[Just The News] The dangers of hunting are not what many may think, said Curt Sinclair, hunting safety instructor for Illinois 4-H."It’s not the discharge of a firearm in a dangerous way," Sinclair said. "The No. 1 accident that happens in hunting in Illinois is falls. Falls are the primary way that people get hurt and seriously hurt."
Fourteen hunters died during hunting season in Illinois last year. Between 2015 and 2019, 90% of the hunting accidents were from falls, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said. Many of the falls involve homemade tree stands.
"The homemade deer stands are one of the primary problems," Sinclair said.
Sinclair recommends buying a manufactured tree stand, rather than building one.
"It’s not going to be safe to build it in the first place: Hanging on with one hand and trying to build something with your free hand is very risky. And then to leave something like that up there, even if it’s safe when you build it, it deteriorates pretty quickly. Next year it won’t be safe," he said.
In association with The University of Illinois Extension, Sinclair has produced three short YouTube videos — one video for each of the three different types of tree stands — that show how to install deer stands safely.
Once hunters have a tree stand, they need a good harness, Sinclair said. Every tree stand comes with a free harness, but some of them can be clumsy to use, he warned.