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Kendel Murrant
kmurrant@idahopress.com
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

NAMPA — A Nampa man survived a shot in the back during a hunting trip Sunday, leaving more than 100 shotgun pellets in his face, neck and back.

Brent Rose, an avid and long- time hunter, suffered the blow while turkey hunting near Grangeville with a few friends. Rose was within reach of a turkey he had been chasing when he heard someone behind him.

"I turned around and saw the three boys," Rose said.

He tried to whistle to alert the three hunters to his presence, but said his lips were too dry.

"I waived my hand to let them know I was there," he said. "I saw them looking at me, and then boom. I was face down on the ground holding the back of my head and screaming for my life."

One of the hunters, 18-year-old Wade Peterson of Grangeville, had shot Rose from about a 25-yard distance.

While the pellets did not go as deep as medics first feared, Rose said he was hit with a wide spray of pellets.

"I've got around 100 holes in me," he said.

Peterson and the other two hunters immediately helped Rose get to a vehicle. Peterson then went with Rose and one of Rose's hunting companions to the hospital.

Rose said the staff gave him a CAT scan, then decided to transport him by air ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.

ad hopeful news to report.

"They decided it missed everything important," Rose said. "I was wondering if a BB made it into my brain. That was really my only worry.

"I was just pretty much calm and relaxed. I figured I'd be OK if I was alive that long," he said.

Idaho County Sheriff's Sgt. Herb Lindsey said while the shotgun wounds were certainly painful, had the shot been closer, it could have been lethal.

"As the distance decreases, the ability of the shot to stay together and penetrate deeper is better," Lindsey said.

Glen Bruderer, a hunting friend of Rose's and Idaho Press-Tribune Outdoor editor, said he thinks a coat Rose was wearing at the time helped protect his friend.

"He had the coat on and he had his hood up, which probably saved his life," Bruderer said.

Rose was released from the hospital Monday and was recuperating at home.

"Today, I'm feeling good and bad; it depends on if I'm at the beginning of my pill or the end," he said.

Lindsey said officials did not plan on pressing charges against Peterson. Rose concurred.

"The kid's been through enough," Rose said. "I shouldn't have to pay all the medical bills for his mistake, but I don't plan on pressing charges."

Lindsey said he hopes this serves as a reminder for hunters to be careful when out in the field.

"Most hunting accidents are caused by not identifying your target," he said. "Mistaking a man for a turkey is definitely a case of misidentifying the target.

"This definitely could have been avoided — make darn sure you know what you're shooting at," he said.