As some know, we had an Upstate Bowfishing Club tournament on Lake Murray, SC this last Saturday night. My team and I had only been on the lake one time before, and that was quite some time ago. We didn't scout any, just showed up to have a good time as it was about 2 hours away from where we live. After blast off, we randomly picked a main lake cove to start out in. As we fished the left side bank going towards the back, we came across a house having a huge party. We swung out wide so as not to disturb anyone, but a few people came out on the dock to see what we were doing. It was a party, so there was a lot of loud talking and shouting, but nothing that we saw was aimed at us. With the kicker wide open, we quickly passed that house and fished the back. When we started coming out on the right side bank, we heard loud voices again, but passed it off as the party. We kept coming to the main lake point and followed it on around. As soon as we made the turn, BOOM!! No warning or anything. We look to the bank, and there is a guy hiding in the bushes with a shotgun pointed at us. The guy is about 30 yards away and the wad lands right at the boat. Before we can even process whats going on, he racks another and shoots again. My two teammates jump in the floor of the boat as I throttle to turn away. He waves the gun in the air and screams, and then unleashes two more rounds. All four shots were when we were between 30 and 50 yards. I grabbed my pistol but didn't shoot. His backstop was open water, mine were million dollar homes. Once we got to a point where we felt safe, I dialed 911 while my friend used Google maps streetview to get an address of the guys house. We met an officer at the ramp where we put in at to file the report. They sent a different cop by water that night to the house, but the shooter wouldn't come to the door. We still wanted to press charges so they turned the case over to investigators. The detective called me today after she went to the guy's house. Turns out that he admitted to doing it because he was tired of having lights shined in his house over the last several weekends. He said he was sorry, and that nothing like this would happen again. When the detective told him that we could have shot and killed him and it would have been self defense, his reply was "Well I've been shot at by boats before". I took that as he has been harassing other boats in the past, and he has not learned his lesson. That's why we are continuing to press charges and they are going with "Pointing and presenting a firearm" which has a max sentence of five years in jail. We are going later this week to pick him out of a lineup (which I don't know why we have to do that after he admitted to it) and to sit down with a judge. I'll keep this thread updated in case anyone finds themselves in a similar situation.
Update on getting shot at...
scoutlover
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Go back, go fish, bring your .45 n hope hes retarded enough to do it again.
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Heck Donnie then they WIN,but I understand.Im still pissed of about that guy,And whats up with the flashlights?Dumb azz.The whole deal is they can cruise in there ocean boats in a little lake put everybody in danger with the huge waves and destroy property but we cant shine lights at night?
:rage:
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I don't claim to be a hard azz at all but feel that I would have no problem taking someone life if it meant saving mine or others. Kind of like when you see snipers interviewed and they're asked if they ever have nightmares about the people they killed. They all respond the same, and say "no, only about the ones I missed, because god knows what else they did after I didn't put them down"
Steve that's a crappy situation man! Definitely can't beat yourself up on it but I would feel the exact same way!
Steve that's a crappy situation man! Definitely can't beat yourself up on it but I would feel the exact same way!
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I have read all the posts and can say that this situation is really f---ed up. I can honestly say that I haven't had any problems with people other than asking questions, but think that I may start to bring the gun with me for that "what if" factor. Glad to hear that no one was hurt in your boat and glad you refrained from killing the dumb azz. The money and time to clear your name would probably be more than it would be worth for that guy.
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Agreed, and there are some things you would rather not have to live with the rest of your life.
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Just a note....I have been in several situations where I was being shot at and will tell you in the "moment",(at least with me)something kept me from pulling the trigger(I was too was armed in every situation)One time I actually beared down and had the cross hairs right between the guys eyes....and was ice cold calm.I couldnt pull.Now if I had been hit...different story,and I know the next one could have been the one,but I am glad I never did.Killing a human is something you live with forever and even talking to combat veterans,it haunts you forever.I am dealing with a cousin right now that served four tours in the East,as a Sniper and is F'ed up mentally,because of what he did.This is the "bloodiest",kid I ever knew too
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You did the right thing by not shooting back. It's easy to say "I woulda shot his azz" but is it really worth dealing with killing somebody who didn't even intend on shooting you?! Obviously the guy was shooting in the air and not at your boat. I can tell you from experience that it ain't worth the trouble OR the money to try and clear your name. I was in a clear cut (to me) self defense altercation and turned out somehow I was in the wrong just because I was drunk and outnumbered. The charges didn't even make any sense but it was my word against 7 and I'm the only one who pulled a gun. If I had it to do all over I woulda taken my azz beating and spent my $6000 on something else.
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That is very true.
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it is always better to leave in all situations and let law enforcement handle it unless you just absolutely have to return fire, but I can tell ya the last place you want to be in a gun fight is sitting in a very noticeable and visible boat in open water with someone hidden and secure on the shoreline shooting at you and especially if they have access to multiple weapons as in a rifle, etc. Picking somebody off out in an open boat on the water would be extremely easy for anybody with any reasonable ability with a rifle.
Let us know how it turns out for ya.
Let us know how it turns out for ya.
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:laugh:That is a very GOOD point Mark!!!!
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hey you stole my boat lol
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HAHA THATS FUNNY
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Unfortunately I do not have an update yet. I talked to the detective yesterday and she was still working on the line up. Apparently it's some new computer system they're using. She is off tommorrow through the holiday weekend, so it will be sometime next week before do the identification and sit down with the judge.
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i wanna hear an update. oh Nick. i told the guy i want 400. still hasnt called me back or anything. might have to take him to court
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same here
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That's crazy!! I would sue him in a heartbeat. He doesn't know how lucky he is! For those that haven't heard part two of that crazy azz night, here goes:
Shortly after we got back to the ramp to meet the first officer, Ownie shows up b/c he had problems with his big motor. They were about to call it a night when they bumped into us and hung around for a while to see what would happen with our situation. While our officer was sitting in his car talking with the officer that went by boat to the scene of our crime, one of those big cigarette boats came idling up and tied off to the courtesy dock. The dude hops out, and walks up to his truck at the top of the parking lot. He then proceeds to go around the circle and line the trailer up with the ramp and look like he's about to start backing. Instead he continues straight ahead and plows into Ownies trailer!! Not only were bunks flying through the air, but the rear tires of Ownie's truck came up off the ground, and it pushed the truck 3 feet forward in the parking spot! The guy then puts it in reverse and starts down the ramp!! We all saw it happen and we yelled at the officer in his car. He gets out and confronts the guy, and naturally he's drunk as a skunk. He could barely stand! I was surprised when the officer let him phone a friend, but I don't know exactly how that works since he wasn't actually driving on the road yet. At any rate, he promised to pay Ownie cash b/c it was his ex-wife's truck and he didn't wanna have to go though insurance. The guy has no idea how lucky he was for not getting a DUI, and now this! Apparently you should have shot that night too!! Haha. The freaks were definitely out that night!!
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