While accidents uncommon, hunting experts stress safety this season
Gun experts and hunting instructors want to stress safety and communication this hunting season.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – In the wake of a tragic hunting accident over the weekend, gun experts and hunting instructors want to stress safety this hunting season.
Nebraska Game and Parks hunter education coordinator Jackson Ellis explains there are four key rules to stay safe while hunting.
- Keep muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
- Keep finger outside of trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.
- Identify your target and what may lay behind it.
- Keep firearm unloaded until you are ready to use it.
According to Nebraska Game and Parks, in 2020, there were five hunting related incidents total with two fatalities. The year before, there was one fatality.
“We’ve seen very, very low incidences throughout the years, especially with hunter education, and blaze orange [vest] requirements,” Ellis said. “Now people are very informed when they’re going out there in the field.
BigShots Indoor Range owner Jim Clark says he does not hunt any more, but when he used to, he and his fellow hunters would have meetings beforehand to make sure everyone was on this same page.
“You just want to be absolutely certain of what you’re shooting at, where everybody is in your party, and hopefully then you have a successful hunt and nobody gets hurt,” Clark said.
“When you’re hunting in a group, one of the big things is communication,” Ellis said. “So you want to be in communication with your group before you start the hunt, where everybody is going to be and what the process of that hunt is going to look like.”
In Nebraska, hunters are required to wear 400 square inches of blaze orange clothing during firearm deer hunting season, but Ellis says it’s a good practice during any hunting season.
“Deer don’t pick up those colors, so to them, it is kind of a gray muted color,” he said. “That’s why we use hunter orange and it’s been it’s been a huge, huge asset for hunter safety.”
Nebraska hunters ages 12 to 29 are required to complete a firearm hunter education class before they can hunt with a firearm or an air gun. You can learn more about hunter education and general hunter safety here.
