Posted on 12/06/2005 5:31:58 AM PST by bikepacker67
WARE, Mass. (AP) - The father of a 10-year-old killed in a hunting accident said the boy was shot as the two descended a hill and the elder man slipped. The shotgun he was carrying went off, striking the boy in the back.
"I was sliding," Raymond F. Libby Jr., of Ware, told The Republican newspaper on Sunday, a day after his son died during a father-and-son outing.
"That's when the gun went off. It hit some branches. I didn't have my hand on the trigger ... I jumped up quick and I ran to him before he collapsed."
Libby asked his son, Raymond F. Libby III, if he was hit, and his answer "yes" would be the last word the father would hear him say.
He said he carried the boy at least 200 yards to the area where their truck was parked, where another hunter who heard the shot was emerging from the woods in the town of Hampden, south of Springfield. That man used his cell phone to call for help.
Hampden police, who received a 911 call at 9:30 a.m., said the fourth-grader was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center.
"He was my hunting and fishing buddy," the father said. "I mean, he always waits for me after work."
Police were investigating, but said it appeared to be an accident.
The father said the safety on his shotgun was on as he and his son, who carried a BB gun, went down the hill. The elder Libby said the boy always walked behind him, but had gotten ahead when the father slipped and fell.
Libby and his wife also have a 12-year-old daughter, Amber.
"When we were young adults out hunting we kept an eye on each other and pointed out dangerous situations to each other all the time. Just handing a gun back and forth called for a final check of the safety before the weapon changed hands."
When I was a kid, hunting with my dad for quail, we always carried side-by-side shotguns. When we weren't actively hunting or were just walking, the guns were carried open at the breech.
Now, I use a pump gun. When I'm walking and not hunting actively, I open the action and remove the shell from the chamber. I can still operate the pump and fire very quickly, just in case something rises.
Hunting safety should be the first concern, especially when children are involved, but always, too.
I agree. My boys are coming into hunting age and I will be buying their first shotgun this Christmas, even though they won't be using it for another year or so. As fond as the memories are of me and my dad hunting, I am scared to death in many ways. These days there are so many people out there who don't practice safety and kids are clumsy and oblivious at times. My worst fear is that I will do something stupid that hurts one of my boys. I hope that helps me to be even more vigilant in my own safety.
Even so, there are times when you forget to do the little things that could keep you safe. I remember the first deer I shot and how I took off after him when I saw him fall, completely disregarding the fact my rifle had a round in the chamber and the safety was off or the fact he might not be dead yet. I could blame it on youth, but it was dumb nonetheless. I have climbed down out of stands with a round in, even though the safety was on, I have set my rifel in the truck with rounds in the chamber and even started to clean them only to stop myself with the rod in the barrel realizing I forgot to check it first. These are rare, but they have happened and I consider myself a safety conscious person.
Even the most careful hunter forgets or gets caught up in the moment and does something dumb at times. I won't blame this father because we don't know all the facts and it doesn't really matter anyway. Nothing we call this guy will ever hurt as much as the loss he has already suffered. I am sure he is also beating himself up more than we ever could anyway.
Well said.
Dan
"The pain this father must feel...it must be horrific for him."
He'll spend the rest of his life reliving that moment and wishing for a way to change it.
Maybe if you are deer hunting, so shut up. How many guys in a duck blind only load their guns when the duck presents itself going by at 90 mph? How many jump shooters in the field only load when the quail flushes or the pheasant springs? You might be a hunter, but I bet you don't kill too many birds.
That's what they were doing... deer hunting.
So YOU shut up, chief.
Agreed, fully.
I too am also very paranoid when it comes to firearm safety. I triple and quadruple check the safety.
I'm always conscious of where the barrel of my gun is pointing and the guns of others that are around me.
One time my brother, my cousin and I were hunting small game and we were walking up a mountain looking for grouse. We stopped at the middle logging access road and I turned to see my brother fishing for something in his pocket while the end of the barrel of his 20ga. was leaning into his chest. I walked over, grabbed the shotgun and smacked him in the back of the head.
I can't even begin to imagine how this guy must feel. This is something that will haunt him til the day he dies.
OOopp....probably thought it was a cow painted orange...
You are just ignorant. Show me one state where it is illegal to shoot 200 yards off of roads! I have hunted 13 states and it is usually 50 feet up to 50 yards off of a road. 200 yards? Have you ever killed anything?
Deer hunting from a stand or blind Chief!
Do you check the chamber for stuff that may have worked it's way in there before you quickly close the action and fire?
"Do you check the chamber for stuff that may have worked it's way in there before you quickly close the action and fire?"
Not necessary if I'm walking in an open field. I would not have the action open otherwise. You do have to use some common sense, but there's certainly no way that a shotgun will fire if the action's open. That was the reason for breaking the double-barrel guns when carrying between active hunting areas. Again, they could be quickly closed and fired in case of an unexpected rise. I did bag a few quail in that situation.
I can understand doing that with a double barrel or single barrel break action fire arm. But with a pump action or lever action gun, I would not take that chance of having something blowup in my face. I feel plenty confident and safe with a the action closed and a round in the chamber.
To each his own I guess.
I recall when I was very young and hunting with my dad, he didn't take a shot at a GORGEOUS buck because he was afraid I might suddenly stand up and get into his line-of-fire...and I got SO angry at him, thinking it was overly cautious.
Now, I understand. Over Thanksgiving, one of the biggest, most beautiful bucks I've ever seen ran between my brother and I...and he later said that the look on my face was likely what I saw on his... we both held our fire, even from an angle shot, rather than take any chance.
BTW, that was in Virginia, where people drive deer with dogs and loaded shotguns. Not all deer hunting is from a stand.
>>"FR at its worst">>>
Thanks for pointing that out. This is one of the only things that disturbs me about FR. There are always those who come out early in any tragedy to say that "something just doesn't smell right about this". I guess they think they are being super sleuths because they recognize someone as being 'insincere in their grief' or 'too happy' about something. God help them if they are ever involved in a tragedy.
It's been my experience recently that the kids who go through hunter safety courses are better in the woods than a lot of us Old Hunters. We "think" we know it all, but what we are really guilty of is bad habits.
This case is a bad habit that turned fatal.
Hunting aint a spectator sport, its for real, we all need to remember that.
Agreed. For me, the added risk of the chamber getting fouled, or having less attention to focus on checking behind the target, is greater than the benefits. I guess we each have to make a judgement as to what works best for each of us.
There is something that people who have never lost a child don't realize. A parent ALWAYS feels guilty when a child dies even if the child is a grown person and dies half way around the world. When they are responsible or even indirect responsible (they are there but could do nothing to stop it) their lives may very well be ruined. God help this man.
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