* Be sure that someone knows where you are headed, and when you plan to return.

* Carry emergency survival gear, a flashlight, map and compass, matches and water.

* Stop periodically to eat and re-hydrate yourself.

* Wear two pieces of hunter orange that are in good condition.

* Be sure of your target, and what is beyond it.

* Always keep the muzzle of your firearm pointed in a safe direction.

* Unload your firearm before entering a dwelling, before entering a vehicle, or before storing it.

* In the past ten deer firearm seasons, there has not been one reported instance of a non-hunting person (hiker, jogger, homeowner, etc.) being injured by someone deer hunting.

* Hunting seasons for various animals and birds encompass all 12 months in Maine. In that same time span of ten years (3,653 days), there have been only one instance of a non-hunter (hiker, jogger, homeowner, etc.) being injured by the firearm of a hunter.

* Over the past five years, 52% (26 of the 50) hunting-related firearm injuries have been self-inflicted.

* In the state of Maine during the calendar year 2002, there were 216 vehicular fatalities, 14 homicides, 16 snowmobiling fatalities (winter 2002-2003), 12 vehicular - pedestrian fatalities (2001 data), 10 boating fatalities and zero (0) hunting fatalities.

* In 2002, Deer hunting success averaged 22%. Moose hunters had an 80% success rate in 2002 and turkey hunters had a 36% success rate.

* There are approximately 259,000 white-tailed deer in Maine (estimated wintering population in 2003).

* Deer hunters in Maine killed 38,153 deer, the highest total since 1968, up from 27,769 in 2001.

* Maine's regular firearm season attracts the most hunters (173,700) and accounts for the greatest share of the total deer harvest, which includes two archery seasons, the firearm season as well as a muzzleloader season, and stretches from the beginning of September through the middle of December. In 2002, 91% of the total deer harvest was taken during the four-week firearms deer season.

* Maine's residents registered 88 percent of the deer harvest in 2002.

* Some parts of northern Maine carry as little as 2 deer per square mile. Generally, northern and eastern WMDs average less than 8 deer per square mile, while central and southern Maine averages 15-30 deer per square mile.

* Some southern coastal sections of Maine where hunting access is restricted or denied average 30-100 deer per square mile.

* This year, 72,600 Any Deer permits were issued, the second most ever since the Any Deer permit system was adopted in 1986. Last year, 76,989 permits were issued.

* The peak breeding time for deer in Maine is the third week of November, consistent with the peak for deer breeding activity from Nova Scotia to the Carolinas.