Safety is essential to a successful deer hunting season

With the Nov. 7 firearms deer opener just days away, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that safe hunts are successful hunts.

Hunting is a safe, lifelong activity, so long as hunters prepare and make safety their top priority. The DNR urges hunters to:

• Ensure their firearms are in good working order.
• Review and practice the key tenets of safe firearms handling to prevent injuries or worse.
  • Treat every firearm as if it is loaded
  • Always control the muzzle
  • Be sure of your target and what is beyond
  • Fingers should be off the trigger until it’s time to shoot
• Inspect all tree-stand-related equipment for wear and tear, including safety harnesses, haul lines, the stand itself, and steps and ladders. Practice climbing into and out of the stand before the season starts, always maintaining three points of contact with the ladder or steps.
• Wear the required amount of blaze clothing (orange or pink) and eye and ear protection.
• Share hunting location and expected return time.

“The firearms deer season is a great time to get outdoors and renew connections with friends and family,” said Lt. Col. Robert Gorecki, assistant director of the DNR Enforcement Division. “Our goal is that everyone who heads into the fields or woods leaves with positive memories. Harvesting a deer is the goal for many, but at the end of the day, the hunt was successful if it was safe for every hunter and the people around them.”

Accidents involving tree stands are the leading cause of injury to hunters. The DNR reminds everyone using a tree stand to climb in and out slowly and focus on each step.

Read more about safe firearms handling (mndnr.gov/safety/firearms-safety.html), tree stand safety (mndnr.gov/safety/treestand), and blaze clothing requirements (mndnr.gov/regulations/hunting/blaze-clothing.html) on the DNR website. A firearms safety certificate, apprentice hunter validation (can be purchased up to twice in a lifetime), a past hunting license with a valid firearms safety number, or proof of a hunter education or firearms safety course from another state is required to hunt wild animals with a firearm in Minnesota for anyone born after Dec. 31, 1979.

Off-highway vehicle regulations during the firearms season

Off-highway vehicle riders and hunters should be aware of additional riding restrictions throughout the firearms deer season. In areas where hunters are allowed to use a rifle, recreational off-highway vehicle use is not permitted on state forest trails and access routes. (It is allowed on state forest roads.) The restrictions are intended to minimize potential conflicts between deer hunters and recreational riders.

Restriction dates and locations:

• Nov. 7-22 in the 100 series of deer permit areas
• Nov. 7-15 in the 200 and 300 series of deer permit areas
• On all OHV trails in southeastern Minnesota starting Nov. 1

Trails remain open to licensed deer hunters using them in conjunction with their hunting activities, but off-highway vehicle use is allowed only:

• Before legal shooting hours (half-hour before sunrise)
• From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• After legal shooting hours (half-hour after sunset)

A deer permit area map can be found on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/hunting/deer/map.html).