Other Safety Considerations

Self-Control and Target Identification

Some hunters may become overly anxious or excited on a hunt, which can lead to careless behavior. They may fire at sounds, colors, movements, or unidentified shapes, or simply shoot too quickly. In the excitement after hitting their target, they may swing a loaded firearm toward their companions or run with the safety off toward a downed animal.

Self-control is an essential aspect of hunter safety. Only shoot when you know the target is legal game and that no people, domestic animals, buildings, or equipment are in the zone-of-fire—remember that bullets can pass through game and continue on for some distance with deadly force.

Slow, careful shooting is not only safer, but it also produces a higher degree of success.

Accuracy

Shooting accurately is not only the key to successful hunting, but it’s also a safety factor. Some incidents, often deadly ones, have occurred when stray bullets have hit people out of the shooter’s sight. Be sure you have a proper backstop before you shoot.

Accuracy is also essential for achieving a clean kill. No real sportsman wants to wound game and cause needless suffering. You must learn how to hit the vital organs of the game you hunt. Knowing your game, equipment, and skill level will tell you when you’re in position to make a clean kill.

A rifle scope should never be used as a binocular.

Alcohol and Drugs

Consuming alcohol before or during the hunt increases the risk of incidents because it impairs several functions.

Drugs can have a similar effect. If you have to take prescription medicine, check with your physician to see if it’s safe to take while hunting.

Because you can drink faster than your system can burn the alcohol off, there is an increasing level of alcohol in your blood. This level is referred to as Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC).
The best thing you can do for your safety and the safety of others is simple … Don’t drink and hunt!

Hunt Ethically and Responsibly

Never take these kinds of shots:

• Game you can’t identify
• Running game when you don’t have time to check your zone-of-fire
• “Skylined” animals on a hill where you can’t check what lies beyond your target
• Game that’s clearly out of range
• When the missed shot’s angle would cause your bullet to travel its maximum trajectory and could injure others
• Shooting at a flock, which has a higher likelihood of wounding rather than killing
• When objects in the foreground could deflect your shot
• Game at which another hunter is shooting
• When a bullet is likely to ricochet off flat or hard surfaces such as rocks, water, or trees
• Any unlikely shot, regardless of how desirable the target may be