Keep safety front of mind this coming gun deer season

Over a week later than last year, but we made it. It went quick didn’t it. The older I get the faster it goes.

By now even those that don’t hunt know what’s coming. Radio stations started playing “The Thirty Point Buck” and the “The Second Week of Deer Camp” and by Friday most bang that out about once every couple hours. Blaze orange coats and bibs hang on clothslines, last weekend rifle shots rang out from ranges and back fields of hunters checking zero one more time. Hunters spent a day or so this weekend checking on stands and walking the woods.

We each went through our preparation with the routine we chose. I knew a guy that didn’t do a single thing until about six in the evening the night before the opener. His mother told a bunch of us how he stormed around looking for his hunting knife, drag rope, hot seat, gloves, boots, hat, flashlight, and a host of other things. Then raided the pantry for any type of snack to haul to the stand in his fanny pack. But he always managed to pull it together.

We checked the gear a couple weeks ago. We started loading the camper then too. Our rifles are the last thing to load the day we leave for camp. Sometime after dark on Friday evening after a quick meal, the campfire burning warmly, we toast to a good hunt, a safe hunt, and to those that no longer hunt with us.

The only good hunt is a safe hunt. The old but very truthful saying. I’m still looking forward to Wisconsin’s first incident-free gun deer season. We possess the ability to achieve this. I’m hoping this year. Wisconsin’s been close, but that just reminds me of another old saying: “Close only counts in horseshoes and . . .” No deer is worth someone getting hurt over. If you follow the four main hunting rules TAB-K; you won’t cause a firearm incident. 1. Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. 2. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.

3. Be sure of your target and beyond. 4. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. If a hunter follows these rules to a T, they will never cause a firearm incident. Always pay attention to muzzle control, don’t shoot at movement or sound, clearly identify your target and beyond, and understand that deer drives can create danger. You should be confident enough with your own firearm that safe operation comes naturally. Keep emotions under control. Not only do you hunt safer when you do this, but you shoot much better too. It might just provide the edge you need to make the shot on the biggest buck of your life.

And if you are hunting with someone that doesn’t hunt safely, or just has frequent mental lapses, or doesn’t keep their emotions under control – don’t accept the situation. If they don’t shape up, you ship out. Most hunting incidents come for self-inflicted or same party gun shots. We all hold the responsibility for our own safety.

And that means wear a safety harness and use pull ropes to pull gear and firearms into tree stands. If you forget them, just hunt on the ground for that hunt or go back and get them. Never pull a loaded firearm into or out of a stand. Don’t hide your blaze orange or fluorescent pink clothing. These things protect you.

I wore blaze orange from head to toe, on the ground, the hunt a wild deer walked the closest to me. I almost reached out and touched it, feet not yards. I shot the biggest buck of my life from the ground. Wisconsin leads the country in Boone and Crocket record book entries and the overwhelming majority met their end from a hunter sitting on a stump. The Jordan buck died that way.

A lot of hunters will shoot their first deer, many their first buck. Many will shoot the biggest buck of their lives this gun deer season, you don’t know when that will happen. Several hunters will hunt their first Wisconsin gun deer season and several will hunt their last and never know it.

This hunt remains special because of the traditions and the people we hunt with. I’m wishing each and every one of you all the luck in the world this gun season. But please remember, Safe Hunting is No Accident!

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CHUCK K OLAR LOCAL OUTDOORSMAN