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Hunting & Fishing

Staying safe — field & water

A good day outdoors ends with everyone home. These are the habits to keep steady in the field, in a stand, and on the water.

Start with the firearm

The four firearm rules

These four rules work together. Learn them cold and treat them as automatic. The full version, with range and handling practice, lives in Target Shooting.

  1. Treat every firearm as if it's loaded.
  2. Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
  3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
  4. Be sure of your target and what's beyond it.

Be seen

Hunter orange

Hunter orange isn't required for 'most firearms seasons' — it's required in specifically listed situations (the firearms deer portions, bear hunting, the firearms elk portion, and managed firearms deer hunts), with limited exceptions. Check the current orange rule for your exact activity (details in the Hunting and Target Shooting hubs).

The rule names specific situations, not one blanket "firearms seasons" answer. Use the Hunting guide for your exact hunt.

Up in the tree

Tree-stand harnesses

Tree-stand falls are a major — and historically a leading — source of serious hunting injuries. Wear a full-body harness (a fall-arrest system), stay connected from the ground up, use a haul line for your gear and your unloaded firearm, check your stand every season, and tell someone where you'll be.

On the water

Life jackets and the water

On the water, wear a life jacket — many fatal boating drownings involve people who weren't wearing one, and children under 7 must wear one while aboard a vessel unless they're inside a totally enclosed cabin. Beware cold water and moving water, and get off the water at the first thunder. Full rules are in the Boating and Weather hubs.

The full boating rules are in Boating, and when to get off the water — thunder, cold snaps, fast-rising creeks — is in Weather.

Plan for the rest

Weather, wildlife, and a plan

Dress in layers and watch the heat and cold (see Weather); watch for ticks and snakes (see Wildlife); and always tell someone your plan and carry a charged phone.

For ticks, snakes, and the critters you'll share the woods with, see Wildlife; for heat, cold, and storms, see Weather.

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