iSnipe

Hunting season is here again fellas, guys n gals. Bad news about hunting mishaps are upon us once more. They always seem to be tragic; not so much in what happened, but that it could have been prevented with education and common sense. However, we can't govern someone's common sense, but maybe we can give each other reminders, "education" if you will, that we can all use to be safe out there this season.

I am hoping everyone will chip in and create a thread to remind and educate about being safe while handling weapons and hunting. Yes, one can visit a host of links on the web for this; it would be nice to create a custom knowledge base shared by each of us here.

So to start, I have a few tips we can either learn from or be reminded of. If you feel you know this stuff already, you should, but feel fortunate you do and help pass on the information to those just starting out.

- When someone hands me a gun, the first thing I don't do, like others, is to check if it is loaded. What you should first is to make sure when the gun is handed to you, that you point it in a safe direction, "then" check to see if it's loaded.

- When you have a weapon in your hand, whether loaded or not, is train yourself to be highly aware to always have the gun pointed in a safe direction.

- Prior to loading your gun, always check to make sure there's nothing in the barrel that can block it to cause a mishap.(do you "really" do this?)

- When climbing up to your tree stand or coming down, use a rope to pull up the gun or lower it. Make sure it's unloaded. Climbing with a gun attached to you is dangerous. Although it may be unloaded, you can climb better without it.

I have several more, as you do, so lets hear a few.

Thanks for your participation in spreading the reminder and educating those who may need it.

iSnipe

halfbakedi420

# 420
Wear a safety strap

dont try and climb up in a stand drunk or "hung over" which to me is still drunk...and if you do thats why the harness and safety strap were invented

Jimmy S

Great thread - my compliments.

My tip:
Be very mindful of your weapon after the shot is fired. Some hunters are unaware if there is a live round in the chamber or if the gun is still OFF safe. Make sure your weapon is safe before beginning the climb down from any stand or whenever beginning the search.
Once the deer is found dead, unload your weapon. (In NH we must register a deer before shooting another)

x-mountie

As a good rule of thumb, I never accept a firearm from anyone that the "presenter" hasn't proven and left the action open.

brandonxc

The biggest tip of all: Dont be an idiot.

Andrew_outdoors

Always wear hunter orange. As much as people will argue they can, deer cannot see it http://www.youroutdoorsonline.com/node/169

iSnipe

LOL! That goes under the category "Common Sense". The problem we are now learning is that common sense, is not that really common in some.

My tip I started using just a few years ago, is to bring my cell phone with me. In the event I get in trouble, hurt, accident, lost, etc, and if I get cell reception(LOL!), I have a communcation device to help me. Phone set on buzzer in the event of an incoming call. !!

iSnipe

uncle matt

Alcohol and firearms do not mix.

magicman54494

Don't use your scope as binos.
Remember your firearm safety after the shot. I see a lot of mishandling in the excitement that follows a shot.
Don't lay your firearm across your kill with the barrel pointing at you. They do this on TV all the time.

Gut Check

always know where hunting partners are even though you are wearing orange. And never shoot across fence lines that aren't on your property. This happened to me and I am glad I was in a tree stand. A husband wife combo took two shots onto our property at a doe and buck that were less than 30 yards from me and directly in line of sight from them. The buck they killed was an illegal buck might I add and they had no clue of the antler restrictions in the area.