Hunter faces jail after shooting

A hunter is facing up to 10 years in jail and a $50,000 fine after allegedly shooting at a fellow duck hunter near Bigfork on Oct 3.

Brad Bell was charged with felony criminal endangerment on Thursday in Flathead District Court.

According to court documents, Flathead County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched at 7 a.m. Oct. 3 because of a disturbance involving a firearm near Sportsman’s Bridge on Montana 82.

The deputies found two men who said that they were traveling up the Flathead River by boat near Fennon Slough.

The men said that they went through another hunter’s decoys.

The other hunter, later identified as Bell, allegedly yelled at the men. Fifteen seconds later, Bell allegedly shot at the men, who were 100 feet away, and damaged their boat. The men were struck by shotgun pellets.

When deputies interviewed Bell, he claimed that he had seen a duck and shot at it.

Bell’s hunting partner, however, could not verify that Bell had fired at a duck.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.