The final weekend of the 2020 nine-day deer hunting season brings to mind added gun safety concerns after a fatality on Washington Island last Sunday.  Door County DNR Conservation Warden Chris Kratcha says following the four rules of firearm safety is extremely important.  Those rules include always pointing the muzzle of your gun in a safe direction, treating every firearm as if it is loaded, being sure of your target and beyond, and finally keeping your finger outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.  He says pointing out any shortcomings by your hunting buddies can potentially save a life.

Kratcha says eight of the last ten hunting seasons were fatality-free during the statewide gun deer season and single digit non-fatal incidents the past ten years as well.  The DNR released a hunting incident report Friday that showed four hunters were injured by gunshots, including the death in Door County.  While hunting on Washington Island, Steven Hoogester of West Bend died after accidentally shooting himself while exiting his ground blind on November 22.  The nine-day deer hunt concludes Sunday at dusk.