No hunting fatalities in 2009 deer hunt, second time in a centuryNews From 91.3 KUWS
12/2/2009For the first time since 1973, no hunters were killed during the deer gun season this year. Mike Simonson reports that this was only the second time that's happened in the past 100 years.
Things have changed quite a bit over the past century. Department of Natural Resources Hunter Education Administrator Tim Lawhern says although they are investigating one possible case, it looks like no one was killed hunting this season. Compare that with a 101 year old newspaper article he dug out.
"From the 1908 Iron River Pioneer stated: 'There were no serious accidents this past deer season, although 44 hunters were killed and 57 injured. With an estimated 20,000 hunters and a lack of snow the record was not that bad.'"
This year 638,000 nimrods hit the woods and fields looking for deer. Lawhern says hunter education, required for everyone born after 1972, and things like blaze orange, telescopic sites, hunting hours, cell phones, ATVs and GPS units make things safer.
"If we could just get some hunters to stop shooting themselves, we could reduce the number of incidents in the gun deer season in half. This season is an example of that."
Of the seven incidents during this nine day season, four were accidental self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
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