Another Life Lost To Accidental Self Inflicted Gun Shot
Brian Collins of Carthage North Carolina was found dead in the woods behind his home a victim of a hunting accident. Authorities believe Mr. Collins fell while climbing into his deer stand last Friday. A police dog led authorities to him when he failed to return home by 11 pm. They found him at the base of his tree with a gunshot wound to the chest and a broken rung on the wooden ladder he used to climb in and out of his stand. This is such a senseless death and something that could have easily been prevented had he not tried to climb with a loaded firearm.
Please remember to unload your gun prior to climbing and use a hoist line or a Gun Triever to get your weapon in and out of your stand. If you won’t practice safe gun handling for yourself at least do it for your family. We need to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening.
Brian Collins was 40 years old and he leaves behind a wife, a son, a daughter, and a stepson.
This is the second time that I’m aware of that a NC deer hunter has accidentally shot himself getting in or out of a treestand this season. We also had the tragic death of a small game hunter dropping a loaded shotgun while driving a golf cart. Remember these are more then just stats these are families that have lost a love one. Please be safe.
Very sad news.(again) One can never be too safe. My thoughts and prayers are with this family.
Comment by southernadventures — December 19, 2007 @ 11:03 pm
I so hate seeing these kinds of stories. Especially when these sorts of accidents could have so easily been avoided.
My sympathies are with this man’s poor family. It’s a horrible tragedy.
Comment by Kristine Shreve — December 20, 2007 @ 10:13 am
I just don’t understand why people load their weapons before they’re in the stand.
Do they really think they can hit a running deer in the woods with a rifle? And that the snap decision would provide a safe backstop for the shot? And that they’ll be able to count points and avoid shooting a young spike?
There’s absolutely no reason to load your weapon until you’re in the stand and settled in. Yet I routinely see people with loaded rifles on their 4-wheelers.
Comment by GrillingGreg — December 20, 2007 @ 11:33 am