Always identify your target....

[KahrMan]

Come on people...this isn't rocket science. You do not shoot at a rustling bush.

Stories like this are why I like to hunt alone and on private property. There are two many idiots out there.

Man shot with arrow while deer hnuting

MIDDLEBURG -- An Orange Park man was seriously injured when his deer hunting partner shot him through the arm with an arrow fired from a compound bow, according to a Clay County Sheriff’s Office report.

John Whigham, age 36, was taken to Shands Jacksonville after his friend, 40-year-old Randy Pritchard, drove his pickup truck to the 5900 block of Long Branch Cemetery Road from Jennings State Forest, where the incident occurred late Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 29, according to the report.

Pritchard, who was “holding pressure to the wounds and extremely emotional†when a sheriff’s deputy arrived, had driven to the roadside to seek help after Pritchard shot an arrow from his tree stand into some palmetto bushes about 10 yards away, thinking it was a deer, the report says.

Pritchard told the deputy that the incident was an accident, and that Whigham was able to remove the arrow from his left forearm after he emerged from the bushes. Whigham also had a puncture wound in his lower back, according to the report.

The incident has been turned over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for further investigation.

Fish and Wildlife spokesman Stan Kirkland said on Thursday that Pritchard, a Middleburg resident, was cooperative but “shook up and regretful†after Whigham was taken to Shands by ambulance. He said Whigham has undergone surgery, and that he doesn’t believe the wounds were life-threatening.

“If there’s any positives to take out of this, it’s the message that whether you’re hunting with a bow and arrow or a firearm, always identify your target,†Kirkland said. “Make sure you see antlers, or if you’re hunting wild hogs, make sure you know what your target is.â€

He said the incident was only the third of its kind that he knows of in his 34 years with the state agency. None have been fatal, he said.

[daddyo]

Stories like this are why I don't hunt.

[Guest pws_smokeyjones]

Absolutely unbelievable.

[kb4ns]

Wow. Just wow.

"Make sure you see antlers..."

Ummm, yeah. Still not quite enough. Unless you wanna shoot someone carrying a decoy.

[Guest pws_smokeyjones]

Wow. Just wow.

Ummm, yeah. Still not quite enough. Unless you wanna shoot someone carrying a decoy.

No doubt. As a kid growing up (before the days of organized hunter safety education programs) my father and grand-father taught me how to hunt. The very first thing I remember learning was to never shoot at anything unless I knew EXACTLY what and where it was - and what was behind it, no exceptions. The absolute quickest way I would lose hunting/shooting privileges was to break that cardinal rule.

[Guest TnRebel]

idiot , how did he know where the kill zone was on his target with out seeing his target, I know back in the days I work for my uncle at the Bristol stock yards , and we had a farmer come in with four caws and they had COW painted on their sides and we all laughed at it , he said that he had lost three cows to hunters where the cows would wander into the woods behind his house and deer hunters had shot them.

[DaveS]

How stupid! Good thing he wasn't trying for a "headshot" with his bow! Sorry folks couldn't resist. All joking aside, BE CAREFUL FOLKS! Hope the gentleman recovers!

[ShaunM]

I hate hearing stories like this. It's not hard to tell a deer from a human and you don't shoot something you cannot see he was a complete moron. My dad tells me this kind of stuff happens all the time in Michigan. He once told me a story that a guy shot a white goat and tried to tag it. He honestly thought it was a deer. My dad said the story was in the local paper.

[DaveS]

Hunter Safety course maybe?

[ShaunM]

Hunter Safety course maybe?

I really think it wouldn't help some people.

[Guest TargetShooter84]

Wow, what a moron.

[Guest clutepc]

I grew up in Orange Park and then lived in Middleburg.

I don't get shooting at something you can't see, he shouldn't be allowed to hunt for a few years and only then after going through the hunter safety class a few times so it sinks in.

I didn't hunt down there because I knew a few hunters down there and they were just like that, they would see the palmettos move and they were shooting.

[whiskey]

I had a classmate in high school that shot another classmate with a 12ga slug. It was just minutes after daylight started to creep in and the shooter heard rustling and saw an outline. Boom. Thank God the idiot was a piss poor shot and only winged him.

Regardless of spooking deer, I have always used a flashlight in the dark since this incident. I simply can't understand shooting at movement. Accident or not, these folks need to have their hunting rights revoked.

[spikehunter]

That is exactly what I was going to say +1 on revoking their hunting rights

[Guest GunTroll]

Stories like this are why I don't hunt.

And this is the saddest part. Because of idiots like this guy, people are turned off to hunting for fear of their lives in some instances. I hated to read this quote but fully understand it at the same time.

[Guest adamoxtwo]

I really think it wouldn't help some people.

I agree!! You just can't fix stupid sometimes

[oldogy]

As someone who has been shot at and missed, You can not fix stupid. Many years ago I was hunting on private posted property that was owned by my grandparents when I was shot at, the shot coming very close over my head. The poacher hunter had to be shooting at movement only. I never did see the perp but I did hit the ground and yelled as loud as I could. Called him a few choice words that a teenager knows.

Yeah, I learned early on that you don't shoot until you identify your target and what is beyond.

[iyaoyas98]

I've let many deer walk cause I didn't have a good shot on them. Yes, I probably could have neck or gut shot them, but I hunt as ethically as I can, and will not lose an animal if possible. Shooting at a moving bush blows my mind. Morans for sure.

[Guest adamoxtwo]

Especially with a Bow!? I mean you need a clean shot with that. A bullet will deflect some when shot into a bush bot an arrow could go anywhere. If goes to show that Common sense is not so common after all.

[Ghooge2008]

I have a good buddy that got his ass kicked by a farmer, he saw an animal...brown, and it was "huge" in the brush...he shot hoping it was a big deer...he shot a cow, and on top of a whoopin, he had to pay market price for the cow...it ended up being an expensive trip. he now makes for sure of exactly what animal is in his crosshairs and doesnt shoot into shapes on the horizon or brush.

BTW...an older guy that looks frail and about 100 lbs less than you...can still serve up a serious stompin when he is mad as hell.

[ShaunM]

I have a good buddy that got his ass kicked by a farmer, he saw an animal...brown, and it was "huge" in the brush...he shot hoping it was a big deer...he shot a cow, and on top of a whoopin, he had to pay market price for the cow...it ended up being an expensive trip. he now makes for sure of exactly what animal is in his crosshairs and doesnt shoot into shapes on the horizon or brush.

BTW...an older guy that looks frail and about 100 lbs less than you...can still serve up a serious stompin when he is mad as hell.

I hunt a few places that have cows and i'm not about to risk any shot if it will endanger someones cow or any animal. I guess he had to learn the hard way.