This holiday season some folks are scrolling through the sales looking to save a few bucks, while others are more preoccupied with hunting a different kind of buck – the ones in the woods. Its hunting season as well as holiday season!
We make it a priority in our agency to help keep you informed and insured, and that’s a year round goal for us. That’s why this season we want to share with you safety tips you need to know for hunting season, whether you’re an experienced hunter, a beginner, or just tagging along and trying to stay quiet. ☺
For non-hunters, hunting season can put a damper on other outdoor activities as those who don’t know proper hunting season safety tips are more cautious and apt to plan alternative recreation. (We’ve all heard the worst-case stories of people being mistaken for animals in the woods.)
Here’s some things you need to know if you’re not a hunter but still want to enjoy the great outdoors during hunting season:
- Identify hunting seasons and lands open to hunting. Learn about where and when hunting is taking place and plan your recreation activities accordingly.
- Wear bright clothing (like hunter blaze orange). Make yourself more visible. Choose colors that stand out, like bright, fluorescent red, orange, or yellow. Avoid earth-toned and animal-colored clothing.
- Don’t forget to protect your pet, too. Tie a swath of brightly-colored fabric or bandana around your dog’s neck or purchase a hunter blaze orange dog vest, available from many sporting goods outfitters.
- Make noise. Whistle, sing or carry on a conversation as you walk to alert hunters to your presence.
- Be courteous. Once a hunter is aware of your presence, don’t make unnecessary noise that disturbs wildlife. Avoid confrontations.
- Make yourself known. If you do hear shooting, raise your voice and let hunters know that you are in the vicinity.
- Choose an alternative place or date. If you don’t feel comfortable out in the woods this time of year, choose an area where hunting is not allowed, like most (but not all) national or state parks (check ahead to be sure). The most heavily hunted seasons last only a few weeks—find out when they occur and schedule your activities around them.
Tips For Hunters, too. The above tips for non-hunters also apply to hunters, with the addition of completing a state-certified hunter education course, plus reviewing firearm safety.
- Review and follow the four basic rules of firearm safety. The most common hunting incidents result from hunter judgment mistakes. To avoid hunting incidents, every hunter should review and follow these basic rules:
- Treat every gun as if it is loaded.
- Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you do not intend to shoot.
- Keep your finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard until your sights are on the target and you are ready to shoot.
- Always be sure of your target and what is beyond.
- Remember common sense safety rules. When you go hunting, keep other common sense safety rules in mind: check the weather report before you go, tell someone, where you will be hunting and when you will return and carry a first aid kit as well as a spare set of dry clothing.
Whether you’re setting the tree in the stand or sitting in a tree stand this holiday season, we hope it finds you visions of hunting safety dancing in your head. ☺
Get more hunting safety tips at http://www.huntercourse.com/usa/