Think first, shoot second
A shot rings out and a deadly bullet splits the air. A young bull caribou is struck and falls – a successful hunt.
 But most bullets travel a distance of between 1.5 and 3 kilometers. And bullets don't always stop just because they've hit their targets – they can go right through and strike other objects. Unfortunately, sometimes caribou standing behind the hunter's prey are accidentally hit.
The estimates for losses of caribou due to accidents vary widely, but accidental wounding is an important fact to consider when you aim for your target. Sometimes caribou are hit in the abdomen and bleed internally and won't die until a half a day later, and the hunter has no idea of what happened.
Given the consistent decline of the Porcupine Caribou Herd's population (between 1989 and the last census in 2001), estimated at around three percent each year, hunters benefit from protecting the herd from such unnecessary losses. Preventing wounding loss, in addition to sparing the cows from harvest, could help stabilize the herd population over time.
Hunters can minimize accidental injury by aiming for the chest cavity of an animal that is far away from any others – don't shoot into the herd.
If you do accidentally injure a caribou, you must track it and kill it. And if this makes you exceed your bag limit, you have to report the incident to a conservation officer or a Renewable Resources officer.
To prevent tragedies, there are many other things to keep in mind, but fortunately the list is quite simple.
The goal is to shoot the target and nothing else. Once you release a bullet, you can't take it back. So it's important to never point a gun at anything you don't want to shoot. And be very sure you know your target and what's beyond it – don't assume you know what's moving around in the bushes unless you can see it clearly. That wolf you thought you saw just might be another hunter.
It's dangerous and illegal to shoot from, across or along a road. Cars can appear unexpectedly and cross the bullet's path. And use binoculars to glass the land for animals instead of using the rifle scope, you'll keep an itchy trigger finger in check.
Here are some tips to avoid accidents when you're stalking your prey:
To prevent accidental discharge of a firearm, hunters should keep their fingers off the trigger and out of the trigger guard, and there should never be bullets in the chamber of loaded firearms until it's time to shoot. And to be extra cautious, always control the muzzle of the gun. You can better manage the gun if you stumble or fall.
It's easy for snow to get into the front of the barrel. Plugged barrels may blow up when you shoot, and even partially obstructed guns are dangerous. A good way to avoid this hazard is to cover the end of the muzzle with some electrical or duct tape so the snow can't get in – and then remember to remove it before you shoot.
It is especially important to ensure guns aren't readily available to children and that they are stored properly when they're not being used.
In addition to these general rules, it is important to keep the firearm properly maintained and to use the right bullets and accessories for each particular piece.
For more information, be on the lookout for upcoming hunter safety workshops in your area.
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