John K. Flores: Making hunting season all about safety

In 2020, there were seven hunting-related incidents, according to Mitch Samaha, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Hunter Education Program Manager. Three of those incidents were fatalities.

However, when considering the number of hunting efforts, where licensed hunters go into the woods daily to hunt, most people will be surprised to learn that hunting is one of the safest sports activities that individuals can participate in.

Looking at the numbers, there were 5,691,400 hunting efforts estimated in Louisiana in 2020. Based on those efforts, when calculating what the possibility of injury was that year, it turns out to be a .00000123% chance.

It also turns out that hunting is much safer than football, basketball, golf and even badminton when looking at 2012, according to National Safety Council statistics.

Samaha, who has been teaching hunter education for 20 years, said, “Our goal is always zero incidents, but whenever you talk about hunting incidents, the first thing everybody automatically assumes is it has to be gun related. That is not what we’ve been seeing.

“We talk about this all of the time to our volunteer education instructors,” Samaha continued. “When other statistics jump out like tree stand accidents and other non-firearm related injuries that may cause hospitalization, you have to talk about them because that is our number one deal — to prevent all hunting-related accidents and injuries through hunter education.”

To be fair statistically, Samaha points out there may be some data that does go unaccounted. For example, firearm related incidents are required by law to be reported to police, therefore, never go unnoticed. By contrast, someone falling from a tree stand who sustained an injury and as a result was hospitalized may not report the incident.

Near miss falls are also problematic. Samaha asks the question, how many guys have fallen from tree stands and simply received a bump or a bruise, where only their pride was hurt?

Samaha said, “Deer hunting is a solitary sport and if you fall, there’s nobody there to see it happen. If a hunter is unconscious, or if their cell phone is in their backpack instead of on their person, or worse they are paralyzed, they’re going to sit there a very long time, until somebody realizes they’re not back from hunting.”

Samaha suggests and encourages hunters develop club rules, where members utilize sign out sheets that record location of stands. He says individuals hunting public lands should never leave home without letting someone know in detail where they are hunting that day.

Tree stands should be inspected annually, Samaha said. “Preseason inspection should include checking all straps, welds, weep holes and safety harnesses.

Homemade ladder stands are never a good idea. They may work great for a season or two but they don’t last, especially if left out. In fact, deer stands should be picked up at the end of the season and not left out one season to the next.”

Since Hunter Education was mandated by Louisiana in 1984, gun related incidents have plummeted, where the arrow is pointing nearly straight down from 1981 to 2022 says Samaha. The program can be taken online by anyone, young or old, who doesn’t have a hunter’s safety certificate.

Much emphasis still focuses on firearm safety, touching on things like keeping a firearm always on safe, pointing a loaded gun with the barrel in an up or down direction away from someone, how to cross a fence with a firearm, and wearing blaze orange. Usually, educators are highlighting hunting deer or upland game when these are discussed.

Waterfowl hunters have their own concerns when it comes to firearm safety. For example, generally, duck and goose hunters are always hunting in a confined space, whether a pit blind, A-frame blind, boat, or simply hunkered down along an agricultural field levee.

Jack Cousin is a fulltime guide with Sportsman’s Charters in Gueydan. Cousin guides hundreds of hunters annually of all ages, sex and size.
Cousin said, “During the duck season I’m extra alert and more aware of everybody and what’s going on. You’ve got to have that one guy or leader who is going to call the shot. That way, everybody is on the same page. You need to make sure everyone knows where their shooting lanes are and where they’re supposed to shoot every time.

“I see it all the time where grown men act like little kids,” Cousin continued. “They get all excited and lose focus for a second. We also randomly call safety
checks between flights of birds, while people are telling stories; it’s one of those things that’s never annoying, because it’s so important.”

With the upcoming hunting seasons just weeks away, hunters will be sighting in their firearms and going to the woods and marshes to get tree stands and blinds ready for fall. Now is the time to start thinking about safety as well.

John Flores is the Morgan City Review’s outdoor writer. He can be contacted at gowiththef lo@cox.net.