WELLINGTON - A father who was accidentally shot in the knee was lucky his son's aim was not that good, a judge said in the Wellington District Court yesterday.
Daniel Robert Reed, aged 26, a gardener of Eastbourne, was fined $1500 for injuring his father, Robert Reed, by carelessly using a rifle. He pleaded guilty on his first appearance.
Judge Richard Watson spoke to Mr Reed sen, who was in the court, about the extent of his injuries.
Robert Reed said his kneecap was lost and his leg broken in two places, but doctors thought he should be able to walk within 12 months. The joint itself wasn't shattered.
He told the court he had been hunting with his son for years and thought that he was a sound and good hunter who made a mistake that any one of the four in the hunting party could have made.
Police Sergeant Tony Rielly said the hunters went into the Tararua Ranges on May 25. Two days later they split into two groups and each decided his own hunting area. Around midday Mr Reed sen and his companion crossed into the area his son was hunting in.
His son heard a movement that he thought was connected with fresh deer tracks in the area and fired one shot. Mr Reed sen was later airlifted out of the bush.
Mr Reed said his son accepted he broke the one basic rule of hunting - that you must identify a target before shooting.
Judge Watson said: "I think in your case you are lucky your son's aim probably was not that good."
The judge said he thought hunters should have to wear the fluorescent jackets that hunters in some American states had to wear by law.
He said Reed could keep the $700 rifle that police pointed out could be forfeited for the offence.
- NZPA
Hunter lucky son's aim was crooked
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