KY: Kentucky Dept Fish and Wildlife -

	Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources fw.ky.gov
	Tips for a Safe Modern Gun Deer Season

Press Release
November 15, 2004

Contact: Lee McClellan
800-858-1549

Frankfort, KY (November 15, 2004) - Deer hunters need to be prepared and think about a few safety-related situations before the opening of modern gun deer season on November 13, 2004.

One of the most common accidents that happens to hunters is a fall from a tree stand that is too old, or because the hunter doses off, loses balance and winds up tumbling out because a harness wasn’t used as a safety precaution.

Many hunters construct deer stands made with plywood for a floor and some pieces of a 2 by 4 board serving as steps. It is unwise to trust these types of tree stands on opening day without checking their structural integrity ahead of time and making any needed repairs.

Falling limbs throughout the year can hit and weaken the floor, which can lead to an unexpected and painful fall. Steps weakened through 11 months of rain, heat, cold and freeze can easily break free and cause serious injury under an unsuspecting hunter’s weight.

Always wear your safety harness when hunting from a tree stand. It is the single most important safety item a deer hunter can use. More hunters are injured, sometimes fatally, from falls than errant shots, being mistaken for game, or other types of incidents.

As the years go by, we all gain a few pounds. Don’t shoot deer on steep slopes or in areas that require you to drag your deer a long way if you aren’t in the shape you were in high school. Think ahead and try to minimize the physical effort it takes to move and load a harvested animal by hand, if you’re not used to heavy lifting and exertion. Make sure you have some help available ahead of time. Use the buddy system and take frequent breaks. Be sure someone at home knows about where you are and about what time you should be home, just in case something happens.

All hunters who hunt during modern gun deer season, or any other period when firearms can be used for deer hunting, must comply with the hunter orange clothing law. It requires hunters wear solid, unbroken hunter orange color visible from all sides on the head, back and chest. Hunter orange must also be worn by anyone accompanying a gun deer hunter. Camouflage patterns with splotches of hunter orange do not meet the requirements. Wearing hunter orange while walking to and from the deer stand, but taking it off while in the deer stand, does not meet the requirement. It’s much wiser to keep your hunter orange on at all times while you’re in the field, even if you’re just eating lunch, for obvious reasons.

Other safety tips are also important, but sometimes easy to forget. Do not cross a fence, or climb a tree stand ladder without completely unloading your firearm beforehand. It is easy for a firearm laid against a fence to slide off, hit the ground and fire. If hunting with a companion, let him or her hold the firearm after you unload it and while you cross. The empty firearms can then be handed over carefully and safely, person two can climb over, and then both hunters can reload and proceed. Don’t transport loaded firearms in any type of vehicle. Use good judgment when operating all-terrain vehicles. Don’t get in a hurry.

Never fire at any movements, sounds or colors, and don’t assume if you have on your hunter orange, all other hunters will, too. Rather, expect the opposite. Keep your firearm’s safety on until you are ready to shoot. Always be 100 percent certain of your target before you fire. Once the bullet leaves the barrel, you can’t take it back.

Safety should become a habit for all hunters. Don’t take it lightly and cut corners. Remember, you can take the finest trophy in the world, but it won’t mean much if you wind up hurt, hurting someone else, or worse.

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