Image: Shutterstock
About This Quiz
How well do you know basic hunting safety? Do you think you could pass a hunter safety course? Take this quiz to find out how much you know about hunting safety.
Although most people who hunt do so for fun, they are also aware of the risks that accompany the sport. After all, any activity that involves the use of firearms and other hunting implements (such as knives and bows) is likely to come with its own set of dangers. To minimize the risks, some hunters take a hunter safety course. In some states, all hunters are required to take this course before being granted a hunting license, and in other states, only hunters under a certain age are required to take one. Either way, since the beginning of time, there have been rules that govern hunting (albeit, at some point in the past, those rules were probably unspoken) so that the hunters make it home safely from the hunt. Today's hunting safety courses cover basic knowledge on how to handle a firearm, when and where to hunt, and some of the basic terminology of hunting.
Take this quiz to see if you could ace a hunter safety course.
What's the first thing you should do when someone hands you a gun?
Give it back
Open it
Make sure the muzzle is pointing someplace safe
Muzzle discipline is one of the most important things. If your gun is pointing at someone, it could kill them. It's that simple!
Take it with both hands, to be safe
When should the safety be on?
Whenever I blink
Any time I'm not about to fire
The safety should be on whenever you're not about to fire the gun. You can leave it off between shots if they are close together.
Whenever I sneeze
Whenever I'm walking
If you're just standing there with a gun, where should the muzzle be pointing?
Along the range
Into the nearest bank
Down into the ground or up into the sky
You must assume the gun is loaded, which means you must position it so that if it goes off, no one gets hurt.
Into the sky
Advertisement
How often should you clean your gun?
Weekly
Every time I use it
You should clean your gun every time you take it out. A pro tip: wad up some paper towel, stuff it in the barrel, and push it down the barrel with the brush, straight into the trash. Voila: clean inside with one motion!
Monthly
A gun is self-cleaning
Which eye should be open when firing a shotgun?
Neither
Left
Both
You should keep both eyes open when firing a shotgun. If you don't do this, go get lessons and fix this bad habit. It is much safer as it keeps your depth perception accurate meaning you don't shoot at a bird that is outside your range (thus missing and creating a bunch of falling shot to come down), or think something is outside your range that is not. You will learn how to compensate for having one eye more dominant than the other.
Whichever is dominant
What special precaution should you take when shooting near a waterway?
Use bismuth shot
It's important not to allow lead shot to pollute waterways, as it is toxic. Hunters are usually huge conservationists, so take care of the rivers. That way they'll take care of the birds, and we'll all have birds to hunt in future.
Don't shoot the water
Wear sunglasses to avoid it blinding me
Use a rifle, not a shotgun
Advertisement
What should you shout to warn a nearby hunter that a bird is about to fly above their position?
Over!
The traditional shout to warn someone a bird is coming their way is "over".
Score!
One up!
Strike!
When you're standing holding your gun, where should your finger be?
On the barrel
Outside the trigger guard
Your finger must be somewhere that if you were to cough, misstep, or simply have a twitch unexpectedly, you won't fire your gun without meaning to. That's how someone ends up dead.
Sticking up
On the trigger
If the muzzle of your gun touches grassy or muddy ground, what do you do?
Wipe it
Look into it to see if it is OK
Unload the gun, then check whether any dirt got into the barrel
If your gun's barrel goes into the muck, grit may get into the barrel and block it. This can cause the gun to jam or even explode. Take the extra seconds to open it up and look - safely!
Nothing - that's not a problem
Advertisement
Who provides federal funds to state wildlife agencies to pay for hunting projects?
U.S. Park Service
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
This department protects endangered species and habitats, and also ensures that hunting occurs in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.
Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Hunting Service
What is falling shot?
Pellets from a shotgun shell that fall from the sky
Falling shot is not dangerous provided you wear a hat and don't look directly up, but if you are unlucky, it can cut your head or even take out an eye. A sturdy pair of sunglasses is advisable if you plan to squint directly upward.
