Causes of Firearm Incidents
Most hunting-related incidents occur when a hunter either forgets the basic rules of firearm safety or behaves in a careless manner. Look at incident reports involving hunters and you'll likely note one or more of the following mistakes:
- Pointing the muzzle of a firearm at someone
- Not identifying target carefully and what lies beyond it.
- Not keeping finger out of trigger guard and off trigger until ready to shoot.
- Assuming that a firearm is unloaded and not handling it safely.
- Stumbling or falling while carrying a loaded firearm
- Falling while climbing into/out of position
- Assuming that a firearm is unloaded when crossing a fence
- Jumping over a ditch or creek with a loaded firearm
- Transporting a loaded firearm in a motorized vehicle
- Swinging out of a safe zone of fire into another hunter's zone.
Avoid making those kinds of mistakes by observing the following rules of safe firearm handling.
