Prioritize safety when deer hunting

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- While it’s easy to get caught up in the anticipation and excitement of deer hunting, safety is an important aspect of the hunting experience that must not be overlooked.

The archery portion of deer hunting season has been underway for a little over a month, but once the gun portion of the season begins there will be many more hunters and much more activity in the woods across the state. The following are some safety measures to consider as we approach the busiest part of deer season.

Tree stand accidents far outnumber any other type of hunting accident. A lot has been written about the proper use of safety harnesses with tree stands. While you’re not required to use safety harnesses when hunting on private lands, it’s better to be safe than take unnecessary risks. It’s a little bit of an inconvenience, but taking this precaution can protect you from serious injury.

Whether you’re using a climber-style or ladder-style lean-up stand, check to make sure it is reliable and ready for use before venturing out with it. Inspect the welds, bolts, screws, seats, straps, chains and fasteners. If you’re unsure about any of these items, repair or replace them. Replace any nylon straps that have been exposed to weather over the course of a hunting season. Also, rats and squirrels may gnaw or chew on straps.

If you plan to hunt from an elevated blind or “shooting house,” inspect it first. The elements take their toll after several years of weather exposure. Make sure the support structures, steps or ladder and flooring are all in good shape.

Hunting accidents involving firearms are rare, but they do occur. Deer hunters should always wear the amount of hunter orange required by law, be sure of their target and know their position in relation to hunting partners, residential areas and public roads.

Be sure the safety mechanism on your firearm is on. Sometimes a hunter will see a deer and switch the safety off, and when they don’t have a shot, they forget to re-engage the safety. Or maybe a hunter takes the shot and chambers another round, but in the excitement of harvesting the deer, they forget to switch the gun back to “safe” before climbing down from the stand. Then sometime later, the trigger is caught on something and the gun fires. This can be prevented if you make sure the safety is on when you’re not ready to fire the gun.

When traveling to or from stands or blinds before dawn or after dusk, observe and obey legal shooting hours. Unload your gun, or at least don’t have a round in the chamber. You can’t legally harvest an animal during that window anyway, and firearm accidents are unlikely with an unloaded gun. Also, a flashlight or head lamp (white or red light) will help any other hunters in the area to identify you when you’re traveling to and from your hunting areas in the dark.

Put together a small first aid kit to carry with you while hunting. Probably the most you will ever need it for is cuts and scrapes, but you never know. A tourniquet is also a good item to include in your kit. The chances of ever needing it are slim to none, but as the saying goes, it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Finally, keep several pairs of nitrile or latex gloves in your hunting kit or pack. Since Mississippi is a state with positive cases of chronic wasting disease, or CWD, we strongly recommend that everyone wear protective gloves when handling deer carcasses, especially if hunting in northern Mississippi counties.

While it hasn’t been proven to date, there is some concern that ingesting prions (misshapen proteins) or exposure to them via cuts on hands could be linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s disease in humans. So, purchase a box or two of protective gloves, and stick a couple of pairs in your jacket pocket before venturing out on the hunt. Also, using gloves when field dressing and processing a deer makes cleaning up so much easier and convenient.

As deer season approaches, it’s easy for us to become distracted whether it’s thinking about harvesting that big buck or anticipating good times while hunting with friends and spending weekends at camp. Take a little time to check out all your equipment and go over safety protocols with camp members and hunting partners, especially new and young hunters. Be safe and have an enjoyable hunting season.