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Kentucky Afield Outdoors:Stay safe with hunter education
9/5/08
Frankfort, Kentucky - As fall hunting seasons begin, safety should be the first thing on every hunter's mind. In 2007, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources received 19 reports of hunting-related accidents. Eight of those accidents resulted in hunter deaths.
"Just keeping their firearm pointed in a safe direction would have saved the lives of four people," said Bill Balda, hunter training officer supervisor for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. "Every time there's an accidental discharge that hurts someone, they've broken at least one gun safety rule. If you foul up everything else and the gun goes off, but you have it pointed in a safe direction, you might be mad or scared, but you still get to go home."
This cardinal rule of gun safety is at the heart of Kentucky's hunter education courses. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife offers more than 300 courses each year throughout the state. They are proven to keep hunters safer and reduce hunting deaths. Since hunter education became mandatory in Kentucky in 1991, hunting-related deaths dropped by a third.
"We tell them three things over and over: always keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot, don't load until you're ready to shoot, and always keep the muzzle in a safe direction," said long-time Jefferson County hunter education instructor Bob McGee. "The majority of the questions on the test are on firearms safety. We try to cover every question on the test, so they hear every answer."
Dozens of the free courses are still available in September and October, before the most popular gun deer seasons begin. Hunter education courses are not just for kids. Veteran hunters can also benefit from a refresher course on wildlife identification, firearm identification and cleaning, hunting ethics, gun safety, outdoor survival and more.
Tree stand safety is one of the most important topics covered in hunter education courses. Of the five tree stand accidents reported to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife in 2007, one resulted in a hunter's death.
"That's pretty consistent from year to year. About 25 percent of our accidents will be tree stand accidents, and about 25 percent of those tree stand accidents will be fatalities," said Balda. "If they kept themselves tied-off to the tree and they raised their equipment on a haul line, they wouldn't have nearly so many accidents. Hunters need to be tied off to the tree even while climbing up."
In addition to firearms safety and tree stand safety, hunter education instructors stress the importance of identifying the target before pulling the trigger. Five accidents in 2007 involved hunters who mistook another hunter for game or fired at a sound when their hunting partner was not visible. Two of those accidents resulted in death.
Hunter education is required for all hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1975, except kids under 12 and hunters who are license exempt. However, a one-time temporary hunter education exemption permit is available for $5 online, which allows hunting for one year from the date of purchase without a hunter education card while accompanied by a legal adult hunter who meets Kentucky's hunter education requirement.
"There is a tutorial online that goes over the basics of hunter education," Balda said. "The permit holder must be accompanied by an adult who can take immediate control of the firearm."
Hunter education courses are usually spread over a three-day period, including a live fire exercise on the last day of the course. Participants can choose to take the classroom portion of the course online, by videotape or by CD. Log on to fw.ky.gov on the Internet and click on "hunting", then "hunter education" for more information, to find a hunter education course near you, or to purchase an exemption permit.
Author Hayley Lynch is an award-winning writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She is an avid hunter and shotgun shooter.
(Editors: Photos are available by emailing brenda.hill@ky.gov.)
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources manages, regulates, enforces and promotes responsible use of all fish and wildlife species, their habitats, public wildlife areas and waterways for the benefit of those resources and for public enjoyment. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, an agency of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, has an economic impact to the state of $4.7 billion annually. For more information about the department, visit our web site at fw.ky.gov.
Media Contact:
Hayley Lynch (800) 858-1549 ext. 4493
9/5/08
Frankfort, Kentucky - As fall hunting seasons begin, safety should be the first thing on every hunter's mind. In 2007, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources received 19 reports of hunting-related accidents. Eight of those accidents resulted in hunter deaths.
"Just keeping their firearm pointed in a safe direction would have saved the lives of four people," said Bill Balda, hunter training officer supervisor for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. "Every time there's an accidental discharge that hurts someone, they've broken at least one gun safety rule. If you foul up everything else and the gun goes off, but you have it pointed in a safe direction, you might be mad or scared, but you still get to go home."
This cardinal rule of gun safety is at the heart of Kentucky's hunter education courses. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife offers more than 300 courses each year throughout the state. They are proven to keep hunters safer and reduce hunting deaths. Since hunter education became mandatory in Kentucky in 1991, hunting-related deaths dropped by a third.
"We tell them three things over and over: always keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot, don't load until you're ready to shoot, and always keep the muzzle in a safe direction," said long-time Jefferson County hunter education instructor Bob McGee. "The majority of the questions on the test are on firearms safety. We try to cover every question on the test, so they hear every answer."
Dozens of the free courses are still available in September and October, before the most popular gun deer seasons begin. Hunter education courses are not just for kids. Veteran hunters can also benefit from a refresher course on wildlife identification, firearm identification and cleaning, hunting ethics, gun safety, outdoor survival and more.
Tree stand safety is one of the most important topics covered in hunter education courses. Of the five tree stand accidents reported to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife in 2007, one resulted in a hunter's death.
"That's pretty consistent from year to year. About 25 percent of our accidents will be tree stand accidents, and about 25 percent of those tree stand accidents will be fatalities," said Balda. "If they kept themselves tied-off to the tree and they raised their equipment on a haul line, they wouldn't have nearly so many accidents. Hunters need to be tied off to the tree even while climbing up."
In addition to firearms safety and tree stand safety, hunter education instructors stress the importance of identifying the target before pulling the trigger. Five accidents in 2007 involved hunters who mistook another hunter for game or fired at a sound when their hunting partner was not visible. Two of those accidents resulted in death.
Hunter education is required for all hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1975, except kids under 12 and hunters who are license exempt. However, a one-time temporary hunter education exemption permit is available for $5 online, which allows hunting for one year from the date of purchase without a hunter education card while accompanied by a legal adult hunter who meets Kentucky's hunter education requirement.
"There is a tutorial online that goes over the basics of hunter education," Balda said. "The permit holder must be accompanied by an adult who can take immediate control of the firearm."
Hunter education courses are usually spread over a three-day period, including a live fire exercise on the last day of the course. Participants can choose to take the classroom portion of the course online, by videotape or by CD. Log on to fw.ky.gov on the Internet and click on "hunting", then "hunter education" for more information, to find a hunter education course near you, or to purchase an exemption permit.
Author Hayley Lynch is an award-winning writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She is an avid hunter and shotgun shooter.
(Editors: Photos are available by emailing brenda.hill@ky.gov.)
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources manages, regulates, enforces and promotes responsible use of all fish and wildlife species, their habitats, public wildlife areas and waterways for the benefit of those resources and for public enjoyment. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, an agency of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, has an economic impact to the state of $4.7 billion annually. For more information about the department, visit our web site at fw.ky.gov.
Media Contact:
Hayley Lynch (800) 858-1549 ext. 4493
