Hunting is supposed to be fun, but because guns are involved there is a chance for accidents if hunters are not careful. (Steve Knight/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Congratulations Texas hunters. In 2023 you made the sport about as safe as it can possibly be.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department there were just 10 non-fatal accidents and one fatality during the year. The non-fatal accidents were a new record low, and the single fatality matched the low of one which has been recorded each of the last four years.

There is one person who is especially proud of this year’s record lows and that is Steve Hall who for 35 years has served as TPWD’s Hunter Education coordinator. However, Hall would like to see the numbers drop even more.

“I am hoping at some point to go below 10,” Hall said.

Showing just how far things have come, during Hall’s first year with the department in 1985, which was pre-mandatory hunter education, there were 72 hunting accidents reported. Fifteen of those were fatal.

While Hall’s pipe dream is zero accidents, with over 1.2 million hunters in the state of all skill levels he knows that is probably impossible.

“I’m a realist. There will always be some accidents. You can’t prevent stupid behaviors, which we are all prone to here and there,” Hall noted.

Still considering where hunting accidents were prior to 1988 when hunter education became mandatory in the state to where they are now is remarkable.

From 1966, when TPWD began compiling accident records, to 1987 hunting in Texas could best be described as the wild west. During that era there were 425 fatal hunting accidents in the state and another 1,299 non-fatal accidents.

The worst year by far was 1972 when there were 30 fatalities and 55 non-fatal accidents in a year in which 300,000 less hunting licenses were sold than last year.

In comparison, 1988 through 2023, a 14-year longer period than the pre-hunter ed era, there were 156 fatalities and 1,152 other accidents.

There is no doubt that having 1.6 million hunter education certified hunters has made a difference in making it a safer sport in Texas. For example, in the last 10 years almost 584,000 hunters have taken the course. During that period there have been just 191 total accidents and 19 fatalities.

“Our average rate of incidents are just below the median average in the country due to the large number of hunters we have in Texas. Unfortunately, hunter days, which are higher in Texas, are not considered in the rate comparisons, which use license sales as the standard,” Hall said.

Through the years getting certified has become easier with a switch to online courses. Today more than half of the students take the online-only course.

However, there are still a lot of classroom courses offered, which may be a better option for younger hunters and those totally new to hunting. Hall said fortunately there are still plenty of volunteers to teach them. He added that a lot of the courses are offered at schools as part of the ag or outdoor education programs.

“Our mission doesn’t change, to teach and promote safe, knowledgeable, responsible practices and behaviors in hunting and the shooting sports,” Hall said. “What we do impact that people forget about is the legal compliance, reduction in wounding, and ethical behaviors we teach and promote beyond safe hunting, handling and shooting sports practices.”

He added that providing proper character and role models not only makes hunting safer, but also promotes the hunting heritage by encouraging legal and ethical behavior.

Looking at last year’s accidents nine involved shotguns, one a rifle and one a crossbow. Seven accidents happened while dove hunting and two occurred on duck hunts. One of those was a fluke accident where a hunter was shot by his dog when it stepped on a loaded gun in a boat.

Most of the dove hunting accidents happened when a hunter swung too wide on a bird and hit another hunter.

Although it doesn’t count as a hunting accident, two hunters were injured when the helicopter they were hunting hogs from crashed.

The lone fatality last year happened as a deer hunter was finishing the hunt, loading their gun in a vehicle, and accidently discharging it. This, like swing wide while dove hunting, has become too common in recent years.

“We emphasize accidents in and around vehicles/carless handling and swinging on game outside of a safe zone of fire as the two primary types of incidents in Texas. With it being allowed to hunt from a vehicle on private lands, it is still an uphill climb to convince folks to unload firearms while in and around vehicle,” Hall said.

The solution on handling a rifle around a vehicle could easily be solved by unloading the gun before getting out of the blind, and if you do ride and hunt leave the bolt open until the barrel is outside the window, and reopened before bringing it back in.

— Knight can be reached at outdoor@tylerpaper,com