Common causes of firearm incidents
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.
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