Hunter Education
I can still remember back to when I was a kid growing up on the family farm and one of the most exciting times for me was fall deer season. I can recollect waiting at the house for my dad to return, hoping that one of the gun shots I had heard that morning was his and that he would be bringing a deer home. It didn’t matter if it was a big buck or a doe; I was always excited and thankful. Fast forward a few years and I was an 11 year old kid sitting in the VFW in Odessa, MO, listening to the conservation agent and volunteer hunter education instructors instilling the importance of firearm safety, hunting ethics and the role/responsibility that each of us take when we head out to enjoy the outdoors. The lessons that those instructors and my dad taught me, from an early age, are just as important and relevant then as they are now. Too often, veteran hunters allow themselves to become too relaxed about the basics of firearms safety … which is evident when considering the number of hunting incidents that have occurred this past year. The truth is that had these hunters remembered the basics from hunters safety these incidents could have been avoided … Rule #1: point the muzzle in a safe direction.
So with fall deer season around the corner and another influx of hunters entering the field a reminder of the basics is very appropriate for all of us. The primary safety rules for firearm hunting: (1) Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, (2) Always 100% positively identify your target and what is beyond it before firing, (3) Always keep your safety on until ready to shoot, and (4) Always keep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot. Remember, once the trigger is pulled you can’t take that bullet back. And don’t forget that the 2015 Fall Deer archery season opens on September 15th!
If you are interested in participating in a hunter’s safety course you can register by going online to www.mdc.mo.gov or by contacting the Northwest Regional Office at (816) 271-3100. There is going to be a one day hunter’s safety course offered at the Hartell Conservation Area on October 1st starting at 5 p.m. If you have any questions you can contact me at (816) 646 – 6926.
by Tyson Hartshorn, Conservation Agent
