Driven hunt safety: the 10 essential rules to follow

Driven hunt safety comes down to ten rules delivered at the safety briefing and followed by every participant: signs posted on the day, visible fluorescent vest, 30-degree angle marked out, downward shots only, firearm open while moving, staying put at the stand. Failure to respect the 30-degree angle remains the leading cause of accidents in big game hunts, according to the OFB¹.

Saturday morning, 8:30. Around the fire, thirty hunters listen to the chairman running through the day’s rules. This briefing sets the course of the day: it will end with a game parade or a tragedy.

The 2025-2026 season report published by the OFB (Office français de la biodiversité, the national biodiversity agency) records 92 hunting accidents, 4 of them fatal². Hunters make up 89% of victims, and big game hunts account for 66% of accidents¹. The number of accidents has dropped by 49% over twenty years², yet in big game hunts 92% still result from human error¹. Since the 2023-2024 season, federation technicians in Occitanie have audited over 100 hunting grounds⁷. We draw on their findings below.

Here are the ten driven hunt safety rules to enforce on your hunting ground, followed by a model briefing for the morning assembly.

What are the obligations before the start of the drive?

Before the drive, the organiser of a big game driven hunt posts temporary signs at the zone’s entrances, checks that every participant is wearing a visible fluorescent vest (armed or not), and turns away anyone whose condition raises concern. These three checks come before the briefing.

1. Posting temporary signs

The arrete (ministerial order) of 5 October 2020 requires any organiser of a collective big game shoot to post temporary signs “on the verge or in the immediate vicinity of public roads to indicate the main entrances to the hunting zone”⁴. Signs are put up on the day itself, before the start of the hunt, and taken down the same day, once the hunt is over⁴. The OFB recommends signs conforming to the road code, type AK14, with a KM9 panel reading “chasse en cours” (hunt in progress)⁴.

2. Wearing the fluorescent vest

The same arrete requires every participant in a collective big game shoot to wear a vest “in a visible and permanent manner, including unarmed persons”⁴. This vest may be built into a T-shirt, a jacket or a brightly coloured cape. The OFB recommends orange, which is more visible in open ground than yellow⁴. A fluorescent cap alone does not replace the vest.

3. Checking participants’ condition

A participant who has been drinking does not hunt. The hunting safety plan announced by the French Government on 9 January 2023 provides for a ban on hunting under the influence of alcohol or drugs⁵. Without waiting for an official check, the organiser turns away anyone whose condition raises concern before the briefing.

How do you mark out the 30-degree firing angle?

The 30-degree firing angle is marked out as soon as you arrive at your stand, before loading your firearm: five paces towards your neighbour, three paces forward at a right angle, then a marker planted on each side. No shot is fired inside these two markers. According to the OFB’s 2025-2026 report, failure to respect this angle remains, as every season, the leading cause of accidents in big game hunts¹. In accidents involving a third party, it accounts for 32% of cases⁶.

We must collectively redouble our vigilance on respecting firing angles, which remain the leading cause of accidents involving a third party in big game hunts.

Olivier Thibault, Director General of the OFB⁶

4. The “5 paces and 3 paces” method

The Fédération nationale des chasseurs (FNC, the national hunters’ federation) describes the method. To mark the angle to the right, the hunter takes 5 paces to the right, then 3 paces forward at a right angle, and plants a marker (a stick or similar) at the end of the third pace³. They repeat the operation on the left. Game coming out of the enclosure being driven is shouldered and shot only once it has crossed beyond the angle. Ride too narrow, undergrowth too thick? The FNC then advises holding fire³.

According to the FNC, in the event of an accident, the hunter who fired within the 30-degree angle is systematically held liable, as is the hunt leader who did not give the safety instructions at the briefing³. Administrative sanctions follow as well. The Director General of the OFB can suspend a hunting licence for up to 6 months for endangering life, or up to one year for involuntary manslaughter⁴. Have the angles of every hunter at their stand checked before releasing the hounds.

