Authorities are trying to determine how a man was shot to death behind his Scottsboro home on Christmas.

Jackson County sheriff's officials told WAFF-TV that 53-year-old Michael Hart was putting grain in a feeder and checking on a game camera behind his home when he was killed.

The shooting happened on Jackson County Road 11 between Scottsboro and Woodville.

Hart's wife found him lying next to his four-wheeler and thought he'd had a heart attack. Doctors discovered that Hart had been shot once he got to the hospital.

Jackson County Sheriff Chuck Phillips said it's possible the shooting was a hunting accident, and authorities are trying to determine who might have been hunting in the area at the time.