The need to prevent hunting accidents is a constant challenge for sportsmen, because all of us are human and are therefore prone to make mistakes. There is always a need to be vigilant. So what’s your best defense against a tragic accident? It just might be practice and awareness, aided by technology!
The do-it-yourself answer for sportsmen is to start by cultivating an awareness of what their trigger finger is up to. When a sportsman isn’t sufficiently trained, anything that would startle a person could also cause a reflexive action that spurs a trigger finger into motion. Many firearm tragedies could have been prevented through proper training – including hours of practice of proper posture and safety routines when handling firearms.
The need to improve gun safety in the U.S. got a jump-start in November 2013, when angel investors offered a cool million dollars for the best novel idea on how to improve gun safety. The effort arose in response to the tragic shooting that happened about a year ago in Newtown, Connecticut. In the wake of that event, gun-injury prevention efforts have been focused more on using technology and less on depending solely on human effort.
One of the more novel ideas put forth by gun-safety advocates is to apply biometrics to solving the problem of firearm related injuries.
For example, gun manufacturers could incorporate fingerprint biometrics so that only the gun owner could activate the trigger. That effort could prove to be an important preventative step, should the gun be stolen at some point.
Truly, these technological innovations could do more over the long term to prevent shooting deaths than tackling the problem through legislation, which most gun safety advocates agree has not gone far enough to prevent an epidemic of firearm injuries and deaths. Maybe it’s time for a high tech approach.