Hunting accidents: True or false? Published: June 19, 1999 1 Victim was scuba diving. Surfaced next to a stump. Shooter thought the diver was an alligator and shot him with a 16 gauge shotgun. Fatal wound. 2 Victim was driving his car toward hunting companions in a playful manner. Shooter pointed 12 gauge, which he thought was unloaded, at the driver and pulled the trigger. Fatal wound. 3 Victim wearing a white T-shirt, climbed a tree at night to try to flush out a raccoon. Shooter mistook him for the coon and shot him out of the tree. Fatal wound. 4 Victim was carrying three rifles and a shotgun over his left shoulder and carrying an ice chest under his right arm. He stumbled and dropped the guns. Shotgun landed on butt, discharging and striking victim in face. Fatal wound. 5 Victim found a deer skeleton with antlers attached and raised skull above bushes to show companions. Friend fired at "deer," striking victim in shoulder. Nonfatal wound. 6 Subjects riding on hood of truck and shooting armadillos at night. Armadillo ran in front of truck and shooter fired, striking victim in foot. Nonfatal wound. 7 Shooter decided to fire through a culvert under a road, just as his friend stepped in front of the opening on the other side. Nonfatal wound. 8 Victim has only one arm. Hunting with double-barreled shotgun with no trigger guard., so had to hold barrel between his legs to break open the action. He thought both barrels had been fired, so was opening gun when trigger caught on his pants, shooting himself in the foot. 9 Shooter was raccoon hunting at night. Climbed a tree and stuck a .22 caliber rifle into a hollow limb and shot. Bullet traveled through tree, striking shooter in the leg. 10 Hunters entered camphouse and began unloading firearms. Victim jumped from behind door and yelled "Boo." Shooter's rifle discharged, striking the victim in the head. Fatal wound. A: These incidents came from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department archives. All of them are true.