20072007 WISCONSIN WISCONSIN

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCESDEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HUNTING INCIDENT REPORTHUNTING INCIDENT REPORT

PO PO BOXBOX 79217921MADISON WI 53707MADISON WI 53707--79217921

PUB-LE-006 (Rev. 4/08)

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

3History of Hunting Incidents & Fatalities

4Incident Rate per 100,000 Hunters

5Month of Incident

5Day & Time of Incidents

6Where Incidents Occurred

7Animals Hunted by Shooter

7Firearms Involved in Incidents

8Contributing Factors to Incident

8Incident Conditions: Weather; Light Conditions; Topography; Ground Cover

9Injury Information

10Shooter/Victim Hunting Party, Victim Visibility

10Shooter Statistics; Hunter Education; Experience; Age & Gender

11Shooter Activity at Time of Incident

12Distance from Muzzle to Wound

12Victim Statistics: Hunter Education; Experience; Age; Gender

13Victim Statistics: Surroundings; Color of Cap

14Victim Statistics: Color of Coat and Trousers

15Hunting Incidents by County & Deer Management Unit

16Incidents by County & Deer Management Unit

17History of Deer Gun Incidents & Fatalities

19State Map with Gun Deer Season Incidents

20Deer Gun Incidents: Day of Week; Victim Clothing Color

21Deer Season Safety Violation: Archery & Firearms

22

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources provides equal opportunity in its employment, programs, services, and functions under an Affirmative Action Plan. If you have any questions, please write to Equal Opportunity Office, Department of Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.

This publication is available in alternative format (large print, Braille, audio tape, etc) upon request. Please call (608) 266-2141 for more information

3

2007 Hunting Incident Report Executive Report

Hunting Incident --

is when a person is injured by the discharge of a hunting firearm or bow and arrow arising from the activity of hunting, including travel to and from the hunting field.

There were 27 total hunting incidents during the 2006 hunting season. Four were fatal. Thanks to the efforts of our hunter education program hunting is a safe activity in Wisconsin. Hunting incidents are continuing a downward trend and for 2007 we were below the 10 year average of

45.1 incidents per year.

Gun deer hunting, pheasant hunting and turkey hunting were the three hunting activities with the highest number of incidents with gun deer hunting having the most (7). Grouse and squirrel hunting ranked 4th

showing an increase of incidents in both activities.

Rifles and shotguns remain the hunting implement involved most often in hunting incidents. Shotguns continue the trend of being involved more often (59%) than rifles.

Major causes for incidents for 2007 include: Shooter’s failure to identify the target and trigger caught on object. Moving into the line of fire and swinging on game were also contributing factors.

Self inflicted injuries accounted for 19% (5) of the total number of incidents. This is a significant reduction as over time about 33% of all incidents have been self inflicted injuries.

Juveniles (under age 18) caused 7% (2) of the total number of hunting incidents. That means that 93% of all hunting incidents were caused by adult hunters. This was a significant drop in the incident rate for juveniles causing hunting incidents. Historically juveniles have contributed to nearly 33% of the total numbers of incidents.

To summarize this report, hunters, education instructors, sportsman organizations, and Conservation Wardens should be congratulated for making 2007 a safe year to hunt in Wisconsin. We were well below the 10 year average for hunting incidents and expect to continue

that trend into the future. However, we cannot rest on past success and must stress the importance of knowing and practicing the 4 basic rules of firearms safety every time we handle a firearm. Remember the slogan “Safe Hunting is No Accident.”

As hunters go afield in 2008 they must remember yet another slogan,

“The future of hunting is in their sights.”

Timothy J. LawhernHunter Education Administrator

Copyright

2008 by Wisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesBureau of Law Enforcement

PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707Telephone (608) 266-2141

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Fatal Total Accidents

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History of Fatalities

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1985

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2007

Fatalities

History of Hunting Incidents

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Month of Incident All Incidents 2007

