Interview: DEC Wildlife Biologist Katrina Talbot talks hunter safety amidst brand-new season

The days are getting shorter and shorter and the nights have gone chilly, a classic signal that hunting season is here for the North Country.

With the opening of muzzleloader set for Saturday, October 15 and rifle season aimed to open Saturday, October 22 for the northern zones, the New York State DEC is urging all hunters, even those with decades of experience in the woods, to practice common sense safety measures. 

DEC Wildlife Biologist Katrina Talbot joined our North Country News to discuss hunter safety. Be sure to listen to our latest on-air segment here:

The 4 Rules of Firearm Safety:

• Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
• Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
• Keep your finger off the trigger, and outside the trigger guard, until you are ready to shoot.
• Always be sure of your target and what is in front of it and behind it. Once you pull the trigger, you cannot take back the bullet!
• Wear hunter orange or pink.

It used to be something that was highly encouraged, but the DEC made a few regulation adjustments last-year that make it law for all New York big game firearm hunters to wear some sort of blaze orange or pink while afield.

Whether it's a hat, a vest or a coat, it must be a minimum of 250 square inches of solid fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink material worn above the waist and visible from all directions; OR a minimum of 250 square inches of patterned fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink (the pattern must be at least 50% fluorescent orange or 50% fluorescent pink) worn above the waist and visible from all directions; OR a hat or cap with no less than 50% of the exterior consisting of solid fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink material visible from all directions, the DEC says.

All other hunters are not required by law to wear fluorescent orange while hunting in New York. However, DEC highly recommends ALL hunters wear a fluorescent orange hat, vest and/or coat while hunting small game or big game.

When it comes to documented hunting incidents, 2021 was the lowest number recorded since DEC began keeping track of such data 70-years-ago. DEC documented nine hunting-related shooting incidents (HRSIs) during the 2021 hunting seasons, one of which was fatal. 

Although officials say it's encouraging to see a continued downward trend for hunting incidents, there is another trend that has become a subject of focus and it involves hunters suffering injury after falling out of their tree stand.

Every year, hunters are seriously injured, paralyzed, or killed falling out of tree stands. Falls from tree stands have become a major cause of hunting-related injuries and fatalities in New York.

In 2020, DEC investigated 13 tree stand incidents. One of the incidents was fatal. All 13 incidents involved a hunter who was not wearing a harness or the harness was not attached to the stand or the tree at the time of their fall. The proper use of tree stands, full-body harnesses, and lifelines will help to prevent these injuries and fatalities. 

As hunters prepare to head to their camps and tree stands, the DEC wishes all outdoor enthusiasts a happy and safe season.

Images courtesy via the New York State DEC.