Teen killed in hunting tragedy
04/06/2006 22:23 - (SA)



Maike Currie , Die Burger


East London - A trip to celebrate the start of the hunting season has ended tragically with the death of a 16-year-old who was shot by a fellow hunter.

Captain Errol Francis said teenager Ryan Dankwerts was with a group of 12 men on his uncle's farm, Waterfall, near East London, on Saturday.

Francis said: "All 12 hunters fired when they saw a bushbuck. The teenager was caught in the crossfire and he was shot.

"There was a single wound below his right ear and the boy died immediately. A post-mortem will be held in East London."

Francis said police had confiscated 12 hunting rifles.

"The rifles will be sent for ballistic tests to establish which rifle fired the shot that led to Dankwerts' death."

Thought that only happened during the deer hunt in America.

I wonder how the Bushbuck fared during this fiasco?

MAU MAU,

Are you kidding me... someones son was just killed here and you are worried about the animal. What if this was your son, would you want this comment circulating? I will say a prayer for this kid and his family, what about you.

My question,

Why in the hell did 12 hunters shoot at 1 Bushbuck!

quote:

Originally posted by Widowmaker416:
Why in the hell did 12 hunters shoot at 1 Bushbuck!

Exactly!!

Better yet... Why in the hell did all 12 people have guns in the first place? It is very sad to hear about something like this. You can never be too safe with guns.

Woodrow....The first thing I did was to say a Prayer. Avoidable situations like this are tragic and the loss of this young hunter is something the Family will never recover from. That is why I wrote "fiasco" at the end, as that is what it truly was. Please know that I was only refering to the total lack of common sense of the hunters, and not about the Bushbuck. While I keep the young hunter and his family in my prayers, I will also pray for the hunters who fired their guns. Their lives will never be the same.

Group hunting can be very dangerous if anyone in the group is not very safe and rules established and followed. I spoke to a woman who's husband was shot in a drive .He only survived because they were required to use buckshot , no slugs.

A tragedy for sure. Prayers sent for the family and those involved.

12 guns firing at one bushbuck, that's absurd!

Really terrible. 12 people vs 1 Bushbuck and a young hunter gets shot in the head in the process.

It is wrong on so many levels.

Driven hunts for bushbuck and pigs using beaters is commmon practice in the Eastern Cape. The guns are placed in a line and they take what comes through. Very likely the teen was a beater, or if he was one of the guns then someone crossed the line and took a shot. Normal weapon used is a 12gge shotgun using SSG SG or LG (Buckshot). Mad to use a rifle in that type of scenario. A real tragedy.

They say they confiscated 12 hunting rifles. I wonder if they meant shotguns because determining the source of a single 00 pellet is going to be problematic for the forensics.

This is indeed a very tragic event. What a waste of a young life. My sympathy is with the parents of the young boy and all that was present.

On the other hand this is a rude awakening to us all. Hunting can be a dangerous sport. Do we always think of all the safety factors? Don't we sometimes get so used to what we do or get complacent with firearms, that we forget about safety.

With the little bit of facts that is available to us, it looks as if not a lot of planning went into the hunt and safty was not up to standard.

In a country like RSA, where firearm ownership is a burning issue, this incident will have major repurcussions. Then I start agreeing that hunting must be better regulated in the sense that if you do not have adequate hunting training you are not allowed to hunt on your own. I have seen many South Africans that calls themselves hunters but have no clue what hunting is all about, let alone gun safety.

quote:

Originally posted by Pete Millan:
Driven hunts for bushbuck and pigs using beaters is commmon practice in the Eastern Cape.

Based on the case facts it was most likely a driven hunt and yes; it would have been a bad mistake to use hunting rifles in such a scenario (if that was indeed the case). Jaco is right also, Incidents like this is what the anti-gun fraternity uses as ammo against lawful and responsible gunowners.

Chris,

This is one case I think your tagline doesn't apply. I'm sure everyone involved would have rather had a good day at the office than this bad day's hunting.

Very very SAD really and my condolances are given ...

I dont want to pass prior judgement but unfortunately the brutal facts of life are you can pass all the legislation you like in the world BUT you you cant legislate for STUPIDITY or FOOLS ...

Just like drunk drivers, legislation will not prevent DRUNKS from killing others

Regards, Peter

quote:

Originally posted by China Fleet Sailor:
Chris,

This is one case I think your tagline doesn't apply. I'm sure everyone involved would have rather had a good day at the office than this bad day's hunting.

