Man Shot By Dog

I'm not poking fun at this story, even though I kind of am with the image. If this happened to me, I'd have no problem with anyone doing a similar image. The man lived, although one of his legs was amputated. I truly feel for the guy. If I could, I would've taken the bullet for him. I'd do that for anyone. I would.

Stuff NZ: Man lucky to be alive after hunting accident.

An American hunter has lost a leg after being shot by a dog while on a hunting trip. That's according to a close friend and hunting companion of Matt Branch who warned others to be "the utmost careful when it comes to gun safety."
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Branch was struck by a shotgun blast when a dog who was with his group jumped into the back of their Ford Ranger and stepped on the weapon's safety, setting it to fire mode, while also managing to pull the trigger.

The story contains a GoFundMe link to help with medical expenses. If you can help, please consider doing so.

Yeah, "the utmost care when it comes to gun safety." Wonder why they ignored that? You can't ignore it, not even for one second. And when you're hunting and have a dog or dogs with you, the intensity of "utmost gun safety" becomes magnified even more. There always exists the unpredictability of what could happen with a person handling a loaded weapon. Deer hunters have suffered heart attacks and fallen from their stands. Their rifle has sometimes fallen along with them and discharged, other times, not. The unpredictability factor of what dogs might do during hunting is a complete "unknown". Even the best trained hunting dog can do something unexpected and unanticipated.

There are only two places where a loaded gun can be when it comes to utmost gun safety. A loaded gun is either being held or holstered by the person in possession of it. OR, it is inside a locked gun safe. That's it. Some may argue the second option I listed is inappropriate. My reply would be, yes, you make a STRONG ARGUMENT to unload the gun before placing it the safe.

The primary, never-ever-EVER rule to overlook, not even for a split second, is leaving a loaded gun unattended. You can't do it. I've hunted, shot at the range, sat around with other experienced gun handlers and every time, without fail, if a gun is being passed around for others to look at, every single person does the same thing: they check to make sure it is NOT LOADED. Even though they know it's unloaded and was checked by the person before them. And the really smart ones check it twice and three times. THAT is what you must do. One cannot check an unloaded gun too frequently.

Many of us, including myself, have been hunting and ya gotta take a whizz. Yes, I've set my rifle or shotgun down, usually as close to the ground as possible - depending on if the ground is leaves, wet or snow. Yes, I've left it loaded but with the safety on. Did I violate the number one primary rule I stated above? Technically, yep, I sure did. And I'm lucky, in retrospect, that no freak accident occurred. One could have, and I would have been pissed that I'd not adhered to the primary rule.

I hope Mr. Branch recovers fully. The loss of his leg is so tragic. His life is forever changed. The aftermath, a result of a split-second moment in thinking a loaded gun could be left unattended. Responsible gun owners know not to do this. From the story, Mr. Branch and his hunting party certainly seem to be just that; responsible gun owners. But that one, momentary lapse - that one "it's only for X time" - of leaving a loaded gun unattended, is a momentary lapse that we can't ever allow happen.

Never leave a loaded gun in the pick-up bed, or car trunk, or back seat even if you're driving six feet down the road. Make sure you've emptied it. If you're out in the boonies, and feel like leaving it out of the case for that six-foot trip, I'm not going to harsh on that - just make sure it's not loaded.

I, and those I've hunted and shot with, have been 1) exceedingly careful and 2) very fortunate, as none of us have experienced an errant shot, an unintended discharge, a shot fired in error. I attribute that to being well-schooled with guns. Gun safety was part of Boy Scouts. I hunted with my dad, brothers, uncles and cousins. Every single one had gun safety strongly and indelibly drilled into our heads. Instead of "hands-on" gun safety starting at an early age, and continuing it into teens and young adulthood, has society changed into a "fear guns" mentality? Is this why there seems to be an uptick in reports of "accidental shootings"? Readers, gun owners...please pitch in an leave a comment.