From the ledger-enquirer.com:
One of two men using a high-powered rifle with night vision to hunt coyote fatally shot a federal officer Friday, apparently mistaking him for game, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources reported.
State authorities identified the shooter as Norman Clinton Hale, 40, McDonough, Ga., and his observer as Clifford Allen McGouirk, 41, of Jackson, Ga.
The USDA Forest Service officer was killed at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Recreation Area on the Oconee Ranger District of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Jasper County, authorities said . . .
Upton had been with the forest service four years, after serving as a game warden for the U.S. Marine Corps at Beaufort, S.C. He also had worked as a conservation officer, game warden and pilot with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. He leaves behind wife Jessica and 4-year-old daughter Annabelle.
Please someone, tell me how at 11:00 at night, YOU can visually identify an animal at 100 – 200 yards – in the dark…. please – because I still haven't mastered that.. and if one is supposed to completely identify their target – then why is it stressed that deer hunters wear orange to improve visibility to other hunters. – - – - – Sometimes guys – it's a horrible accident – that everyone would have liked to prevent.
Okk he was hunting cayote an u do this at night…..u hunt them by there eyes and the park ranger was wearing night vison goggles….i knew the hunter personally and he was a very responsible hunter and good man
The shooter was wearing night vision not the officer.
they played loud calls, and the officer, god bless his soul, he was prone, laid down, watching with his night vision binoculars, that caused his eye to glow, and that is what got him shot, one shot one kill, omg,,,, the worst outcome………..
people can talk bs all day.but at the end of the day only god can judge.clint is a very good man ,father,husband,and friend.
He might be a good man, but he KILLED an innocent man. Friend or not, you have to admit that he's guilty of manslaughter.
First off,The infrared illuminating beam DOES NOT cause a coyotes eyes to glow!!!
Amateurs who do not understand how to use equipment think that it works like a regular spotlight causing the rods and cones in the coyotes eyes to glow!
IT DOES NOT!
If Hale would have known what he was doing and how the tools he had worked,then he would not have had to guess and pull the trigger killing the Officer.
Hale should be banned from ever owning another firearm for life after he serves his time in the Georgia DOC!
None of it matters. If you can’t see what you’re shooting then you shouldn’t shoot. Obviously he couldn’t see what he was shooting. Someone is dead now because the shooter didn’t take using a weapon seriously enough. He wasn’t even hunting for neccessity.
I see that my post from yesterday has been removed, could it be that truth and honesty it not appreciated here anymore? My opinions were based on the new revelations learned after the court date where Hale plead guilty to all charges. Please do a follow up story regarding this case so everyone can see exactly who they have been defending! The post that I replied to previously was an attempt to besmirch a fallen officers character, the new findings shine an entirely different light on who was at fault in this incident. This individual not only makes all hunters look bad but also gun owners in general. Mr. Farago please help set the record straight by updating this story.