
NZ Hunter Education: Module 5:
Rule 4: Identify Your Target Cont.
Read the following article before moving onto the next section...
Shot hunter's girlfriend says he once nearly made same error that led to his own death.

Gabrielle Molloy with xxxxxxxx at the inquest into the death of her partner, James Dodds, who was hunting near Rotorua when Worsp, his mate, shot him.
(Grateful thanks to Gabby Molloy for permission to use the following material. We ask that as you read the information that you will make a renewed commitment to never fire at a target you cannot 100% identify as a game animal.)
A hunter shot and killed by his best mate last year had previously told his partner he knew how easy it was to mistake a person for a deer.
Gabrielle Molloy, girlfriend of James Dodds, has spoken to the media for the first time about the death of her partner of 10 years, who was shot by friend Henry Worsp during a hunting trip south of Rotorua on September 7.
Ms Molloy has told 60 Minutes on Prime that she could never blame xxxxxx for the death of 30-year-old "Dodzy", who once admitted to almost shooting a fellow hunter himself.
"You have to understand that Dodzy knew how easy that was to do as well," Ms Molloy said."He would always tell me how easy it is to do and how careful you have to be about target identification because he had someone in his sights and he nearly pulled the trigger once."
Ms Molloy said she did not feel angry at Worsp, a father of two, despite a coroner ruling last month that Mr Dodds' death could have been avoided. "It was just straight sadness. I could never feel angry at him because he hadn't intended to do that. He is absolutely certain he saw a deer that day and he still is to this day."
She said it must have been traumatic for xxxxx to find that instead of shooting a fallow deer, which are smaller than red deer and can be white, light brown or almost black, he had killed his friend."I can't imagine that confusion for Henry to go from absolutely so excited that he'd thought he'd shot a fallow deer. He just went down there thinking, 'Yeah, cool, I have got a fallow,' and how his world just turned upside down."
Ms Molloy said she had forgiven Worsp, who in January was sentenced to six months' home detention and 250 hours' community work after earlier pleading guilty to careless use of a firearm causing Mr Dodds' death.
Ms Molloy, who has previously called for a new rule in the Arms Code to prevent hunters shooting if they are split from a hunting companion, has spoken out in the hope that publicity will prevent another death.
Easter marks the beginning of the Roar, the season when stags call for a mate and the country's 40,000 deerstalkers take to the bush in search of their target. But before the year is over, one Kiwi hunter is likely to have been killed by his hunting mate.
Despite xxxxx being regarded by many as a role model when it came to outdoor safety, he admitted failing to accurately identify his target, though he could not understand or explain how he thought Mr Dodds was a stag.
The Brain Clinic director Pascal Saker believes the reason hunters keep mistaking their mates for the target is because of prediction or expectation. "What's happening with hunters is they are so used to predicting it's a deer because they've never encountered the situation where it's another human. So the brain is constructing that scenario in their minds."
He said the way to overcome that was to simulate the experience of encountering a person, so that the brain had another scenario it could predict. However, New Zealand Deerstalkers' Association national president Tim McCarthy said hunting safely boiled down to one simple rule: identify the target with 100 per cent accuracy.
He said sticking together would not prevent deaths because there could still be other hunting parties in the area.

Note: this is what a high power rifle bullet will do to a game animal and a human body!
10 POSITIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE CERTAIN YOU
DO NOT SHOOT ANOTHER HUNTER
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Make a mental commitment to be the safest hunter you can be. Safety always begins in the mind, with a commitment to safer practices.
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When hunting with another person, commit yourself to exercise extra caution, especially if you split up for any reason, remembering that things may change very rapidly in the outdoors.
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Be aware of who is parked in the car park. If there are other vehicles in the area you have chosen to go hunting, then your default mentality when in the bush or that area should be that you are likely to encounter another person. As well, keep your eyes open for sign of other people who may have gone the same direction as you.
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Always point your gun in a safe direction. Be alert to what is happening with your firearm. Is the safety on? Is the half-cock properly engaged (ie. the bolt hasn’t accidentally been pushed down). Shotgun shooters - is my shooting zone safe?
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Be Calm. When you are out hunting, relax. When you get in on an animal remain calm. As much as the adrenaline kicks in, keep your cool and think about what you are doing? Is it an animal? Can I identify it 100% as the target species I want to shoot? Can I get a really clear shot?
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Consider using binoculars to identify your target, even in bush. Do NOT use a rifle scope to identify your target, because the moment you lift your rifle up, you have crossed a mental boundary.
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Commit yourself to identifying the sex of the animal, especially in the bush. If you do this you have moved the mental barrier beyond just ‘identifying the target’.
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Remind yourself it is only an animal you are hunting. If you don’t shoot, then it’s not the end of the world. You may make miss a great opportunity, but there is always the next time. It is better to be safe than sorry and have a long and prosperous hunting career with no regrets.
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Remind yourself that others have thought they correctly identified their target, only to discover they had made a fatal mistake.
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Make a commitment that, IF IN ANY DOUBT, you will not even lift your rifle to your shoulder, let alone fire a shot.
Hunting can be dangerous...
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One death every nine months on average.
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Half of victims in high-visibility gear.
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Ten out of last 12 victims shot by companion.
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Shooter is usually experienced.
Source NZ Herald