5 people killed in North Carolina hunting accidents this season
More people are being injured or killed in hunting-related shooting accidents, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission warns.
According to NC Wildlife, five people have been killed in hunting accidents involving guns this season in North Carolina, more than the past three seasons combined, which had one death between 2020 and 2022.
There have been 14 hunting-related accidents in 2023 so far, and 11 involved a firearm, the agency reports.
In October, a 34-year-old man from Fayetteville was shot and killed in a hunting accident in Northampton County. In November, a man was killed in a hunting accident in Burke County.
“The current data for this season indicates that 50% of hunting incidents involving a firearm resulted in a fatality,” said Capt. Branden Jones of NCWRC’s Law Enforcement Division.
North Carolina has among the highest number of licensed hunters in the nation, at 603,995, according to the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA).
According to NC Wildlife, most injuries occur when hunters fail to properly identify their target and mistake another hunter for game. Careless mishandling of guns also leads to accidents.
NC Wildlife shared the following safety tips:
- Positively identify target before pulling the trigger.
- Always point a firearm in a safe direction.
- Treat every firearm as if it were loaded and never assume it’s unloaded.
- Use binoculars, rather than a rifle scope, to identify the target.
- Keep finger out of the trigger guard and off the trigger until ready to shoot.
- Be sure of the target and that there are no houses, vehicles, powerlines, livestock or people in front of or behind it.
- Avoid the use of alcohol and drugs as they may affect judgment when hunting.
- Comply with blaze orange laws as required.
“Let someone know your whereabouts and approximate return time,” said Jones. “We want everyone participating in hunting activities to keep safety as their number one priority and continue to make memories for many years to come.”
NC Wildlife offers hunter education certification courses in-person and online.
