Suggestions for decreasing "hunting" related incidents

Posted elsewhere as well, but relevant here too...

Ok, so rather than add to the huge volume of posts on the incidents along the lines of:

• he is an idiot, lock him up
• this will never happen to me
• target id, target id, target id....
• car accidents kill more people every year so everything is ok...
• etc

Let's talk about some REAL WORLD, practical changes that might start to make a difference

Mountain Safety Council / Police

• stop instructors from "assisting" people to pass the safety test. you are not doing anyone a favour...
• update the test to be less "written" focused. what struck me when i did the test was how someone who does not have good reading/writing skills would struggle, as well as people who do not have English as their first language.
• create videos that show practical scenarios where another hunter/tramper could be mistaken for a deer
• compulsory safety re-certification, with video, discussion/review of recent incidents

Clubs / Deerstalkers

• make unsafe practices socially unacceptable
• zero tolerance for safety infringements on a range, first time you get get a sit-down discussion about the problem, and get sent home. second time get banned from the range for x weeks/months etc
• start and end EVERY single club activity (meeting, shoot, social) with a safety chat (same as in the workplace)
• spend part of the club/association fees on safety programs / training etc.
• statements like "he is not a real hunter, spotlighting is not hunting" etc have ZERO effect. the general public could not care less, to them anyone shooting at animals (or people) in the bush, whether it is at night, during daylight, safe/unsafe = hunter. unless the hunting community itself sorts out this problem, these people will step in for you and change the laws...very simple.

Gunshops

• these guys can have a huge impact. if you make a serious show of checking unloaded etc, and following exactly the same process each and every time, it starts the safety cycle off on the right foot.

Hunting parties / mates

• have a discussion about safety practices each and every time you go out. your mate may have picked up some bad habits somewhere else, or want to try something different that day, and it has the potential to make the difference between going home or not.

Yourself

• insist of safety practices from anyone you come into contact with when it comes to firearms
• keep your finger OUTSIDE the trigger guard. it's real hard (but not impossible) to shoot something/someone with your finger outside the trigger guard.
• be man enough to speak up and be the "safety police" or un-cool guy.
• when you read about an incident, try to figure out which of the seven rules got violated... "guy was 100% sure he shot at eye of a deer" = target id, not PART of the deer, or shape of the deer or sound or colour, the WHOLE deer, alive ...
• if you think that these accidents / incidents will never happen to you , think again...you are deluding yourself

That is well considered and well reasoned EBF. Walking the walk. It is always better and more proactive than talking the talk!

- Stop carrying a rifle on half cock. Empty chamber only, then load when identified the target. Makes you think about it rather than a snap shot of a movement.
- I would all for a season, and licence type (free one from DOC) that was specific to species hunted. That way you don't shoot anything that moves. In most overseas countries the licence is very specific about size, species, points and sex of animal hunted. The penalties are huge so hunters take their time to positively identify their target.

i really love that in nz you can rock down the west coast with your rifle, go up a doc river and maybe shoot a thar, chamios, red , pig, german tourist, goat or unlucky rabbit without specifying, its pretty amazing that u can do that in nz and i reckon it makes nz pretty unique and special. just my opinion though :)

I reckon keep it the way it is, I like being able to hunt when you feel like it, bad enough waiting for duck shooting to open. I do think it should be a little harder to get your FAl. When I got mine I was surprised how easy it was.

ARdave ;) there is always one huh ?

Something about your species list isn't 100% right, can't quite put my finger on it ... :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scottrods

- Stop carrying a rifle on half cock. Empty chamber only, then load when identified the target. Makes you think about it rather than a snap shot of a movement.
- I would all for a season, and licence type (free one from DOC) that was specific to species hunted. That way you don't shoot anything that moves. In most overseas countries the licence is very specific about size, species, points and sex of animal hunted. The penalties are huge so hunters take their time to positively identify their target.

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I wouldn't like to see the freedoms we enjoy regulated in such a way. I do however agree that there is more that could be done to ensure a safer pursuit of our sport. The movement within this forum that resulted in safety signatures is a good initiative that will positively imprint the subconscious.

How many people do we lose over the issue of safety catches, half cock, open bolt? I thought the problem was over not identifying correctly what one is taking a shot at.

I certainly agree that some Gun Shops could do a lot more to promote safe handling. In some shops I've seen a rifle taken off a rack behind the counter and passed to a customer without the action being opened and chamber checked. I think it's lazy and dangerous to assume that because it's been in the gun rack behind the counter, it's clear and safe. Making a show of checking it before handing it over would help reinforce that saftey aspect to a buyer and soon the action of checking becomes second nature.

Many years ago, I was in a well known Auckland gun shop showing some interest in a 12Ga mossberg pump action. It had tunnels on each side of the butt which I'd never seen before. I asked the circling salesman, whom shall remain nameless, what they were, and he said "Oh they're speed loaders" and proceded to show me how they worked by grabbing two live rounds out of a box nearby and pressing them into the speedloader on the r/h side, then mounted the gun to his shoulder (this is in the middle of the shop....) smoothly flicked a round out of the speedloader, whisked it into the ejection port and pushed the pump forward... Ok, so I'm thinking, that's a cool feature, but he's just chambered a livey in the middle of the shop... He kind of stalled for a few seconds and then muttered, "Probably shouldn't have done that..." racked it out and put it all away. Yep, I bought the shotty, but that ain't the point.

I think the GS's have a responsibility to always be seen to be upholding the fundamentals of firearms safety.


Ray.

People need to stop getting so bloody wound up over some venison. If i hear the term "buck fever" used as an excuse for someone getting shot again im gonna climb a fucken clock tower. Its not buck fever Ive had buck fever the first time i had a big boar in my scope after stalking in on it for 40minutes i had a massive adrenalin dump couldnt hold the rifle steady to save my life. In my opinion if you cant hold it together enough to identify your target then you owe it to socioty to give up your hunting career. People need to calm the fuck down and let the animal walk away if theyre not sure.



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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spook

How many people do we lose over the issue of safety catches, half cock, open bolt? I thought the problem was over not identifying correctly what one is taking a shot at.

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My point is that carrying at half cock gives the shooter no time to think about what he or she is shooting, they simply close and shoot. Carrying on an empty chamber, racking the action could make the hunter take a moment to think about it.

I think that clubs should shoulder some responsability...they promote hunting competitions, putting many hunters into the bush over a given weekend and creating pressure to produce a kill by having rewards [prizes] for competitors.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scottrods

My point is that carrying at half cock gives the shooter no time to think about what he or she is shooting, they simply close and shoot. Carrying on an empty chamber, racking the action could make the hunter take a moment to think about it.

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I believe that the shooter will remove his eye from the target to manipulate bolt...time spent better keeping eye on target.

You cant blame anyone but yourself(the hunter) for shooting someone, They failed to identify their target. its not a clubs fault for putting many hunters out into the bush and someone gets shot. its the guy who pulled the trigger.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spook

I think that clubs should shoulder some responsability...they promote hunting competitions, putting many hunters into the bush over a given weekend and creating pressure to produce a kill by having rewards [prizes] for competitors.

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Really? all the same rules apply if your hunting for a comp or for the freezer thats like saying i blame the roar becuase there are more people in the bush. Hunting pressure be damned its up to the individual.

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