What Is a Zone-of-Fire?

The area in which a hunter can shoot safely is referred to as a zone-of-fire. Before setting off in a group, hunters should agree on the zone-of-fire each person will cover. A zone-of-fire depends on many factors, including the hunter’s shooting ability, the game being hunted, the hunting environment, and the hunting strategy being used.

• A hunter’s zone-of-fire changes with every step. This is particularly true of groups hunting birds, rabbits, or other small game.
• A hunter must never swing or shoot outside the safe zone-of-fire.
• For safety purposes, it’s best to have no more than three hunters in a group. For new hunters, two is a safer number until they become familiar with maintaining a proper zone-of-fire.