Statistics:

• Hunter Incident Summaries
• Michigan Hunting Incident Statistics

Hunting safety resources:

• A Parent's Guide to Recreational Shooting for Youngsters includes a Firearms Responsibility Contract for parents and kids to sign.
• Hunting safety tips
• Hunting Safety—from the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation
• Bow Hunting Safety—this site includes topic pages on treestand safety, first aid, and survival.

Ten Safety Rules for Firearms:

• The Ten Commandments of Firearm Safety. All hunters, including young people, who handle firearms should be intimately familiar with these rules.

Water hunting safety;

• Hunting Safety on the Water—excellent in-depth information from the Coast Guard. Become familiar with this safety information—more hunters die from drowning and hypothermia each year than from gunshot wounds, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
• If you live in Michigan, marine and hunting safety classes are offered in many locations. Select “Marine” from the drop-down menu.

Other hunting safety topics:

• Treestand Safety: What goes up, must come down!
• Turkey hunting safety
• Make sure young deer hunters know safety precautions
• Hunter orange requirements—these are each state's requirements; however, the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh recommends head-to-toe fluorescent orange clothing.
• Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh hunting safety tips
• Questions and Answers on Chronic Wasting Disease for Hunters
• Be sure you are in good physical condition to meet the rigors of hunting.
• Bear Safety for Hunters

Michigan hunting and shooting sports resources:

• If you live in Michigan, find a hunter or bow hunter safety class near you.
• Michigan 4-H Shooting Sports: Kids ages nine and up learn safety and shooting techniques for a variety of shooting sports: shotguns, rifles, air guns, muzzle loading, archery and hunting. Kids also learn respect for the natural environment.
• The Michigan Youth Hunting Education Challenge (MYHEC) is a program for young sports-women and -men, who have completed the Basic State Hunter Safety Course and desire to enhance their ethics, safety skills, talents, techniques and knowledge of hunting and shooting.

Related topics on YourChild:

• Safety: Guns and Kids
• Winter Sports and Cold Weather Safety
• Recreational Vehicle Safety

Compiled by Kyla Boyse, R.N. Reviewed by faculty and staff at the University of Michigan

Updated November 2006

U-M Health System Related Sites:
U-M Pediatrics

Our editorial policy
The information and links we provide are reviewed by University of Michigan developmental and behavioral pediatricians and child psychologists who are experts in child behavioral health. In choosing the links we provide, we use strict criteria to ensure that the information is accurate, and the source is reputable. As much as possible, we focus on information that is based on research. In areas where there is inadequate research, we include information compatible with prevailing expert opinion.

This website is updated regularly, but because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, we cannot be responsible for misinformation that may be accessed through the links provided. As always, this website is not a tool for self-diagnosis, and is not a substitute for professional care.

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