NATURE’S VIEW
Share the Woods During Hunting Season By Dave Anderson
F
all foliage season ends abruptly as bright leaves fade on the forest floor. Hikers leave the spare beauty of the late autumn woods, some grumble, “We can’t go in the woods during hunting seasons.” Some resent sharing their favorite properties with people wearing camouflage and blaze orange clothing and carrying compound bows, muzzle loaders, or rifles. The presence of hunters can offend or even frighten hikers unaccustomed to hunting activity. But, how safe is it to be in the woods during hunting season? Comparative risk statistics for hunting accidents involving non-hunters don’t necessarily align with the extensive fear regarding the risk of hiking during deer season. According to New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG) records, there have been a total of two incidents in the past 30 years involving non-hunters: The first occurred in 2015 when a nonhunter out of sight of a shooter was hit by a pellet discharged from a bird hunter’s shotgun. The second incident occurred in 2017 when a deer hunter did not identify what lay beyond his target. According to New Hampshire Hunter Education Coordinator Joshua Mackay, New Hampshire’s excellent record for hunter safety is attributable to effective education. The average number of hunting-related incidents per year has gone down every decade since hunter education classes began in the 1960s when an average of 21.4 incidents occurred per year. Since hunter education became mandatory for all first time hunters in 1977, incidents declined steadily from an average 6.5 per year in the 1990s to 3.3 per year after 2000. Hunter education classes train hunters to identify the target and to know what lies beyond it before pulling the trigger. The average for the past decade has been 2.9 incidents per year with 18 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
When conducted responsibly, hunting reconnects people to the land.
55 percent of these incidents being selfinflicted due to careless firearms handling or falls from tree-stands. The chances of being involved in a hunting incident are low; just .0048 percent of hunters since 2000 were involved in an incident. Deer hunters, who far outnumber hunters of other species, were involved in 45 percent of the total incidents recorded, and upland bird hunters of grouse, woodcock, and pheasant are a distant second with 24 percent of the total since 1977. According to the National Safety Council, you are more likely to be injured playing sports or using exercise equipment than while hunting. In 2020, the rate of injury per 100,000 people for hunting totaled 3.1, a relatively low number compared to 129 for cycling, 65 for basketball, 39 for swim-
ming, and 16 for golf.* The comparative risk analysis of sports and recreational injuries reveals hunting to be one of the safer outdoor recreation activities.
How Many Hunters? In 2019, approximately 50,000 individuals purchased hunting licenses with approximately an additional 19,000 archery and 17,000 turkey hunting licenses sold. This does not include licenses sold specifically for waterfowl, bear, or small game. Deer are by far the most popular game for hunters buying hunting licenses in the state. The 2021 muzzleloader season for deer opened October 30. The regular firearms season opened November 10 and runs through December 5. Season end dates
* U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Sports and Recreational Injuries.” National Safety Council Injury Facts. National Safety Council. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/ home-and-community/safety-topics/sports-and-recreational-injuries/. Accessed 4 November 2021.
