The upland bird-hunting season is winding down at our local hunting preserves. This year we have been hunting quite a lot with our veteran hunting crew and we have even had some of our long time fishing friends and clients come join us for their first wing shooting experience. We have been pleased to guide and host the newcomers while schooling them in the ins and outs of hunting and safety.
If you are new to hunting learning everything you can about gun safety is your first undertaking. While upland hunting is a fun past time and a great sport to mix in with a little fly-fishing, it is a very lethal sport one where the consequences of mishandling a shotgun can result in injury or death.
Hunting accidents however never happen when all members in the hunting party continually and habitually practice safety. Guns cannot hurt anyone if they are handled properly. If bird hunting is new and of interest to you spring and summer is a great time to shoot some clay targets and practice gun safety. A few safety points to keep in mind when a gun is in your hand:
- Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
- Never point a gun at anything you don’t intend to shoot.
- When walking keep the action on your gun open.
- Always keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction. POINTED UPWARDS TOWARDS THE SKY!
- Know your target and beyond.
- The best shot you can take is no shot; if the shot is at all questionable, do not shoot!
Gun safety is a continual practice and the key is to always pay attention. Recently we had a long time fly fishing friend and client and first time hunter in the field with us and he has harvested birds on both trips!
Tight Lines and Good Shooting,
Tyler Bowman
The Flyfisher Group
tyler@theflyfisher.com
