It’s that time of year again — fall is just around the corner! While I and millions of others prepare for hunting season, I feel prompted to again offer a rant on the subject of gun safety.

I know, I know, you’ve been browbeaten senseless on the subject. But being as careless gun handling continues to be responsible for thousands of trips to the hospital and morgue each year, all of us need to try a little harder to be a little better. I was reminded of this most recently while guiding an aged elk hunter.

First off, let me say this individual is a good fellow and a veteran hunter and shooter. We will call him “Jerry.” Jerry’s procedure for making his rifle safe involved cycling the loaded round out of the chamber and holding the remaining cartridges down as he closed the bolt on an empty chamber, then dry-snapping the firing pin.

Jerry and I had stalked to within 250 yards of a sizable elk herd one evening, with plenty of shooting light to seal the deal. Due to his age and the undeniable excitement that comes from spying elk within range, Jerry’s heart rate and breathing were elevated. After taking three different shots at two different elk, the herd decided to scram.

Crestfallen, Jerry merely nodded his head when I beckoned him to join me to check for any blood. I was certain all three shots were clean misses, but it’s always best to verify.

We scanned the ground up and down and around, diligently checking for any evidence of a hit. We found none. Being as the light was failing and it was time to return to the truck, I customarily asked Jerry to make his rifle safe.

I’m not sure if it was the poor light or a slip of the fingers, but in attempting to clear the chamber in his usual fashion, Jerry chambered a cartridge and subsequently discharged the rifle mere inches away from me. Both of us leapt, not expecting the concussive blast of a rifle shot. Needless to say, the walk back to our vehicle was silent and somber.

I’ve had negligent discharges happen around me more than once. I’ve been the cause of a couple of them over the years. Poor trigger discipline and gun handling, failure to ensure that a gun was empty, failure to always point the gun in a safe direction, and unfamiliarity with gun mechanics and design have been the cause of the instances which I can personally recall. None of them were the result of that all-too-common spontaneous crutch “the gun just went OFF!” One hundred percent of these were preventable human errors.

The news media is full of stories of accidental shootings; believe me, you don’t want those 15 minutes of fame. Safety happens when we make a continuous, conscious effort to produce it. Carelessness, horseplay and less than due diligence nearly always lead to injury or tragedy. Don’t be that guy! Make safety happen.

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