'Experienced Hunter' Shoots Self in Leg, Sues Rifle Company

An “experienced hunter” is suing the Remington rifle company after shooting himself in the leg.

Brent Bachert had just gotten finished with killing an impala buck when he shot himself in the left leg below the knee, according to the lawsuit his attorney filed in Will County court.

Bachert “and others were hunting near Bend, Texas” when he shot himself after killing the impala, the lawsuit said.

Impalas are “ found in open woodlands and grasslands of Africa,” according to the website Animal Files, and not in Texas. The lawsuit did not mention how the impala made its way to Texas for Bachert to kill it in November 2013.

But Bachert, an “experienced hunter,” according to his lawsuit, did kill the impala. And soon after suffered his own wound.

“After successfully shooting an impala buck, (Bachert) chambered a fresh round, and moved the safety selector on the rifle to ‘safe’ position,” the lawsuit said. Bacher “then approached the animal. (He) rested the rifle across the torso of the animal, pointed away from (himself). As (Bachert) reached away from the gun to reposition the animal’s head, and without making contact with the rifle in any way, the rifle fired, striking (him) in the left lower leg below the knee.”

This was not Bachert’s fault, the lawsuit said, as the Remington Model 700 bolt action rifle he had purchased two months prior to the accident “contained a dangerously defective ‘Walker’ fire control system that may (and often does) fire without a trigger pull upon release of the safety, movement of the bolt, or when jarred or bumped.” Bachert was “not aware of the defective and dangerous propensity of the rifle to fire without a trigger pull, and did not receive a warning from Remington of this dangerous condition, either before or after said purchase.”

According to a December story by the Texas station KLTV, Remington Arms recalled “two rifle models after it determined the rifles could unintentionally discharge.” The700 was one of the two models recalled.

“The company asks owners of these rifles to stop using the gun and immediately return it to Remington for inspection, cleaning and testing,” the story said.

Go take a look at our Facebook page.

And make sure you read all of these fantastic stories:

• Christmas Eve Overdose Death Lands 2 New Lenox Men in Jail on Drug-Induced Homicide Charges
• Highway to Hell? Joliet Man Looted East Side Catholic Church: Cops
• Shorewood Sex Offender Worked as Volunteer With Joliet Ravens Youth Football: Cops