Two people were injured in separate incidents Saturday and Sunday during the opening weekend of the modern firearms deer hunting season, Maryland Natural Resources Police said.
A 15-year-old boy was deer hunting on private property Saturday in Talbot County when his 20-gauge shotgun malfunctioned and exploded in his hand, police said. He was transported to Memorial Hospital in Easton, where he was treated and released.
On Sunday, a New York City man also suffered non-life-threatening injuries after he was sprayed with pellets in the head and hand, allegedly by a New Jersey man, police said. The two were hunting quail on a regulated shooting area near Denton in Caroline County when a quail flew between them, police said. They said the incident is also still under investigation and charges are pending.
Police issued 143 citations this past weekend ? about 27 percent more than during last year?s opening weekend. They also issued 269 warnings.
The season runs through Dec. 9 in all Maryland counties except Allegany and Garrett.
The increase in citations was due to police being more proactive, said Sgt. Ken Turner, a Natural Resources Police spokesman.
“It is due to good police work. If we check more people, we are going to find more violations.”
Police made contact with 3,112 hunters, which is an increase of about 36 percent over last year, a department news release said.
Common deer hunting violations include hunting at night while using lights, failure to wear bright orange clothing and failure to attach an identifying tag to a deer that has been hunted, Turner said.
Maryland deer hunters killed 94,052 deer during the 2005-06 season, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Web site.
