Shot While Deer Hunting
Younger Shuffield Recovering, Plans To Be Back In '08

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Rob Newell Spencer Shuffield was the runner-up in the 2007 FLW Tour co-angler points.

Spencer, 18, was shot through both thighs while deer hunting just a few hundred yards from the family's house on Nov. 17. He's undergone two surgeries (the most recent just last Wednesday) and is recovering at home.

"We're hoping everything will be pretty much back to normal in about 30 days," said Ron, the 15-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier who's fished the FLW side exclusively for the past 2 years. "We'll see the surgeon (today), and hopefully he can start physical therapy (this) week.

"Everybody's been amazed by how fast he's recovered so far."

A Hunt Gone Awry

Spencer Shuffield has long aimed to follow his father's career path. He took extra high school classes during the summer of 2006 (between his junior and senior years) so that he could forego his final semester to travel the FLW Tour with Ron and compete as a co-angler.

His performances were remarkably consistent – he finished no lower than 69th in six events, with a best showing of 7th at Beaver Lake. He ended up 2nd in the back-seater points and joined his dad (who was 21st in the pro points) in qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup, which was held near their home at Lake Ouachita.

Hunting annually occupies a great deal of the family's time during the fall months, and Spencer was sitting on a stool next to a tree on a piece of land owned by a friend's aunt one Saturday last month, hoping to get a shot at a whitetail buck. A .30-06 bullet fired by a hunter on an adjacent property ripped through the upper part of his left leg, missing his femoral artery by less than an inch.

The round exited the leg, grazed his gun, and then went through his right thigh as well.

Ron said Spencer was fortunate that his friend, who was less than 100 yards away at the time of the incident, had undergone some First Responder training and was able to keep the situation under control until emergency personnel arrived.

"You hear about these things and read about them in the newspaper, but you never think it's going to happen to you or a member of your family," Ron said. "And then it does happen, and it's just a shock."

Law enforcement investigators ruled the shooting an accident, and Ron said the shooter was the son of a person he'd gone to school with. He couldn't say much more about the incident, though, because official inquires have yet to be completed.

Photo: Yamaha Ron Shuffield said his son's scar will be a constant reminder for him that "God was looking out for him that day."

Muscles Torn Loose

Spencer underwent the first operation that night. Three of the four muscles that comprise the quadriceps had been torn from the bone in his left leg and had to be reattached. He spent the next 5 days in the hospital.

Ron said some mangled tissue had to be removed during the operation, which left a cavity inside his son's leg. It was later determined that the cavity had become a breeding ground for infection, which necessitated the second operation to flush it out last week.

"He was pretty upset about having to have that second surgery," Ron said. "He's up and around a little bit now, but he can't do much and he's kind of going stir crazy.

"We've just put everything in God's hands. He's going to come out of this with a very significant scar, and I've told him that for the rest of his life, that's going to be a reminder that God was looking out for him that day."

Notable

> The incident could have been fatal if the bullet had penetrated Spencer's femoral artery. Washington Redskins defensive back Sean Taylor died from such a gunshot wound recently, and ESPN reported that even if Taylor had survived, there was concern that he might've had permanent brain damage from the loss of blood.

> Ron said he plans to fish only the FLW Tour next year. Spencer will again fish the Tour as a co-angler, and might also compete in a couple of Eastern FLW Series events.