Chattanoogan.com article: Forest Service Officer Killed By Coyote Hunter

Originally Posted By: Nikon_Man
I personally think all night hunting should be banned across the U.S.
You are jumping everyone on this post for judging someone before all the facts are on the table. How bout taking some of your own advice! This is a tragedy no matter who or what the circomstances are in this case. How bout showing some respect for someone who lost his life, and for a fimily who lost a husband and a father. Lets go ahead and ban ALL night hunting now because thats the reason that must have happened. Give me a break!! There are hunting accidents every year and I guarentee you that 99 percent of them happen during daylight hours. We dont even know if they were even hunting at this point, so who's passsing judgement here? For that matter lets just ban hunting all together so no one gets hurt EVER. I'll bet you have never even been night hunting the "rite" way, because if you had you would have a completely different atiitude.
 
Exactly. I was going to cool down a bit before my response, but you did a very nice job. I will leave it at that.
John
 
You need to go back and read my post. I stated that this incident was a TRAGEDY. I never disrespected the ranger who lost his life. The point of my post is that everyone should not pass judgement on this situation until the facts are known. And, if I understand the original story, the men were indeed night hunting with night vision. So, where did you get the little piece of info saying they weren't? There are absolutely hunting accidents during daylight hours as you stated, do you think the hunters involved in those ACCIDENTS should be run down as much as these hunters have been? There may be some wrongdoing by the hunters in this case, but the facts of that have not come out yet. So, just hold your punishment until then. As far as banning night hunting, that is just my opinion. I really don't think it will be banned based on my opinion.
 
this is awful.prayers from here going out to both families.come on guys this is bad on both ends.these guys where out doing what we all love and it went south real quick.bad judgement on their part.there are way more hunting accidents during the day then at night.this should have never happened.i bet they where using cheep gen 1 crap.
 
Most likely. I have never been a big fan of night vision equiptment for predator hunting for reasons just like this. I have used night vision in the past and have learned from personal experience that unless you are willing to pay big bucks, you are way better off just spending 100 $ on a good spotlight. Most states that will allow night vision will allow the use of artificial light any how, and most states that dont allow artificial light, dont allow the use of night vision equiptement either.
 
Very tragic story that should have never happened.

I'm not 100% sure but I think Georgia only allows shotgun or rimfire at night, I have to wonder what caliber they were shooting & why the warden was going to that much trouble to be undetected.

I seen the mention of night vision.... Are we sure that it wasn't the warden that was using the night vision? Will NV reflect when hit with a spotlight?
 
It is always a tragedy. Many times with many different stories and same results. It is always a series of events that comes to the moment of no return. I am a hunter safety instructor and we get all of the hunting accident reports and one was of a man and son going bowhunting deer. Started in the dark..spit up ...boy was to stay in one area....boy decided to still hunt around....father mistakes the movement in half light for deer and fatally injures his son. To shoot your own son and watch him die... This is the same sad story with same result only different mistakes made. Rest in peace and everyone take second thoughts before pulling the trigger. Jim
 
Originally Posted By: fw707

A USDA Forest Service law enforcement
officer was fatally shot Friday at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Recreation Area on the Oconee Ranger District of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Jasper County.

The officer, Christopher Arby Upton, 37, of Monroe, Ga., was on routine
patrol in the area about 11 p.m. Two individuals were hunting coyote with a high-powered rifle equipped with night vision and apparently mistook the officer for game. After the shooting, the hunters dialed 911 and reported a hunting incident.



Very sad, My heart goes out to his family.
I'm a little confused. Was he on a horse? Or was he just in the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Recreation Area on foot or in a car?
 
Originally Posted By: Ultimate PredatorMost likely. I have never been a big fan of night vision equiptment for predator hunting for reasons just like this. I have used night vision in the past and have learned from personal experience that unless you are willing to pay big bucks, you are way better off just spending 100 $ on a good spotlight. Most states that will allow night vision will allow the use of artificial light any how, and most states that dont allow artificial light, dont allow the use of night vision equiptement either.
you are so right on this.gen 1 stuff is junk i would take a spot light over gen 1 stuff any day but on the other hand gen 3 is awesome.i can easily identify skunks at 250-300 yards with my gen3.i shot a pig in the ear at 200 yds sat night.another thing ir and nv go hand in hand.i have the best gen3 you can get and it even falls short on pitch black nights but with the ir torch it turns pitch black in to day light.
 
