WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. -- On Wednesday, the Westmoreland County Coroner ruled Steven Kachonik's death a homicide.

That ruling has been in flux for a month, as investigators tried to piece together what happened.

Also on Wednesday, Kachonik's family talked with Channel 4 Action News about handling this uncertainty.

Kachonik, 39, was retired from the military, an avid hunter and a father.

It's been nearly a month since he was killed.

Police said Kachonik was attacked with a shotgun while perched in a tree stand.

He took the hit in the chest while bow hunting behind his parents home, police said.

"How somebody could just shoot him out of tree, like an animal. Somebody needs to come forward," said Kachonik's sister, Mary Kurant.

The Kachonik family has put up a $50,000 reward hoping someone comes forward with information.

"I would like somebody to please come forward and give us any clues, any tips that they have. Anything, my parents need peace of mind. My entire family does," said Kurant.

At first, police considered it may have been an accident -- a turkey hunter with a poor reflex.

Police aren't saying why, but investigators now believe Kachonik's death was a homicide.

His family said Kachonik didn't have an enemy in the world.

"Not that we know of, but obviously he had one," said Kurant.

His family told police about a cable that Kachonik found last summer, strung up between two trees at neck level for a man riding a quad, which Kachonik often did.

The cable could have decapitated him, the family said.

"He came upon it, and two feet away from it, he was able to stop. We believe that was intended to kill somebody, if not him," said Kurant.

That incident also remains unsolved.

The family is asking anyone with information to call the Kiski barracks of the state police.