It seems like none of the victims were armed and I find this a little odd.
In Colorado it's fairly common for hunters to wear a pistol around camp. Mountain lions, rattlers, bears, etc. are problems in some areas. Not all hunters do this by any means but it's common.
Is this just a regional thing? Any local FReepers care to comment?
they got a call on the radio that he'd been shot. that doesn't tell them he was intentionally shot. my first impression was that they assumed it was an accident.that would normally be a safe assumption. (when you hear hoof
beats, you assume horses, not zebras.)
When I hunt, I alway have a small pistol in my pocket. (a small Hungarian made Walther PPK copy that shoots 9MM Makarov) We have had problems with coyotes and feral dogs. We also have come up upon a group of people stealing our tree stands.
Most of the other hunters in my camp do not carry a side arm (I live in the deep deep South).
I subscribe to the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared.
Not much moving besides deer in Minnesota/Wisconsin after mid-October. Most hunters (that I've met) up here just carry their rifle to the stand. It's very possible that they were on ATV's at the time, and in that case they probably had their rifles cased up.