One of the most important and essential components of hunting is safety. It is a basic element. It is a building block in which all other hunting activities are based on and built upon. Whether we are hunting alone on our own private property or on public land with countless other hunters around us, we should always be looking through our proverbial safety glasses.
It is always heart wrenching to hear stories about hunting accidents. Of course, no matter how much you know and prepare, an accident can happen. But many accident are avoidable. No matter how much you know, you don’t know everything. You can always learn something new. Even an old dog.
My butcher, Bryson, told me a good story the other day. He was standing there cleaning and butchering an elk that was hanging and an old man hobbled by. The old man stopped and watched Bryson for a while. Finally the old man piped up, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“Butchering an elk,” Bryson said, a little more than annoyed by the nosy old man.
The old man raised an eyebrow. “Well that might be what you think you’re doing anyway!” And with that, he proceeded to walk over to Bryson and show him a thing or two about butchering.
It ends up that the old man was a butcher for over 60 years. He knew a lot. Bryson has also been doing his job for some time and his father was a butcher too. Bryson was smart. He didn’t have to know everything. He recognized immediately that this old man had a lot to teach and that he had a lot to learn. He shut his mouth and learned a lot that day.
So again… no matter how much we know, we can always learn more. And hunter safety is so important that we should always assume there is more to learn. Lives depend on it.
Let me introduce you to Hunter-ed.com. They offer free online safety courses for your state (33 states at this time). You simply choose your state and register for free. They have made the official state curriculum fun and easy. You can learn at your own pace with engaging and interactive animations and videos. Learning hunting safety has never been so easy!
This is MY next step on my hunting to-do list. I hope to see you there!
Happy Hunting!
– Marci
Morrigan's Lodge 
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