When a man is alone in the woods, he has only himself to protect and yet hundreds have accidentally shot themselves by grasping their gun by the barrel and handling it in such a way that some object has come in contact with the hammer or trigger with force enough to cause the cartridge to explode. Only recently, there was a case of a youth's injuring himself by using the butt of his gun as a club to beat the brush in an effort to drive a deer from cover. A few years ago a rabbit hunter stood with his hand on the muzzle of his gun when his dog jumped up and pulled the trigger with his paw. The hunter received a badly mangled hand. These and hundreds of similar incidents could be prevented if hunters would show proper respect for a gun's potential danger.

Guns are made for the purpose of killing. The firing mechanism is designed to be operated by the trigger finger, yet many men seem to forget that any other object pressing on the trigger will explode the cartridge. Some of the hammer guns can be discharged by some objects pressing on the hammer, as in cocking, and then releasing the pressure before the gun is fully cocked. As a young man, I was well aware of this danger, having visited one victim of such an accident and having heard of several other cases, all of which had been caused by the accidental discharge of the old hammer shotguns. Since these were shotgun accidents, I assumed that my rifle was immune to such incidents. The hammer could not strike the firing pin unless the trigger was pulled, even if it were released before reaching the full cocked position.

I considered the gun to be safe as long as the hammer was down or at the half-cock position, and yet I was able to get myself into a situation in which the gun was accidentally discharged. I was following a deer track across a cedar swamp where the trees were so thick that I was forced to crash my way through, with dead branches continually catching my clothing and impeding progress. In some manner, one of these branches caught in the trigger guard and another came in contact with the hammer. Instead of looking to see what was holding the gun, I gave it a yank in exasperation that discharged the gun. There was no harm done, but since that time I have carried my gun with my right hand in such a position that twigs and branches cannot come in contact with the trigger. Many a gun, especially of the old hammer type, has been accidentally discharged while the hunter was cocking or uncocking it and his thumb slipped from the hammer. It will pay to be very sure that the gun is pointed in a harmless direction at these times as well as all others.

Most guns are equipped with some safety device. It is there for the hunter's protection, although many men neglect to make use of this important feature. Some seem to endow a gun with an intelligence. They seem to think that if they use a gun for deer hunting that it will kill nothing but deer. Rabbit and duck hunters sometimes seem to think along the same line, while in reality the gun itself is utterly indifferent about the type of object at which it is pointed. A deer gun will kill a duck or rabbit and a gun that is used for small game will kill a deer or a man as well as the game for which it is intended. Momentary forgetfulness of this fact can cause a disastrous accident to the hunter or to any other person who might be within the range of the gun.

Occasionally a loaded gun will be discharged by a jar on the butt or by falling to the ground when left leaning against some object. Such guns are mechanically defective and should be repaired or discarded, unless they have been especially adjusted for target use. If they are so adjusted, they should never be used in the woods. Hunting guns should have a trigger pull of at least four pounds so that jars and minor pressure on the trigger will not cause the discharge of the gun.

People whoever they are, must follow the safety instruction on handling the gun. Make sure that the trigger is a lock position. Such guns are mechanically defective and should be repaired or discarded, unless they have been especially adjusted for target use. If they are so adjusted, they should never be used in the woods. Hunting guns should have a trigger pull of at least four pounds so that jars and minor pressure on the trigger will not cause the discharge of the gun.