VELLORE: A middle-aged man died after a bullet he fired from his country-made gun ricocheted and struck him while hunting in a forest area near Pernampet in Vellore district on Tuesday.Police said Hari Krishnan and his two friends, Vijay and Sabaresan, also from a village near Pernampet, went to hunt animals in a forest area near their locality. He carried a country-made gun with him. When he noticed a wild animal, he fired the gun aiming at the animal, but the bullet ricocheted and struck him in his chest, killing him on the spot.The district forest officials and a police team rushed to the spot upon receiving information. The two teams recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem examinations to Vellore govt medical college and hospital. The teams detained Vijay and Sabaresan for inquiries. The two, who hid the country-made gun before the teams arrived, revealed later where they hid the weapon. The teams secured the weapon and arrested them.The forest and police officials have launched a probe simultaneously to find how Hari Krishnan secured the country-made gun and also to find out people in possession of country-made guns in the villages around Pernampet.