That deserves a huge amen. Whew.

Perhaps the hunt club thought he could run the animal over with the ATV if it wasn't a clean kill???

Maybe someone tell this fellow that his hunting (road kill?) days are over and that he could end up following the career of Chuck Wochek* in the film industry if he has any more stupid accidents.

* there is a short film about Chuck on Youtube but I won't link to it as it may seriously offend some.

Hi everyone. I'm an avid hunter. I don't want to pass judgement on this hunter,in that incredibly short and detail lacking article, except to say he did make a huge mistake in having a bolt on the crossbow rail while he was cocking it. Other than that, I don't know his circumstances, so I don't think it's fair for me to judge.
I just wanted to comment on something a few of the posters here have brought up, the fact that the hunter is a paraplegic. I belong to a huntclub that has 2 paraplegics on our roster. They are treated like every other member. Richlacal wondered who checked his ability to hunt. While I can't speak for Florida, or other VA huntclubs, mine doesn't check ability. we have a set of rules and guidelines that are expected to be followed. If they are not followed, you are out of the club, no excuses, no refunds. As for his ability to track a wounded deer, after hitting a deer with a crossbow bolt, or regular arrow, most hunters give the animal time to bleed out. After a hit, I normally wait at least an hour before I get out of my stand to go look for blood trail. Maybe he was going to do the same, and in that hour, call a friend to help him track it and drag it out.
The article mentioned hunting from an ATV, I'm not clear on if he was actually hunting from it, or using it to get to his stand or blind. Sue, you were wondering how he would handle a deer. If he got one, he may have planned on using the ATV to drag it back to the hunt club, or perhaps use a winch on the ATV to hang it to clean it there. Hard to say. Maybe he had a radio or cell to call a hunting buddy to help him drag it out.
I'm not trying to nag on anybody here, and hope it doesn't seem like I am. The whole "paraplegic hunter" thing just kinda hit home...my best friend is one of the paraplegics in my huntclub.

Thank you for interjecting some 'conscience' here. I greatly admire those with physical limitations that stretch those limitations to try to live a normal life.

One of the our downfalls here is the rush-to-judgement mentality. Not every accident afield is perpetrated by a cock-eyed drooling throwback.

Crossbows are very difficult to draw and to un-draw, requiring use of one foot, two hands, and a special line and pulley device. There are a couple of alternate methods, but I don't know how you would accomplish this without the use of those items. The bolt may have been jammed in place, and he may have been trying to unload it for safety reasons...we don't have the facts needed to sit in judgement of this unfortunate accident.

Well said! I too am in admiration of people with disabilities who still get and enjoy the out of doors.

I might add that most of us who are active in the outdoors have probably made dumb moves now and then, but been lucky enough to get away with it, and thus never became a news item. (I know I certainly have). In reading about these incidents, I find it much more useful to think in terms of what I can learn, rather than how dumb that person or persons were.

Where I come from it is common practice to wait at least an hour if the animal does not drop in sight. Not waiting is considered a major mistake. If the animal drops in sight, we still wait some time just in case it gets up. So there would be plenty of time to get assistance.



That is issue is not just for paraplegics. Around here we hunt for wild boar. They may have 50 lbs or 200 lbs in weight. The small ones - or none at all - can easily be handled alone. The big ones may well be beyond the physical limits of individual hunters. So we just arrange a way to get assistance when required. If you need it, you call else you don´t. There is no reason to assume the hapless hunter did not have arrangements. Frankly I would not expect that kind of information to appear it an article that focuses on the accident.