Since this is my last column before opening day of firearms-deer season — arguably the most important day of the year for the state’s 650,000 hunters and the restaurants, motels, gas stations, sporting goods stores and the rest of the $1 billion economy that depends on them — I wanted to say something profound, witty and helpful before we all venture off into our tree stands, ground blinds and deer camps.
Coming back with a big buck or fat doe is important, sure. Sharing the fellowship of other hunters in your camp or group is vital, and even more memorable. Funny mistakes or minor goof-ups are going to make the adventure more fun. Along the way are thermoses of coffee in the rain, soaked boots from the deer drag across the marsh and trucks stuck in snowy ditches.
The most important thing of all is coming back home alive.
Wisconsin’s best seasons aren’t measured by the number of deer killed, but by the number of hunters who come home alive to share their stories.
One Waupaca County teen will never again experience the joy of a deer hunt, or any hunt. His father today will recall his son’s senseless death as about 100 young students and their parents listen motionless during the state’s final hunter safety education class in Waupaca before gun season.
I’ve heard the story several times as a fellow hunter safety instructor there, and it never fails to make me cry.
Jim Peglow, also a certified hunter safety instructor, speaks to the students at First Assembly of God Church with a simple PowerPoint outlining the facts.
On July 26, 2017, Jim’s 15-year-old son, Jacob A. Peglow (who was a junior hunter safety instructor with our group) and his best friend, Austin Hovarter, 17, of New London, had been doing some target practice at Hovarter’s home. Hovarter then told Peglow that he wanted to show him a .22 handgun.
At some point, during a brief episode authorities described as “cops and robbers,” Hovarter pointed the handgun at his friend and pulled the trigger. The small .22 long rifle bullet, similar to those almost every young hunter has fired by the hundreds, tore through both of Peglow’s lungs, killing him as his mother, Jenny Peglow, watched him die.
A Waupaca County judge found Hovarter guilty of reckless homicide in January 2018 as part of a plea bargain (Hovarter pleaded no contest) and he was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison.
As part of the sentence, Hovarter also was ordered to speak to at least one hunter safety class per year.
I’ve not heard Hovarter’s words, but Jim Peglow’s touch me deeply because I feel the agony of a father who has lost a child. I instantly think of my daughter, Kalispell, who is my only child and precious to me beyond words.
TAB-K would have saved the destruction of two families. TAB-K: the simple acronym that is drummed into each of our hunter safety students in Waupaca and across the state.
T: Treat every firearm as if it were loaded. This alone would have made the difference.
A: Always point the muzzle (far end of the barrel) in a safe direction. That means don’t ever point a firearm at anything you don’t intend to shoot.
B: Be certain of your target and what is in front of and behind it. No wild shots over hills or into thick brush.
K: Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
Review TAB-K with each and every hunter in your party. If you catch someone in your group pointing their firearm at someone or sticking their finger inside the trigger guard, call them on it.
One second of carelessness can kill or maim someone. No matter how much of an expert you are or how long you have been hunting, that loaded firearm stands ready and waiting for you to slip. I know of one sheriff’s deputy in Iowa who taught his fellow officers firearms safety, and made the best point by holding up the disfigured hand that constantly reminds him of the night he dragged a 12-gauge riot gun on the back seat of his squad car after pulling a double shift and lost parts of three fingers in one second of carelessness.
Remind your group of TAB-K in memory of Jim and Jenny’s son. They’d do the same, if they could.
Sports editor’s video goes viral
Shawano Leader sports editor Morgan Rode, 23, and I have been exchanging hunting stories since he took the helm. He and his brother, Sawyer, 21, both Holmen natives, were bowhunting last Saturday (Nov. 3) in Chippewa County when a trail cam captured what I think is one of the funniest videos I’ve seen.
The brief video shows the two brothers in the distance, walking down a dirt road. In the foreground, a nice little buck (6-pointer?) appears, starts to step out, spots the brothers, then turns and bolts! At last report, Morgan says his Facebook post of the video has 14,000 views and 400 shares! Check it out:
https://www.facebook.com/SportsmanHunter/
May the bucks and does you encounter next Saturday not turn and run! Good luck and be safe.