I heard about a Montana hunter who's guide was shot in the head last week in New Mexico. There were no details with the story and the hunter has not yet returned home. Any specifics available?

Thanks
SkiBumplus3
Kalispell, MT

Bloody hell, when will people learn to behave responsible with their fire arms

Alabama hunter charged with killing Catron County guide
Last Update: 10/22/02 12:28:00

(Reserve-AP) -- An Alabama hunter has been charged in the fatal shooting of a professional
outfitter in his elk-hunting party in New Mexico. Sixty-year-old Willard Camp of Selma faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He's free on a $25,000 bond after his arraignment Thursday in magistrate court.

The charge stems from the death of Michael Najar. Catron County Sheriff Cliff Snyder says the 27-year-old hunting guide was killed October 15th in the mountains north of Reserve.

Snyder says Camp shot an elk twice from a range of several hundred yards. Najar and two other members of the hunting partyhiked to the opposite side of the canyon to find the elk. Snyder says Najar grabbed the elk horns and was observing them when he was hit in the head with a gunshot.

So if I read this correctly:
Camp (one charged) shot an Elk from several hundred yards away twice.
Najar (guide who was killed) and 2 others hiked to the Elk as he was looking at the Elk -Camp shot him.
OK What was Camp doing in the 15 minutes that Najar and company were hking to the Elk?
Did he not see the others?

This sounds like a classic case of an ID-10-T (ID-TEN-T) computer error (hint remove the -'s)

Amazing... I can't wait to see what the excuse is.

I am sorry for Mr. Najar's family's loss.

It is totally amazing how many morons use their riflescope as in place of binoculars.It is a crime to point a firearm at another human being and this idiot should be convicted.

What a tragedy all the way around! Not that it matters in this situation, but do they wear orange in NM?

Orange isn't required in NM. I don't know what can be done to avoid these accidents, personally I am very careful about who I hunt with.

Mark, in a case like this wearing orange wouldn't have helped as this idiot surely knew his guide and another were in the direction of his third shot. I'm thinking he saw the guide holding the anrlers and shot anyway because of "buck fevor" which is still no excuse just not in control.

Jail time for the fucker!

I don't get it. I never get it. The whole thing makes me sick.

You know? Honestly... the only thing I've EVER worried about, in all my years of hunting, is being shot by another hunter. I have this "fear" of being killed because some moron heard "a sound in the bushes" and opened fire... or something like that.

This story is just plain sad.

Before St Helens blew up, I used to elk hunt there. I had my cow down, and was going into a small basin to retrieve her when several hunters pulled up to an overlooking spot, saw the herd of elk, and opened up. I was in the middle of the herd, in 15ft tall second growth. Fortunatly I was neither stomped nor shot. These fools knew I was there, as a hunter I was with was standing there and told them. It was a good thing on that day I could not see them. I don't know what gets into people's minds, but the excitement of the moment just overrides common sence I think. Basic safe gun handling goes a long way in preventing the type of tragedy that occurred to Michael Najer.

Guys,
Thanks for filling in some of the blanks. Yesterday I spoke to a friend of the hunter from MT. Please remember,,,,,This story comes to me secondhand. I don't represent this to be fact, just what I heard.
The MT hunter had already filled his muzzeloader tag and offered to help the guides find an elk for the "other" guy. The dude from Alabama shot the elk at way over 400 yards, twice. The two guides and the guy from MT offered to go down and get the elk while the fat guy stayed on the hill.

The guide was shot at extreme long range while looking at the bull with the other two. It was not confirmed "how", but suggested that the dude was "scoping" the guys and the bull and "accidentally" pulled the trigger on a .300 Weatherby.

It's sad. Do us all a favor and Kick the guy's Ass if you ever catch a guy looking through a scope. Buy a flippin' pair of binoculars!

Ski+3

My dad's cousin was shot in the anus walking up a hill. The bullet entered his ham and exited his neck. Dead on the spot. He was in full orange and was not in the brush. Flinch

Like Mr. Taylor says know your hunting "buddies"? I to had a rifled slug from a 12 gauge go past my ear. I can still hear that sound. I never hunted with either of them again.

I was a few miles away from where this happened, hunting the Gila's, the boy was berried while I was there. Everybody was pretty upset and pissed about it. What I heard is about what's reported in the thread.

What had everybody steamed is that the guy who shot the young guide claimed he did not know where the shot came from. The state police took over the investigation from the local police, and matched the bullet to the guys gun. He them admitted to doing it.

It can even be dangerous during bow season. A good many years back now there was an article in OL, or SA about one bow hunter shooting another bow hunter in the leg. The guy who got arrowed saw the shooter as he was releasing the arrow. The shooter new what he was seeing but was so damned anxious/buckfevored from expecting to see a deer that he shot anyway and then ran off knowing what he had done. The wounded man damn near bled to death without anyone to help him before he could get medical assistance.

My father's best friend, Ray Rathie was shot and killed in 1969 by a Doctor from Ca. Ray was an aspiring Outfitter and had built a beautiful lodge down on the Big Hole river. Wife, four children etc............ Ray was guiding him in the thick timber. Shot two elk by mistake. Ray sent client after one to finish off and he went after the other. Doctor lost the blood trail in snow ? and backtracked to where they seperated then began following Ray's tracks. When he came upon "something black" standing over his elk he shot. He approached and found Ray shot thru the abdomen with a .300 mag. He died 15 minutes later. Although I was only 9 I'll never forget the agony my parents went thru and certainly the Rathie family.

When I expressed an interest in guiding years later I was met with heavy resistance from my mother understandably. Since I started hunting and in particular guiding, my guides and I have had several close calls due to my clients unsafe firearms handling. A pattern has developed.......
Most dangerous are individuals who have professional occupations that dictate a great deal of thier time and thus dedicate very little time to getting to know thier guns and safe practice. I've found that teens and woman who have completed safety courses to be very safe as well as seasoned male hunters.
I've had hunters scope me before at less than 100yards and I can only say that it is very upsetting and I felt in great danger and compelled to defend myself..............Luckily my extreme profanity prevailed...........

I'm so sorry for the guide in NM and his family.

I've always told my kids friends clients etc......Barrel straight up or straight down. No exceptions and in two rare cases I "fired my clients" due to extreme repeated incompetance.
Pick your hunting partners wisely..............