You're going to lose your seat on the "Committee to Make the World Safe for Everybody" for this one!

There's 2 kinds of safety issues out there.

The one kind involves choices that a person makes that put himself at risk. When the safety education guys tell you about avoiding this, they're doing right by you. But if you want to fall off of a rotten tree stand that's your business.

The other kind involves choices that a person makes that put others at risk. When the "safety nazis" call someone on that, I support 'em completely.

We'd all be in trouble is judgement couldn't be taught. Most people basically know right from wrong and judgement is what they choose to do when confronted with this. If you insist on assigning some blame, better to place it on a overly-permissive society, lower accepted standards of behavior, a universal sense of entitlement, or victimhood. You can see all of this on any episode of Oprah.

Safety nazis, like PETA zealots or NRA extremist, suffer from what I call the "keeper of the flame" syndrome. They think they have THE ANSWER that we'd all benefit from. Just like everybody else.

I was on the wrong end of shotgun safety 30+ years ago so I'd like to think I have more than one perspective. So I maintain that judgement can be taught whereas there's no cure for stupidity.

Your chocolate rations have been increased from three ounces to two.

War is peace.

Safety is risky.

Whatever.

Neat little rant; reminded me of a run-in with a single-minded, blinders on range officer at a gun club not long ago. We were shooting table trap and when we changed shotguns, I placed the one we finished with in the rack, action open, and muzzle down. A fellow came over and asked me why I placed it muzzle down (never did identify himself as a range officer). I told him it was an old habit I developed in the days of my youth when I tended to over-oil my guns; kept the oil out of the stock. Oh, did you just clean it? was his repsonse. No, just an old habit. Well put it in the other way he told me or you'll lose your range privileges. I answered that if he could prove to me it was unsafe, I'd change the guns. His response was that we just don't do it that way here. I've still got range privileges, and still put my guns in the rack muzzle down. Safety is terribly important, but so is common sense.

One thing to keep in mind, most hunter safety students are young males. I am 19, and got into hunting on my own, and how i survived my first years of hunting has yet to be revealed to me. Most young males are stupid. It pays to go overkill with them.

Mike Diehl, lovin the 1984 reference. great book

Yes...considering our sport includes fire-sticks, it has a relatively good safety record. The most ridiculous thing I have seen was a man that used his shotgun(during Firearms season)to trim his "Bow hunting tree" from unwanted limbs. This was not only a very dumb thing to do, as most of us here would agree here, it was a very UNSAFE use of a firearm.By the way, in some of states that require gun-safety certification based on age have discovered that the wrong age group have been committing the lion's share of the violations! As for hunter-safety-instructors, it begins at home with mothers/fathers, or any other hunting adult which forms a young person's character in hunting.
I like giving credit where credit is due!

Dave,
I just have to get my two cents in!

First Great post! Keep up the good work.

Second, and dare I mention another magazine, G&A's article by COL Cooper address something very similar, he spoke about military training and how if during the training at least one soldier in 1000 does not lose their life, the training is not realistic enough.

I see Risk and Safety this way, do not take unneeded risk. Now the Judgment question comes into play. You can never get around that! I have no answer.

Just remember, before you do it, think to yourself, is it really necessary?

Just my two cents!

V/R

C_S

good post dave , i always remember what my dad tought me (your gun is always loaded ) no matter how many peices it may be in . ive taught my son the same thing , i like what Tad brought to the table in minn. thousands of hunters and very few accidents . michigan is similar in that we have many hunters and this year to date 7 accidents of various nature , and i think they were all fatal ? maybe Ralph can give more acccurate info. i cant climb my tree stands with a safety belt on but i use the firefighters method of three points of contact at all times and it works ! ive been going 20 feet or better straight up for 20 some odd years and never fallen knock on wood .it only takes a few seconds to climb and you better have your head where it needs to be for those few seconds .because fate will find you !! i too have given chase with my rifle , muzzle pointed up and if i did fall their was nothing in front of me but miles of hardwoods and a nice eight point whom did find a 130 grain nosler balistic point . that finished that chase quickly. it wasn't my deer but my cousins . hed spined the buck and this animal was not going to let a little poralisis keep him from getting away.

"You can't cheat the mountain, Pilgrim."

Dave,
On the subject of hunter safety, perhaps you should take Bill Heavey aside and instruct him on the purpose and use of a cupholder.