Sunday, November 17, 2013

Fatal Hunting Accident In Otsego County: A Reminder to Hunt Safe

Unfortunately there was a fatal accident yesterday, November 16th, near Westford, NY.  It appears that a downstate man was shot in the chest on the opening day of regular deer season.  Details can be found here.  This is a sobering opportunity to review how to stay safe when hunting.

According to the 2012 Hunting Statistics, last year was an exceptionally safe year for New York State.  There were only two fatalities occurring in Orange and Warren counties.  Otsego County had only one accident involving an accidental discharge while operating an ATV.  Hunting accidents have been declining over the past fifty years.

While the DEC highly recommends wearing hunter orange there is no law requiring hunters to do so.  The picture below from the DEC shows two hunters and visibility difference between camouflage and hunter orange.
Deer have more rods and fewer cones than people.  This means they have better night vision but poorer vision during the day.  They also see shorter wavelengths than humans reaching into the ultraviolet wavelengths(if curious see this article).  This means that orange appears a much darker shade to their eyes while for humans it stands out against wooded terrain.


In New York State there have been no fatal accidents involving a wearer of hunter orange in the past ten years.

Non hunters should be aware of hunting season and plan accordingly.  This means wearing bright colors or avoiding walking in the woods during deer season.  I have heard of more than one close call of a walker and jogger being shot at.

The dates for the 2013 NY deer season are early bow (Oct 1-Nov 15), regular (Nov 16- Dec 8), late bow (Dec 9- 17).



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2 comments:

  1. UnknownNovember 17, 2013 at 6:01 PM

    This is an interesting point that we all should be thinking about if we are going on to work in rural areas. I come from a small rural town and I know that hunting is a large part of the community life. If we are going to be working in these communities we are more than likely going to see injuries from hunting accidents. We will need to know how to treat these patients. It will be our responsibility to help educate people on the proper precautions that should be taken if they are going to be engaging in hunting. We must make sure that we are educated in the lifestyle of the community that we are working in so that we can properly help our patients. This is a great topic that all health care providers in rural areas should be made aware of.

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  2. Alicia MarhefkaNovember 20, 2013 at 10:51 PM

    This was a really interesting post! I never thought about the fact that deer see the bright orange differently than we do. It might be useful for communities to run educational or mentor programs for new hunters- both about how to alert other hunters you are there with the bright colors and to remind them to be mindful of the fact that there are joggers, walkers, and other hunters in the woods.

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