Turkeys and the sad state of US Military

[Marlin32]

Three soldiers went turkey hunting in NE Kansas near Manhattan. Have no frickin' clue what or how to hunt turkeys, just needed to kill something, so the brainiacs set one guy up to shoot, the other two "herd" or drive the turkeys toward the waiting hunter.
Alas, he sees something moving and shoots it. It keeps moving, so he shoots it again. Except he wasn't shooting a turkey, was shooting one of his idiot hunting companion.
What gets me is, what the heck are we training these guys to do? Two shots and doesn't kill the guy???

[dkmlever]

Not funny, an insult against our troops.
I just sponsored a wounded solider who lost his leg on a turkey hunt on my property, great american and deserves our support not scorn.

[FWiedner]

A slob hunter is just that, whatever brand of camoflauge he wears.

[Marlin32]

Call it like I see them. Three soldiers, trained in use of firearms, combat, yet shoots companion "mistakenly" not once, but twice!
Those three should be taken out of military, too stupid, will get good soldiers killed.
No need to announce how pius and above the rest of us you are because you sponsered a vet.
You have no idea who I am, what I have done, or what I do.

[horsesoldier03]

I havent heard anything about it. I am curious was this an old accident or one that just occured. Do you have a news article link?

[Marlin32]

The three soldiers incident was this past fall near Ft. Riley.
There was another turkey incident a week or so ago, near Junction City (ft riley) but I don't think involed any soldiers. But just as dumb.
Group split up, and a guy shot his partner, saw him rolling around on the ground, thought it was turkey flopping, so shot him again.

I am guessing either or both can be found in KC Tribune.

[willygene]

anyone who shoots because he sees something move don't need to be shooting and if you can't tell the difference from a man in camo and a turkey when you shoot it your a ******* idiot and don't need a gun in the woods hunting. so there ain't no sense in anyone trying to defend that bs.

[horsesoldier03]

I had heard of the one last fall. YES, it was very stupid. I thought there might have been a recent incident that I had not seen.

[DixieBoy]

These kinds of incidents just leave me wondering. Guys, what happened to the days when ALL of our Dads taught us:

1. Every gun is always loaded. Treat them all as if they're loaded.
2. Never point a gun at something you're not ready to destroy.
3. Your finger stays off the trigger until you're ready to fire.
4. ALWAYS BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEHIND IT.

Soldiers or not, these guys obviously didn't get trained in the very basics. Idiot moves like these "hunting buddies" shooting their pals just make us all look bad by reflection. Every year we hear about "accidents" and then there's the quote "I saw something move ...".
I'm sure that in the incidents when these shootings really are "accidental" (they're really NEGLIGENT), and not murders masquerading as "hunting accidents" there is regret on the part of the shooter, but whoever first put a firearm in that person's hands deserves some of the blame from the stupidity that followed. - DixieBoy

[FWiedner]

... but whoever first put a firearm in that person's hands deserves some of the blame from the stupidity that followed. - DixieBoy

I pretty much disagree with the attitude that anyone except the actual person who pointed the gun and pulled the trigger is to blame for anything.

[claybob86]

I pretty much disagree with the attitude that anyone except the actual person who pointed the gun and pulled the trigger is to blame for anything.

+1.

[olyinaz]

I just sponsored a wounded solider who lost his leg on a turkey hunt on my property,

How the heck did he loose his leg on a turkey hunt on your property??



I don't think the scorn was a blanket indictment at all - only the boneheads involved in this less than stellar achievement.

Oly

[Gobblerforge]

I just sponsored a wounded solider who lost his leg on a turkey hunt on my property,

How the heck did he loose his leg on a turkey hunt on your property??

That's what I was wondering.
Gobbler

[dkmlever]

This post and the way it was worded seemed to me to be a repeat of a joke, not a true story from the news.
A link to the news story would have been helpful to clarifyand then my response would have been different.
No one, military, civilian, newbie hunter etc should point a firearm or pull the trigger unless 100% certain of the target.
As far a losing his leg on my property, well.......this young man lost it do to an roadside bomb in Aug 2011 in Afghanistan. All I did was give him a place to hunt with easy access.

[horsesoldier03]

The first hunting incident listed in Dickenson Co. was not military related.

http://www.ammoland.com/2011/05/19/kans ... z1u7IDSpN5

http://cjonline.com/sports/2011-11-12/o ... t-too-many

I do recall the other incident where NO ONE DIED. However, I am currently unsuccessful at locating it.

Not judging them at all. I think alot of it is when you are used to riding around with a firearm loaded and ready to go all the time, such as in a deployment, you start to think a NEG. Discharge will never happen to you. IMO, the cases of shooting their hunting partner, I honestly think they may have experiance shooting guns but not HUNTING. I did find it interesting that in the first link listed, the average age of those involved was 37.

[Pete44ru]

Call it like I see them. Three soldiers, trained in use of firearms, combat, yet shoots companion "mistakenly" not once, but twice!
Those three should be taken out of military, too stupid, will get good soldiers killed.
No need to announce how pius and above the rest of us you are because you sponsered a vet.
You have no idea who I am, what I have done, or what I do.

IMHO, While hunters should be trained to identify their target before shooting, aka: safety training, soldiers OTOH should be properly trained to react instantly to ANY movement not pre-identified as theirs, or they would not be very effective battle soldiers.

I would give them a pass in this instance.

.

