HD Tactical

Female hunter shoots, kills man after mistaking him for hog, thermal scope

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  • FrankT

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    ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. —
    A man was shot and killed Wednesday night while hog hunting on private property in Anderson County, according to chief deputy coroner Charlie Boseman.

    Kenneth Jason Young, 40, of Starr, was hog hunting by himself when he was accidentally mistaken for one of the animals by another female hunter, Boseman said.


    The accident was reported just after 8:30 p.m. on Gentry Road between Highway 181 and Highway 81 near Brooks McGee Road just south of Starr, according to dispatchers.

    The hunter was using a thermal scope when she saw an outline of Young "on all fours in the grass," Boseman said.

    She took a single shot, thinking it was a hog, Boseman said.

    All the hunters had permission to be on the private hunting grounds, according to Boseman.

    Deputies and emergency medical services responded.

    The incident is being investigated by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, as well as the Anderson County Sheriff's Office.
     

    SAWMAN

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    This is a sad story.
    Would really like to know what the guy "on all fours,in the grass" was up to though.
    I keep telling Bruce to "cut that out and get back over here",and now he just might listen.
    At least when Bruce is doing it he has both the shoulder fasteners to his bib overalls fastened though. --- SAWMAN
     

    FrankT

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    Well Sawman as a Thermal user yourself you know it does take some getting used to when ID'ing game in the field. I am thinking she was new to thermal and not familiar with it, maybe the first time ever used and clearly did not properly ID her target. The guy may have been sneaking up on hogs but when night hunting you all have to know where each other are at all times.
     

    JohnAL

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    Many years ago in AL a guy shot his best friend out of a tree stand. Said he thought it was a turkey. Months later they figured out that the dead guy was banging the shooter's old lady.
     

    SAWMAN

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    Problems with making a thermal ID is:
    1. Size of heat signature is unknown
    2. Distance to heat signature is unknown. (You have NO depth perception)
    3. Aspect of heat signature is semi unknown to unknown past a certain distance that is regulated by your perticular thermal.
    A standing man is unmistakable at any distance. Crouched or sitting is a little different story,however ID'able out to several hundred yards with my unit. In tall grass or behind brush is another story.
    Familiarity with the thermal used is paramount. This is why I would have a extremely hard time loaning anyone my gun with thermal. This,no matter how much expierance he had as a hunter.
    It is sad that this had to happen. However I will default back to one of the laws of safe hunting . . . "KNOW YOUR TARGET". --- SAWMAN
     

    FrankT

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    UPDATE:

    The hunter was using an ATN thermal night vision scope when she saw an outline of something "on all fours in the grass," Boseman said.

    She took a single shot, thinking it was a hog, Boseman said.

    Investigators said the scope on the woman's firearm has recording capabilities. They said the fatal shot was recorded on an SD card.
     

    SAWMAN

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    A great example of keeping your mouth shut to police. Talk to your lawyer FIRST.
    If the shooter made the statement that includes "on all fours",I suspect that this could cause her problems or in the least,open this case up to intense scrutiny.
    If on vid,another problem could be,how long she had her target actually in view and how much it actually looked like a human vs a hog. It WILL be really tuff getting a jury of thermal users also. --- SAWMAN
     

    Viking1204

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    UPDATE:

    The hunter was using an ATN thermal night vision scope when she saw an outline of something "on all fours in the grass," Boseman said.

    She took a single shot, thinking it was a hog, Boseman said.

    Investigators said the scope on the woman's firearm has recording capabilities. They said the fatal shot was recorded on an SD card.

    It will most likely never be released but man I would love to see that video. If it shows the man on all fours and his outline obscured by grass or brush she won't face charges I'd be willing to bet. Shows him standing upright she's going to have some explaining to do. The thing is about the ATN scope is it's only as good as the light you have for it. Out past a certain distance most animals would be hard to I.D.
     

