Statewide Iowa — Iowa’s Archery Deer Season began Monday, October 1st, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources estimates that as many as 60-thousand hunters will be heading into the timber over the next few weeks.
DNR wildlife research biologist Jim Coffey advises hunters to check their deer stands and safety harness before heaing out. He says you should make sure to check the straps and tighten the bolts on the tree stand and try on the safety harness to make sure it still fits. If it’s worn out or no longer fits, get it replaced. Coffey says no one wants their hunt to end because they fell out of a tree stand.
Tree stand accidents can happen to deer hunters regardless of skill level or experience and result in serious injury or even death. Unfortunately, in nearly every case, these incidents were preventable.
To help prevent injuries, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with Tree Stand Safety Awareness, is encouraging hunters to practice the ABC’s of Tree Stand Safety.
Always remove and inspect your equipment
Buckle on your full-body harness
Connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground
DNR Hunter Education Administrator Megan Wisecup says hunters should take tree stand safety seriously, every time you hunt from, hang, or move a tree stand. She says that by performing these three simple steps, tree stand users can virtually eliminate their risk of falling to the ground as the majority of falls occur outside the stand.
Nationally, the estimated number of falls from tree stands requiring emergency room visits decreased by 28-percent in 2017. In Iowa last year, there were four tree stand incidents and all resulted in injury.
Wisecup says that’s a significant, positive move on the tree stand injury prevention front, but she says their is still room for improvement.
