Hunter Safety Blog | HunterCourse.com

• Home

Fantastic And Original Hunting Gift Ideas

If you have a hunting enthusiast on your shopping list this year, then only fantastic hunting gifts will do! For passionate hunters, there is no better gift than a new toy to get him or her excited about getting out in the blind or in the treestand. To wind up your thinking gears, here are some great gift ideas to consider for that special hunter in your life.

Night Vision Binoculars

The deer come out at night, along with plenty of other critters that your hunter might like to observe. Make it easier for him or her to find game during the peak watch hours, a half hour before sunrise and a half hour after sunset, with the Night Owl Pro Nexgen Night Vision binoculars. These  5x magnification binoculars with a minimum focus range of 6.6 feet, make this a great item for any hunter who enjoys scoping out their surroundings at night.

Protective AM/FM Headset

While hunters may need to use all their senses when stalking prey,  they can still tune in to the outside world with a protective AM/FM headset. This headset features a noise reduction rating of 25 decibels to keep the sound level comfortable and safe. Two AA batteries will provide more than 250 hours of music and radio for their listening enjoyment.

Deluxe Gun Cleaning Accessory Kit

Guns need regular cleaning to keep them working properly. The Deluxe Gun Cleaning Accessory Kit is a three-piece universal brass cleaning rod that comes with eight different brushes. It can be used for a wide variety of hunting guns, helping to ensure that all your hunter's firearms are clean and functional.

Leatherman Super Tool 300

Forget about the regular pocket knife, even the boy scouts are drooling over this multi-tool. The Leatherman Super Tool 300 has nineteen different tools and can handle almost any job. It features everything from wire cutters to a bottle opener and can opener. Your hunter will never again have to search for pliers, because they’re conveniently located on this tool.

Bushnell Wireless Weather Station

The most avid hunters don’t care if it’s raining or snowing, they’ll still head for the great outdoors. However, they will enjoy knowing what to expect when they wake up on the morning of the big hunt.  The Bushnell Wireless Weather Station is a clever contraption that is completely wireless and provides a three day forecast. No sensors are required, and the forecasts are updated every fifteen minutes. Wrap one up as a stocking stuffer so your hunter won’t have to complain about unexpected changes in the weather anymore.

Mossy Oak Camo Gift Wrap

source: cabinfevergifts.com

It’s the finishing touches that make any gift truly special. While reindeer and snowmen may dominate paper this time of year, you can show your respect for your hunter's hobby by choosing camo gift wrap for his or her hunting gifts.

Caution: Hunting Stories Ahead

You can take a lighter note with a fun gag gift. Dress up your hunter’s workroom with these caution signs warning visitors that there are hunting stories ahead. The metal sign is the perfect size for hanging on a cabin door, hunting retreat or the wall of the garage.

Arrow Rack

Bring some sophistication to the hunting cabin with a stylish arrow rack. Providing storage for twelve arrows and two bows, it’s the perfect choice for the Robin Hood in your life. Classy and impressive, it announces to the world that you are proud to have a skilled hunter in the family. It will also encourage your hunter to get a little more organized.

Cowhide Fireplace Gloves

The thrill of the great outdoors is quickly lost if hands are burned while tending a fire. Protect your hunter by tossing these cowhide fireplace gloves in his or her stocking. Sparks from the fire will be repelled, making it easier for them to cook up some grub. Every time your hunter puts them on to keep their hands safe, they’ll be thanking you.

This year, embrace the hunter in your life by choosing gifts that make his or her hobby safer and more enjoyable. Have some fun with it by wrapping the treasures in camo paper and then sending your hunter on an indoor hunt. Or, simply use them as stocking stuffers. Regardless of the delivery method, your hunter is sure to be thrilled with this year’s gifts.

High on Safety: Make Treestands Dangerous for Game, Not Hunters

When Scott Cleveland went hunting last week, he must have thought he would come home with something better than two broken ankles. After falling 25 feet from a treestand, the 45-year old hunter was left to crawl three hours through the woods, unable to walk because of his injuries. Thankfully, the hunter was eventually rescued. It could have been much worse.

Each new hunting season brings new stories about successful hunts, big trophies, and near misses. Unfortunately, every year, it also means stories about serious accidents—most that could have been avoided.

When we think of hunting injuries, firearm accidents might be what first come to mind. But statistics show that in some areas, such as the east and Midwest, falls from treestands are actually the leading cause of serious injuries.

In a study of 130 hunting injuries, a report out of the Ohio State University Medical Center found that falls from treestands were responsible for 46 per cent of those injuries, while gunshot wounds accounted for only 29 per cent. Many of these treestand accidents were very serious, with almost 10 per cent resulting in permanent neurological damage (Bowhunting.com).

In North Carolina, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has made treestands a top priority in their Home From The Hunt™ safety campaign, citing their position as the leading cause of hunting incidents.

"Following some basic guidelines can prevent injuries and won't interfere with a successful hunt," said Travis Casper, North Carolina’s acting hunter education coordinator. "Maintain three points of contact when climbing up or down; wear a full body safety harness at all times; and check belts, chains and attachment cords before use" (The Outdoor Wire).

Experts seem to agree that a little education can go a long way when it comes to using treestands safely. HUNTERcourse.com has partnered with the Treestand Manufacturer's Association (TMA) to create a free online course that covers all of the treestand safety basics in only 15 minutes. You can take the free course here: www.huntercourse.com/treestandsafety/

So, before getting that great treetop vantage point, learn or review how to avoid an accident when hunting from a treestand. Make sure your hunting stories next year are about big game trophies and not unexpected falls.

And if you have family or friends who love to hunt, please pass on the link to the free course.

PS: Have a safety tip or story about using a treestand? Let us know in our comment area.

