Be careful out there.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2814785-former-lsu-ol-matt-branch-lost-leg-in-hunting-accident-friend-says-dog-shot-him?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=referral

thats terrible - only true safety is an unloaded gun.

Quote:

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Micah Heckford, a friend of Branch, told Brian Broom of the Clarion Ledger on Tuesday that a dog jumped onto the truck bed that Branch was sitting on and accidentally stepped on a shotgun's safety and trigger.

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Man, the dog stepping on the safety and the trigger is some bad luck. Gotta keep those guns unloaded.

Different rule#1

Do you truly believe it was on safe? .000001 chance the dog disabled the safety AND pulled the trigger?

Plus who stands down barrel from a loaded gun? I sure don't!

I could see a paw pressing the safety and depressing the trigger at the same time.

But yeah, I won't even sit/stand/whatever at the barrel end of any gun, loaded or unloaded. It gives me the creeps.

dubi said:

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Do you truly believe the it was on safe? .000001 chance the dog disabled the safety AND pulled the trigger?

Plus who stands down barrel from a loaded gun? I sure don't!

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I think there is almost zero chance the story happened as relayed.

Freak things happen, but safety and trigger discipline are only 2 of the 4 safety factors.

The other two are where the gun is pointed or aimed, and is a round chambered when there is no shooting activity actively in progress (excepting self dense weapons)

MouthBQ98 said:

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Freak things happen, but safety and trigger discipline are only 2 of the 4 safety factors.

The other two are where the gun is pointed or aimed, and is a round chambered when there is no shooting activity actively in progress (excepting self dense weapons)

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Agree that freak things happen. And not too hard to imagine an 80lb lab's paws hitting the safety and trigger at the same time. Could have even reoriented the barrel direction - although I wouldn't think it repointed it 180 degrees or something.

And after reading the Remmington slam fire thread and thinking about a a big dog landing on the side of a gun or trigger area, I could also see something forced in unusual way that caused a malfunction, broke a part, or something sheared and unexpected firing occurred.

I am wiling to give someone the benefit of the doubt. Having dealt with all cross sections of the public, I know stupidity is a common occurrence in the world but there are sometimes other explanations. Or it is a combo of stupidity and other factors coming together.

Again, empty the chamber.

Happens pretty much every duck season. Lay the gun down bolt up (safety up) to keep mud out of it. Goofy lab gets a paw on the trigger guard and hits safety and trigger in one swipe.

Here's the entire story:
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mattbranch/journal
The shot clipped his femoral artery. He coded twice. Received around 200 units of blood. He'll lose his leg, but not his life. The family farms alot of acres in N. LA & Vicksburg.
Please unload your guns when done hunting folks. Yes it was a freak accident, but could have been avoided if all guns were unloaded and cased following the hunt.

not the point of the story - i just have a hard time believing both happened at the same time.

Likely, when reviewing the incident, they asked the person whose gun it was if it was on safety and the knee jerk answer would be yes. I have been guilty of thinking the same thing and then reconfirming.

Terrible to see but a great reminder to unload your gun. Duck hunters, for whatever reason, always do this last for the inevitable group of birds that flies in when picking up decoys. Stark reminder that this isnt worth it.

Michael Shumard said:

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not the point of the story - i just have a hard time believing both happened at the same time.

Likely, when reviewing the incident, they asked the person whose gun it was if it was on safety and the knee jerk answer would be yes. I have been guilty of thinking the same thing and then reconfirming.

Terrible to see but a great reminder to unload your gun. Duck hunters, for whatever reason, always do this last for the inevitable group of birds that flies in when picking up decoys. Stark reminder that this isnt worth it.

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i can believe that it happened pretty easily especially if it was a Remington with a safety on the trigger guard.

https://www.facebook.com/micah.heckford/posts/10213757656275000

Micah Heckford[url=https://www.facebook.com/micah.heckford?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARBp9G8gUv2_RVcoDIF2efHoeK7Hzz0TZuKsmOD49QN4gJL6Ox2Lj95qXN-yBAy9Dbj-QORx1dIBS0qD&hc_ref=ARRvjJNgcg3QQsGR90fwZAjijqrW1bngqMIU8XsJXtz3J80wXr8sSMREcFKS-KWzM9Q][/url] is with Jake Branch and 10 others.
January 2 at 11:49 AM

Quote:

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***PLEASE READ***SHARE IF YOU'D LIKE***
I know there have been many people wondering about the details of the hunting accident involving Matt Branch. Below is the most detailed description that I can recall from what happened.

