5 hunters shot, including 2 fatalities, during Pennsylvania deer season

The Pennsylvania Game Commission investigated at least five hunting related shooting incidents (HRSIs) during the two-week rifle deer season that resulted in two deaths and three injuries.

The agency investigated incidents in five different counties across the Keystone State.

The agency released the following preliminary details:

• On Nov. 29 in Cambridge Township, Crawford County, a 25-year-old Cambridge Springs man shot at a deer that jumped up in front of him on a deer drive, striking a 24-year-old man who was in the line of fire. Both men were in the same hunting party and the victim was struck in the leg, causing a nonfatal injury.
• On Dec. 2, in Milford Township, Juniata County, a 20-year-old McAlisterville man shot at a deer that ran back through the line of drivers on a deer drive, striking a 26-year-old man who was in the line of fire. Both men were in the same hunting party and the victim was struck in the right hip, causing a fatal injury.
• On Dec. 2, in Athens Township, Crawford County, a 16-year-old from Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound while hunting alone in a box blind, causing a fatal injury.
• On Dec. 6, in Oakland Township, Venango County, an 18-year-old Cooperstown man suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his foot, causing a nonfatal injury. The man was seated with the rifle pointed at his foot when the gun fired.
• On Dec. 7, in Girard Township, Erie County, an 18-year-old Erie man suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his foot after his rifle sling broke loose and his hand accidentally hit the trigger as he attempted to catch it, causing a nonfatal injury.

“The game commission’s position with (number of incidents) is that one incident is too many. Especially when you’re talking about preventable incidents that tie back to breaking the preliminary rules of safe gun handling or safe shooting,” Travis Lau, communications director for the Game Commission said.

When it comes to hunter safety, Lau said, “We’ve made a lot of progress over the decades, over the years, as far as improving hunter safety where we used to have dozens and dozens, hundreds of HRSIs in a given year. And now we’ve been less than two dozen for several years. Where we stand now with our preliminary reports is 11 on the year.”

The agency tracks hunter-related shooting incidents through the full calendar year and the total so far may not include some minor incidents that are still be investigated.

“There are some accidents that are somewhat freak accidents. But most of what we see for HRSIs are preventable incidents,” he said about the incident where a gun was pointed at a hunter’s foot. “That one comes down to basic safe gun handling and keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, making sure that the safety is engaged, keeping your finger away from the trigger.”

The incident where the hunter’s sling broke was more unusual. “Maybe it’s debatable as to whether that’s preventable or not,” he said.

As of Dec. 12, no charges have been filed in any these five incidents, he said, but the investigations are continuing.

“What we see by and large with hunting-related shooting incidents are incidents that could be prevented,” he said. “Some of them might be trip and fall types of incidents.”

When navigating steep terrain or going over a barrier like a fence, hunters have the option to unload their guns and then loading it back up when they return to safer terrain.

With accidents happening on deer drives, he said, those usually happen when someone shoots a deer that’s moving back toward the drivers. “That’s preventable because whenever there’s a doubt, you shouldn’t shoot,” Lau said.

“The common theme with HRSIs on deer drives that almost always, when there are HRSIs related to deer drives, they’re related to deer breaking back through the line of drivers and somebody firing a shot,” he said.

He added that most deer drives are conducted safely in most cases. Drivers on a hunt need to be aware of the other participating drivers and not shoot at a deer in the direction of where other hunters are moving through. Lau said hunters need to know what’s beyond the deer and that there is a safe backdrop before shooting.

Another tip is for drivers to vocalize with each other to make sure they know if they are in line with the other drivers or if they are ahead or falling behind. “You need to be mindful that you can’t put (other hunters) in jeopardy with a shot, that you can’t shoot once you’ve turned back toward the line. And if you don’t have a safe backdrop, you can’t shoot at all,” he said.

No shooting incidents were reported during the rifle black bear season this fall.

Hunters in Pennsylvania are required to pass a Hunter Trapper education course before purchasing a license.