When modern firearms season for white-tailed deer opened last Sunday, an estimated 190,000 hunters took to Kentucky's woods, but if past is prologue there will be few accidents.
Last year there were only 11 hunter incidents in Kentucky, and only three were fatal. Of those three, two were deaths attributed to heart attacks and the other was a self-inflicted wound which involved a treestand. So far this deer season, 69 days into the 135-day archery season, and including weekend muzzleloader and youth firearms hunts, there have been seven hunter incidents, two involving treestands, one of which was fatal.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation reports that in 2003 the accidental firearms-related fatality rate (which includes hunting) was just 700, or 0.2 percent per 100,000 persons. That same year 44,800 people died in motor vehicle accidents, or 15.4 percent per 100,000 motor vehicles. Yes, yes, these numbers are phoney and compare apples and eggs, but even if you adjust for the time spent, hunting is far safer than driving.
The moral of this story: be careful in the woods this time of year, try not to mess up anyone else's day of deer hunting, and for God sake never climb a tree stand or drive in a car.
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