200 yds -- Pistol -- "Gee Officer, I thought she was a deer...."

Coincidence. The shooter of the deer truck was from Ohio, not a local. He did manage to kill the truck. Also like Jadlowski, he was hunting illegally as he shot across a roadway. He poached the truck he misidentified as a deer. Strangely, the brown truck was not wearing hunter orange at the time it was shot.

The hunter was charged with reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm across a roadway. http://www.erienewsnow.com/story/36921201/ohio-man-charged-in-hunting-accident-in-chautauqua-county
 
The shooter better have the book thrown at him in this case. First of all, by not abiding by legal shooting times and distances, he is already putting the public in peril. And what he did was absolutely unacceptable, no matter what time of day it was. I have shot competitively on terrain where there are a lot of vegetation cover and obstructions as well as fog and wind (handicap modes) and I sure can still tell the difference between targets, animals, plants and other things at extended ranges. If I can't tell, well, there is a thing called "Range is COLD" while we wait for the situation to clear.

This "I thought him/her/it was a deer" is getting REALLY old and is making me seriously angry. It is about time we start making an example out of those who are blatantly endangering the public due to their lack of regard for basic safety and common sense.

My father-in-law told me that he was hunting in Pennsylvania with some buddies. They were on one side of a creek. A guy on the other side took a shot at them at a distance. They yelled and screamed. He took another shot. So they fired a volley towards him (not at him). Then he got the point. People can be idiots.

This guy should go to jail for a long time.
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THAT, and the earlier post about how hunters in WI would shoot at buildings out of frustration. Wait. What in the serious ****? What is this? Are we having to start worrying about Madec types (Deathwatch, by Robb White), while we are trying to enjoy the great outdoors? Are we going to have to have a thread about defensive pistol carrying while hiking/camping, not as defense against drug addicts and robbers, but now, psychos masquerading as hunters?
 
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This happened about 35 miles from me, and it was on the local news tonight that he has been charged with manslaughter.
 
Time of day , how dark or light is irrelevant, he violated rule #1 of hunting safety ...make sure of your target. If it was high noon and in broad daylight you have to be sure of what you're shooting.
"I thought she was a deer" isn't a legal defense in my state .
 
"I thought she was a deer" isn't a legal defense in my state .
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I don't think its a defense in any state. But it is an explanation, which can influence whether or not, and which charges can be brought.

IF it is believed...

In reality, there are only two possibilities, he intended to shoot a person, in which case it is some degree of murder, or he did not intend to shoot a person, but did, in which case, it's some degree of manslaughter.

and it seems the authorities are going with a manslaughter charge.
 
He was exceptionally lucky. IMHO he got off much too light, but at least he was convicted of a felony and will never be allowed to touch a firearm again. (At least, I hope that charge is a felony in NY.)
 
Can you even take a deer at 200 yards with a handgun? Even with something the size of a deer, that has to be an incredible shot, right? I don't know because I don't hunt with a handgun.
 
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Should have gotten 20 years, no parole. When you look through a scope you know whether or not you can identify the target. There is no excuse for that. How do we know he didn't kill her on purpose?
 
Handgun metallic silhouette is that range. I've taken deer at 60 yds, iron sights, no problems . If I was younger that range cold be better. :D
 
I shot IHMSA matches for years, and the steel targets at 200 meters were a lot smaller than a deer. When we would tie and need a shoot off, we would often end up shooting chicken targets at the 200 meter mark. It's hard to imagine someone shooting that distance without being able to properly identify their target.
 
Woman walking around in deer season without blaze orange clothes is not smart at all...not excusing the criminal shooter who was negligent no matter what..

Of course, not everyone is aware of hunting seasons. I am an avid deer hunter but also run my Brittany during gun season. He and I both are covered in blaze orange!
 
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