Top 10 Hunting Safety Tips (Firearm & Bow)

August — Hunting Safety (Firearm & Bow)

Seasons open in September. August is when the prep actually has to happen.

REC Safe Hunting

Our R.E.C. Tenets, applied in the field:

Treat every firearm as loaded. Muzzle in a safe direction, finger off the trigger, and be certain of your target and what's beyond it.
Wear a full-body harness in any elevated stand — attached from the ground up and back down. Falls injure more hunters than firearms do, and most falls happen while climbing in or out.
Use a lifeline so you're connected during the climb, not just once you're seated.
Inspect every stand, strap, and ladder before the season. Straps degrade badly after a winter outdoors.
Haul your bow or unloaded firearm up on a rope. Never climb with it.
Wear blaze orange where required — and consider it during archery season wherever gun seasons overlap.
Positively identify your target before you draw or mount. Never use a scope as binoculars.
Take a hunter education course and read this year's regulations, not last year's.
Handle broadheads with respect. Quivered at all times; they cause deep, fast-bleeding wounds.
Tell someone exactly where your stand is, and get in shape before opening day — cardiac events while dragging game are a real and underreported cause of hunting deaths.