A peaceful morning of hunting, turned violent.
Two men beat up a hunter, fighting over who actually killed a buck.
Tuesday morning, Patrick Mulligan says he was trying to bring the deer in, when two men confronted him.
They started hitting him and stole his buck.
It was not the way he expected to start firearm deer season deep in the woods off Campbell Road in Mason County’s Logan Township.
Patrick was just trying to enjoy the opening day of firearm season.
He wasn’t expecting to go home with swollen eyes and aching ribs.
“You don’t have the right to ruin someone else’s hunt,” says John Mulligan, Patrick’s father.
Patrick Mulligan was out in his blind when he heard a gun fire nearby, next he saw a deer run by and shot it. He got the kill. So he doesn’t understand why someone would go out of their way to beat him up for it.
“It’s supposed to be fun. I got to go out there with my grandpa, my dad, my uncle, it’s a family tradition. I’ve been out there since I was three years old, same camp, never moved. I shoot my buck every year and I have a blast! Why should anybody screw that up for anybody else?” Says Patrick.
Patrick’s dad says this isn’t the first time he’s heard hunters fighting over a deer.
“I’ve heard about it in the past about people fighting over deer. Years ago, a guy drew a gun on my dad after they shot at the same deer,” says John.
Now, he’s happy this didn’t end worse.
“For one thing, he’s three miles out in the middle of the woods. What if he was bleeding to death? He’s not going to be the first, he’s not going to be the last. If you thought you got the fatal shot, talk to him, don’t fight over it, don’t draw your gun, talk to them and see if you can work it out,” says John.
The sheriff’s department described the suspects as in their twenty’s, one with a beard, one without.
They were driving in a newer silver Dodge pickup truck.
They ask anyone with tips to call them at (231)843-3475.
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