Owning a firearm carries a serious responsibility. So does hunting with one. A kid shooting pecans off a tree limb once dropped fired .22 bullets all around the rowboat I was fishing in. I hand-paddled to shore, lying in the bottom of the boat. Shortly, his father and I discussed knowing what’s beyond your target, after which I returned the rifle to him. Familiarity with the firearm and its range is imperative, as that’s being explained by a hunter to a younger hunter in the attached picture. (Photo by John Jefferson)

by John Jefferson

Last Friday, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) released the 2023 hunting-related accident report.

There were ten non-fatal accidents and one fatality. News outlets across the state published the TPWD press release. I’m glad. Those accidents need to be reported.

But, is it a cause for celebration when there were only ten non-fatal accidents and only person died? Compared to previous records, most would say “YES” to that question. To the families of the deceased –probably not. Even one death is too many.

The dwindling number of accidents is significant. In 1972, there were THIRTY fatal hunting accidents. For the past four years, there has been only one per year.

From my observations as a hunter and journalist, the graph shows a dramatic decline in accidents and fatalities. It’s heading in the right direction. Two aspects help explain the decline.

Hunter education was instituted in Texas in 1972. Over 1.5 million students have taken the course. It’s mandatory for hunters born after September 2, 1972. The course warned of hunting mistakes by others.

The second main reason for the drop in accidents – to me – is the requirement of wearing blaze orange on all public hunts; voluntarily on private ones. Most have heard of the man in Colorado who shot a horse and claimed he thought it was an elk. But horses and elk don’t wear blaze orange. Seeing that on ANY creature on the hunting range demands a “DON’T SHOOT!” That has prevented countless accidents!

The November 27, 2023, column listed a number of “The Hazards of Hunting.” It will be one of the columns reprinted in a collection of “The Best of Woods, Waters, and Wildlife” to be published later this year. Without duplicating those, others are included here.

A friend of mine once headshot a javelina in South Texas. His .22 caliber bullet ricocheted off the javelina’s skull and struck his supervisor in the breastbone. The wounded man screamed, “You SHOT ME!” They both worked in what would become the Hunter Education section at TPWD. Both survived the affray and confirmed the incident to me.

An Austin attorney hunting quail in heavy South Texas brush stepped out from behind it just as the Vice President swung on a bird flying toward him. The attorney was rushed to the nearest hospital — which wasn’t very near. Pellets were removed from his upper body. He was later released. No charges were filed. I guess the lawyer didn’t want to make a federal case out of it.

Another friend reluctantly went deer hunting with his two brothers. Sitting in the back seat, unfamiliar with the rifle, he accidentally launched a round between his brothers and into the truck’s radio. He said he had told them he didn’t want to hunt. The radio remained silent.

Despite the humor of some accidents, there is none when a human life is taken. One tragedy involved a hunter who accidentally shot his daughter.

That memory probably still haunts him.

It would ME!

JJ