On December 28, 2018 I was on an annual duck hunt with 4 very close friends in Eagle Lake, MS.
Matt Branch, David Joe Branch, Connor Branch, David Lamonte and myself.

We were hunting a cypress slough in the middle of a field. The game plan was to hunt spread out down the slough early, then regroup once the sun came up and hunt the remainder of the morning in one group where we could all be well hid. So far, everything had gone as planned, we had all killed a few birds early and were off to a great start on the morning. My buddy Matt Branch had walked down to where David Lamonte and myself were hunting and David Joe Branch had driven the ranger down to where we were so we could load up the decoys and gear to go set up in another area.

At approximately 9:40 AM, David Joe, David, Matt and I were all standing around the bed of the ranger and Matt had laid his gun down flat in the bed of the ranger and walked around on the passenger side to finish loading up. The dog jumped up into the bed of the ranger, getting ready to head out and stepped on the gun that had been placed into the bed, pushing the safety to fire, as well as hitting the trigger, resulting in the gun going off. The 12 gauge shotgun which contained 1 shell that was left in the chamber, fired through the side of the bed on the ranger hitting Matt in the upper inside of his left thigh approximately 2-3" from his groin.

Matt screamed and fell to the ground. In the midst of the chaos at this point, I ran over to Matt to assess what had happened. We had no clue what the damage was at this point in time. I immediately yelled to David Joe to call 911. As quick as possible, we picked up Matt and loaded him into the ranger. I jumped in the bed and David Joe took off driving.

Our goal at this point was to get Matt to the nearest place we knew an ambulance could get to without getting stuck in the field. Being David Joe was driving and holding Matt, I was on the phone with 911 on the ride to the highway. We had about a mile or so to go through a muddy field. Once we arrived at the highway we unloaded Matt onto the ditch bank and laid him with his legs on the higher end of the ditch bank. His head and shoulders were laying in David Joes lap and I had Matt's leg up on my shoulder, holding pressure on the outside of his waders where I presumed the wound to be.

Within 5-7 minutes of us being on the ditch bank, 2 volunteer firefighter/first responders arrived with some medical supplies. We then immediately cut the waders and pants out of the way, got gauze and pressure applied directly to the wound and got an oxygen mask on Matt. A sheriff and a game warden arrived to the scene shortly after, neither of which had any concern for the critical condition that Matt was in at this point in time. This is a whole other subject that can be discussed once we have Matt back in a completely healthy state. The ambulance arrived probably 10-15 minutes from the time the volunteer first responders got there.

Once the ambulance arrived, a tourniquet was placed on Matt's leg and we loaded him onto the stretcher and into the truck. The ambulance immediately took off to River Regional in Vicksburg, MS.
Since then, Matt has undergone multiple critical surgeries including the amputation of his left leg and re-connecting his femoral artery in his left upper leg. Matt is currently in a stable condition at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson MS.
...

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Reading that facebook post, it's terrifying to think of yourself or a loved one in that situation. Be safe out there folks!

powerbelly said:

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dubi said:

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Do you truly believe the it was on safe? .000001 chance the dog disabled the safety AND pulled the trigger?

Plus who stands down barrel from a loaded gun? I sure don't!

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I think there is almost zero chance the story happened as relayed.

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20 years ago I was involved in an incident where this exactly happened. The guy layed a loaded gun the in the back of the pickup he was sitting on the side, called his lab to load up, The dog hit the trigger housing of his Rem 1100, gun went off and the guy is lucky he has his leg and can still walk.

The Paramedic who we met half way to town was a friend. He later told me that if we had driven to town he would have died. We met them half way and he was in really bad shape.

Everyone should add some CELOX to their first-aid kit.
https://www.amazon.com/Celox-V12090-35-Blood-Clotting-Solution/dp/B004NG8V1M/ref=sr_1_10_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1547155801&sr=8-10&keywords=clotting+powder