NSSF Urges Americans to Hunt 'S.A.F.E'

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- As the nation observes National Hunting and Fishing Day on September 28, and as multiple hunting seasons have started or are about to begin across the country, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is launching a new campaign to remind Americans that “The Hunt Isn’t Over Until You Are S.A.F.E.”

“Americans have a strong hunting tradition and safety is a central part of that,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti. “As gun owners it is our shared responsibility to treat firearms with the respect they deserve in the field, on the range, at home and everywhere in between.”

The new campaign is part of NSSF’s ongoing Project ChildSafe initiative, which emphasizes the role safe storage plays in helping to prevent firearm accidents, and encourages voluntary action on the part of gun owners to safely secure their firearms when not in use. S.A.F.E. is an acronym for Secure your firearms when not in use; Be Aware of those around you who should not have unauthorized access to firearms; Focus on your responsibility as a firearm owner and Educate yourself and others about safe firearm handling and storage.

While a focus of Project ChildSafe is preventing firearm accidents among children, the comprehensive program provides educational materials and online resources to help young people and adults practice greater firearm safety, especially in the home, where proper storage is the number way to prevent accidents.

For the hunting season, NSSF is working with some of the nation’s largest hunting and sporting media outlets, along with celebrities in the hunting world, state fish and game departments and thousands of NSSF members and supporter organizations to help deliver messages and information on hunting and firearm safety through public service announcements, social media activity, banner ads and direct outreach to the hunting community.

Key to the effort is a suite of new and existing online resources available on www.projectchildsafe.org, including:

• Tips and guidelines on safe firearm handling


• NSSF’s Ethical Hunter brochure


• An infographic with guidelines on a variety of firearm storage options


• Information on where to get a free firearm safety kit

And coming soon:

• A new interactive list of safe hunting tips and Hunter’s Safety Quiz


• A Hunting Checklist for Families

“The hunting and shooting community is the largest audience and the best source of ambassadors for these materials and resources, which are available 24/7 online to help everyone hunt responsibly, return home safe and securely store their unloaded firearms,” Sanetti said. “The more we can get this information in the hands of hunters and others in the shooting sports community, and the more that gun owners can do to share these messages with others, the more we can help prevent firearm accidents.”

NSSF launched Project ChildSafe in 1998 (prior to 2003 the program was called Project HomeSafe) as a nationwide initiative to promote firearms responsibility and provide safety education to all gun owners. The program has provided more than 36 million free firearm safety kits to gun owners in all 50 states and five U.S. territories. That’s in addition to the more than 60 million free locking devices manufacturers have included with new firearms sold since 1998 and continue to do today.

---