Hunter shoots brother, mistakes him for a wounded deer.

Michigan Live (via Archive): Hunter accidentally shoots brother after mistaking him for wounded deer, police say.

IONIA COUNTY, MI – A hunter was seriously wounded Saturday, Nov. 16, when he was accidentally shot by his brother.

The victim, a 28-year-old Lowell man, was airlifted from the scene in Ionia County. His brother, a 29-year-old Saranac man, told police he accidentally shot his brother with a muzzle-loader rifle thinking he was shooting at a deer that had been wounded.
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Sheriff’s deputies found the brothers, who had been hunting together.

“Investigation on the scene and in follow up interviews determined this was by all accounts an accidental shooting that occurred after the men were looking for a deer that one brother had shot earlier with his muzzle loading rifle,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

The brothers could not find the deer and were ending the search when they became separated in the dense cornfield. The brother who fired the shot was some distance away when he thought he saw the deer moving. He heard what he thought was the deer moving and fired, hitting his brother.

After firing the shot, he realized he had hit his brother and immediately called 911.

The brothers walked out of the cornfield where first responders provided medical help.
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[The injured brother] is listed in serious but stable condition, sheriff’s deputies aid [sic]. (*they meant 'said' - Drake)

Aiiigghhh! You don't pull the trigger based on what you think you see and hear is a deer.

It could have been so much worse. That the shot brother was able to walk is, at the very least, a good sign. This makes a great story for the brothers, especially the one who got shot. For the next 40+ years, he can play the, "Hey, remember that time you shot me," line.

If I was deer hunting, and had to be shot, I guess I'd rather it be my brother shooting me than some stranger. And I think I'd rather be the one taking the bullet. I'd feel pretty bad about shooting someone, especially my brother. Then again, people I've hunted with wouldn't have fired based on what the one brother thought he saw and heard. Nor would I.

ID your target, confirm your target and reconfirm your target before pulling the trigger.