This was posted on the 24-Hour Campfire site a few minutes ago:

"I know the shooter. We are in the same deer club in Georgia. He is a nice guy and he is despondent beyond belief. He was looking thru a nightvision scope and hunting legally. The GW was there looking thru his night vision goggles and was over a rise, just his head exposed. The GW was not after Clint, but was looking for some drug dealers that had been in the area. Clint saw the light in the GW nightvision goggles since it appeared low to the ground from his position, the though it was a coyote. He has not been arrested or charged and there was no alcohol involved. I ask my fellow members to give this fellow hunter the benefit of the doubt until all the facts have come out
Thank You
Steve Lassiter"


I hope I'm not out of line for posting it from another site, but I figured it would be OK considering the subject matter.

JP
 
While I live next door to GA, I have no idea what the laws are there for night hunting.

I read Chattanooga & thought TN.

Unless informed otherwise I'll assume they were hunting legally.
 
Originally Posted By: Stu FarishI read Chattanooga & thought TN.


Me too.
I guess that's just the nearest major newspaper.
 
Originally Posted By: fw707 The GW was there looking thru his night vision goggles and was over a rise, just his head exposed.

I was thinking it had to be something like that. I would not be too hasty in condemning the shooter until we have ALL the facts in hand. Accidents, tragic ones, happen to the best of us.

It's a sad deal all the way around.
 
i do not know the georgia laws on nightvision and will say first and foremost the hunters were very careless to not properly identify their target. that bein said i would think a routine patrol at night would be conducted from a vehicle on a road. there's nothing routine about walking around in the dark with no lights whatsoever. whichever the case may be i do hate this for the young man and his family but the way the article reads it just makes all predator hunters sound like careless trigger happy morons and will only further fuel the fire to exterminate our existence. MOST IMPORTANTLY no disrespect to the victim, his family, or any law enforcement at all.
 
Originally Posted By: berettamanIMHO there is no excuse for this tragedy!!


There is always a excuse, GOOD or BAD


Lets not judge theses guys till we know the facts , I for one have been through something like this in the past with a girl i was dating , she was sitting in a truck talking with another girl while the other girls dad was standing beside the truck lishen for the dogs running ,


And there was another guy 2 to 3 hundred yards down the road that had the deer come by him ,
now so everyone can see my point lets say the rd they were on ran north and south and when he seen the deer and made the shot he was shooting straight west,

And for some unknown reason shooting into 10 ft tall pine trees the 30-30 bullet hit something and riccochet throw all the trees and hit the truck the girls were in right at where the hood shuts and went between the motor and hood all the way to the dash and went in the dash coming out hitting my girlfriend right beside the nose ,

So my whole point is i went through all this and everyone was jumping to conclusions before getting the facts , and the facts to hers was it was a freak accident, and we all need to just keep all the familys involed in our Prayers,because for the guy that shot my girlfriend ended up not be able to dill with what he had did and last i heard was in some type of mentor ward.

So everyone lets just keep them all in our prayers, they sure need them.And not make judgemeants.
 
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Gentlemen,

Law enforcement officers who traverse the woods and fields at night looking for poachers, drug dealers, and human smugglers do not advertise their position with flash lights, reflective clothing, lit up vehicles, etc. The object is to catch criminals, and to do so one must use stealth.

This may have been a tragic accident, but just the same it was an accident that should have been avoided.

PROPER TARGET IDENTIFICATION.

We as hunters (and especially night hunters) have an OBLIGATION to identify our targets before we shoot.

This didn't have to be a law enforcement officer. It could have been our teenage sons and daughters out for a "frolic" in the woods at night. It could have been lost hikers, horse riders, or ANYONE including members of our own families.

I am sorry but there is no excuse really. I also feel for the shooter, but he should have been more careful.

Let's not forget that an innocent man is dead.
 
4949 i understand that aspect of it but the article says routine patrol. whether on foot in a vehicle or mounted anything routine at night would involve a light. i believe both parties to be at fault to some point or another but the article strictly points out coyote hunters at fault and the article in the hands of an anti which probably was written by an anti is high powered ammunition to activists to ban hunting. and to have fellow pred hunters on a pred hunting site shooting these guys down is very bad medicine. no we shouldn't defend them and say they were clearly not at fault that would show the same ignorance as bashing them.
 
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