A bow hunter in Michigan was sitting inside his blind just days into the season when a stray round from a target shooter struck him in the chest. He was taken to an area hospital. The hunter wasn’t the one pulling a trigger, and authorities say the shooter may face criminal charges for firing recklessly.
The case has stirred up a debate about visibility in the woods. Michigan requires hunters to wear blaze orange, but bow hunters are exempt. The state DNR points to fewer people in the woods during bow season and the shorter range of arrows. Yet this injury came from a bullet, not an arrow, and a fully camouflaged blind can be nearly invisible from any distance.
A lifelong hunter interviewed about the incident suggested a simple fix: put a blaze orange hat on top of your blind so anyone nearby knows someone is inside. Here on the Suncoast, where public lands and hunting seasons draw plenty of local sportsmen, that advice costs almost nothing and takes seconds to follow. Whether you hunt, target shoot, or just walk those trails, seeing and being seen is the whole game.
Do you mark your blind or hunting spot so others can see you? Tell us what you use.
