Ohio Deer Season: Gun Safety
Posted in Accident & Injury on December 18, 2015
Deer hunting has always been about tradition. As a kid, I tagged along to learn the nuances of what to do and what not to do when killing an animal. As an adult, I imparted the family wisdom to my kin and relished the time alone with my children who enjoyed one of my few hobbies. As gun season is now upon us, the one practice I still continue to review each time we set foot on our property is gun safety. This tradition will never die.
Photo by jaymantri.com, licensed under CC BY 1.0
Aside from the typical safety routines I review each time a gun is in their hands, I chose this year to focus in on the following rule: “Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.” [1] Whether you are in the blind, in a tree stand or simply walking through the woods, knowing what is potentially beyond the target is the hardest part of hunting. To stress the importance of this simple rule, I took the kids on an excursion days before the season opened.
From the tree stand, we mapped out the woods and all of the hazards. We measured off the feed piles, areas of thick brush and tree cover and the open fields, which fed directly into the woods. I stressed these were the areas where other hunters may exist. We identified the dangers, such as protruding rocks and large tree trunks, where ricochets may occur, ravines containing blind spots and lastly looked for other tree stands or areas where hunters may “accidentally” trespass on our land. The whole purpose of this very simple exercise was to identify those hazards which may suddenly appear after a shot is taken.
While I may be disappointed when my son or daughter misses a shot, I do not want to regret the shot was due to a lack of preparation on my part.
Ohio Deer Hunting Season
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has announced Ohio’s 2015 deer-gun season will continue Dec. 28-29.
During the Dec. 28-29 firearm season, all hunters except waterfowl hunters must wear a vest, coat, jacket or coveralls that are either solid hunter orange or camouflage hunter orange. Hunting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes past sunset for all deer seasons.
Shotguns and straight-walled cartridge rifles in approved calibers cannot have more than three shells.
For more information on deer hunting rules, including approved guns, visit wildohio.gov. Download a copy of the 2015-2016 Ohio Hunting Regulations or pick up a copy where licenses are sold.
Bill Price is a seasoned trial attorney who focuses his practice on personal injury litigation for people who have been seriously injured or killed. He has the distinction of being named to the 2016 Top 100 Ohio and Top 50 Cleveland Super Lawyers lists.
Sources:
[1] National Shooting Sports Foundation. “Firearms Safety | 10 Rules of Safe Gun Handling.” NSSF, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2015. http://www.nssf.org/safety/basics/