Most hunting-related incidents occur when hunters behave in a careless manner or forget the basic rules of firearm safety.  Look at incident reports involving hunters and you'll likely find one or more of the following mistakes.

The hunter:

• Pointed the muzzle of a firearm at someone
• Did not identify the target carefully and/or whatever was beyond it
• Did not keep his or her finger out of trigger guard and off the trigger until ready to shoot
• Assumed that a firearm was unloaded and handled it carelessly
• Stumbled or fell while carrying a loaded firearm
• Fell while climbing into/out of position
• Assumed that the firearm was unloaded when crossing a fence
• Jumped over a ditch or creek with a loaded firearm
• Transported a loaded firearm in a motorized vehicle
• Swung out of a safe zone of fire into another hunter's zone

Avoid these kinds of mistakes by observing the rules of safe firearm handling in this chapter.