Hiker mistaken for Bear

Even with this tragedy, fat chance of making any changes....  Can you imagine the return fire that will occur by opposing interest groups if legislation to limit firearm use by minors is submitted because of this case?

Last fall, a young adult male "hunter" cruised our neighborhood in his car with his friend looking for antlered deer because about 6 families feed deer in our neighborhood, it is a no shooting zone, and the deer are tame (some of us can actually pet them). Well, he saw a buck, jumped out of the car, circled around and shot the deer in my neighbor's yard with the line of sight from his rifle to the buck straight down one of the busiest house lined streets in the neighborhood. The deer wandered dazedly thru the neighborhood spurting enormous amounts of blood. The shot brought the neighbors out. He agreed to call the sheriff himself; they said call the game warden. He called the game warden. The warden said finish of the deer and take it away. The warden came out a couple of hours later. He said it was legal, despite the neighborhood being clearly posted as a no shooting zone and identified as such on county zoning. He said game wardens don't enforce that. The "hunter" was trespassing on posted land. He said he couldn't enforce that either, he would have to see the hunter himself on the posted land and then call the sheriff. The game warden prepared to leave. First time in my life I ever cursed out an law enforcement officer (my neighbors cringed). The gw then agreed to accompany me to view where the hunter violated county posted signs, my neighbor's posted signs, where the blood trail began, and where it ended (with a final shot) within the National Park boundaries just outside the Nisqually Entrance in the roadside ditch across from the Gateway Inn. He said he would make a report, try to contact the hunter (911 recorded only the hunter's name, no address, etc.) and see if he could get the hunter to tell his story (and if in the course of that, incriminated himself on the trespassing, refer the case to the sheriff).

This gun/"hunting" crap is all utter B.S.

p.s., I got my 1st gun at age 9, took hunter safety in school, belonged to the NRA from about '62-'70, studied game management in college, and participated in virtually every type of hunting--I now consider most hunters to be slobs, irresonsible, and mentally deficient

Hunting was not part of my upbringing and I've never been interested in being that kind of "sportsman". I do have friends though who hunt responsibly for food so I can accept the activity, intellectually. However, sharing the outdoors with armed people scares me more than any wild animals out there.

I recall an incident hiking down from the top of Mount Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula with several families, including a number of small children, when we met two hunters on a motorcycle coming up the trail. The women spread their wings like mother hens around the kids and I had a uncharacteristic urge to push the motorcycle and its rifle-bearing riders off the trail that we were teaching our children to hike on. I can't imagine what I would have done if they had mistakenly shot at my family.

Like any other sport it only takes a few irresponsible people to ruin it for the rest of the folks.
There are several signs posted within my neighborhood and across the highway restricting gun use, and it amazes me when, at least once a week, I hear gun fire near my house.
Can't they read?
Forrest Gump says it best, "Stupid is as stupid does!"
I feel kind of helpless in the idea of approaching an armed idiot to tell them they are breaking the law, disturbing the peace ect... They have a gun and I don't, they are not thoughtful to the dangers they present people who like to walk, bike and run in the neighborhood.
If they did this in the city there would be a breakout of police and SWAT teams, news cameras and they would be deemed as terrorists, maybe even shot on site.
But I guess it is OK to go into the neighborhoods in the country and shoot recklessly at signs, trees, beer cans, by the highway?

Several years ago I was traveling to do business in Eastern Washington. It was around the beginning of hunting season. I passed over Chinook pass as the sun was rising, there were some low clouds moving in and out. As I traveled down the Eastern slope of 410 about equidistant on the highway to Sheep Lake. I noticed a blueish cloud over the highway that did not match the color of the other clouds. I slowed to observe this weird anomaly as I looked to my left I saw this cow elk (female) wriggling to hang on to life in the ditch on the side of the highway. I looked to my right and there was this big, fully bearded hunter who looked like he came out of some eastern block country with a smoking shotgun in his hands. I had this inkling of feeling to tell him what the heck? Shooting across the highway? Shooting a cow elk?, but survival instinct kicked in and I hit the gas and ran.
When I am unarmed and even if I was armed there is no sense of safety when you see knuckleheads do crazy stuff like that!
I am not going to ever run for a political office so I feel free to be judgmental.
I believe in the right to bear arms, the right to hunt for ones food, but my experience in dealing with the general public over the years has me thinking that at least 10% of the population has no common sense and responsibility and are down right stupid.
It is hard to weed out those who do not pass a common sense test or deny the right to bear arms to those who are frankly, flat out selfish and stupid.
Oh, there goes my opportunity for public service position.
This recklessness is not going to stop me from doing what I like to do, just have to be smarter of where I go. MRNP is a good place to hike without this problem, only the rangers have guns now. ???

This recklessness is not going to stop me from doing what I like to do, just have to be smarter of where I go. MRNP is a good place to hike without this problem, only the rangers have guns now. ???

If only that were true…There are a distressing number of illegal hunting incidents each year in NPS units, both nationally & locally.  A few are due to ignorance of the laws, but some hunters apparently like the challenge, perhaps a bit like skiers who duck ropes.  I must say the rangers way more than earn their pay dealing with these troglodytes. Edit: Sorry Joe, I meant the hunters.

For decades at Olympic NP, the Backcountry Horsemen of WA have been allowed to carry both chainsaws and firearms, for volunteer ‘trail maintenance’ and ‘euthanasia of injured stock animals’,  As a consequence, the Park has purchased dozens of dead horses over the years.  The real cause of death for most was from falling off way trails where horses had no business being.

What about arming bears?

Sorry, couldn't resist

Like any other sport it only takes a few ... at least 10% of the population has no common sense and responsibility and are down right stupid ... MRNP is a good place to hike without this problem, only the rangers have guns now. ???

Your numbers are really optimistic; I've observed 100s of hunters and maybe 10% obeyed the law & ethics of hunting.

BTW, isn't the Sec'y Interior now preparing to allow guns in the National Parks? That's what the news reports said. NRA said it was almost sickening seeing all those traffic signs, no do signs, keep off the grass signs with no bullet holes in them ...