Hunting With Boats
Hunters often use boats in difficult conditions, such as wind, cold, and snow.
Special care must be exercised to ensure a safe trip.
Trip Preparation
- Leave a hunting plan with family or friends with details on the boating portion of your trip. It should include your planned route and when you plan to return.
- Be sure the boat is large enough to carry you and your gear safely.
- Load gear low in the boat, and distribute the weight evenly.
- Have a personal flotation device (life jacket) on board for each passenger
to wear.
- Have throwable personal flotation devices on board in case someone falls
overboard.
- Stow required visual distress signals.
- Check an up-to-date weather forecast before heading out.
- Cancel your trip if wind and water conditions aren’t safe.
Transporting Firearms in a Boat
- The same rules apply as when transporting firearms in a vehicle—unload
and case firearms before transporting them. The action should be open or
the gun broken down, whichever makes the firearm safest.
- Before boarding the boat, place the unloaded firearm into the bow (front) of the
boat with its muzzle pointing forward.
- When hunting with others, the first person settles in the bow position
facing forward after the first gun is placed. Next, place the second unloaded
firearm in the stern (rear) of the boat with its muzzle pointing rearward. Then,
the second person settles in the stern position facing rearward. Repeat the
procedure when unloading.
Zone-of-Fire in a Boat
When duck hunting, the back-to-back position is the safest, with the zone-of-fire
confined to a 180-degree area in front of each hunter.
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Don't press your luck in cold weather. At the first sign of a storm,
head for shore. |
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