Graphic Video Shows Hunter Firing at Buck Just Yards Away From Fishermen

Graphic Video Shows Hunter Firing at Buck Just Yards Away From Fishermen
A hunter with a gun in a file photo. (Guillaume Souvant/AFP/Getty Images)
Zachary Stieber
1/29/2019
Updated:
1/29/2019

Graphic video footage shows a hunter firing at a buck just yards after from fishermen.

The fishermen began filming after they saw a buck chasing two does in the lake they were fishing on in Alabama over the weekend.

They were stunned when a hunter shattered the scene by firing at the buck about 25 yards away from them and another boat.

“Glad us and the other fisherman in the video weren’t any closer than we were because that could’ve ended in a bad way,” said Andrew Guy, one of the fishermen, in text posted along with the video on Facebook.

After the footage circulated widely, Alabama game wardens said they were searching for the hunter who fired the shot near the fishermen.

The incident took place during a fishing tournament in Lake Mitchell near the Coosa County Wildlife Management area.

“Based on videos taken by fishermen, it appears that a hunter shot at a deer swimming toward the lake bank. It is against the law to take deer from public waters by any means, State Code of Alabama 9-11-250,” Captain Health Walls with Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Law Enforcement told WRBL.

He said that the hunter also appeared to violate another state code that forbids shooting into the water in an area where people are fishing.

“It is is not only a crime but also disappointing when an individual takes actions such as the one captured in the video. Most hunters hunt legally, ethically, and with safety in mind. Individuals who create dangerous situations while breaking the law contribute to a poor public perception of all hunters and sportsmen,” he added.

Shaken Up

The fishermen in the boat closest to the shot also captured the shot on tape.

“I had a scary moment yesterday while fishing. I was fishing in a pocket and heard something running down the ridge. I looked to see a buck chasing two does. Being a hunter also I always like to video the game I see while fishing,” one of them, Todd Stephens, wrote on Facebook.

“Watch this video all the way to the end to see what happens. Only about 25 yards from me. I am glad the guys in the other boat and myself are ok.”

He called the hunter that fired the shot an “idiot.”

Guy told WRBL that he went over to the other boat to check on the fishermen after the shot and said they were uninjured, but shaken up.

A hunter trains with his bow in the outskirts of San Agustin de Guadalix near Madrid on Dec. 12, 2016; A fallow deer roars during the rutting season in the zoological garden in Hannover, northern Germany on Oct. 2, 2018. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images; Julian Stratenschulte/AFP/Getty Images)
A hunter trains with his bow in the outskirts of San Agustin de Guadalix near Madrid on Dec. 12, 2016; A fallow deer roars during the rutting season in the zoological garden in Hannover, northern Germany on Oct. 2, 2018. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images; Julian Stratenschulte/AFP/Getty Images)

Bowhunter’s Mule Deer Sets New World Record

In the backwoods of Canada, Dennis Bennett set a new world record after downing a non-typical mule deer with a bow and arrow in the Arm River area of Saskatchewan on Oct. 1, 2018.

Bennett, a bow hunting member of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation shot the Mule Deer that measured in with a score of 291 and 1/8 on the Pope & Young scoring system, earning him the new world record for non-typical mule deer.

The Pope & Young Club’s Record Program is only for animals that have been taken by the use of bow and arrow, and measures the antlers, horns, or skulls of certain wildlife that have to go through a drying period with a minimum of 60 days.
The trophy antlers were also measured on the Saskatchewan Henry Kelsey Big Game Records System, which uses the green score and does not require a drying period. It also has minimum score requirements.

Official Henry Kelsey measurers declared the non-typical Mule Deer antlers a provincial record on Oct. 7, 2019. Scoring the antlers 293 and 6/8, meeting the minimum score of 200, and surpassing the previous Henry Kelsey record of 290 earned by Nelson Clark in the 1920s.

“Bennett’s Non-Typical Mule Deer entry now joins Milo Hanson’s Buck (White-tailed Deer) as another recognized world record harvested from Saskatchewan,” said Warren Howse, SWF Henry Kelsey Chair in a press release. “It is indicative of the quality of wildlife resources we cherish here in our province.”

Pope & Young and Henry Kelsey both use the Boone & Crockett scoring method, measuring the length of the main beam and different points and circumferences of the antlers.

Epoch Times reporter Jeremy Sandberg contributed to this report.