It's when you shoot a bird moving vertically downward
It's when something is shot, and then falls
It's when you miss increasingly often throughout the day
When hunting deer, which is it acceptable to shoot?
The old and sick ones
When you shoot a deer, unless you've paid for a big fancy set of antlers, you should be aiming to shoot the old and sick deer. These are the ones who would otherwise likely die a slow and unpleasant death, meaning that shooting them is more humane.
The male bucks, since they just fight to death otherwise
The females that have already had a baby
Anything with a nice big head on it
Advertisement
Where's one place you should never shoot?
Into woodland
You should not shoot over a rise, either. Shoot where you can be totally sure that if you miss, the errant shot will go into the soil, or else just fall harmlessly out of the sky. Don't shoot where you can't be sure of this, because someone may be there.
Vertically up
Into the ground
Into a crowd of animals
Who wrote famous gun safety poem, "A Father's Advice"?
Ogden Nash
Lewis Carroll
A. A. Milne
Mark Beaufoy
The poem opens with the words, "Never ever let your gun, pointed be at anyone..." and proceeds to outline the basics of gun safety.
What are the three types of bow and arrows?
Longbow, recurve bow, and compound bow
While hunting with a bow and arrow is potentially less humane due to the odds of injuring instead of immediately killing the target, a competent bow-hunter should be able to use one of the three key kinds of bow to hunt humanely and efficiently - and quietly!
Longbow, shortbow, and crossbow
Longbow, tallbow, and brownbow
Longbow, crossbow, and skeetbow
Advertisement
What are the plastic vanes or feathers on an arrow called?
Skeeting
Feathering
Pointers
Fletching
Fletching provides aerodynamic stabilization so that the arrow goes in the direction that it was originally sent!
What name is given to the round flying discs used to train marksmen and in shooting contests?
Discs
Round birds
Clay pigeons
Clay pigeons are known as skeet in the US. They are a round clay disc, usually black, but sometimes bright orange for ease of viewing. Some makes have powder in them, to provide a satisfying puff of color when you hit them.
Flyers
After you fire a shell, what do you do with it?
Pop it
Nothing, it's been fired
Eject it
After you eject the shell casing, once you have a break, you should collect the casing from the ground. Leaving litter is bad form.
Ditch it
Advertisement
What are two pheasants known as?
A duo
A brace
A brace is two of anything you have hunted. It's an old hunting term.
A chime
A pair
What is a covey?
A group of grouse or partridge
A covey is a family of certain kinds of birds like grouse, partridge, and others.
A little hut for hunters
A bag to carry your gun
12 birds
How many hours of lessons are necessary to cover the basics of safe hunting?
Under 3
At least 10
You can probably go from "genuinely dangerous" to "not dangerous" in about 10 hours, but you shouldn't really go hunting unsupervised until you have 80-100 hours of experience. Also, as with any skill, a real pro is always in training. A quick top-up before the new season is a great idea.
At least 100
At least 40
Advertisement
Do you need military training to be a safe hunter?
Of course
It has no effect
It helps, but no
Military training certainly emphasizes muzzle discipline and good instincts, but it is not strictly necessary. However, there is no maximum to how much good training a hunter should aspire to have.
It actually hurts as the standards are different
What's the second thing you should do when someone hands you a gun (after pointing the muzzle someplace safe)?
Point it down
Shake it
Clean it
Check whether it is loaded
If you don't know whether it's loaded, then it's loaded. Always check!
Why are skeet not the ideal way to train for shooting birds safely?
They are orange
They don't fly the same way as birds
Since skeet are thrown from a launcher, they fly in perfect parabolas, unlike birds. A good instructor will ensure that their student learns how to safely shoot at skeet from different angles: directly overhead, coming from behind, to the left, right, and diagonal. Otherwise they may get in bad habits that cause danger on a real hunt.
They always land eventually
They are faster than most birds
Advertisement
What is the other name for a shotgun shell?
A bullet
A pellet
A shot
A cartridge
Cartridges and shells are different names for exactly the same thing!
What is the difference between shotgun and rifle ammo?
