Hunting season is defiantly underway here in Carbon County with the various seasons currently in progress or yet to begin. Carbon County Sheriff Jeff Wood took time this week on his weekly update to remind citizens involved with the hunt to practice gun safety at all times. It’s too often hunters forget, get complacent or just aren’t aware of safety.
“You know you want to treat every gun as if it is loaded. So when you’re getting your weapons in and out of your car, putting them in and out of the house or taking them out in the field, just assume that they are loaded even though you believe they are not,” stated Wood. The way a hunter carries his/her firearm is extremely important to the safety of everyone in the hunting group, as well as anyone who may be in range of fire.
Target identification must be 100 percent in a hunter’s view before taking a shot. Wood added, “So if you are getting ready to shoot, especially during the hunting season make sure there are no other hunters or no vehicles or no houses or nothing around the target that you’re shooting at, don’t point your gun at anything you’re not willing to destroy or pay for.” Another important factor is practicing self-control, it’s not uncommon for hunters to get excited which is when careless mistakes can be made.
“ATV safety, I bring that up a lot too we use our ATVs a lot in the field these days for everything from hunting to farming, they’re our right hands but you can also hurt yourself with them if you’re not careful,” said Wood. Hunting solo can leave a hunter vulnerable if they were to have an accident. Hunters are encouraged to leave a hunting plan with family and friends, especially the location and time to be expected to return home and/or camp.
“Just get in good habits of gun safety. If you have any questions or looking for any kind of training North Springs Gun Range you can go out there and get your firearms training out there, they’ll help you in a lot of ways. You can do hunter’s safety, there is a lot of good classes out there,” stated Wood. North Springs Gun Range is located 5245 South 8000 West south of Price or visit their Facebook page for more details on classes.