SPRINGFIELD, Colo. — A 70-year-old man was left with pellet wounds after his hunting partner accidentally shot at him while they were looking for coyotes in far southeast Colorado.
The two men were part of a group of three hunters from Iowa who were visiting Colorado and out hunting coyotes around Baca County on Thursday. According to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) investigation, one man saw a coyote, fired a shotgun and missed the target. He swung the shotgun and fired again, inadvertently hitting the 70-year-old.
The injured man was taken to a nearby hospital before he was flown to another hospital in Colorado Springs. As of Friday morning, he was in good spirits and only cited a minor injury, CPW said.
Todd Marriott, CPW area wildlife manager based in Lamar, said this case is a "classic example" of failing to maintain a zone of fire awareness.
“Hunters must always know where their target is and where the rest of their party is at all times," he said.
Matthew Mullenix, 48, of Urbandale, Iowa, received a summons for careless hunting, CPW said. That charge comes with an assessment of 20 hunting-license suspension points against the hunter.
CPW reported that these types of incidents are extremely rare.
