BILLINGS — Authorities say a man was accidentally shot and killed while elk hunting in southwest Montana.
Newly elected Madison County Sheriff Phil Fortner tells The Billings Gazette that 50-year-old Michael Drexler was with a small group on national forest land south of Virginia City on Nov. 2 when the rifle of one of his hunting partners accidentally discharged. Drexler, of Billings, died at the scene.
Fortner says he is “100 percent positive this was an accidental shooting.”
Wayde Cooperider, the hunter safety coordinator for Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks, says hunters should always point the muzzle in a safe direction, treat every gun as if it’s loaded, be sure of the target and keep fingers off the trigger until ready to fire.