New Brunswick’s moose season opens September 22–26 across all Wildlife Management Zones, with archery deer season following in early October and firearms season stretching into late November (exact dates vary by zone; always confirm yours on gnb.ca before heading out). Add in a surge of ATV traffic checking trails and hauling gear, and the next two months mean thousands of New Brunswickers spending long hours in the woods, often far from cell service and even farther from the nearest ambulance.
That combination of remote locations, cool temperatures, and activities that carry a real risk of injury makes fall the season when basic first aid knowledge matters most. Here’s what’s worth knowing before you head out.
Bleeding control comes first
A fall from a tree stand, a knife slip while field dressing, or an ATV mishap can all cause serious bleeding in a matter of seconds, and in the backcountry, help may be 30 minutes to an hour away or more. The priority in that window is simple: apply firm, direct pressure to the wound with whatever clean material you have, and don’t let up to “check” how it’s doing. For a wound on a limb that won’t stop bleeding with direct pressure, a properly applied tourniquet placed high and tight above the injury can be lifesaving, and it’s a skill worth practicing before you need it, not learning for the first time in an emergency. Knowing how to control severe bleeding is one of the most practical, high-value skills anyone spending time in the woods can have.
ATV safety: the numbers are sobering
New Brunswick has one of the higher off-road vehicle injury and fatality rates in Atlantic Canada. A 2025 study published in Cureus reviewing major ATV and snowmobile trauma cases in New Brunswick between 2014 and 2021 found that only 57% of injured riders were wearing a helmet, and more than half who were tested had alcohol on board at the time of their injury. An earlier CBC News investigation found at least 64 ATV and snowmobile deaths in the province since 2012. These numbers reflect year-round riding, not just hunting season, but fall, with more traffic on trails, shorter daylight, and riders hauling heavy gear or a harvested animal, is exactly the kind of higher-risk stretch these statistics point to.
The takeaways are unglamorous but proven: wear a helmet every time, don’t ride after drinking, and match your speed to what you can see and control, especially on unfamiliar trails or in low light.
Don’t underestimate the cold
Hypothermia doesn’t require a lake or a snowstorm; the Canada Safety Council notes that it can set in at air temperatures under 10°C, especially if clothing gets wet from rain, sweat, or a stream crossing. If someone does end up in cold water a real risk when crossing brooks or working near rivers and marshes this time of year the Lifesaving Society’s widely used “1-10-1” guideline is a helpful mental model: roughly one minute to get breathing under control after the initial cold shock, about ten minutes of useful muscle movement before hands and limbs stop responding, and something in the order of an hour of survival time with proper flotation, cold permitting. It’s a general guideline, not a guarantee; actual survival time varies with body size, clothing, and water temperature, but the core lesson holds: cold water disables you far faster than it kills you, so the first minute matters most. Recognizing early hypothermia in yourself or a hunting partner shivering, fumbling hands, slurred speech, poor decision-making and getting warm and dry quickly can prevent a minor mishap from becoming a serious one.
Before you go: the plan matters as much as the kit
A stocked first aid kit is only useful if you also have a plan. Tell someone your route and your expected return time. Carry a way to call for help that doesn’t depend on cell coverage, such as a satellite communicator, in areas where you know service is spotty. And make sure everyone in your hunting or riding group has at least a working knowledge of what to do in the first few minutes of a bleeding injury, a fall, or a cold-exposure emergency because in a remote setting, whoever is standing there when something goes wrong is the first responder, whether they feel ready for it or not.
That’s exactly the gap that hands-on first aid and wilderness/remote first aid training is built to close. At AEMTS, we work with hunters, outdoor workers, and recreational groups across the Quispamsis–Saint John area to build practical, confidence-building skills in bleeding control, cold-weather emergency response, and standard first aid and CPR before the season, not after an incident. If your hunting camp, ATV club, or workplace heads into the bush this fall, a short refresher session now is a lot cheaper than learning these lessons the hard way.
Stay safe out there, and good luck this season.