EDWARD SCHWEIKERT: Hunting arrow lands in sister’s yard

“I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to Earth I knew not where” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

I know where — my sister’s backyard. It was a hunting arrow with a metal tip and three half triangles on its side. The half triangles were razor shape. I thought shooting guns and bow and arrows within the city limits were illegal.

If the person was shooting a target, they missed. People do not understand that guns, rifles and archery have a line of travel called line of projectile or projectile line. And the person who fired the bullet/arrow is responsible for it, every inch and every second the bullet/arrow travels. Your target may be 200 feet away; the projectile line may be 2,000 feet away. Tree or earth is all right. Family dog or person, you are in big trouble.

If a human, you can face liability in criminal and civil courts. Criminal court can start at involuntary manslaughter and go up. Then, you can face civil court after criminal court. Civil court is the worst. Criminal trial can reduce evidence against you, while civil trial can include any evidence. Your worst enemy can state he/she observed you shoot the arrow, even if they are two or three miles away.

Longfellow’s hunter ended up killing a deer.

EDWARD SCHWEIKERT

Albany