Hunting is the act of preying. The amount of precautionary measures that the hunters have to take in order to hunt the prey must equals the amount of meaures that hunters have to take to ensure their own safety and a safe hunt. Therefore, it is not a child’s play and need some serious considerations especially in the case of hunting from a boat. There are some dos and donts of hunting from a boat. They are explained below.
- Dos of Hunting from a boat: They are:
- Wear a life jacket (PFD): The hunter should always make sure to wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD) or commonly known as a life jacket. Life jackets, as their name implies, are the protector of one’s life (in almost cases). The most worn jackets during hunting from a boat are the U.S Coast Guard Approved life jackets. They give one a sense of security and confidence.
Lots of incidents have been encountered by the hunters (who hunt from a boat) that they were not wearing a life jacket. Due to severe circumstances, they list their lives For instance, In Florida (2016) a hunter fell into the water while shooting at a duck. He was not wearing a life jacket so had difficulty swimming and fortunately his friend came to rescue him.
- Positioning and Balancing: The hunter hunting from the boat must position everything including the boat and himself in a stable place and their must be balance that even if he encounters some water wave coming, he must be on a static position. There have been incidents when the boaters did not attain balance and faced severe outcomes. For instance, in Maryland (2017) the hunter incidently shot himself in the leg because of the lost of balance.
- Check water conditions: The condition of the water must always be kept in check before going on hunting. Weather conditions come synonymous with the water conditions. In Michigan (2018), a hunter was hunting a duck from a boat and accidently fell into the water. Due to the icy water the hunter had hypothermia eventhough he was wearing a life jacket
- Donts of Hunting from a boat: They are:
- Avoid any form of alcohol.
- Avoid making sudden movements.
- Do not leave PFD back.
- Must not overload the boat.
- Should not forget to take the safety measures.
- Must not lose contact.
- Must not dwadle hear and there of the prey.
- Should not lose control.
- Must not lose confidence.
- Poor quality gears should be avoided.
- Conclusion:
In conclusion, all these above points must be kept into consideration for making hunting from a boat an easy task. Hunter himself is benefited from the precautions that he takes therefore he has to be made aware of all the instructions and the facts thoroughly. Only then can the hunter attain what he is actually looking for. Therefore, all the points are crucial.