Be Safe This Hunting Season
As fall weather arrives thousands of Kentucky hunters will be taking to the woods to hunt deer, turkey, squirrel, dove, and other game. It is importatnt that hunters make sure that they follow safe hunting principles and hunt with safety in mind.
Those rules include the basics of safe gun handling, laws that require hunter orange clothing during firearms deer and elk seasons, mandatory hunter education requirements, and tree stand safety.
“Almost all hunting incidents involve a lapse in following safety rules,” said Bill Balda, hunter education program supervisor for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.
Basic gun safety rules include the following:
* Always point your firearm in a safe direction.
* Keep the firearm’s action open and the firearm unloaded until you are ready to shoot.
* Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
* Know your target. Do not shoot at sound or movement.
* Know what is beyond your target. Make sure there is a safe background that will stop your
bullet behind the target.
* Do not hunt or shoot after drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Some prescription medications
warn against operating machinery after taking them and should not be used when handling a
firearm.
Kentucky law requires hunters to wear unbroken hunter orange clothing visible from all sides on the head, back and chest when hunting during a gun deer or elk season. Proper tree stand safety is also crucial as the majority of injuries in Kentucky are a result of hunters falling from tree stands or cliffs.
