Although hunting has one of the lowest accident rates of any sport, this doesn’t give us a reason to be careless when we are out predator hunting. There are a couple of things you can do to help keep yourself safe while in the field.
The most important thing is to treat every gun as if it is loaded. People should be taught this at a young age, but sometimes they are not. It really bugs me when I am around friends who do not practice this rule and pay little attention to where the end of their gun is pointing. Treating every gun as if it were loaded will eventually become a habit and you will find yourself practicing good gun safety before you know it. Of course, drinking alcohol and handling guns is never a good idea either.
Always hunt with a buddy. The buddy system is your number one lifeline while you are deep in the woods where nobody can hear you call for help. In case of an emergency, there is someone there who hopefully will be able to get help if needed. If you must go hunting by yourself, let someone know you where you are going and when you plan to be home. This will let the person know when to expect you back so they know when something might be wrong. Always carry some kind of communication device, preferably a cell phone, and make sure you can easily access it.
You also might consider wearing hunter orange. The downside to this of course is making you more visible to the predators you are hunting. Is usually best practice to always take off the orange before you start calling for predators. For me, it would depend on where I am hunting as to whether or not I would wear orange. If I am going to public hunting land, you better believe I will have it on when I am walking around. When I am on my own property, I don’t usually wear it. This of course is all up to you. Just remember; never sacrifice your own safety for the sake of predator hunting.