Stay home... lol

Well in my book, hunting accidents shouldn't happen at all. And the accidents I'm talking about is people getting shot, or shooting themselves. It's uncalled for, and should never happen. If people learn to recognize their targets first, and know whats behind it, accidents won't happen. And people that shoot themself in the foot deserves just what happen to them. Gun safety should be first and formost in everyone's mind as soon as they pick up a gun, or any weapon. Also, everyone in my opinion should "HAVE" to go through a hunters safety class no matter what age they are. But thats never going to happen. Because some hunters just don't care, and that's what give the good hunters a bad name. Just be careful when in the woods , fields, or on the lake. And you should be fine. And remember GUN SAFETY IS FIRST AND FORMOST, before anything else.

If I'm not mistaken tree stand accidents are the #1 cause of hunter injury by far. The best way to avoid tree a tree stand injury is always wear a full body harness, when climbing up and down the tree and while sitting in your stand. As for shooting accidents these are rare but accidents do happen, know your weapon and always handle it safely, wear your orange and you probaly will never have a problem. Like mentioned before, driving to 7/11 is much more dangerous than hunting. Good Luck

I think the hunter safety course is good advice if you haven't had one. I'm 48 and don't need a hunter safety card for most hunting, but I attended the course with my son when he took it last August. I learned a lot of valuable information about gun safety and about hunting. I had been taught much firearms safety by my dad as a kid,but it doesn't hurt to get a refresher.

If you follow the rules of firearms safety and are around others who also follow these rules, your danger from firearms are very small. If you are hunting on public ground and are wearing hunter orange, you are pretty safe even from other hunters who may not be part of your group.

As several have pointed out, your gravest dangers in hunting aren't going to be getting shot. If you use a tree stand, find out how to use it safely, perhaps by watching a safety video such as the video Cabelas provides when you purchase one of their stands. Be careful with your knife when gutting an animal. Other hazards -- while not typically fatal -- also exist. I damaged a tendon in my left ring finger breaking off a tree branch to clear a shooting lane which took two months to recover from. Of course, these hazards are associated with being outdoors in general, not necessarily deer hunting.

Trout,

I teach hunter safety education here in IL. One thing I will tell you is that 99% of field incidents (not "accidents") are the direct result of a persons actions or inactions.

Try to never get yourself in a position that will require you to hurry or take some sort of short cut. Look, gather all info, weigh your options and then act accordingly.

Put together a safety & survival kit and always keep it with you. Include things such as compass, cell phone, signal mirror, whistle, firestarter, first aid, space blanket, etc..

Most important is that someone knows where you are and when to expect you back.

Take the hunter education class. Try to find a first aid class and take that too.

Uncle Matt (in IL)