    FrankT

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    It was a thermal scope not a night vision, there are 2-4 different powers and they are typically pretty clear, no added light needed
     

    SAWMAN

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    Initially,I would be interested in how long the shot was and exactly which thermal,with which resolution she was using. --- SAWMAN
     

    FrankT

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    More info:
    A man was fatally shot Wednesday night after apparently being mistaken for a wild hog, Anderson County Deputy Coroner Charlie Boseman said.

    Kenneth Jason Young, 40, of Starr was hunting wild hogs himself on private land on Gentry Road when he was mortally injured. Boseman said Young had permission to be on the property.

    Boseman said another man and woman who did not know Young were hunting hogs on land near the property he was using.

    Boseman said Young was kneeling or "probably down on all fours," when a hunter nearby mistook him for a hog.

    Boseman said the woman was using a thermal scope and likely believed she was shooting an animal.

    Young suffered a fatal shot to the head, Boseman said.

    "The female hunter was clearly upset and did not know Mr. Young," Boseman said. "We are not suspecting foul play at this time."

    The identity of the hunter who fired the shot was not made public by investigators
     

    Mozella

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    If this keeps up, I suppose this is technology which will be dealt with in various legislative bodies. As much as I hate new laws, I have concern about people taking shots at "images".

    We went through this situation years ago when I was a Naval Aviator. We fighter pilots (F-8) and the interceptor pilots (F-4) could acquire targets on several different imaging devices, radar being the most common. Problem is, a friendly looks just like a bandit in most cases just as a hunter looks like a hog on a thermal scope. So after a few F-4 guys were shot down by their squadron mates, there was an absolute VID (Visual Identification) requirement put in place. You HAD to see the aircraft with your own eyeball before you were allowed to take a shot. Because the sky was full of friendly aircraft, the policy made perfect sense. Even after various agencies were able to positively identify enemy aircraft by secondary means, we still had the VID requirement.

    I, for one, would NOT want to be hunting in an area where people, perhaps inexperienced, were known to be taking shots at "anything warm". I'm sure the woman who did the killing "didn't mean to", but ask yourself if getting drunk on New Years Eve and accidentally killing your neighbor is going to be OK because "you didn't mean to"? Being drunk and discharging a weapon is considered by most people (except for some of my Baldwin County, AL buddies) as an irresponsible act.

    I would argue that shooting at "something warm" without seeing what it was is also irresponsible. Saying "sorry" and "being upset" isn't good enough as far as I'm concerned.
     

    Droshki

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    https://www.nssf.org/safety/rules-firearms-safety/

    4. BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT’S BEYOND IT


    Don’t shoot unless you know exactly what your shot is going to strike. Be sure that your bullet will not injure anyone or anything beyond your target. Firing at a movement or a noise without being absolutely certain of what you are shooting at constitutes disregard for the safety of others. No target is so important that you cannot take the time before you pull the trigger to be absolutely certain of your target and where your shot will stop.
     

    Daezee

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    Sawman and I hunt together at night. We have rules we have worked out. We have both not shot because there was doubt and we have not felt bad because we did not shoot when further evidence showed it was a legitimate target animal. We are always scanning the area for people and livestock.

    There are dangers in night hunting that are not present in the day. Example: people spotlighting deer when we are in the field in dark clothing and deer are present.
     

    SAWMAN

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    Added - - -> We always have a fairly bright white light readily available. If any person or vehicle is in a position where they can see me I will shine the light directly at them.
    However,there are places that we hunt that we do not scan 360deg. My biggest worry is that someone else with NV or thermal is looking at me .
    One night I did light up a FWC officer that was coming towards me thru the field,looking at me with a low end hand held thermal. He had to get within 50yds of me to determine what he was looking at. He was lucky he was not using a NVD. I would have shut his unit down. --- SAWMAN
     

    Viking1204

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    I wish we could just see the video, I'd like to see how much a human kneeling or down on all fours looks compared to a normal 4 legged animal in that particular situation.
     

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