hunter shot....dark and shot at a "gobble"...?????

SMITH TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A man was shot early Monday morning in what appears to be a hunting accident in a wooded area of Smith Township, Washington County.

Pennsylvania Game Commission spokeswoman Beth Fife said a hunter heard a gobble, and he doesn't know if it was a turkey or a hunter doing a turkey call, but he saw movement and fired his 12-gauge shotgun and heard a man scream.

It was still dark in the woods near Pleasant Valley and Joffre Cherry Valley roads. The victim was not wearing any orange clothing, and the shooter said he did not see the man.

Fife told Channel 4 Action News reporter Amber Nicotra that it's not a requirement for hunters to wear orange, but it's strongly suggested, especially because warm weather has caused wooded areas to be overgrown, and it's hard to see through the thick woods.

The shooting victim was flown from the scene and is expected to be OK. He has not been publicly identified yet.

Investigators have not determined if any charges will be filed.

The shooter is experienced and has hunted in the area for most of his life without any incidents like this before, Fife said.

Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/30977237/detail.html#ixzz1tXLYntYk

X2 Wat a d bag

If it was still dark when he shot as is stated in the article how do they think wearing orange would have made any difference. If the shooter saw movement he saw the man. I wonder how long his beard was. As stated, Dumbass

That is exactly why I will not hunt some of my areas this year.  The early green up has it way too thick for me to be comfortable hunting there. 
 
Really is a shame.  

This person neds shot with a 12 guage and see how it fills.He failed to mark his target before he shot.What dumbass,let the charges be filed.

Speaking of NIGHTS....it was also dark!

    Sounds like a local PD was the one involved here. That or a Wildlife Officer who wanted to get it court approved correct  as this is likely to go a long way in the courts. This guy may be an idiot but he aint no career criminal whos gonna fly waiting for a warrant to be granted. Also may have been a very long delay trying to get the victems story.
       As a past Cop  can tell ya that most local cops ( SP too) generally have no idea when it comes to Hunting and Fishing stuff.  Where I worked perhaps one in ten hunted and were familiar with the appropriate laws. We generally waited for Wildlife for those kind of incidents.
      If this had been some guy in an alley next to the mall it would have been  ' no brainer' for charges.
     All that said however in all likelyhood they are doing the prudent thing and awaiting the Wildlife folks to come up with the appropriate charges as it was a Hunting incident. An arrest warrant is just as good in a case like this for a pinch- in fact better since it has already been to a Court BEFORE the pinch.
    Better to get it right  than jump in and make an error. Actually after 28 years in that PD  dont ever recall a set of Hunting laws even being there- am sure they were but for somebody to find them would have been interesting.

I heard the WCO insinuate that the victim was partly to fault on three seperate occasions because no FO was worn. Words such as "silly" were thrown out there as well describing a hunter not wearing orange. Also it was stated that it is "strongly suggested" that a hunter wear FO during turkey season.

The subject of FO should not have even come up. It is not required but it is required to identify your target and backdrop before a shot is fired. If the PGC feels that hunters are silly for not wearing orange and strongly suggests it, make it mandatory. Until then, enforce the laws as they are written, not attack the victim via news media.
 
I am sorry but this really irked me when I saw it.

Unfortunately typical of our 'modern' society--blame the victim.
    BTW- gotta ask--- assuming (probably a mistake) that the shooter was right when he said he heard a gobble before his idiotic error.
  How many of you do a Gobble call in the AM during gobbler season while set up in the very early dark AM ??
    NOT making excuses for the dummy here - just wondering if anybody does that- I never have --and not cause of any safety issues.

You pull the trigger, no one did it for you. If the victum dies it's murder! Plain and simple.

     More likely a manslaughter charge if a death occured- in this case perhaps PAs version of a serious reckless endangerment- thats down from Murder- No intent to kill a person- that endangerment kinda charge reflects a disregard for safety and still packs a serious punch in the Courts.
  Buddy of mine- tongue in cheek- used to say if ya really wanna kill somebody an not go to prison for the rest  of your life-takem hunting
  That is NOT a reflection of these events just a parody of how different the Criminal and Wildlife laws can get.
      For example if yur shootin it out with your drug dealing competition on the street someplace and hit a bystander one thing happens and if ya shoot another Deer hunter the result can be quite different.
  BTW- kinda agree with DPMs version of events.

You mean like this Griff?...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hXFQCQGVDE&feature=player_embedded

Ironhed

Just watched the video- speaks for itself

Identify your target - period!