from DEC Good news

[bubba]

I know where this will end up but had to post it. Good job guys and gals

DEC: 2011 TIES FOR SAFEST YEAR IN NEW YORK HUNTING HISTORY

The 2011 hunting season tied 2009 for New York State’s safest year of hunting on record .

“Hunting is a tradition in New York state that continues to be safely enjoyed by many” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “New York has an extremely safety-conscious generation of hunters thanks largely to more than 60 years of dedicated efforts of 3,000 volunteer Sportsman Education Instructors. All first-time hunters are required to attend a comprehensive hunter safety course of a minimum of 10 hours taught by DEC’s highly-trained instructors. Their hard work is paying off.”

In the 2011 hunting seasons, 26 personal injury hunting-related shooting incidents were reported, including four fatalities. All of the fatalities occurred during the regular deer season, one of which was self-inflicted.

The number of hunters in New York State is declining, but the hunting incident rate (incidents per 100,000 hunters) is falling at a much faster rate. Since the 1960s, the number of hunters has declined about 20 percent, while the incident rate has declined more than 70 percent. The past five-year average is 5.3 incidents per 100,000 hunters, compared to 19 per 100,000 in the 1960s

[WNYBuckHunter]

Maybe if there was a blaze orange requirement, there would only have been 1 fatality.

[bubba]

yup I knew this is where it would go. OH well maybe

[bubba]

and maybe if the people were obeying the law, there would have been no fatalities. I want to qualify, I did not post this about BO. I posted this to show the positive efforts of instructors.

[SergeantMac]

Myself I'm going hunting in New York before I even think of venturing beyond our borders The Club I belong to goes all over, but think I'll stick to good old upstate Ny and long Island for a few years.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Bubba, come on bud, you had to know I was being sarcastic.

[NFA-ADK]

Did you forget about your own post? Or are the fact wrong cause this guy was killed during late season acourding to the web site... And your post.

http://huntingny.com/forums/topic/7729-fatal-shooting-in-st-lawrence-county-last-evening/

http://www.myabc50.com/news/local/story/Manslaugther-charge-in-fatal-hunting-accident/rSODjG_1-Uu9_iuUtn9cOQ.cspx

[bubba]

huh I am not following your post.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Did you forget about your own post? Or are the fact wrong cause this guy was killed during late season acourding to the web site... And your post.

http://huntingny.com...y-last-evening/

http://www.myabc50.c..._iuUtn9cOQ.cspx

Bubba didnt write the original post, it was released by the DEC.

[bubba]

oh ok now i get it an wny I did not see the sarcasm. But it was a good one

[Geno C]

hope its a step in the right direction and can be maintained or safety percentages go up. its a shame we loose the fellow hunters a field that we do but its the risk we take. Thats good tho in spite of the accidents that occurred this past season, to see that safety wasnt half bad. Guys like you who instruct Bubba play a big part exhausting every avenue of safety and im sure you cant stress it enough

[WNYBuckHunter]

Sorry Bubba, should have used a smiley.

[Geno C]

sometimes bubba misses the sarcasm lol

[bubba]

yup i do. and thanks.

[fasteddie]

It's good to see the Instructors get some credit for the teaching / training that they do !

[First-light]

It's good to see the Instructors get some credit for the teaching / training that they do !

This is true, for all you Hunting Instructors-this Bud is for you!

[Doc]

I think the reasons for the decline in hunting accidents might be a bit more involved than simply the hunter safety program. While that has for sure had a huge impact, I am curious about what role the seemingly decreasing hunter participation has had. I'm not talking about the slightly diminishing number of licensed hunters, but rather the actual numbers of hours logged by hunters today. Perhaps it's just a regional thing, but over the decades, I have noticed a huge change in hunter activity. While even opening day seems to be a lot more quiet than years gone by, an even more stark change has occurred and is getting more and more obvious with the way the woods almost goes dead in the bulk of the season after the season opens. I see a lot more "part-time" hunters that only hunt half days, and hunters that show up only on opening day.

If my observations and conclusions are anywhere near correct, perhaps we have a case of much fewer man-hours of hunting going on which limits the opportunities for hunting mis-haps. Could that be a major contributer to the great news contained in these stats?

[bubba]

always the optimist doc

[Doc]

always the optimist doc

I don't suppose you have a useful comment on what I had to say, do you?

[bubba]

If there was one I would have made it.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Are certain conditions like heart attack while hunting afield, even listed in the accident report? If not, were they listed years ago? This type of change can also make the figures look better. The way goverment tends to change the standard on items, to make it look better.

Edited February 2, 2012 by landtracdeerhunter

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Instructors are a good thing but bright orange im sure has saved many more lives than someones words. How many people do you think really listen and do what is being taught. Talk to most and they will tell you how fun the class really was. Most just get through the class and move on!!!!

[Doc]

Instructors are a good thing but bright orange im sure has saved many more lives than someones words. How many people do you think really listen and do what is being taught. Talk to most and they will tell you how fun the class really was. Most just get through the class and move on!!!!

I'm sure that not everything is absorbed 100%. I'm also sure that not everything is retained many years afterward, and I'm sure there are others who are just obstinate, and stubborn who are prone to going against anything that is told to them (kind of like cutting off their nose to spite their face). But at the very least they have all been exposed to rules of safety and weapon handling rules which is more than if the program didn't exist. Also, from the classes that I have attended and assisted with, I would say that while everyone is totally enjoying the experience, the students I have seen are also taking the proceedings quite seriously. What I have seen is some very enthusiastic kids & adults that really get caught up in the course. On the other hand, I have seen people afield who obviously didn't pay attention or consciously decided to ignore everything they were taught. There is no one safety program, item, or law that is a cure-all. Each element of safety has it's necessary place and is only effective when they are all used together.

[Doewhacker]

Are certain conditions like heart attack while hunting afield, even listed in the accident report? If not, were they listed years ago? This type of change can also make the figures look better. The way goverment tends to change the standard on items, to make it look better.

Good question and how about the incidents that are ruled a crime and not an accident.

[Doc]

If there was one I would have made it.

That's pretty much what I thought ...... lol.