Rifles fire bullets, not shells
A rifle fires a single bullet at once. A shotgun fires a shell with pellets inside. Pellets have a "spread" over a given area, meaning you don't need the same level of accuracy. Hitting a grouse with a rifle would be virtually impossible. Shotguns can also shoot slugs, of course, but not while hunting.
Rifle ammo is much faster
Rifles are more accurate
Rifles make the ammo spin, which makes it hit harder
What makes a rifle, a rifle?
It only has one barrel
It uses a magazine, not a cartridge
It doesn't come with a muzzle-loader model
It has a carved interior in the barrel
A rifle's barrel has "rifling" on the inside, a sort of carved corkscrew shape that puts spin on a bullet to give it deadly accuracy.
Advertisement
What is the "gauge" of a shotgun?
It's the interior diameter of the barrel
The gauge of a shotgun technically comes from the number of lead spheres, as a fraction of a pound, that fit the "bore" or the size of the barrel. Eg there are twenty 20-gauge balls in a pound of lead. A 20-gauge shotgun uses this size of ball in its cartridges. Generally speaking the lower the gauge, the bigger the kick. A 20-gauge is a great training gun but a 12-gauge is a more effective hunting weapon.
It's how many rounds it can fire in a minute
It tells you what size person should use it
It's the length of the stock
What is a skewed stock?
It means the gun is not accurate
It means the stock has been trimmed
It means the stock is too long
It means the stock is twisted
A skewed stock is a gun that is designed to be fired from the hunter's dominant side, but sighted for the opposite eye. Thus a right-handed hunter with a dominant left eye need not learn to shoot from the left shoulder in order to be accurate with both eyes open. Of course, a really good hunter can shoot from either side.
What is the lethal range of a 12-gauge shotgun using a standard shell?
Under 50 yards
70 yards
90 yards
130 yards
Skeet have been shot at up to 120 yards, and if it can take down a skeet, it can take you down too - it probably won't, but it might. That said, generally a shotgun like this is at its best within 50 yards. Also, if you see someone at 150 yards, don't just shoot at them on the offchance that it will be all right: one gust of wind, an unexpectedly long barrel, or slightly different ammo, and you could be looking at 25 to life. Generally speaking, if you're holding a gun, you need to assume that the distance from the muzzle to the nearest solid earth bank or thick concrete wall is the danger zone.
Advertisement
What is the safe drinking limit while hunting?
Same as driving
Zero
The safe amount of alcohol to have in your bloodstream while operating a firearm is zero, or as close to zero as possible. Tipsy hunting is dangerous hunting, and drunk hunting is lethal hunting. Many hunters do have a drink during the day, but they do so with lunch, in order to line their stomach and metabolize it. This is still a bad idea.
One drink
Three drinks
What's one danger on a pheasant hunt?
They attack when threatened
Their cries can damage your ears
They fly in front of the sun on purpose, to blind you
You can be hit by a falling bird
Being hit by a falling bird sounds like a silly risk, but everyone who has been on a lot of pheasant hunts knows someone who it has happened to!
Why are snipe tricky to hunt?
They live in marshes, which are boggy hence bad footing
They warn each other about hunters
They fly in zigzags that make them hard to hit
Snipe fly straight only for the first few yards: once in the air, they zigzag, meaning you can easily lose track when following them
They are small targets
Advertisement
What is a particular risk in boar hunting?
Bullets can ricochet off them
Boar have a very thick hide, and while they are hunted with a very big rifle indeed, the risk of ricochet off their hide is always there.
They can see you from a mile away
They are scary which makes people shoot erratically
They run faster than people can see
What makes duck hunting especially dangerous?
It happens near water
The level of camouflage involved is really high
Duck hunting takes place at sunset when the duck come home. They circle the pond where they sleep to watch out for predators. This is the best time to shoot them. However as they have really good eyesight - to the point that they can tell a person with a stick apart from one with a gun - you have to wear full camo, which means your fellow hunter can't see you either.
Collecting the shot birds is really challenging
It happens at night
You Got:
/35
Shutterstock