Bird hunting safety

In addition to your comments, I advocate wearing eye protection at all times when dealing with firearms.

Be aware of your background and surroundings!!!!

I don't think I want to be within bird shot distance of another group.

I've been hit in the lip from about 75 yards with 7.5 shot, just stung a little and didn't even make a mark. My eye glasses which I must wear are safety glasses.

Good to hear your friend is okay.

Reckless discharge of a firearm that resulted in an injury. I would have gotten law enforcement involved. I understand there is no criminal intent, but the negligence cannot be overlooked.
I had a group shoot through trees towards me and my son last year. I moved to a lower spot in a wash and increased our distance. Not to long later a AZGFD warden walked into our area and checked our licenses and guns. I told him there were some low-shooters and to be careful while approaching. Not 10 seconds later another shot came our way and seemed to be horizontal to the ground. Off he went to meet up with them. On our way out, he (the warden) had all three guys at their vehicle with what looked like his PDA or thick ticket book out.
These types of incidents can get heated real quick if someone loses his cool.
Glad to hear your buddy is ok.
Birds are free, shells cost money, life and limb is priceless.
Bottom line is a bird is not worth hurting or killing another hunter.

Doc7 said:

In addition to your comments, I advocate wearing eye protection at all times when dealing with firearms.

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Yes indeed! i forgot to quote this one earlier. Ear and eye protection are easy to get and use. A little orange might help also.

When my wife and i got married 14 years ago, she wanted to get a hunting license, so we took the hunter education course together. They showed a video with shoot/no shoot scenarios. In one clip, a bird flushed ahead of a group of hunters and the camera swung up and around to follow the bird. Everybody was to check the correct box on the test, I checked the "no shoot" box and was marked incorrect. I told the instructor that I lost perspective of the surrounding hunters and even though the shot was clear, it was not a shot I would take because I was not certain.

Bottom line, you must KNOW that the shot is safe, not play the odds. I passed on a head shot of a doe one year because as everyone was gaggling around trying to flush the deer out, I lost sight of one of our party. I like deer meat, but it would have tasted pretty sour knowing I'd risked shooting someone over it.

Glad your friend is doing well.

I truly believe there is no good excuse for any hunting accidents. We hunt in rather large groups quite often, but we have rules, and those I hunt with are very well versed, and as well very compliant with the shooting lane rules.

We always position ourselves well beyond any shooters outside of our group, everyone wears eye protection, and when in doubt we will let a bird fly. I've always preached that if you let a bird fly because it is out of your shooting lane, then it obviously belongs to someone else's shooting lane. This is not only a safety rule, but it is also hunter etiquette when wing shooting.

GS

Blue sky also is important when hunting over dogs so you do not shoot someone's very expensive field trial champion.

ALWAYS wear eyes and ears when hunting, especially stationary hunting like doves

Eye protection cannot be stressed enough. I shot myself in the eye last year when the NAA mini .22 pistol's cylinder didn't lock up properly and a piece of the bullet sheared off on the edge of the forcing cone, ricocheted and embedded in my left eye while I was shooting a sick coon.

The ER was useless and I had to drive 80 miles the next morning to an opthamologist who assembled a surgical team and removed the bullet fragment. All is fine now but I put on glasses every time I walk out the door.

I have been peppered on dove fields over a dozen times but always had sunglasses on so was never injured. Irresponsible shooters should be kicked off the field as soon as that happens.

I too took some serious peppering on dove opener this year. A relatively new hunter was with us and barely clipped a bird, he saw it flapping around on the ground in front of him and for some reason felt the need to shoot it again. I saw him pull up and figured he saw me, before I could shout or move he pulled the trigger. Stung like heck but no blood, I was very thankful I had eye protection but dont think any shot hit above the neck. I immediately made him aware of what he had done. He came over and apologized several times claiming he never saw me. Then we had the "you should always know whats behind your target" talk. He is actually a former employee of mine so we have a good relationship and I know he will be more aware from now on. He also kept forgetting to put his safety back on after shooting, which we helped remind him all day. After the hunt he was asking questions about how to make sure he doesnt make these mistakes again, pretty sure he will be enrolled in a hunters safety class soon.

I have been peppered multiple times hunting multiple critters. The worst was turkey season as I got stung by a 20ga 3" at about 120 yards. Squirrel season it's not too bad normally unless a squirrel is on the ground. Dove season isn't too bad either as we hunt light poles that are 150 yards spaced. We all carry an orange hat and it we aren't in our normal spot we wear the hat. The one time we hunted over dogs we tied or age bananas around the dogs. It really helps know where people and animals are and there is minimal interference with the hunting. Doves stay 5 yards further away, but seem interested and slow down. Squirrels are very curious and come to investigate. Turkeys are my kryptonite so I can't speak to their reaction...they just stay away from me as a rule.

Something else that we do is we each position ourselves against a good natural barrier, mesquites are good for this. That blocks us from shooting a lane that doesn't belong to us, and it protects the other shooter from getting peppered by the other guy as well. I've been big on this tactic for many years, and you know it's working when you here shot bouncing off the limbs and branches too.

GS

Big JJ said:

A basic bird hunting rule to never shoot at a bird unless you can see sky behind the bird.

