I always preach safety. You can never be too safe.
Here is a link, it might keep you out of trouble. Stay safe out there.
Oh yes, happy hunting.

I’ve never had one happen while hunting. Recently though I did watch a round cook off in the chamber of an M249 and send shrapnel into the face of someone who wasn’t following proper procedures. Thankfully no serious damage was done other than some bleeding and a nasty looking scar, but serves as a reminder than bad things can and do happen.

Those pictures should be mandatory for hunter safety.

I’ve never seen or personally known anyone that’s had an accident. I’m hoping to keep it that way.

Most hunting accidents aren't accidents. They are usually a violation of not one, not two, but 3 safety rules.

1. Un-necessary round in the chamber
2. "Trust" a safety ( which may or may not have been properly employed)
3. muzzle in unsafe direction.

Observing number 1 and number 3, together or separately prevents pretty near ALL "accidents".

I personally heavily favor 1, as this mitigates any inadvertent 3 - stumbles and the like, and all following safety rules, which of course should be observed as well.

Chit happens!

Amen brother. I avoid people that tell me they are ALWAYS aware of where the muzzle is pointed.

I don't even keep a round in my rifle chamber when I am with other people until I'm in my blind. I am super cautious. When I was a teen, a hunting club member had a discharge that I never forgot............

My opinion "safety is not an accident "

Had a fellow blow a hole thru his hand here locally during turkey season. Was crawling up on some turkeys dragging his shotgun by the end of the barrel. Muzzleloader shotgun to be clear. Hammer got hung on some brush and it discharged. Nice big hole thru his hand about 3". I saw the pictures nasty.

Buddy had a atv come over on him. Hellocopter evacuation from just west of Pinedale Wyoming to Twin Falls Idaho. Ruptured spleen. 28 breaks in his ribs and broken elbo. Lucky they had a sat phone.Doctor said he was 1/2 hr from bleeding out . Lucky man. Lucky the friend with the phone had EMT training also. I missed this elk hunt because of a Tibial Plateau Fracture.

So true.

Where I used to live we hunted with a guy that unbeknown to me ,carried a snubbie .357 in his pants pocket while hunting. One day he took a 125 hp down the front of his leg and into the top of his knee and out the lower part. Only good thing is, his 300 lb frame and a poorly repaired knee keep him out of them woods anymore. He almost bleed out before they got enough EMT's to haul him out of the woods.

I don't even keep gas in the truck. Haven't had a driving accident in years.

When my wife worked ER during archery season, she would come home about once a week with a story about someone falling out of their tree stand. The lucky ones only broke a leg or arm. The unlucky ones got broad heads through their abdominal wall, or were permanently disabled from breaking their back or neck, or died from hanging upside down from a "safety belt", or from exposure because they broke their back and could not get out of the woods or reach their cell phone. I don't know if her intention was to keep me out of trees or not, but I never did hunt from one. My back has enough rods in it today that she has stopped worrying.

Great logic...

Thinking at that level should be painful...

I was bird hunting once and a guy in front of me shot his buddy in the tongue while shooting at a pheasant. The buddy was huffing and puffing up the hill and had his mouth open!

Nothing sounds right here at all... no one should be in front of you when bird hunting unless you are driving birds to standers...

???

The ole rest the barrel of the gun on my foot...trick. I have a friend that has been hunting 3 times at night in his lifetime and someone was shot each time. The second accident happened when two individuals were in the back seat of a car...both jumped out at the same time and the guy on the left side pulled his shotgun out just as the man on the right side was ducking to get out and the shotgun went off. The guy lost the right side of his buttock. Makes me shiver to think about it. powdr

+1

The vast majority of our hunting is done empty chamber. No one has ever been shot with a firearm having an empty chamber.

Years ago I spent a few days hunting elk with a coworker and his friend from LA. The friend told us on the last day that his safety didn't work so he just kept his finger off the trigger. Never hunted with either again, the coworker because he couldn't control his muzzle, his friend because he was an idiot.

My brother had a wooden stand collapse under him once. He fell about 15' damaged his glasses, and twisted his ankle or knee (don't recall which) and made things painful, but no serious injury. Other than minor nicks while butchering, or slips on rough terrain, I can't recall any major injuries. And I've been hunting nearly 50yrs.

my question is, do you bird hunt with an empty chamber and if you have a CCW do you carry with the chamber empty?

The worst tree stand accident I've heard of personally was a FIL of a friend. He fell out climbing in and a screw in step punctured his side and he ended up hanging by his ribs from the step. He was able to finally free himself and get help. It took him a while to recover. It hurts me to even think about it....

I just peed a little.





P

About 20 years ago I was climbing up some wooden steps on a tree. They were solid but they were wet and my feet slipped off. I fell about 10 feet and landed hard on my heels. I ended up with a herniated disc in my lower back which required surgery. I told them my upper back hurt too but they never scanned it. After almost a year of upper back pain I finally got an MRI. It showed old fractures of T 8, 9 and 10 vertebrae. No wonder it hurt so much.
Now days I don't leave the ground without my safety harness around the tree.