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8/6/2007
Tips For A Safe Archery Hunt
Stay safe this year by following a few simple rules.
Utah's general archery buck deer hunt begins Aug. 18. The state's general
archery elk hunt kicks off Aug. 23.
"Every year we receive reports of archery hunters injuring themselves,"
says Lenny Rees, hunter education coordinator for the Division of Wildlife
Resources.
Rees says two practices lead to most of the accidents: hunters being
unsafe in tree stands or having arrows out of their quiver when they
shouldn't.
Rees provides the following advice to help you avoid these accidents:
1. Tree stands — before climbing a tree, make sure it's large enough to
hold your weight.
To avoid falling while climbing the tree, attach a hauling line to your
bow, arrows and other equipment, and leave them on the ground. After
climbing into your tree stand, attach your safety harness. Then use your
hauling line to lift your gear to you.
Rees also recommends using a portable tree stand, rather than
constructing a "permanent" one. "Permanent tree stands have a tendency to
deteriorate and become unsafe," he says. "They're unsightly, too, and a
person damages the tree by putting nails in it."
2. "Until you're ready to shoot, keep your arrows in a hooded quiver that
covers the broadheads," Rees says. "One of the most common accidents we see
is archers jabbing themselves, or hunters who are walking close to them,
while carrying arrows in their hand that should be in their quiver."
State law requires that arrows be in a case while the arrows are in or on
a vehicle. When hunters are outside their vehicles, it's up to hunters to
protect themselves.
More tips
In addition to the safety tips, Rees provides tips on getting prepared
for the season, safety items to remember while you're in the field and tips
on tracking animals and preserving their meat.
Preparation
 | Equipment checks — make sure the laminations on your bow are not
flaking or separating, that the strings on your bow are not fraying, and
that the pulleys and cables on compound bows are in good working order.
Also, make sure that your equipment is matched, that your arrow's spline
(the stiffness of the arrow's shaft) matches your bow's draw weight. If
your bow's draw weight produces more force than your arrow is designed to
handle, your arrow will probably fly off target when you shoot. |
| Broadhead sharpening — sharpen your
broadheads carefully. Your broadheads should be razor sharp, but don't cut
yourself while you're sharpening them. |
| Practice your shooting as much as possible.
|
| Obtain written permission from private
landowners before hunting on their property or using their property to
access public land. |
| Know the boundaries of limited entry units
and other restricted areas in the general season area you'll be hunting.
|
Effective range: never take a shot at a deer or elk
that is beyond the maximum, effective range you're comfortable shooting at.
Also, before releasing your arrow, make sure of your target and what's
beyond it.
After the shot
| Watch the animal and determine the direction it took. Then go to the
spot where you last saw the animal and find your arrow. If there's blood
on it, and if you have a compass, take a reading of the direction the
animal went. Then wait 30 minutes before tracking it. If you track the
animal too soon, you can spook it into running. If you wait 30 minutes
before tracking it, you'll find most of the deer and elk you shoot dead
within a reasonable distance of your starting point. |
| When you track an animal, look for blood not
only on the ground but on the brush too. If you begin to lose the animal's
trail, tie a piece of biodegradable paper near the last blood spot, and
then search for the animal's trail by walking a circular pattern out from
the paper. The paper will serve as a marker, letting you know where you
started. Also, tying paper at the locations of the last three or four
spots you see, and then standing a distance away and looking at the paper
trail, can help you visualize the direction the animal took. |
| Once you've found your animal, check to see
if its eyes are open. If they're not, the animal probably isn't dead. If
its eyes are open, touch one of the eyes with a long stick that will keep
you out of harm's way if the animal is still alive. Once the animal is
dead, field dress and cool its meat immediately. It's usually warm during
the archery hunt, and the warm temperatures can cause the meat to spoil
quickly. |
Conflicts: Rees also provides tips for reducing
conflicts with homeowners and those who don't hunt.
Find access points to your hunting area well in advance.
| If access requires crossing private land, you must obtain written
permission from the landowner. If you can't obtain written permission,
find another access point. |
| Before you start hunting, make sure you're
well beyond the required minimum distances from roads and dwellings. If
you plan on hunting in Salt Lake County, please remember that the hunting
restrictions in the county are more restrictive than the rest of Utah.
Read the 2007 Big Game Proclamation closely for more information. |
| Avoid hunting in areas that a lot of people
use. Also, whenever possible, avoid hunting near heavily used trails. |
"Most of the people in Utah choose not to hunt, but they support hunting
and hunting-related activities as long as hunters are safe, legal and
ethical while in the field," Rees says. "When hunters don't behave that way,
how people feel about hunting can take a turn for the worse."
Extended archery areas
Archery hunters who want to hunt the Wasatch Front, Ogden, Unitah Basin
or Sanpete Valley extended archery areas need to remember the following:
| Before hunting any of these areas, you must complete the DWR's
Extended Archery Ethics Course. The free course is available online at
wildlife.utah.gov/huntereducation. |
| You must carry two items with you while
hunting in an extended archery area: your 2007 statewide general archery
buck deer permit and your Extended Archery Ethics Course certificate. If
you're a member of the Dedicated Hunter program, you must also carry your
Dedicated Hunter certificate of registration. |
For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources
office or the DWR's Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.
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