[FWiedner]

Call it like I see them. Three soldiers, trained in use of firearms, combat, yet shoots companion "mistakenly" not once, but twice!
Those three should be taken out of military, too stupid, will get good soldiers killed.
No need to announce how pius and above the rest of us you are because you sponsered a vet.
You have no idea who I am, what I have done, or what I do.

IMHO, While hunters should be trained to identify their target before shooting, aka: safety training, soldiers OTOH should be properly trained to react instantly to ANY movement not pre-identified as theirs, or they would not be very effective battle soldiers.

I would give them a pass in this instance.

.

ANYONE who assumes the responsibility of using a firearm in the field should have a level of fire-discipline appropriate to the situation they are engaging or they should leave the firearm in safe storage.

Being jumpy or trigger happy is no good excuse to perforate a HUNTING companion.

[Gaucho Gringo]

Unfortunately incidents of hunters getting shot by other hunters has been happening since the advent of firearms. I am 61 years old and remember the aftermath years later when my dads best friend got shot pheasant hunting. He had survived serving in WWII without a scratch and got shot in the late 40's by an overanxious bird hunter. I remember he would come over to our house and on the back of his hand and arm he would have odd bumps on them. It was the bird shot he had got hit with working it's way out of his muscle tissue. When he got enough of them he would go have them removed. He said the doctors told him it was the best way of handling his situation at the time. Seeing someone who the victim of a careless hunter made me try to be doubly sure of a target before I even raised my gun. Nobody is perfect but we can all try to be.

[Nazgul]

The title does say "The state of the US military". Also says"what are we teaching".

Sounds like a blanket statement to me.

Don

[El Chivo]

a trigger happy soldier is nothing new; ask Stonewall Jackson

[Canuck Bob]

The sad truth is that even safe and experienced hunters shoot their partners by accident. A hunting party of two armed hunters is my limit. I have no experience with guided hunts but having a hardened pro to keep things safe seems good. under no circumstances will I participate in driven hunts of any kind. Once was enough and I'll never forget the sound of those 30-06 bullets sizzling a few feet over my head. The memory still spikes a feeling of fear. The guy got a fat lip but I could have died.

In my years of hunting and reading about accidents it seems that stranger shootings are much less common than partner shootings. I know I have often misread a moving object at poor light. It is amazing how a hunter in a jacket can look like a bear walking on a cutline 350 yards away. Compound that with glassing with the RIFLE SCOPE and sad accidents are too common. One thing we don't stress enough is that a wonderful hunt doesn't have to include killing anything. My most memorable is a grizzly hunt in the Ram River basin. I spent hours watching a sow and two young cubs on a high slope. I realized I had no desire to shoot a grizzly and my hunting changed for the better after that.

I can't speak to this incident but my uncle told me the most dangerous soldier is your own green recruit with an SMG or grenade in a gun fight. I was a far more dangerous hunter when young and inflicted with buck fever regardless of training. My training came from northern trappers and homesteaders with combat experience. If I was 18 and training for a war zone I might be a bit twitchy with a trigger as well. That is what sargeants are for, to beat a little sense into them.

That is why our favorite rifles appeal to me so much. External hammer rifles, there is a direct connection to thumbing a hammer and serious concentration I don't get to the same level with a safety. That is also why I consider all firearms are weapons, many disagree in the sporting world. Of course unloading a tube mag rifle requires special training but at least it doesn't happen looking at a moose with a quart of adrenaline in both animals blood streams.

[Washita]

Three soldiers went turkey hunting in NE Kansas near Manhattan. Have no frickin' clue what or how to hunt turkeys, just needed to kill something, so the brainiacs set one guy up to shoot, the other two "herd" or drive the turkeys toward the waiting hunter.
Alas, he sees something moving and shoots it. It keeps moving, so he shoots it again. Except he wasn't shooting a turkey, was shooting one of his idiot hunting companion.
What gets me is, what the heck are we training these guys to do? Two shots and doesn't kill the guy???

Sounds like you're really disappointed--make that annoyed-- that the victim survived. I can't speak to this case, but turkey hunting is the most dangerous kind of hunting there is. It's the only sport where you're sitting motionless in heavy cover, wearing full camouflage (no orange) including a face mask or camo makeup, and making a noise like your prey. Sometimes even using decoys placed close at hand. I only wonder that more turkey hunters don't get shot than actually do.

[Canuck Bob]

Three soldiers went turkey hunting in NE Kansas near Manhattan. Have no frickin' clue what or how to hunt turkeys, just needed to kill something, so the brainiacs set one guy up to shoot, the other two "herd" or drive the turkeys toward the waiting hunter.
Alas, he sees something moving and shoots it. It keeps moving, so he shoots it again. Except he wasn't shooting a turkey, was shooting one of his idiot hunting companion.
What gets me is, what the heck are we training these guys to do? Two shots and doesn't kill the guy???

Sounds like you're really disappointed--make that annoyed-- that the victim survived. I can't speak to this case, but turkey hunting is the most dangerous kind of hunting there is. It's the only sport where you're sitting motionless in heavy cover, wearing full camouflage (no orange) including a face mask or camo makeup, and making a noise like your prey. Sometimes even using decoys placed close at hand. I only wonder that more turkey hunters don't get shot than actually do.

We don't have turkey hunting here but your description makes a lot of sense for increased risk. I'd want to be in a goose pit with camo sand bags around it!!!