Gun experts give safety tips as deer hunting season begins in Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Deer hunting season kicks off across Nebraska on Saturday, and officials are reminding everyone to be careful.

Experts with Izaak Walton League of Lincoln said first and foremost, you must always treat any firearm as if it is loaded and keep the muzzle pointed away from people.

They said you should be sure of what your target is and where you’re aiming to avoid hitting anything in front of or behind it.

Mike Streeter, a volunteer with the league, said it’s also important to know how far your gun can shoot.

“It’s vital to come out to a range and practice so you know what your limitation is,” he said. “If you’ve never shot it, you don’t even know if you can hit a target.”

Nick Lind, president of the league, also said to keep your finger outside the trigger guard until you are ready to fire.

They also said to never shoot at sound or movement, especially through thick brush or toward a roadway.

Channel 8 has reported on a handful of hunting accidents over the past two years, including the deaths of two people in our area.

Caleb Ladehoff of Sutton died in an accident in May 2022, while Kade Reiman, a second-grade teacher at Palmyra Public Schools, was accidentally shot and killed in 2021.

Superintendent Michael Hart said he knew Reiman as an outdoorsman and avid hunter.

“I think Kade would say, ‘Hey, get out there, it’s a great family sport, it’s a great way to connect with friends and with your family,'” Hart said. “But at the same time, whenever you’re dealing with firearms, there’s a business end to those things. And you got to make sure you’re following the rules.”

Lind also recommends both eye and ear protection.

“You only have one set of ears, and when they go bad, it makes things pretty miserable for the rest of your life,” he said. “There’s all kinds of hearing protection out there.”

For example, some headphones have a sound-dampening feature so you can adjust how much you hear.

You’ll also need to wear at least 400 square inches of hunter orange on your head, chest and back, even if you get warm.

And if you plan to sit in an elevated stand, wear a restraint harness.

“We’ve found that people don’t bounce very good when they fall out of a tree at 10 or 15 feet up in the air and they break things that are important to them,” Streeter said. “They need to be restrained in that tree, so they don’t fall.”

One last thing both Lind and Streeter want to remind everyone of is to get permission before hunting on someone else’s property.

You can find more safety tips at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission website.