Yep, rifle fisherman. Maybe the unidentified guy (not pictured above) from Olympia left his rod and reel back in his car. Or maybe Sammy the salmon he saw swimmin’ in the Deschutes River was just a convenient target of opportunity. Whatever the reason, the 51-year-old decided a round from his .22 was the best way to put a little gravlax on his table . . .
“He saw what he thought was going to be dinner, and took a shot at it. He either missed dinner or hit the rock right next to it, and that bullet ricocheted back and hit him in the head,” said Greg Elwin of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Maybe that scope on his rifle made him miss the fishy at such close range. Just a guess.
…his mother-in-law, Sadie Meyers, said it’s “really fortunate he wasn’t killed. He’s going to lose the sight of one eye, I think,” she told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News South Sound Bureau Chief Richard Thompson.
And it wasn’t just stupid. “What he did is illegal,” Elwin said. “That is not an acceptable way to go fishing.” Go figure. So in addition to being able to do a pretty passable pirate imitation — for the rest of his life — our rifleman will also be putting an IGOTD trophy on his mantlepiece. Right up there with his unused fishing tackle. [h/t Tobias A.]