Bryan Bethel This is Me

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1. 1. Ste. Genevieve News

   www.suntimesnews.com/9c/News%2 - [Cached]

   Published on: 11/6/2006   Last Visited: 11/6/2006

   "It's important to realize that all these people were friends or family," said Bryan Bethel, hunter education coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation.
   ...
   Bethel said it is easy to lose sight of the fact that deer hunters have a good safety record.
   
   "Hunter education has cut the annual number of deer hunting accidents to a fraction of what it was 20 or 30 years ago," said Bethel. "If you think about it, having 10 hunting accidents during a 36-day season, with 475,000 licensed deer hunters is a remarkable achievement. I'm not sure what the accident rate would be for the same number of people driving cars for that much time, but I suspect deer hunters would look pretty good by comparison."
   
   The goal of the Conservation Department and Missouri's more than 2,000 volunteer hunter education instructors is to have a deer season where no one gets hurt. Bethel said all of last year's accidents could have been avoided if hunters had followed the basic rules of safe firearm handling.

2. 2. KolbeCo - PR Quote - Accident brings up safety

   www.kolbeco.net/news/index.htm - [Cached]

   Last Visited: 5/17/2007

   Although only one shot hit Whittington, the shot might have produced up to 200 small pellets because Cheney used a shotgun, said Bryan Bethel, Hunter Education Program Coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation.
   ...
   When a bird takes flight, Bethel said, a hunter could become so focused on the target that he or she might forget there might be someone in the line of fire.
   
   There also is an increased risk with bird hunting because bird hunters typically are not required to wear orange, like those who hunt other animals are required to do.
   
   Bethel said this makes it more difficult for hunters to see each other and differentiate between the movements of a bird and the movements of a person.
   
   "Other states may have higher rates for hunting accidents because we don't have a particular influx for pheasants or other birds," Bethel said.

3. 3. Perryville News

   www.suntimesnews.com/8C/News%2 - [Cached]

   Published on: 10/7/2005   Last Visited: 11/14/2005

   "I think expectations have a lot to do with it," said Bryan Bethel, outdoor skills coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "People see gun violence on television and in movies, so they think of guns as being dangerous. That doesn't take into account the huge effort that goes into hunter education in Missouri and nationwide. You would have a hard time finding a more safety-conscious group than hunters."
   
   Bethel said the nature of hunting accidents also contributes to the perception that hunting is dangerous. He noted that while firearms-related hunting accidents are rare, the resulting injuries often are much more severe than those associated with other sports.
   
   "More people die every year in swimming accidents than in hunting accidents, and people die playing football and ice hockey and riding bicycles. But the run-of-the-mill injuries in those sports-sprained ankles, cuts that require stitches and so on-are not on par with the average gunshot wound. There is good reason to take hunting accidents seriously."
   
   That, said Bethel, is why anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, must complete a certified hunter education course before they can buy a hunting permit.
   ...
   Nevertheless, hunting accidents do happen, and Bethel said hunters need to be aware of the most common causes of such accidents.
   ...
   Bethel summed up one highly effective preventive measure for a variety of accident types, saying "Plan your hunt, and hunt your plan." He said this starts by agreeing ahead of time on hunting positions and movements. By following details mapped out ahead of time, hunters can prevent unsafe situations from arising.
   
   "Planning your hunt also means establishing safe-shooting zones," said Bethel.
   ...
   "Imagine how these shooters felt when their careless actions hurt loved ones," said Bethel.