Next week, Thanksgiving, is one of the three busiest deer hunting weeks of the season in Texas, along with opening day and Christmas. These are times in which we are supposed to build life-long memories with family and friends, but there are also pitfalls. With an army of hunters in blinds around the state there is the potential for accidents. Fortunately, like most types of hunting in Texas, deer hunting is a safe sport. From 2020 through the 2024 hunting season there have only been 12 accidents related to deer season, and five of those came in 2022. Unfortunately, two of those were fatal accidents, and there has already been another this year. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Law Enforcement Division, the most recent fatality occurred in Marion County when the hunter was removing a gun from his vehicle and shot himself. This is not the first time something like this has happened, but possibly of all the hunting accident possibilities this is one that should not happen. There is no reason for carrying a loaded gun in a vehicle, whether it is driving to or from the lease, or for that matter, too and from the blind. For the same reason, there is no reason to carry a loaded rifle while climbing up into or out of a blind. No one is going to be shooting the moment they step out of the vehicle or are around the blind. I know there are some hunters who road hunt on their lease or ranch. I have done that as well, but we always had a rule that not only was there never to be a shell in the barrel until the rifle was pointed out the window, but that the bolt was always left open just as extra insurance and a comfort reminder for everyone else in the vehicle. That may sound like overkill, but an accident happened that way just a few years ago in Central Texas. The rules of handling a load gun extend beyond deer hunters. There was a case in 2023 in which a duck hunter sat a loaded shotgun down in the boat while picking up decoys, and at some point, his dog stepped on the gun, and it discharged and the hunter was hit with multiple pellets across his body. While it is not as common as it once was, another accident that should never happen is a hunter mistaking another for game. This is something that might be more frequent in western states that have a lot of open land where one hunter may not know the location of another, but in Texas where most hunting is controlled on private property there is no excuse. Prevention is easy by using binoculars to identify an animal before taking aim. Preventive measures, however, can include using a check in board to note what stands are occupied, and in an era where everyone has a cell phone send others a note before leaving the blind and making sure to walk out in a direction that does not take you within range of another blind. Between 1966 and 1987, the pre-mandatory hunter education era, a total of 425 hunters were killed. The worst year was 1968 when a staggering 37 died. Between 1988 and 2024, a timeframe when over 1. 5 million hunters were hunter ed certified, the total dropped to 157, with the worst year being 1991 when 13 died. Between 2019 and 2024 the fatal accident rate has held steady at one per year. The coming weeks should be a great time for hunters whether they are chasing big game, waterfowl, upland or migratory birds. It is a time to get away from life’s day-to-day challenges, eat too much good food, let the kids have too many sugary snacks, and for the adults to maybe enjoy a beverage or two with their friends at the end of the day. But stay smart. You can party and play any weekend of the year at home. There are only so many weekends of hunting season, so keep the focus on safety and enjoying the outdoors.
https://victoriaadvocate.com/2025/11/22/enjoy-holiday-hunting-but-keep-safe-from-accidents/
Enjoy holiday hunting, but keep safe from accidents