What rules govern the act of shooting at the stand?

The hunter at their stand fires only downwards, into soft ground, at an animal identified with certainty and clear of vegetation. Their firearm stays open until they reach the stand. Once in position, they do not move for the entire drive and follow the start and end signals.

5. Compulsory downward shots

A rifle bullet can pass through a wild boar and travel far beyond. No shot at chest height, no shot along a ridgeline. The bullet must end its course in soft ground (topsoil, an embankment) a short distance beyond the target. The OFB recommends driven hunt high seats, which make downward shots easier and limit hunter movement⁴.

6. Strict firearm handling

While walking to stands, the firearm stays open, unloaded and in plain sight, so that everyone can see it is safe: break-action open, bolt back for a bolt-action or semi-automatic rifle⁴. In a vehicle, it is unloaded, in a case or disassembled⁴. The firearm is loaded only at the stand, after the signal to begin.

7. Complete stillness at the stand

A hunter who leaves their stand becomes a target. No moving to dispatch a wounded animal, pick up a spent case, or find a phone signal. On arrival, locate your neighbours and make yourself known with a clear wave, as the OFB recommends⁴. You stay at your stand until the end signal.

8. Positive identification of the target

Before shouldering, the hunter identifies the species, assesses the sex if the harvest plan requires it, and confirms that the animal is clear of vegetation. The FNC sums it up: you shoot only at a clearly identified animal, never at a mere shape³. If in doubt, hold fire.

9. Strict observance of horn signals

The hunting horn sets the pace of the drive. The codes vary from one hunting ground to another: the hunt leader reminds everyone at the briefing of the signals for start, end and emergency stop, as the OFB recommends⁴. Any shot fired before the start signal or after the end signal warrants exclusion. Where horn codes are poorly known, the Occitanie federation audits recommend two-way radios⁷.

10. First-aid preparedness

A first-aid kit left in the 4x4 at the end of the track is useless. Every hunt leader should carry a basic trauma kit with a tourniquet and pressure dressings.

What to do in case of a serious incident or injury?

In the event of an accident, stop the drive immediately with the emergency stop signal, have all firearms unloaded and secure the area around the victim. Then call 112 and give the exact position of the stand, not a local place name.

Saying “we are at the Trois-Chenes crossroads” wastes the emergency services’ time. Mes Chasses includes the IGN and cadastral hunting map of your hunting ground: the organiser shares the position of each stand on participants’ smartphones. In the event of an accident, the hunter reads their coordinates to the 112 operator. Mes Chasses remains an information tool: positions are given as a guide and do not replace the briefing or the instructions.

Model safety briefing to read before a big game driven hunt

A safety briefing covers the same points at every outing, delivered in front of all participants: hunters at stands, beaters and accompanying persons⁴. Here is a template to adapt to your departmental hunting management plan.

The ASAPT audits, carried out in nine departments of Occitanie, analyse driven hunt organisation from the initial briefing to stand placement⁷. Their recurring recommendations match this template: a more structured briefing, better-placed “hunt in progress” signs on roads and trails, markers to visualise firing angles, and large-format maps or GPS positions to locate the hunt⁷.

Have the briefing signed as well. The FNC notes that verbal instructions are increasingly backed up by written instructions, which the hunter signs on the hunt logbook³. Our printable hunt sheet covers these points, and our article on the hunt logbook details what must be recorded.

Conclusion

Driven hunt safety rests on four things: the 30-degree angle, the fluorescent vest, the downward shot and the open firearm during transit. Everything else depends on the team’s discipline, repeated every Saturday. The FNC reminds us: the majority of hunters over 62 have never taken a practical test, as the exam was introduced only in 1976³.

For the full organisation of a hunt day, including declaration and roles, our guide on wild boar driven hunts picks up where this one leaves off.

Before your next drive, print the briefing notes and have everyone sign them. Then create a free account on Mes Chasses, map your hunting ground and share your stand positions with your team.

References