Couldn't agree with you more.

no plan is fool proof given a suficiently talented fool

Its a sad ,post ,but accidents are happening and they give the antiguns more and more arguments in the last season in my area two guides were shot by french hunters while hunting ducks one was killed and the other lost an arm .A PRAY FRO THE FAMILY OF THE BOY.Juan

Rock chip killed teen hunter
05/06/2006 22:23 - (SA)

Maike Currie , Die Burger


East London - A ricocheting rock fragment, not a bullet from a hunting rifle, killed 16-year-old Ryan Dankwerts during a hunting trip on Saturday.

Ryan's father, John, said on Monday a post-mortem had found that a rock fragment hit his son under the ear.

Ryan was one of a group of 13 relatives and friends who went hunting on his uncle's farm, Waterfall, to celebrate the start of the new hunting season last Saturday. He died instantly after being hit by the ricochet.

Dankwerts said: "No one can be blamed for my son's death. It was a freak accident."

The freak accident happened when the group of hunters spotted a bushbuck and all shot at the animal.

'Was a special person'

A distraught Dankwerts said: "It was supposed to be a fun day with family and friends - no one can be blamed for the tragic events."

He described his son as a "fantastic child".

"He really was a special person - everyone he met was crazy about him."

Ryan's Afrikaans teacher, Geraldine Klopper, described him as a quiet and pleasant pupil.

"He was always friendly and was especially popular with his group of friends."

Klopper said Ryan's classmates were deeply shocked on Monday at the news of his death.

Police spokesperson captain Errol Francis confirmed that a rock fragment was found in Ryan's skull.

"One of the hunters presumably missed his shot and his bullet might have hit a stone or a piece of rock.

"We suspect a fragment of rock must have ricocheted and hit the boy under his right ear."

Francis said the investigation into the death was continuing.

"Although a murder docket has been opened, the result of the post-mortem probably will lead to the case being converted into an inquest."

Must also test the rock fragment

Ballistic expert Lukas Potgieter, well known in hunting circles, said this was the first time in his 50 years in the industry that he had heard of such a freak accident.

"I have heard of a ricocheting bullet taking a person's life, but a rock hit by a bullet usually disintegrates from the impact."

Potgieter said it was important for the police to do thorough forensic tests on the rock fragment to determine whether it had metal splinters on it.

Ryan leaves two brothers, Ian and Allan. His mother, Marion Sweatnam, lives in Grahamstown.

Still a tragedy in anyone's book.

quote:

It was a freak accident."

Freak accident! Wow! That is beond Freaky!

A part of my hunt occurred in that part of East Cape province, at a facility run by Jareth Howe called Clifton Grange Safaris, near Komga. Their primary species appears to be bushbuck, though they have some impala, gemsbuck, lots of duiker, etc. The site is on some cliffs over and down the side of the Kubusi river. I really enjoyed the hunt, but didn't bring home a bushbuck. The terrain is tough -- and a delight to hunt.

Bushbuck are grumpy if wounded. Jareth had a bunch of little dogs -- Jack Russel Terriers (*boing*). One of these little beasts had been torn up and stitched up. It was a surprise it survived, but that little tough animal looked like he'd have been after bushbuck for a while by the time I'm writing this. The cover is much much thicker than it is near the Gariep Reservoir.

If you add this all together, you get a bunch of hunters out after an animal (was it wounded?) in terrain where it would/could be difficult to see each other, and where they all might be nervous about getting an extra belly-button cut for them by a spiral-horned (three-sided spike twisted on its axis) bushbuck.

Then it turns out to have been a secondary projectile -- not even a proper ricochet... freak accident indeed!

Even so, drives seem to be situations where accidents are more likely than other situations. I took the rhetorical question about how the bushbuck was doing as a comment that it seemed likely the bushbuck had come out relatively unscathed (I've been holding back because nobody has indicated whether they were pursuing a wounded animal or not -- in which case, a drive where everyone is armed IS expected).

Dan

If it was indeed a rock fragment from a ricochet that killed the boy no one will ever know whose rifle the shot came from.

Tragic nevertheless. My youngest daughter just turned 18. I empathize with his parents.

quote:

Dankwerts said: "No one can be blamed for my son's death. It was a freak accident."

That's debatable.

It's a tragedy, but twelve guys shooting at a single animal is an accident waiting to happen.

Whether we like it or not we have many Elmers amongst us.



I am not sure if it is the rifles they should be testing.

Tragedies like these can be prevented if hunters pay more attention to what is actually happening when they pull the trigger of their hunting rifles.

In 'Understanding the Cause of Events Whilst Hunting' accidents like these could be limited to the minumum.