Hunter charged for shooting elk, killing skier

[Sanders]

This sucks..

A 32-year-old Swedish hunter who fired a single shot that passed through an elk before hitting and killing a cross-country skier has been charged with manslaughter.

http://www.thelocal.se/33476/20110429/

It comes down to being sure of what is beyond your target.

[Gus]

Originally Posted by Sanders

This sucks..



http://www.thelocal.se/33476/20110429/

It comes down to being sure of what is beyond your target.

That's a tough call especially when anti hunting nuts deliberately invade a hunting area trying to prevent a hunters success.

Charging this hunter with man slaughter is way over the line IMO

It was an accident plain and simple.

[5knives]

Regards,
...

[10 Bears]

Yep, that definately sucks.
Hard to tell what was actually beyond the elk.
Lots of timber there, and the skier and bullet just arrived at the same place at the wrong time.

I think the Manslaughter charge is over the top.
I reckon it will now depend upon a jury.
Um...Do they HAVE juries in Sweden?

[Desert Rat]

357Mag...one of our Swedish members once told me that Sweden's idea of "private land" and our concept of it are widely different. If someone wants to come onto your land, wander about, picnic, even pick some of your wild berries or mushrooms......there's not a damn thing the landowner can say or do about it.

This "open range" policy does not include hunting...which is very regulated in Sweden.

However, what happens when your hunting and my wandering around on your land happen to meet and I get a bullet bounced off my head?

Maybe ErikD can shed some light on this, although he's not from Sweden. Or better yet, maybe 357Mag will stop by long enough to explain all.

Hopefully the hunter will get off with nothing but an official warning to be more careful.

[Desert Rat]

Was awakened at 1:30 this morning with a leg cramp so painful the notion of standing on the far side of some elk until one of you could drill me between the lookers seemed like an idea whose time had come.

Maybe the skier felt the same way and what looks like an accident was really a suicide?

This point of view would make an interesting defense argument for the poor hunter. Maybe HE is the one used and abused in this incident.

[ErikD]

Originally Posted by Gus

It was an accident plain and simple.

That's my view on this unfortunate situation. Situational awareness is always important when hunting, and especially so when hunting in an area where other people might be hiking or skiing. Or even anti's doing their best to sabotage a hunt. But shit can happen nontheless, and from her position it might not have been possible to see that the guy was just coming around the bend behind the moose calf as she pulled the trigger. No one has x-ray vision...


Ps. Judging from where this happened, it was a moose calf (called elg in Swedish and Norwegian), and not an elk calf.

[ErikD]

Originally Posted by Desert Rat

357Mag...one of our Swedish members once told me that Sweden's idea of "private land" and our concept of it are widely different. If someone wants to come onto your land, wander about, picnic, even pick some of your wild berries or mushrooms......there's not a damn thing the landowner can say or do about it.

This "open range" policy does not include hunting...which is very regulated in Sweden.

However, what happens when your hunting and my wandering around on your land happen to meet and I get a bullet bounced off my head?

It's the same here in Norway. Anyone can walk anywhere on private land, as long as they don't do any damage. Although not in peoples yards etc. Out in the woods though, you can walk where ever you want. pick berries, and put up a tent for a couple of days. You can not fish without a licence (unless you are under the age of 16), nor hunt. You can also drive your car on other peoples roads if you pay a fee (provided of course that there is a box of some sort set up at the property enterance to pay). For example, I have a stretch of road which is open to the public. For a fee (US$3.50). People can drive up to a couple of lakes and fish if they want (for a similar additional fee). However, there are some roads which are out of bounds, and I keep those gates closed and locked.

We've had a couple of incidents ourselves with anti's intentionally riding bikes during the moosehunt, and unfortunately it is up to us to make sure they don't get shot. We do our best however to make it uncomfortable for them. So during the moosehunting season, all the roads are off limits for other peoples vehicles. Therefore they either hike or ride a bike. We've had a few discussions with these idiots, and they haven't returned for several years now, so I think we scared them off. Maybe our attitude reminded them of the banjo playing inbreds in the movie "Deliverance".

[Desert Rat]

The problem is you can find yourself charged with "manslaughter" just because someone had a heart attack about the time you gave them a dirty look. Even here in the colonies it's one of the most overused bull shit legal situations a person can find themselves dipped into. And like any quagmire, they are easier to get into than get out of.

About 1/3 of all MS cases I've ever heard of were baseless bull shit. The upper 1/3 of such charges seem to be a "cop out plea" when some ass should have been charged with 2nd or 3rd degree murder.

Only the remaining 1/3 seem to be legitimate cases where someone was careless or otherwise acting stupidly and killed another person.

Any fool should know that the middle of a hunting season is not a good time for a jog or ski adventure through the woods. Many parts of America someone would blow their ass out of the saddle before they got 1/4 mile. Happens every year.

[10 Bears]

Any fool know that the middle of a hunting season is not a good time for a jog or ski adventure through the woods. Many parts of America someone would blow their ass out of the saddle before they got 1/4 mile. Happens every year.

Some folks keep the SX ammo available for those "tricky" situations.
No balistics, after it explodes.

Not that I would ever consider that option!