen. If it was an accident and not negligence, the fact that she killed someone would be punishment enough. I agree. I don't know the whole story, but this is why I feel that hunter orange should be clearly visable outside the blind. And if it wasn't then how can she be at fault?
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Post by raporter on Feb 3, 2009 10:47:08 GMT -5
Why is gender or race always so important in these reports?
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Post by tickman1961 on Feb 3, 2009 11:05:37 GMT -5
Dammit, safety first, always....
These incidents only help continue the stereotypes some have of hunters....
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Post by oldhoyt on Feb 3, 2009 12:15:24 GMT -5
We don't have all the info. but it is my hope that since she was charged, the circumstances actually warranted that charges be brought.
She will come out OK if she actually shot at a deer and had no knowledge of the other hunter's presence and also could not reasonably see the blind. Still it clearly sucks to be involved in that unfortunate situation.
On the other hand, if she did know of the blind, she could not safely fire at a deer in the direction of the blind, even if she did not think the blind was occupied.
I'm sure details will come out to clarify what did happen.
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Post by racktracker on Feb 3, 2009 13:01:08 GMT -5
Female - male - black - white - hispanic - what dfference does it make.
I read this somewhere else. She said she did not know that the other blind was there.
My blinds have the little orange patches on them that can be covered with a flap during bow or turkey season.
During gun seasons I think that common sense would prevail and a person would have some orange on their blind.
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Post by oldhoyt on Feb 4, 2009 15:40:10 GMT -5
I didn't see anyting to indicate the blind was between her and the deer. The deer could have been in front of the blind.
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Post by Decatur on Feb 4, 2009 18:32:42 GMT -5
I didn't see anyting to indicate the blind was between her and the deer. The deer could have been in front of the blind. BASIC GUN SAFETY RULES - Anyone who touches a firearm should know these by heart. 1. Treat every firearm as if it were loaded. 2. Never allow the muzzle to point at anything you are not willing to see destroyed. 3. Be sure of your target and know what lies behind it. 4. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are aligned on target. 5. Be sure your guns are never accessible to unauthorized or untrained individuals.
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Post by oldhoyt on Feb 5, 2009 14:30:44 GMT -5
If you are honest with yourself, I'm sure you can think of at least one time when you pulled up your gun and took a shot at a deer, when in hindsight you really can't say that you KNEW what was beyond it. You may not have seen anything beyond it or had reason to expect there was anything beyond it, but can you HONESTLY say there COULD NOT have been a camoed hunting blind somewhere downrange? I doubt it.
The standard of "being sure" is impossible to attain for just about any shot other than from a treestand at a deer in an open field. I still-hunt a lot, and I take any shot that I feel is safe. But I honestly cannot say that in every case I have KNOWN there was not a hunter in a camo blind somewhere downrange. You'll almost never take a shot on level ground if you have to meet that standard.
I take a shot if I feel it's in a safe direction, as long as I don't see anything downrange. That's about all you can ask.
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Post by batchief909 on Feb 5, 2009 17:10:25 GMT -5
Okay,,,but what IF,,,,the person killed was your son or father??
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Post by Decatur on Feb 5, 2009 17:21:04 GMT -5
If it was an "accident" and not a "mistake", I couldn't hold her at fault.
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Post by batchief909 on Feb 5, 2009 18:08:48 GMT -5
I'm sorry. I don't agree. Whatever happened to the "know your target,,and know your background". She took a life, needlessly. She needs to swing from the highest tree.
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Post by johnc911 on Feb 5, 2009 18:23:00 GMT -5
Does not matter the situation. Know your target and know what behind it
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Post by johnc911 on Feb 5, 2009 18:23:38 GMT -5
Sorry weed didnt see your post till i posted mine
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Post by batchief909 on Feb 5, 2009 18:50:28 GMT -5
We're on the same page, John.
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Post by crazybuck on Feb 5, 2009 23:25:44 GMT -5
What if behind the deer it looked like a tree and some leaves? Isn't that what the print on a blind is supposed to do blend in with the surroundings, possibly even blend into a bank of dirt or hillside. If there was no orange how would you know that it was there, even if you followed all the safety rules. Maybe she new she was firing at a deer and there didn't appear to be anything behind it. Maybe the blind behind the deer blended into the side of a hill. I will not hunt out of a blind for this very reason during gun season. Just makes sense to me that a blind would be dangerous during gun season. I think I would feel a little more comfortable during bow season. I have always tried to use all the precautions you have listed including makeing sure there was nothing behind my target. I don't know. I just wanted to see what you guys thought about this.
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Post by oldhoyt on Feb 6, 2009 8:07:00 GMT -5
To those who say it doesn't matter, you must KNOW what is beyond your target, I ask this. Put yourself iin the shooter's position under these circumstances.
You are hunting in an area you have hunted before.
You see a deer.
You do not see anything beyond it.
Everything looks good for a shot so you shoot.
Then it all goes south in a hurry. Somehow, someone unknown to you set up a camo blind, and somehow your bullet hit them. Maybe a deflection, maybe a passthrough on the deer.
I am not saying there is no degree of responsibility, what I'm saying is I can envision a circumstance where this could happen when a reasonable person would have no reason to suspect there would be a problem.
If you truly hold "you must know" what is beyond your target as the standard, you'll almost never take a shot at a deer from the ground.
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