An Irkutsk hunter accidentally shot another person in the dark while calibrating a thermal imaging sight on a carbine, Russian authorities reported.
The shooting took place on designated hunting grounds in the Irkutsk region of Siberia ahead of a hunt, according to the regional service for the protection and use of wildlife.
State news agency TASS reported that the hunter was test firing his personal hunting carbine to adjust the attached thermal sight when he accidentally inflicted a gunshot wound on another individual. The incident was immediately reported to the police, and investigators launched an official inquiry into the circumstances.
Calibrating thermal scopes at night
Sighting in a firearm aligns the scope optics with the barrel trajectory to ensure accuracy before entering the field. Thermal imaging sights detect infrared radiation emitted as heat by living bodies, enabling shooters to identify silhouettes in darkness or thick fog. A hunting carbine is a lightweight, relatively short rifle widely favoured for ease of handling in rugged terrain.
Irkutsk Oblast is a sprawling territory in eastern Siberia covering dense taiga forests, mountainous wilderness and parts of Lake Baikal. Designated hunting grounds in Russia are managed areas allocated to registered groups or commercial operators, where strict safety regulations govern firearm use and target identification.
Hunting injuries in Russian regions
The regional wildlife agency disclosed that a second hunting mishap occurred in the Osinsky District, an administrative area also located in Irkutsk Oblast. In that incident, an individual accidentally inflicted a gunshot wound on himself while hunting and is now receiving medical treatment.
The Siberian accidents follow a previous incident in Tyumen Oblast in western Siberia, where a hunter aged 44 shot his companion after mistaking him for a roe deer. Roe deer are a small deer species native to Eurasia and commonly hunted across Russia.
Investigators in Irkutsk are continuing their preliminary inquiry to establish the full facts of the thermal sight shooting.
