Thread: Hunters Taking Responsibility for Safety

Hi everyone,

We have all seen recent discussion on this forum (across several threads) relating to the death of another hunter. My concern is that there is a lot of discussion. Some is speculative rubbish, some has good ideas for increasing our own safety, but I'm concerned that there is not enough being done to increase out collective safety and foster an improved culture for firearms safety when hunting.

This is my attempt at stepping forward to try to do something positive. I need your input. It is not a panacea / silver bullet for making sure we all come home alive. But I hope it is something useful and proactive that might grow if it is seen as useful. It is not in relation to any specific incident.

It is basically a notification system that informs other users in the area of your hunting intentions. Lets people know who is in and around the area and serves as a reminder OUT THERE to apply the basic rules, take responsibility and be mindful of potential other users who we don't want to lay a scope reticle on.

Please give constructive criticism for the detail and guidelines I have proposed. Lets come to a consensus for a common, usable tool.

This is something that can be printed at work, at home, or there might be some real utility in the appropriate recreational hunting / firearms / safety body taking ownership of this system so we can order laminated plastic or reusable versions that serve our purpose "out there". This is probably only one small step to improving outdoor safety.

This will not stop a hunter making the wrong decision based on what they thought they saw. But I think there is potential here for users in the same area to understand the risk of other hunters coming up in their sights. This is intended to reduce the occurences, and hopefully contribute to reducing fatalities at the hands of hunters.

Here is the first draft which I am "putting out there" for discussion. It is power point but I have posted as a picture. Lets be positive, constructive and forward leaning in taking responsibility as a user group for the safety of ALL users! Mods / admin, I look forward to your support in keeping this a constructive discussion.

Ok what you have put forward is good.
But what if the wind changes middle of the hunt?
You move but your sign dose not leavening you liable to prosecution.

I would be surprised if it left a hunter liable to prosecution for not being in the place they said. The location a hunter would show needs to be generic enough to account for that, without going to the extreme and unreasonable step of "booking out" a valley or several grid squares. It is not a booking system, just a notification system. It is then up to the hunters / users out there to be "reasonable" in how they apply safety to each other. That's how I see it.

1. General idea of where people are.
2. A final reminder to be safety minded.

In some areas your idea may have some merit, but a couple of areas I hunt there is numerous roads which give access to the DOC estates. Some of them within a k/m of each other. The majority of the year a feel completely at home doing my thing and the thought of getting shot never enters my mind, I meet with many hunters there over time and it's all good except for the "silly season" when a different type of hunter appears, and many aren't " new chums". Still think it's back to identify your target.

in a recent experience of mine, i left a tee shirt hanging up in a tree when I went up river. When I came back there was a can of drink under the tee shirt, letting me know that others were in the same location. It doesn't need to be at a road end or start of a track, maybe strung to a tree trunk in a river bed, or at a stream junction where other hunters might walk past.

I like the idea. It's sort of like an intentions form* but as well as leaving it with family
leaving a copy visible for other hunters/people using the area.

With fluid nature of hunting such as wind changes, animal sign (or lack of), tracking wounded animal, etc...
I think this could at best only be indication of your intention to use a certain area.

What I can see is people getting pissy, not wanting to broadcast where 'their spot' is.
Because of this I think it would work better marking a general area (couple of sq km's).
By just noting a general area used, spot x could be concealed and some leeway for wind changes etc would be gained.


*http://www.mountainsafety.org.nz/ass...ons%20form.pdf

yeah I agree with the requirement to be generalised. Hunters then just need to accept that others will be in the same area too (which really sounds like a common sense thought to have regardless!). And that's really it @Blue Arrow, just like what you leave at home.

So here's how it would look:

Great to see you working on a solution to the issue and it's always a start.
My only concern would be that people would assume the hunter had remained in the identified area and therefore other areas would be "safe" or assume other areas are safe because no one posted a point of intentions.

great point there to put into the guidelines. "never assume there are no other people where you are hunting".

Shouldn't need to put that in the guidelines, it goes without saying.
Mind you, in theory we shouldn't need these signs too!

How dumb are we thinking people are?
(Answer) Dumb enough to shoot another person.

If we continue like this, soon there will be instructions on plastic bags at the supermaket;
- Don't put bag over your head
- Don't put bag in you mouth
- Not a safe contraception device
etc

@Feral, cudos to you for stumping up a tangible idea that I think would certainly be part of the solution. I like it and I would use it. Maybe the Forum bosses could start a download tab where we can print off a PDF of yr form.

Originally Posted by deadidick

@Feral, cudos to you for stumping up a tangible idea that I think would certainly be part of the solution. I like it and I would use it. Maybe the Forum bosses could start a download tab where we can print off a PDF of yr form.

Someone is just doing some tweaks with it at the moment. Happy to take more ideas and comments to consider including in this.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by deadidick

@Feral, cudos to you for stumping up a tangible idea that I think would certainly be part of the solution. I like it and I would use it. Maybe the Forum bosses could start a download tab where we can print off a PDF of yr form.

+1

Good on ya Feral. I am personally heartened that you have come up with an idea and put it out there for everyone, incl the knockers, to have their two cents. I agree that change, if required, needs to come from within. If change is forced upon a body it becomes a burden and a unwanted necessity. Well done.

Originally Posted by Feral

in a recent experience of mine, i left a tee shirt hanging up in a tree when I went up river. When I came back there was a can of drink under the tee shirt, letting me know that others were in the same location. It doesn't need to be at a road end or start of a track, maybe strung to a tree trunk in a river bed, or at a stream junction where other hunters might walk past.

Just remember to come back and remove it or your just leaving rubbish ah....but otherwise ok I like it

You could make it biodegradable