1.4 Incident Causes

Careless handling is the cause of most hunting-related firearm incidents.

The second major cause of hunting incidents involves poor hunter judgment.

The third major cause of incidents involves the victim being out of sight of the shooter. Often these incidents happen because the shooter does not know how far a shotgun or rifle can shoot.

Another type of incident that should never happen occurs when the victim is mistaken for game. Unfortunately, some hunters fail to correctly identify their targets or their shooting backstop while hunting. Always use binoculars to identify your target and backstop.

Sometimes hunters carry loaded shotguns or rifles in their cars and trucks. Each year hunters shoot themselves or their friends when loaded firearms discharge inside a vehicle. This type of incident is called “a discharge of firearm in a motor vehicle.”