Hunter Shot While Turkey Hunting

A hunter has been released from the hospital after being shot in the face by his hunting partner in Carroll County.

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks” Lt. Chris Reed said the incident happened last Friday morning.

Reed says 63-year old Curtis Entrekin and 69-year-old-Charles Childs were hunting turkeys together but had separated at some point during the morning.

Officials say Childs was returning to the area where the two men parted when he was shot.  Reed says it appears to be a case of a hunter mistaking another for game.

Reed says Childs was taken to a hospital, where he had 26 pellets removed from his face and neck area.

A golden rule in firearm safety is to identify your target beyond all doubt.

National Wild Turkey Federation’s hunter safety expert, Tom Hughes, has a strategy to prevent him from failing to identify his target.  He calls it “ironclad identification.”

“You have to insist on ironclad identification,” he said.  ”It’s not enough to see the red of a turkey’s head; you’ve got to see its eyes, beak and beard.”  In other words, look for several details specific to that animal.

• Keep your gun pointed in a safe direction.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot
• Identify your target and what is beyond it.
• Keep your gun unloaded until you’re ready to use it.

A mother, stepmother, grandmother and great grandmother who was taught deer hunting by my second husband, Bob, in my mid-forties. I’m still hunting today and loving it!