Additional Rules of Bowhunting Safety
Keep these additional tips in mind whenever you use bows and arrows.
- Never nock an arrow until you have sighted game and are ready to shoot. The only time to nock an arrow is when you are ready to shoot.
- Never sharpen a broadhead with the tip pointed at you. Keep the tip pointed away from your body while sharpening broadheads.
- Never test a broadhead for sharpness by holding it against your skin. If a broadhead cuts a stretched rubber band easily, then it is sharp enough for hunting.
- Never tighten broadheads on an arrow shaft by hand. Use a broadhead wrench.
- Always be careful when field dressing game animals that have been killed by broadheads. The broadhead (or pieces of it) may still be inside the animal and you, too, could be cut!
- Never climb into or use a tree stand unless you are wearing a safety harness. Each year bowhunters across the United States fall out of tree stands and are injured because they didn’t use a safety harness.
- Know how to follow a blood trail to retrieve animals.
- Make sure your equipment is safe to use. Secondhand or used equipment might not be safe.