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12

Jan

Feb

Mar

Ap

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May

Jun

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July

Au

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Sep Oct

No

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Dec

Wisconsin Hunting Incident Rate Per 100,000 Hunters

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5

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15

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25

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35

40

45

50

19

49

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51

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53

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55

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71

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Acc

iden

t R

ate

1967 Hunter Education Begins

1980 – Mandatory Blaze Orange for Gun Deer Season

1985 – Mandatory Hunter Education Begins

6

Saturday

30%

Sunday

15%

Tuesday

11%

Wednesday

11%

Monday

7%

Thursday

0%

Friday

26%

Incidents by Day of Week All Incidents 2007

Time of Day All Incidents 2007

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

10:00 - 12:00

8:01 - 10:00

6:01 - 8:00

4:01 - 6:00

2:01 - 4:00

12:01 - 2:00

10:01 - 12:00 PM

8:01 - 10:00

6:01 - 8:00

4:01 - 6:00

2:01 - 4:00

12:00 AM - 2:00

Woodchuck4%

Turkey18%Rabbit

4%

Squirrel11%

Pheasant15%

Deer29%

Waterfowl4%

Blackbird4%

Grouse11%

7

Where Incidents Occurred All Incidents 2007

Type of Land

Other15%

Wooded Area55%

Field/Cropland

29%

Public Hunting Grounds

11%

Animals Hunted by Shooter All Incidents 2007

Other Includes:CreekGame FarmGardenOpen Area

8

Firearms Involved in Incidents All Incidents 2007

Type

Rifle37%

Shotgun59%

Muzzleloader4%

Action

Semi Auto47%

Lever4%

Unknown4%

Bolt15%

Break /Hinge15%

Slide11%

Muzzleloader

4%

Contributing Factors to Incidents All Incidents 2007

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Victim out of sight of shooter

Victim covered by shooter swinging on game

Shooter Failure to ID Target

Ricochet

Victim moved in line of fire

Trigger caught on object

Loading/Unloading firearm

Careless Gun Handling

Defective Firearm

Firearm Fell

Shooter Stumbled

9

Incident Conditions All Incidents 2007

Weather

Cloudy19%

Clear59%

Partly Cloudy22%

Precipitation

None89%

Raining

4%Snow7%

Light Conditions

Daylight

80%

Dawn11%

Dusk4%

Incident Conditions All Incidents 2007

Swamp/Marsh11%

Steep Hill4%

Level44%

Other4%

Rolling37%

Grass24%

Leaves56%

Corn Field4%

Snow Cover

8%

Other8%

Topography Ground Cover

10

Incident Statistics All Incidents 2007

Shooter/Victim Information Two-Party Incidents 2007

Could Shooter See Victim?

Yes59%

No41%

Self Inflicted

Yes19%

No81%

Members of the Same Hunting Party(includes self-inflicted injuries)

No0%

Yes100%

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Incident Shooter Statistics All Incidents 2007

Hunter Education Graduate?

Unknown22%

No19%

Yes59%

Years of Hunting Experience

11-15 Years

4%6-10 Years11%

0-5 Years26%

Unknown7%

20+ years41%

16-20 Years11%

Incident Shooter StatisticsAll Incidents 2007

Age

Age 12-17

7%

Age 50-5922%

Unknown3%

Age 24-29

7%Over Age

6014%

Age 18-23

7%

Age 30-3911%

Age 40-4930%

Gender

Unknown

3%

Male

91%

12

Distance From Muzzle to Wound Two-Party Incidents 2007

Activity Shooter Was Involved In All Incidents 2007

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Driver

Stander

Still Hunting

Stalking

In a Tree Stand

Other Activity

Unknown

In Blind

Not Hunting at Time

Hunting Violation

0

2

4

6

8

0-1 Yd 2-5 Yds 6-10 Yds 11-20 Yds 21-50 Yds 51-100 Yds Over 100 Yds

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Incident Victim Statistics All Incidents 2007

