Safety Precautions In Hunting – Don’t Shoot Your Own Foot
Hunting has survived from the beginning of civilization to the modern world. As a matter of fact, it has become one among the most popular hobbies and pastimes of the world. However, although it is the most popular, it can also be the most dangerous. There are a few basic guidelines that every hunter must follow before heading out into the wild.
One of the most important aspects of hunting is knowing how to walk and hold a gun. Always ensure that the muzzle of the gun is pointing away from the hunter and companions. There are a couple of ways of doing this. One way is to side carry where you effectively carry the gun in one hand and tuck the stock between your body and elbow. However, it is recommended that the side carry not be done if the hunter is to walk through thick brush or has companions walking in front.
The ready carry is another option. In the ready carry, the two hands hold the gun with the muzzle pointing upwards towards the front. Here the trigger finger needs to rest on proper guard.
In the sling carry, both the hands are free. In this method, the gun’s muzzle rests skywards. In case there are companions behind, this would not be a recommended method of carrying the gun.
The trail carry is where the gun is held at a position between the trigger and action. In case a person is walking in front, the hunter might be safer not using a trail carry as the muzzle points forward and not down.
On establishing a comfortable and safe method of carrying the weapon, the hunter should proceed to chalk out a plan on what to do on encountering the target. Before doing so, a ‘zone of fire’ should be established by the hunter so that it can be determined where each should track and shoot when game appears. This is done so that no hunter encroaches on to another hunter’s zone.
There are many safety precautions that need to be considered while hunting from boats. First and foremost, you need to ensure that the weapon being used by the hunter who sits in the boat’s bow is unloaded. This gun must face the bow. After this, the next hunter should place her or his unloaded gun inside the stern along with the muzzle pointing rearwards. The hunters must always keep in mind that the boat needs to be anchored while shooting and that all hunters must shoot in opposite directions.
There are many hunters who practice on ranges in order to maintain their sharp skills. There are a set of safety commands that need to be followed here too so that all the participants can enjoy safely. For example, when a hunter says that the range is hot, it means the range is available for shooting and no live objects are present on the range. Cease-fire means that all firing must be stopped immediately. Ready is another commands that is followed closely on the shooting range. This precautionary command is given prior to the range is hot command. All the shooters repeat the word ready from the right to the left so that the firing line is assuredly safe and clear. stag party Budapest