hunting accidents USA
June 1st, 2005 by Administrator
Fewer hunting accidents reported in 2004 PIERRE, S.D. – There was one fatality among the 21 hunting accidents reported to the state Department of Game, Fish & Parks in 2004.
Thirteen of the injuries came during the pheasant season.
The 21 reported accidents compares to 39 accidents and one fatality in 2003.
It is the hunter’s responsibility to identify the target and know what is beyond the intended target, said Al Bahe, the department’s HuntSAFE coordinator.
“It cannot be a low-risk shot – it has to be a no-risk shot,” he said.
The one fatality in 2004 was a goose hunter lying in a goose-shell decoy. An area farmer who had been scaring geese from fields fired two rifle shots at a grouping of goose decoys he thought were live geese, hitting the hunter.
Most of the injuries among pheasant hunters involved blockers at the end of a field or those on the wings who were ahead of the main group of hunters driving birds through the field.
One man was struck in the stomach by an unidentified shooter while hunting deer west of Sioux Falls, and three people shot themselves through careless handling of a gun.
The GF&P bases its report on a state law that requires clinics and hospitals to report any gunshot injuries to law enforcement.
In 12 of the reported accidents, investigators were able to determine the identity of the shooter. Of those 12, 10 had completed a hunter education course in South Dakota or elsewhere, the GF&P said.
Associated Press