Age 12-1711%

Age 18-2311%

Age 24-297%

Age 30-394%

Age 40-4926%

Age 50-5919%

Age 60 & Over22%

Age

Female5%

Male95%

Gender

14

Incident Victim Surroundings Two-Party Incidents 2007

Dense Cover10%

Light Cover45%

Open Area45%

Incident Victim Clothing ColorTwo-Party Incidents 2007

CapBrown

0%

Other20%Blue or Green

3%

Camouflage27% Blaze Orange

50%

15

Incident Victim Clothing Color Two-Party Incidents 2007

Blaze Orange41%

Gray9%

Blue/Green7%

Camouflage27%

Blaze Orange/

Camo

7%

Incident Victim Clothing Color Two-Party Incidents 2007

Camouflage13%

Blue/Green56%

Blaze Orange6%

Other6%

Brown19%

Coat or Vest

Trousers

16

2007 HUNTING INCIDENTS BY COUNTY(ALL INCIDENTS)

COUNTY # INCIDENTS COUNTY # INCIDENTS

Adams 1 Marathon

Ashland Marinette 2

Barron Marquette

Bayfield Menominee

Brown Milwaukee

Buffalo 1 Monroe

Burnett 2 Oconto

Calumet 1 Oneida

Chippewa Outagamie

Clark Ozaukee

Columbia 1 Pepin 1

Crawford 1 Pierce

Dane Polk

Dodge 2 Portage

Door Price 1

Douglas Racine

Dunn 1 Richland

Eau Claire 1 Rock

Florence Rusk 1

Fond du Lac St. Croix

Forest 1 Sauk

Grant Sawyer

Green Shawano 1

Green Lake 1 Sheboygan 1

Iowa Taylor

Iron Trempealeau 1

Jackson Vernon 1

Jefferson 1 Vilas

Juneau Walworth 1

Kenosha Washburn

Kewaunee Washington

La Crosse 2 Waukesha

Lafayette Waupaca

Langlade Waushara 1

Lincoln Winnebago

Manitowoc Wood

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2007 HUNTING INCIDENTS BY DEER MANAGEMENT UNIT(ALL

INCIDENTS)

DMU INCIDENTS DMU INCIDENTS DMU INCIDENTS

01 60A

01M 36 60B

02 37 60M

03 38 1 61 3

04 39 61A

05 40 62A

06 41 62B

07 42 63A

08 43 63B 1

09 44 64 1

10 45 64M

11 2 46 65A

12 47 65B 1

13 48 66

14 49A 1 67A

15 49B 67B 1

16 50 68A

17 51A 68B 2

18 51B 1 69 1

19 52 69C

20 52A 70

21 53 70 A

22 54A 1 70B

22A 1 54B 70C

23 1 54BCWD 70D

23A 54C 70E

24 55 70F

25 1 56 70G 1

26 57 71

27 57A 72 1

28 57B 72A

29A 57C 73A

29B 57D 73B

30 58 73D

31 59A 1 73E

32 59B 74A

33 59C 74B 1

34 59D 2 75A

35 59M 75B

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DMU INCIDENTS

75C

75D

76A 1

76C

76M

77A

77B 1

77C

77D

77E

77M

78

79

80A

80B

80C

81

82

90

MCC

2007 HUNTING INCIDENTS BY DEER MANAGEMENT UNIT(ALL INCIDENTS)

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History of Gun Deer Incidents

0

10

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70

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

Fatal Non-Fatal

Nonfatal57%

Fatal43%

2007 Gun Deer Season Incidents

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Non Fatal = 4Non Fatal = 4Fatal = 3 (Burnett, Price, Waushara Counties)Fatal = 3 (Burnett, Price, Waushara Counties)Total = 7Total = 71.09 incidents per 100,000 deer hunters1.09 incidents per 100,000 deer hunters

Gun Deer Season Incidents 2007

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Incidents by Day of Week 2007 Gun Deer Season

Monday16%

Tuesday16%

Wednesday17%

Friday17%

Saturday17%

Sunday17%

Blaze Orange100%

No Cap17%

Cap

Incident Victim Clothing Color2007 Gun Deer Season - Two-Party Incidents

Blaze Orange100%

Coat/Vest

Other14%Blaze

Orange14%

Blue/Green

50%

Camo29%

Trousers

22

2007 Deer Season Safety ViolationsArchery

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Hunt w ithin 50 Feet of Rd.

Transport Loaded firearm inVehicle

Transport Uncased Firearm inVehicle

Hunt Deer w ith Illegal Firearm

Shoot From/Across Rd.

Hunt Before/After Hours

Hunt Without Blaze Orange

2007 Deer Season Safety ViolationsFirearms

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Shoot From/Across Rd.

Shoot from vehicle

Hunt Before/After Hours

Hunt w ithin 50 Feet of Rd.

Transport strung bow in or onvehicle