By Jim Loften, Retired DNR Hunter Education and Firearm Safety instructor
MONROE - With the annual "Big Hunt" starting Nov. 17, the estimated 650,000 hunters are urged to make firearm safety their first priority. The last two years have been a couple of the safest on record - but we want to make 2012 safer with no fatalities and a reduction or elimination of all injuries. All hunters, novice or veteran, should review safe, legal and ethical rules before starting their hunt.
Following are a few items that should be considered very important:
Of course before you go a field, be sure you have your back tag game license fastened to your back securely and a piece of string to tie the tag to your deer - provided you get one. Study the regulations carefully to make sure you understand the registration procedures and the a.m. and p.m. shooting times for your area. Also check for new times that may be new this year.
Remember the old axiom "shoot straight - kill clean - and waste not." Be sure your firearm is sighted in properly. This prevents poorly placed shots and injured game. It is a safety feature too since you will know where your bullet is going and what it will hit.
If you are going to hunt on private land, you must have permission from the owner. This should be done weeks or months before hunting season. Under the new trespass law, the landowners do not have to post their land with signs. It is now illegal to enter on any privately owned land for any reason without permission of the owner. It is the responsibility of the user to know the boundaries of public and private land. Ask permission and treat the owner and land with respect and you may be permitted to use it again.
It is vitally important that you know the range of your ammunition. This is especially important in agriculture and urban areas where homes and buildings are located in nearly every one-half mile acre. A rifled slug from a shot gun is dangerous up to 3/4 mile or more and a 30/06 rifle bullet is dangerous up to 3 1/2 miles or more. Know what is between you and your intended target and beyond your target too. Be absolutely sure before you pull the trigger - not sorry later.
More firearm accidents happen in and around home than in the field. So it is very important that you completely unload every firearm before entering the home, camp or vehicle. Double check.
If you have to cross fences (use gates where possible), steep ditches, downed trees or other obstacles, unload your firearm chamber and leave the action open until safely over them. The same goes when climbing into or down from a tree stand - make sure the firearm is unloaded and arrow broadheads are protected with a hard cover. Use a string to rope to raise or lower your firearm or bow - do not carry them up with you. Also when you get up to your stand the first thing to do is make sure you attach your safety belt or harness to your self and the tree. There are far too many hunters injured seriously or even killed each year from falling from tree stands.
Another area we are having an increase in accidents is among large groups on deer drives. It is difficult to keep track of the location of each hunter when the party gets too large. We have had several major type accidents when drivers shoot at deer in cornfields or other heavy cover not knowing where their partners are located. Drivers should not shoot at the deer they are supposed to drive out to the standers. That is what the standers are there for.
Even the standers should know exactly where the other standers are and the stander should never move from his position until the drive is complete.
If properly observed, the following four safety rules can help you have a safe and enjoyable season afield:
1) Always treat every firearm as if it is loaded. (Take no one else's word that it is empty.)
2) Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. (Never point it at anything you do not want to shoot, including yourself.)
3) Always know your target and what is beyond it. (Absolute and positive identification is necessary.)
4) Never put your finger in the trigger guard until you are on your target and ready to shoot.
For more information about firearm safety and ethical hunting, enroll in a DNR Hunter Education and Firearms Safety Course. Courses are offered at various times and places throughout the State.
Information about courses in your county may be obtained from your local conservation warden.
- Jim Loften, who lives in Albany
MONROE - With the annual "Big Hunt" starting Nov. 17, the estimated 650,000 hunters are urged to make firearm safety their first priority. The last two years have been a couple of the safest on record - but we want to make 2012 safer with no fatalities and a reduction or elimination of all injuries. All hunters, novice or veteran, should review safe, legal and ethical rules before starting their hunt.
Following are a few items that should be considered very important:
Of course before you go a field, be sure you have your back tag game license fastened to your back securely and a piece of string to tie the tag to your deer - provided you get one. Study the regulations carefully to make sure you understand the registration procedures and the a.m. and p.m. shooting times for your area. Also check for new times that may be new this year.
Remember the old axiom "shoot straight - kill clean - and waste not." Be sure your firearm is sighted in properly. This prevents poorly placed shots and injured game. It is a safety feature too since you will know where your bullet is going and what it will hit.
If you are going to hunt on private land, you must have permission from the owner. This should be done weeks or months before hunting season. Under the new trespass law, the landowners do not have to post their land with signs. It is now illegal to enter on any privately owned land for any reason without permission of the owner. It is the responsibility of the user to know the boundaries of public and private land. Ask permission and treat the owner and land with respect and you may be permitted to use it again.
It is vitally important that you know the range of your ammunition. This is especially important in agriculture and urban areas where homes and buildings are located in nearly every one-half mile acre. A rifled slug from a shot gun is dangerous up to 3/4 mile or more and a 30/06 rifle bullet is dangerous up to 3 1/2 miles or more. Know what is between you and your intended target and beyond your target too. Be absolutely sure before you pull the trigger - not sorry later.
More firearm accidents happen in and around home than in the field. So it is very important that you completely unload every firearm before entering the home, camp or vehicle. Double check.
If you have to cross fences (use gates where possible), steep ditches, downed trees or other obstacles, unload your firearm chamber and leave the action open until safely over them. The same goes when climbing into or down from a tree stand - make sure the firearm is unloaded and arrow broadheads are protected with a hard cover. Use a string to rope to raise or lower your firearm or bow - do not carry them up with you. Also when you get up to your stand the first thing to do is make sure you attach your safety belt or harness to your self and the tree. There are far too many hunters injured seriously or even killed each year from falling from tree stands.
Another area we are having an increase in accidents is among large groups on deer drives. It is difficult to keep track of the location of each hunter when the party gets too large. We have had several major type accidents when drivers shoot at deer in cornfields or other heavy cover not knowing where their partners are located. Drivers should not shoot at the deer they are supposed to drive out to the standers. That is what the standers are there for.
Even the standers should know exactly where the other standers are and the stander should never move from his position until the drive is complete.
If properly observed, the following four safety rules can help you have a safe and enjoyable season afield:
1) Always treat every firearm as if it is loaded. (Take no one else's word that it is empty.)
2) Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. (Never point it at anything you do not want to shoot, including yourself.)
3) Always know your target and what is beyond it. (Absolute and positive identification is necessary.)
4) Never put your finger in the trigger guard until you are on your target and ready to shoot.
For more information about firearm safety and ethical hunting, enroll in a DNR Hunter Education and Firearms Safety Course. Courses are offered at various times and places throughout the State.
Information about courses in your county may be obtained from your local conservation warden.
- Jim Loften, who lives in Albany
