Being an avid bird / duck hunter and owning two self-trained hunting dogs, I went from laughter to amazement on the story where a hunter from Iowa was shot by his dog while out hunting pheasant.....
From ESPN --
Harris was hunting with a group about three miles north of Grinnell. The group shot a bird, and when Harris went to get it, he put his gun on the ground and crossed a fence. As he crossed the fence, his hunting dog stepped on the gun, Foster said.This half witted hunter broke some of the cardinal rules when hunting and handling of a firearm. So I would say the dog did a good job by shooting this moron!
The gun was about 3 feet away from his leg.
"The muzzle velocity is so great that the pellets don't have a chance to spread out," he said. No one else was hurt, and the dog was not injured. More....
Unless your a drawing a bead on a bird - your safety should NEVER be off! If you are crossing a fence and there is no one to hold your gun, you open the breach and lean your gun against something in a manner that the barrel is pointing AWAY from anything.
I would imagine the hunter was using #6 lead shot, meaning his leg must look like ground meat being shot from 3' away.
Here are pics of my dogs -
Sam (left) an English Springer Spaniel, who is 13yr old. When he was younger Sam won several Field Trials and has lines descending from UK, US and Canadian field hunting trial champions. Flash (right) is an English Setter, who is 11yr old. Flash, well he is Flash! He has some "issues" and we just do the best we can with him. Flash is a hell of a hunter, just very quirky!
I don't think they would shoot me. I know maybe want to bite me if I miss a bird for them though.Both of my boy's are trained that when they see my gun lying on the ground or leaning against something, they are to sit or lay down next to it. They understand it is my gun that enables them to get their reward. Their reward being the downed bird that they will retrieve. I also wonder why the half baked hunter did not have his dog retrieve the bird.
So before any anti-gun nuts think guns should be outlawed to protect hunter's from their dog's - go drink some more cool-aid! This is simply the case of a smart dog, shooting a stupid hunter!
I stay out of public land for pheasant hunting. To many yahoo's.
ReplyDeleteNice looking Bird Dogs King. Which do you prefer Springer or Setter?
Most guys stick with either pointing or flushing dogs. Was it hard to train both? How was the Springer with kids?
Off to my deer stand!
Hi Hank,
ReplyDeleteI try my best to stay away from public land on opening day for ANYTHING!
First had Sam (flushing), met a group of guys that helped teach me how to train him. Then just spent a lot of time with him. My ex used to also helps at times. Love hunting with him and he quarters close, but you need to keep up when he is on scent.
Flash - well he is my drunken mistake, but I love him dearly. The guys that helped teach me how to train Sam all had Setters.
I was drunk at the Pheasants Forever Banquet, he was just so adorable. I couldn't help it! So I outbid everyone and even myself by $100 and now he is mine... or I am his.
I call him my Fat Man's Hunting Dog. Being a pointing breed - he stays on point until I get there.
He is very very quirky though and has issues. Afraid of loud noises, firecrackers, air vents (the blowing air bothers him), bees (yes bees), does not like water or
mud (does not like mud between his toes.
I swear this to you. When I let him in at night, if backyard is muddy - he tip toes through the mud. At times I have had to carry him in. I could go on & on.
Let him see my gun and watch out! You can blast over him all day long for birds and it does not bother him one bit. Just the sight of the gun gets him whimpering, whining and howling to go hunting. When out on birds he will go through hell, mud or high water.
Sam can be good with kids, but my snot nose, demon spawn nephews threw rocks at him in his kennel one day and he takes a while to warm up to new kids. So with this, I just keep an eye on him when around kids. But he is the most cuddly, lovable dog in the world.
Flash the English Setter, again he's strange. Is a harmless dog and very "soft" when not hunting. So yes, he is great with kids under any circumstance.