#TREE STANDS HUNTING FULL#

The hunting industry has responded well over the decades and offers very good products to help protect hunters. One in three hunters will sustain a fall from an elevated stand over their lifetime, according to Whitetails Unlimited. In comparison an IHEA study found that nationally 300 to 500 hunters are killed annually in tree stand accidents and another 6,000 sustained injuries from falls from elevated hunting stands.Ībout 80% of those injured require surgery, 60% have fractures, 30% have spinal fractures and 10% have permanent disabilities or paralysis, according to Hunter & Shooting Sports Education Journal.Īnd take note: 75 to 80% of falls occur while ascending or descending the tree.

It's gravity.įirearm incidents kill fewer than 100 hunters and injure fewer than 1,000 hunters each year in the U.S., according to the International Hunters Education Association. It turns out the greatest risk to a hunters safety in the modern era isn't a bullet. They aren't some newfangled gimmicks, either. More: Smith: A massive Trempealeau County buck taken in October is likely to become the state crossbow recordīut I've only used a full body harness and lifeline – which are designed to protect a hunter after a fall from a tree stand – for about the last 15 years. More: Smith: Safe deer handling in the CWD era differs from childhood hunting memories More: Smith: Signs point to positive forecast for Wisconsin's gun deer hunting season The bright outerwear, along with Wisconsin's excellent hunter education program which started in 1967, are considered key reasons for vastly improved hunter safety in recent decades. I've worn blaze orange since it was required in 1980 in the Badger State.

#TREE STANDS HUNTING FULL#

When it comes to safety, it's a no-brainer: my blaze orange clothing, my full body harness and my lifeline. My plan is set, rifle sighted in, clothing and gear packed.Īfter doing this for more than 40 years, the kit is whittled down to the necessities. I began preparations in earnest about a week ago for Saturday's opening of the 2021 Wisconsin gun deer hunting season.

Tree stands hunting