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That still doesn't guarantee you won't rain pellets down on someone downrange when hunting in heavily pressured areas like public land on opening day of dove/duck/pheasant hunting.


Glad you friend is okay, and yes, eye protection while hunting is important.

I got shot dove hunting over the weekend as well (apparently its not uncommon). Not injured and wearing glasses, but a few stung a little. This was at a state park, lots of other hunters bordering a sunflower field probably 150 yards wide by 500 or so yards long. I was a bit uncomfortable while rummaging around in the middle of the field looking for downed birds as others continued to shoot.

Glad to hear your friend is alright.

buck460XVR said:

That still doesn't guarantee you won't rain pellets down on someone downrange when hunting in heavily pressured areas like public land on opening day of dove/duck/pheasant hunting.


Glad you friend is okay, and yes, eye protection while hunting is important.

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Raining "pellets" is no big deal. Sending them horizontally to another hunter is.

cat_IT_guy said:

I got shot dove hunting over the weekend as well (apparently its not uncommon). Not injured and wearing glasses, but a few stung a little. This was at a state park, lots of other hunters bordering a sunflower field probably 150 yards wide by 500 or so yards long. I was a bit uncomfortable while rummaging around in the middle of the field looking for downed birds as others continued to shoot.

Glad to hear your friend is alright.

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This is a recipe for disaster. Is there no where else you can sit and down some dove?

Originally Posted by cat_IT_guy View Post
I got shot dove hunting over the weekend as well (apparently its not uncommon). Not injured and wearing glasses, but a few stung a little. This was at a state park, lots of other hunters bordering a sunflower field probably 150 yards wide by 500 or so yards long. I was a bit uncomfortable while rummaging around in the middle of the field looking for downed birds as others continued to shoot.

Glad to hear your friend is alright.

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This is a recipe for disaster. Is there no where else you can sit and down some dove?

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Certainly not a perfect setup. Probably would be smart if I go again to grab an orange flag, similar to those used by offroaders and affix to my back or belt or something so that there is an indicator of where I am in the field. Still relies on other hunters to be aware, but better than just waltzing around in camo in ~6ft tall sunflowers.

If money were not a limit, I'd much prefer hunting a private field. Slim pickins around here if you are not a private land owner or do not have many long standing relationships with farmers and landowners.

Pit4Brains said:

Raining "pellets" is no big deal. Sending them horizontally to another hunter is.

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The OP sates that his friend was hit from a member of another party. This means that either they were set up within 30-40 yards of the other party or the shot was not taken perfectly horizontal. Shot used for doves will not travel farther than that when shot horizontally. This was my point. If you cannot control how close folks are that you have no idea of their safe gun handling/shooting techniques, you should leave. If you are set up in a dove/duck blind surrounded by other hunters, you need to accept the fact you will be rained on and an irresponsible/inexperienced hunter may shoot you in the excitement of the hunt. If you are pheasant hunting so close to other hunting parties that a horizontal shot will hit you, then you also need to leave. If your pheasant hunting buddies are not gun safety mined, you need to get other friends. Whenever I pheasant hunt in a group, the rules of shooting are always reviewed before we hit the field. While the "blue sky" rule works to keep the dogs from getting shot, the rule of only shooting directly in front of you or directly behind you as fellow hunters stay in line is always followed. Shooting at blue sky just over the heads of fellow hunters is not tolerated. Other wise you.....or they, leave.

Part of hunting safely is knowing where other hunters are, not just for their safety from your shots, but yours. This is why many of us wear blaze orange when bird hunting. This is why many states restrict shot sizes for turkey hunting when camo is worn and hunters may be unaware to others camoed hunters in the field. If I cannot get far enough away from other hunters that I have no idea of their safe gun handling skills, I leave...period. No different than walking down a dark alley in the bad side of town. Assume it to be filled with only upstanding law abiding citizens and you will get hurt.

Buck is right. Take your leave of any unsafe situation. It is a good idea to review your own safety procedures periodically. I quit hunting on public land for that reason...too many people. I work very hard to secure permission on private land and I don't hunt with people I don't know. Knock on wood....I have never had a serious mishap.

Got shot on a brushy ridge by an unknown hunter just below me. I was wearing a orange vest & hat. A covey of quail ran into the brush and he fired into it. I yelled in pain and fear and got his attention. He was 100% wrong and 110% sorry. I went to the ER and had shot plucked out of my right side, including my neck and scalp, but nothing near the eyes. Didn't blead too badly and after painful cleaning, went home within a few hours.

BTW, I didn't have the heart to berate the guy and I doubt he'll do it again. He did pay my out of pocket costs which weren't much.

Sure, there are numerous safety precautions which should/can be taken. Still, the problem arises from that old devil "adrenalin". You focus on the bird and everything else becomes invisible or is outside of the tunnel vision cone--which is the "why" of the precautions.

I was working on a cottage in Michigan that belonged to an ER doc from Richmond VA. He said he hated turkey season as he got tired of digging shot out of hunters bodies.

This was back in the early 80's and turkey hunting was just getting started with the turkey's being introduced all over the country. Turkey hunting at that time was the most dangerous hunting sport due to a camoed hunter sitting sounding like a turkey. You just can not fix stupid.

Luckily at that time there were none of the super doper killer loads we have today. Most hunters were using 2 3/4 shells and a few using 3" duck loads.