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If you keep it up, we'll be reading about you in the papers "Hunter shoots other hunter/camper/kids playing in the woods/family member while shooting at unseen bear in the brush".
If I read this wrong, sorry about the outburst. Hunter safety is a big issue with me. I was shot in the leg by a hunter doing exactly what you describe.
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Hunter Safety is my Top Priority when afield but, If you believe that shots in the field at known Backstops are any different than shots at game, you shouldn't be shooting in the first place. Shots into a known visably safe back ground are far more safe than shots through game animals due primarily to the fact that game animals are slightly elevated and bullets can have dramatic deflections while penetrating an animal and end up in very unexpected places. Although I personally would not have fired "spooking" shots, I have no problem w/ a man doing so if he's doing it safely and he's not bothering other hunters by spooking their game as well.
If a man knows his Backstop, it's no different than shooting at your local range. Actually it's probably a good bit safer statistically.
Sounds like he was on private property w/ a known backstop so, safety was taken into consideration. No problems here.
Congrats on your Bear!
Reloader