’TIS THE SEASON FOR…HUNTING ACCIDENTS

According to the latest US Fish & Wildlife Service survey, 11.5 million Americans hunt, with about two-thirds of them exclusively using firearms. Firearms season openers are close to Thanksgiving weekend in many states. The Hunter Incident Database recorded 96 incidents nationwide in 2020, and more than half involved deer hunters. The last several years of data also show about half of all incidents consistently occurred in the months of November and December. Once-a-year hunters who might be combining some vacation time with some holiday cheer, and who share crowded woods with inexperienced shooters all contribute to making the Most Wonderful Time of the Year also the Most Dangerous Time of the Year.

THE STATISTICS

In 2019, over 15 million people paid for hunting licenses across the U.S.A. with over 1 million of them from Texas alone[4]. Pennsylvania comes in second with over 956,000 paid-for license holders, with Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Georgia all in the high 600,000 range. With such high numbers of gun and bow-wielding hunters out in the wild, fatality numbers are actually fairly low. Over the past 20 years, unintentional fatalities by firearms have been on the decline; from 1997 through to 2017, the number has dropped by 50.5%. But firearms are not the only danger when hunting. In addition to firearms-related incidents, treestand falls, pre-existing health conditions, and freak accidents also lead to hunter deaths and injuries this time of year. 

CAUSES OF HUNTING ACCIDENTS

As noted above, hunting is a popular past-time in this country. Although firearms fatalities have declined, there are still a significant number of accidents that occur every year involving hunting. Some of the incidents are from falls, either from tree stands or other perches, or from tripping over objects, tree roots, etc., while focusing on prey. Other incidents involve accidental discharge of firearms. Consider the example of a 10-year-old in Cache County, Utah who died in 2015 after he was unintentionally shot by a hunting companion who was removing his rifle from the front of a four-wheeler when it fired. In 2019, the Hunter Incident Database reported 56 hunting-related shooting accidents.³ Around eight of these were caused by handguns, 23 were caused by shotguns, and 25 were caused by rifles.  

Children are especially vulnerable when hunting. By virtue of their age, they typically do not have much experience with firearms—if any—and being out in the woods during a hunt can be disorienting. Consider this example of a hunting incident involving a minor: A 12-year-old in Stephens County, Oklahoma was hospitalized in 2014 after his 10-year-old brother unintentionally shot him in his backside after he tripped and fell with a gun in his hand while hunting. And this: A 16-year-old from Exeter, California died in 2015 while hunting with family and friends after he was unintentionally shot when he wandered in front of the other hunters. Children are also vulnerable to becoming the unwitting shooter themselves: In 2014 near Butte, Montana, a 13-year-old was unloading his rifle and unintentionally shot an adult from his hunting party in the abdomen, sending the man to the hospital in critical condition.

SAFETY TIPS

Being educated about firearms and hunting goes a long way toward improving safety. When Missouri made education mandatory in 1987, hunting accidents and deaths decreased by more than 70 percent.

Below are some suggested precautions to observe while hunting:

• Wear hunter orange when in the woods. Use hunter orange to identify your hunting location.
• Dress defensively. Never wear red, white, blue or black while hunting turkey.
• Know the effective range of your gun.
• Always identify your target before putting your finger on the trigger.
• Never shoot at sound or movement. Assume it is another hunter until you can clearly see the animal.
• Stay aware of other hunters.
• Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.
• Make sure your equipment is in good working condition and your firearm is properly sighted in.
• If you hunt on private land, know where the boundaries, houses, roads, fences and livestock are located on the property.
• Report observed violations of the law to a conservation agent or local sheriff.
• Know and obey all wildlife laws and gun safety.
• When using a camouflage blind, other hunters cannot see you even if you are wearing hunter orange. Tie hunter orange on each side of the blind so it can be seen from all sides.
• If you are an inexperienced hunter, seek out experienced hunters that you can learn from.

Of course, not drinking alcohol while hunting is a common sense safety measure, but one that is ignored all too often!

CONTACT YOUR ATTORNEY

If you or someone you know is involved in a hunting accident, contact Dave Thomas at The Thomas Law Firm for a free consultation regarding your legal rights.