Hunting accident: grandfather shoots grandson

nothing like keeping the safety on and keeping your muzzle pointed in a safe direction. This story should have ended with the grandfather putting a bullet into the ground and his son and grandson telling him to watch it next time. Why the hell was his rifle pointed at his grandson's back!?!?
 
What game animal was he seeking to harvest, with a AK47?

coyote?
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I don't think the fact that it was an AK matters. If the barrel was pointed at his grandson's spine it could have been a bolt action rimfire and you would have had the same end result.

He was most likely hunting hogs judging by his choice of a powerful round and the region.
 
Beansie_Time said:
nothing like keeping the safety on and keeping your muzzle pointed in a safe direction. This story should have ended with the grandfather putting a bullet into the ground and his son and grandson telling him to watch it next time. Why the hell was his rifle pointed at his grandson's back!?!?
Click to expand...

+1

"Lavaca County investigators said they will not file any charges on the boy's grandfather because the shooting appeared to be an accident."

Had he been driving at night with the headlights off and run the kid down with the family car, you can bet they'd be charging him with some kind of manslaughter.

I don't get why we have these extreme opposite standards with firearms - calls to ban 'em 'cause they "cause accidents" but then we don't hold the negligent people responsible FOR the "accident" as if the firearms were to blame.

Oh, wait. Now I get it. [thinking]
 
the jeff said:
What was he hunting with an AK?
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I hunt deer in NYS with a WASR-10 during the season. 5-round mag max. And the safety is always on unless engaging a deer and the muzzle is always in a safe direction unless shooting at a deer. Target and beyond are identified and hunting is on posted land with permission of the owners.

Regards,

Bob
 
You really think this was an authentic, full-auto AK? If so, I'll be you are wrong.

Dollars to donuts, it was a plain-vanilla, semi-auto.
 
Scrivener, I'm sad you think I am dense enough to believe that he was running through bushes with a full auto AK-47. He probably had the same old semi auto one that's in my safe. I was just instigating the whole "what was he hunting with an AK?" comment and the fact that the article mistakenly referred to a (most likely) semi auto as an "assault weapon".
 
the jeff said:
What was he hunting with an AK?
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Thats the same question the anti's keep asking (not insinuating anything Jeff [wink]). I am of the opinion that if a gun shoots and functions properly you can hunt with it - doesn't matter what it is. Some may not be as good a tool as others but that is for the individual to decide.
 
the jeff said:
What was he hunting with an AK?
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I'd say deer, but I don't think that they have a spring season for deer down there.

Nickle hunts deer up in VT with his AK - he told me if I want to go hunting with him I have to use my Garand (won't let me use my M1 carbine; he thinks it's too light a round). Already got the 5-round clip for it.
 
Accidents do happen. I don't think it's fair to 'assume' the grandfather was negligent. For all we know, the gun could have been pointing to the ground then a tree branch snagged it and yank the muzzle upward when it discharged. It just seems that on any gun forums the crowd would automatically deem ND on stories like this.

I read one story that a father tripped, discharged the shotgun and killed his son walking in front of him.

As a new shooter, I try to drill the safety rules in my head. But I understand obeying safety rules do not necessarily eliminate all risks: there is certain amount of risk handling firearms and being at close proximity of others who do the same. It's a level of risk that I accept for all the positive things from owning firearms. This is no different from me driving off the driveway every morning.
 
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Tripping would still not have resulted in his grandson's death if he had the safety on ( an AK safety takes a long thumbstroke to take off and most likely would not have come off when he was falling). The reason we get so angry on forums when someone has an accidental death with a firearm is because it gives responsible gun owners a bad name in the media. We don't need to give the antis any more ammo so to speak.

But I understand obeying safety rules do not necessarily eliminate all risks: there is certain amount of risk handling firearms
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The goal is to minimize those risks not eliminate them. It seems like the risks were not minimized in this instance as there is no mention of him falling or of a safety failing, just that he snagged his trigger while pointing a rifle at his grandson's back.
 
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I signed up for this forum so I could contribute a little to this thread. I hope you do not mind my intrusion. This accident was very close to home for me – literally. I am from Moulton and have a ranch 1-2 miles from the accident.

Oak-Prairie / Post Oak Savannah are a fairly accurate description of the area involved – coastal bermuda pasture with large clumps of oak. It is pretty dry and hot at the moment. Wildlife is pretty varied, but not exceptionally dense. Seeing something interesting is fairly common, but seeing “game” is hit or miss. Knowing the area, wild hogs were most likely the reason for the caliber. They are fairly common, and usually travel in groups (10- 20). Since they are invasive and destructive there is open season, no bag limit. Fwiw they are also quite tasty. I have also walked up on deer and coyotes – not nearly as frequently.

The grandfather is a retired undercover police officer. Local daily paper described the rifle as a “7.62x39 semi-automatic rifle”, the San Antonio news dramatized that by calling it an AK47 assault rifle. It is probably a very decent caliber for hunting hogs in the oak clumps/creek bottoms (but not my personal choice due to the ak/sks safety). The area is very hunting/shooting friendly. I have no doubt the local authorities know the difference between an ak and a sks – and no doubt that the more liberal city news would not care.

I am going to the range tonight for my daughters shooting program. I suspect safety will be strongly emphasized – however that is the rule, not the exception. If I hear any other details I will post back.
 
Tripping would still not have resulted in his grandson's death if he had the safety on
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Are you sure about that?

I'm not familiar with the inner workings of an AK47 safety, but most long guns do not have a firing pin block. Think of them like a Series 70 1911, but with a much heavier firing pin that has greater inertia, and no firing pin retaining spring. Since that firing pin has more inertia, it will have more energy if the gun is moving forward when it suddenly stops.

Many long guns can go off if you drop them.
 
Last night's shooting practice will stay with me a while. Another one of the father's there was the first responder on the scene. In quite tones he told his story - the look in his eyes gave us a reflection of the tragedy he witnessed.

I am not going to go into those details - he described a situation nobody every wants to witness. All of the people involved in this accident are ultimately victims - none of their lives will ever be the same. The officers who arrived understood this and I believe the family was treated with as much compassion as possible.

I will mention a few trivial details - ones that in the big picture really do not matter. The father was also a police officer. The gun description (AK) came from the grandfather - the rifle was sitting there, but it really did not matter to the responders. The family had just been out "shooting", enjoying the ranch. They had shot at a coyote earlier, and apparently left the rifle chambered and forgot to put it back on safe.
 
An AK-47 is Not Legal to Hunt with in Texas

Firearms
•
Game animals and game birds may be hunted with any legal firearm, EXCEPT:
•
white-tailed deer, mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope may NOT be hunted with rimfire ammunition of any caliber.
•
shotguns are the only legal firearm that may be used to hunt Eastern turkey during the spring Eastern turkey season (see County Listings). Rifles and handguns may not be used to hunt Eastern turkey.
•
pellet guns and other air guns are NOT LEGAL.
•
fully automatic firearms are NOT LEGAL.
•
firearms equipped with silencers or sound-suppressing devices are NOT LEGAL.
 
I think it has already been established that an AK - nor any other full-auto firearm - was NOT involved in this fatal negligent discharge.
 

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