I am a Human Being / Bob is the height of Youth Fashion this season

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Worthington is the next town west of my new town, Chesterfield. This shooting probably took place within 5 miles = 8 kilometers of my house.

The week we moved in was bow-and-arrow hunting season. Now it's shotgun hunting season. We tacked up

NO HUNTING

signs on trees at the end of the drive.

Every time I leave the house I wear an orange safety stocking cap so I will not be mistaken for a quadruped. S.W.M.B.O. wears a safety orange vest.

I felt profoundly stupid in this dumb hat, until the other afternoon, when a 16-year-old girl walked down the road in my identical safety orange hat. So in Chesterfield, I'm the height of Youth Fashion.

I do not fear Death.

I fear Stupid Death -- like an arrow through my throat because some drunk in camo thought I was a moose.

I am not a moose. I am a Human Being.

===================

Daily Hampshire Gazette
Northampton, Massachusetts USA
Wednesday 2 December 2009

Hunter accidentally
shot in Worthington

by Owen Boss, Staff Writer

WORTHINGTON -- State police are investigating a hunting accident near the Berkshire Park Camping Area Tuesday afternoon that left one man with a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

Shortly after 1 p.m., state police responded to a wooded area near the Harvey Road campground for a report that a 60-year-old male hunter had suffered an accidental gunshot wound, according to state police Trooper George Beaupre, of the Russell Barracks.

"It didn't happen on the campgrounds. It occurred in the woods nearby, and it was only a minor injury, nothing remotely close to life threatening," Beaupre said.

The injured hunter, whom Beaupre declined to identify, was taken by ambulance to Cooley-Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.

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Comments

Wed, 12/02/2009 - 09:31 — josgrab

Maybe every fall I can no longer hike in the woods for fear of being shot by some yahoo described in this article. I pay my taxes and deserve to hike more than one day a week, Sundays, when all the tough guys are not allowed to hunt. I was a veteran, so I know all about weapons. Let the biologist manage our lands, not Dick Cheney. And yes, wear PLENTY of orange. Kill Zone?? You should only hunt calzone, pal.

Wed, 12/02/2009 - 17:26 — Theresa1
Try the bike path

Josgrab,
You are wrong on this one; your ignorant opinions against the facts of hunting.

Try the bike path and take in the view, just watch out for the people on bikes.

Fri, 12/04/2009 - 13:23 — Conservative in...
Bike Path

Hey Theresa1,
I'll place a bet right now that if Josgrab takes your advise but gets hit by a bike on the bike path he'll complain that it is Bush/Cheney's fault!

Wed, 12/02/2009 - 14:30 — HampTaxPayer
One bad egg

OK- Number one, I am not your pal. Number two, I am not a hunter. I know many hunters and know a great deal about and highly respect the sport. I respect any man or woman's will to educate him or herself about hunting, spend time in the woods and humanely kill animals for food to nourish them self, and their family. Do you think you would be here today if it were not for hunting?
I also despise your comparison of every hunter to Dick Cheney. Listen here, not every hunter is an NRA card holding republican, so you can just take that stereotype and throw it out the window. And who do you think encourages hunting seasons? BIOLOGISTS. Do you want them flying over our woods in helicopters, and shooting them from there to thin out the population? Because, if there were no hunting season, that's what you'd get PAL.
The man who got shot is a veteran hunter. He was wearing plenty of orange and obeying the hunting laws. The man who shot him, simply shot into the woods when he heard the man move. The shooter in my mind is a criminal and no better than a poacher. He didn't know if the deer had antlers, didn't have an antlerless deer permit. He didn't know if he was shooting at a deer, a moose, a bear (it's not bear season), any other animal, a man, or a child. Yes children do go hunting, even though they cannot legally shoot a deer until they are 12, they go out and learn. The man who did this is an irresponsible idiot and in my mind is no different than any other "Joe Shmoe" out "hunting" (poaching) at any other time of year.
Please don't let this moron represent what hunters really are, which are responsible environmentalists and sportsmen. Most take their activity in the woods very seriously and wouldn't even dream at taking a shot at a deer unless they were certain they would kill it instantly. Hunting is the oldest sport, and we all have a right to do it. Hunters pay an outrageous amount of money for their permits, which rarely fund hunting related things, and they have to follow many, many laws. Including set hunting seasons. You however can hike at any time during the year. Hunters have selected land that they can hunt on, and those plots are getting smaller and smaller and fewer and far between, which makes for many hunters per each area. They need to seek permission to hunt on privately owned woods. Please- get off the backs of hunters and respect their sport. There is a reason why there are very few hunting accidents.

Wed, 12/02/2009 - 18:36 — dwright
nevertheless...

...one bad egg can kill you. (And yes, the shooter in this instance, if your information is correct, is criminally stupid.) Wish hunting and gun safety classes were formally required before anyone's allowed out to shoot anywhere. And that what's shot has to be eaten, not just for trophy.

Wed, 12/02/2009 - 13:41 — Conservative in...
Can't let go of it, can you?

Josgrab, you just can't get over the Bush/Cheney thing, can you? My God man, YOUR man has been in office since January... time to let it go.
It's also obvious you are not familiar with wildlife management because biologists RECOMMEND and SUPPORT hunting as a means to thinning and maintaining herds of deer and other game species at optimal levels. There used to be no hunting at the Quabbin. The result? Mass starvation and disease wiped out hundreds of deer and threatened not only other wildlife, but the entire drinking water supply. With the current lottery (recommended by state biologists) deer herds are maintained at healthy levels, people can put food on their table and things are working.
Like you, I pay my taxes and I'd like to be able to drive my vehicle when I go out at night and not have to worry about some drunk or stoned person crashing into me. I'd like to be able to take a walk after work and not worry about someone hitting me with their vehicle. So, what do I do... I take precautions. Are the precautions 100% effective? No. Do you blame Dick Cheney for the drunk, stoned or generally reckless drivers too?
Accidents happen. And just so that you know, according to statistics, more people are injured bowling or in their own bath tubs than by firearms EVERY year.
I deeply thank you and salute you for your service to our country, Josgrab. However, you are way off on your assumptions and thought process on this subject.
By the way, I'm an NRA Certified Basic Pistol, Basic Shotgun and Home Firearms Safety Instructor, so I'm familiar with firearms also.

Tue, 12/01/2009 - 22:47 — HampTaxPayer
Hurray?

Yeah, hurray for the deer. Hurray for the deer that will probably starve to death this winter when it could have been killed quickly and humanely, and provided organic meat for an entire family for most of this winter. Maybe instead it will get hit by a car. Yeah, hurray for that.

Hunting accidents are preventable. Hunters make sure you are wearing plenty of orange, and make sure you are taking an accurate shot right in the kill zone.

Good luck to you all this hunting season, and please be careful.

Tue, 12/01/2009 - 21:56 — josgrab

Woops!! Hurray for the deer!