The 2011 hunting season tied 2009 for New York State’s safest year of hunting on record based on the number of hunting-related shooting incidents, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
In the 2011 hunting seasons, 26 personal injury hunting-related shooting incidents were reported, including four fatalities.
All of the fatalities occurred during the regular deer season, one of which was self-inflicted.The number of hunters in New York State is declining, according to the DEC, but the hunting incident rate (incidents per 100,000 hunters) is falling at a much faster rate.
Since the 1960s, the number of hunters has declined about 20 percent, while the incident rate has declined more than 70 percent.
The past five-year average is 5.3 incidents per 100,000 hunters, compared to 19 per100,000 in the 1960s.
New York state’s hunting tradition is enjoyed by many who are safety conscious thanks to more than 60 years of effort by 3,000 volunteer Sportsman Education Instructors, said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens.
All first-time hunters must attend a comprehensive DEC hunter safety course of a minimum of 10 hours, according to Martens.
The hunter safety courses stress safe practices and ethics, along with information on New York’s game species and their management.
Students must successfully pass the pass a course to be eligible for a hunting license.
Some primary hunter safety rules are:
• Treat every firearm as if it were loaded
• Keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction
• Identify your target and what lies beyond
• Keep finger off the trigger until ready to fire
• Wear hunter orange.
