{mosimage} Suspected faulty rifle sent to crime labA shooting accident while hunting has led the Park County Sheriff's office to investigate the rifle, not the man carrying the gun.Nicholas Bemis, 28, of Cody, was rabbit hunting with two friends in Oregon Basin, southeast of Cody late Saturday afternoon in steep terrain when a .223 caliber rifle, carried by one of his friends accidentally fired, according to Park County Sheriff Scott Steward.

}According to Bemis' two friends, the three were descending a steep hill in single file with Bemis in the rear.

“The male subject directly in front of Bemis slipped, falling backwards, at which time the rifle he was carrying slung over his shoulder discharged striking Bemis in the neck,” Steward said in an e-mail.

Due to the nature of the investigation, Steward said he could not release the names of the other two individuals at this time.

At 5:09 p.m., the sheriff's office received a call from one of the hunters stating Bemis had been shot. Deputies located the victim, and medical personnel declared Bemis dead on the scene, Steward said.

“It looks purely accidental,” Steward said Monday morning. “There is nothing suspicious to us other than the firearm issue.”

The rifle itself is the suspect, because the male carrying the rifle that fired said the gun's safety was on.

The .223 rifle will be sent to the Department of Criminal Investigation's crime lab in Cheyenne to determine if the rifle is in proper working order, Steward said.

Steward said individuals in steep terrain should take additional precautions such as unloading firearms.