The World’s Most Dangerous Game To Hunt

When you mix guns, wild beasts and Mother Nature, danger is inevitable. Most hunters are already familiar with Big Five game, a term coined by white safari hunters to describe the 5 most dangerous and challenging animals to hunt. Here we'll look at the Big Five, and other dangerous creatures you may not have expected.

10 Best Hunting Apps For the Tech-Savvy Outdoorsman

One of the biggest thrills about hunting (besides taking home your big trophy) is the ability to detach from the daily grind and feel at one with nature. But heading off into the wild with nothing but yourself, your gear and of course, your hunting license, might leave you feeling out of touch with everyone and everything around you. To help solve this, just bring your Smartphone, that way you can connect when you want and still enjoy your time.

Debunking Rumors About Weird Hunting Laws

There are about a jillion 'weird/dumb laws' websites out there in virtual wonderland, but just about all of them are missing one important thing: credible references indicating where they found these crazy laws! For instance, according to one of these websites, "In New Jersey, it is against the law for a man to knit during fishing season" but good luck trying to find out why.

10 Animals Hunted (or Nearly Hunted) To Extinction

Extinction brings up some pretty interesting evolutionary considerations. Estimates say that by mid 21st century 30% of species may be extinct. In the end, extinction will be the ultimate fate of all species- but how long it will take to get there will depend heavily on humanity’s future courses of action.

Nature’s Most Skilled Hunters

Showcasing sharp intelligence and amazingly sophisticated hunting methods, let’s look at some skills you may not learn during your hunter safety course and take an in-depth look at the fascinating hunting techniques of nature’s most skilled hunters.

Amazing Hunter-Gatherer Societies Still In Existence

Before the agricultural revolution, human beings spent more time on this planet as hunter-gatherers, relying on nature’s resources and their own survival instincts to sustain themselves. The advent of farming changed all of that. With the increasing contact hunter-gathering societies had with farmers and herders, hunter-gatherer populations decreased in sweeping numbers throughout the course of history.

“Harness Up Before You Go Up”

Have you ever tried to put on a full body harness at 5:30 in the morning when it is cold and dark? You know it might be a little challenging. Better yet, instruct your students to pick out a harness and demonstrate putting one on correctly from a pile of webbing that resembles a tangled octopus. To students this might be a daunting task. There is a solution. Full body harnesses have come along way in keeping hunters safe while climbing into and out of elevated stands.

At the 2010 IHEA conference, Hunter Safety Systems conducted one of the seminars I attended. This innovative company has designed a harness that looks like a vest with chest and leg straps and most of all, it is easy to put on. This vest comes in several different styles and can be reversed, with camouflage on one side and blaze orange on the other.  It also provides a base layer keeping you warmer when the weather is cold.

I was so impressed with this design that I ordered two of these vests, one for myself and one for my wife. I have put my older full body harness on the shelf and have used this new vest for the last year. This vest is inviting, easy to put on and comfortable.  Everyone who utilizes elevated stand should use a Full Body Safety harness.  As instructors, we should give the Hunter Safety Systems a thorough evaluation and if it meets program standards and students needs, use it in conjunction with other full body harnesses to give the students an informed choice.

Check out the Hunter Safety System harness at: www.huntersafetysystem.com



Focus: Catch It If You Can!

At the end of January, I found myself in Swansea, South Carolina for three days of intensive training with the National Sporting Clays Association at Live Oaks Sportsman’s Club. This training prepared Jimmy Mootz, Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries in Virginia, and myself to become National Sporting Clays Association Level I Certified Instructors. What a blast!  There were nine individuals in the class from three states.  Rick Smith and Donny Roth were our instructors.  I was impressed with their style and the years of experience they had between them. You could not ask for anything better, it was great training. One of the many things I came away with included the question: How do you teach hand and eye coordination if you are instructing a group of new shooters?

One of the sessions we participated in was titled “Teaching Tool Kit”. Donny showed how to use a tennis ball to demonstrate that keeping your focus on the target increases the success of the student.  He explained that if a student is focusing on the end of the barrel they have a high probability of being behind the clay, trying to catch the clay and hoping to hit the clay. Makes perfect sense. What a novel idea to focus on the clay, not the end of the barrel. In Virginia, we not only teach individual students, but groups of students.  I have adapted the following exercise to be used for small groups of students.

Material List:

Tennis Balls or brightly colored Koosh Balls.

If you have 10 students, you will need 5 tennis or koosh balls. I use koosh balls that are colored with blaze orange, purple and yellow. Try to use colors that mimic the colors of the clay pigeons. If you wanted to, you can place tennis balls in a muffin tin and spray paint one side with a bright orange after they are dry, turn them over and spray some black on the bottom side. This will get the students used to seeing the colors of the clay pigeons.

1. Have the student’s line up in two lines.
2. The students on one line should  face the other line, creating a partner across from them about 8 to 10 feet between the two lines.
3. Have them toss the ball, underhand to their partner. The student has to catch the ball with one hand using either their right or left hand.
4. Once the student catches the ball, they toss it back to their partner and this continues for as long as it is needed until everyone is successful.

Conducting this activity teaches color recognition, hand to eye coordination and is just plain fun; not only for the students but for the instructors as well. Again, I have to thank Rick Smith and Donny Roth for a well-executed class and all the teaching tips to help bring more shooters into the shooting sports. A job well done!

Michael.

Check out the National Sporting Clay Associations link below.

www.nssa-nsca.org/index.php/nsca-sporting-clays-shooting

   Older Entries »

HunterCourse.com is a leading provider of hunter safety education and certification across the United States and Canada. Our online hunter safety course allows hunters to meet mandatory education requirements in their State or Province.