I gotta vent, BAD!!

[Harris hawker]

Been a while since I been here, life got busy.
But that doesn't mean I haven't been hunting.
So last nite went hunting. The moon was SOOOOO HUGE!!
it was almost day lite at 2 am.

So I took my dad and my friend hunting last nite.
My dad was to my left about 10 feet away and I was next to my friend.
My dad has some cheap Gen 1 NV that does really well.
So he was looking thru it.
He said he saw a huge black cat behind the feeder, then we saw a lot of piglets run out.
One actually comes running at us, but not mad. It was playing, and got withing 10 yards of us.
I thought we were busted.
But we weren't.

I knew this litter.
The mother of this litter is mean, lots of game camera pics of her tossing other animals around.

So I tell my friend if he sees her, kill her.
But my dad stands up as I'm about to tell him the same thing.
He puts on his light on his gun.
So I light up the area with flash lights so they can see, I didn't take a gun I wanted my friend and dad to shoot.
My friend shoots and scores,.I see the body go down and squeezing started.
My dad shoots and nothing.
But the pigs do something odd and cross in front of us.
So a few more shots go off and then my dad, let the rant begin, starts walking into my friends line of sight.
I'm screaming at my dad to move watch it.
And he walks into the way of the shot.
I start yelling at him to move cause we really could have killed 1 or 2 more.
Finally he walks back wards towards us, then he really pissed me off.
My friend raised his gun to shoot and my dad was behind the muzzle of the barrel, then he walks RIGHTS IN FRONT OF THE BARREL.
I had to yell and yank him out of the way.
I was dumbfounded.
My friend was just about to pull the trigger.
After I pulled him, my friend told him he almost shot him.
I'm still pissed.
It would have been quick, would have entered the back of his head at the base of his spine.

Just so mad, my.son I would understand.
And then the topper?
He tells me what I should have told him to do, drop.
But we were.shooting at the ground, so I don't know what that would have done.

I don't know if I could ever go out with my dad again.
If he's this careless, I don't know if I can trust him.

Moral of the story.
Be aware of your surroundings.
This could have been disastrous, we're not playing canasta! !

 

[BigRedDog]

the only way to handle a guy with buck fever is to be behind him, not shooting yourself only guiding. no other shooters, only him with you as safety control.

were you in the middle or off to the right? inside of arms length is what you will want going forward.

has he come to grips with what happened? he may not.

 

[ZenArchery]

Ergh. Glad no one was hurt.

 

[Harris hawker]

He won't come to grip.
He firmly thinks it's my fault.
Which makes it hard for me.
He tend to push and keep blame on me for things I had no control over.
He missed the pig cause I DIDN'T HAVE A SHOTGUN!!
I have a bunch of rants, but I try to be a good son and take him hunting.
But this, this is almost unforgivable.

 

[BigRedDog]

Part of me thinks that this is indicative of early Alzheimer's or a type of dementia. My father is in his eighties and this is a struggle.
No way on God's green earth would I take my Dad hunting like he is.

Your call, but the two of you could go fishing and have fun without the risks.

 

[BigRedDog]

This is the hard part.

When you were younger you had to accept his judgment over yours. He was older and took care of you.

Then you got a bit older and figured out that you really should take advantage of his judgment as he knew more than you did.

Now, your judgment is strong as he taught you, as his is failing. Not really his fault, it just doesn't work right anymore.

The key to this is the bringing in unrelated 'facts'. I have seen this a bunch, it is going to be hard to deal with. You and he both will have to come to

realize that YOUR judgment is now the leading one. Please seek guidance from a family doctor on this.

 

[FrankT]

I cringed reading this. Night hunting is so much more dangerous than day hunting. No way I would take him again except alone and he is the only hunter. We have a talk and safety walk thru before every night hunt, what may seem right to me may not be to others. I want NO confusion as to what to do, don't sweep me, know your stops side to side, do not step forward or back when shooting. a dead pig is not worth a dead friend.

 

[Brian Shaffer]

He won't come to grip.
He firmly thinks it's my fault.
Which makes it hard for me.
He tend to push and keep blame on me for things I had no control over.
He missed the pig cause I DIDN'T HAVE A SHOTGUN!!
I have a bunch of rants, but I try to be a good son and take him hunting.
But this, this is almost unforgivable.

Then don't take him hunting. Things will be safer and there won't be so much strife. Strife while playing pool, cards, or watching football is one thing. Strife with firearms around an unsafe gun handle is not good.

 

[theblakester]

That sucks man. I had a similar situation with a guy. Had to constantly keep my eye on him and tell him to keep his finger off the trigger, gun on safety etc etc. He had told me he was a lot more experienced and safe with guns than he actually was.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

I hate to hear that from anyone. While not there YET, I hope I never put my son's in that predicament. After all, I will need their help soon just to get out hunting. Hang in there and realize that if it is early signs of dementia, he has no idea that he is doing anything wrong either in actions or rationalization. You on the other hand, will regret not having enough time with him in the end. Take the others advice and keep your trips to just you and him and keep a close eye on him. The experience will be a lot more rewarding if there is no close calls.

If you do suspect early dementia/alzhiemers, I would strongly urge you to talk to a healthcare professional about how to deal with him. I had to learn how to understand what my mother was going through and how to understand what was going through her mind when she started down-hill. Once I understood, it made dealing with her MUCH easier and less stressful on me and my family.

Good luck, I hope you still get to have a few more good times with your dad.

 

[marineimaging]

Our dads are what they are and if he is that bad at hunting, nobody else is going to take him. I would just take him alone at set times and stay behind the barrel. I doubt you are going to change him so why try. It takes a big man to do something like that and let the insults roll off your back. I know. I have to do it too.

 

[Ratdog68]

If it's not medically related, there's always that diaper syndrome. He changed yours, so by default, he isn't wanting to be "told"..."by you". Gotta agree, hunt with him shooting only, during daylight hours, and enjoy him while you can.