The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is reminding deer hunters to be safe when hunting from tree stands.
The shotgun deer hunting season begins today (Friday) and continues Saturday and Sunday from dawn to dusk. The second shotgun deer hunting season is from Thursday, November 30th, through Sunday, December 3rd.
So far during the fall 2023 hunting season, which includes the archery deer season, Illinois Conservation Police have documented two hunting-related fatalities, both of which involved tree stands. One fatality occurred when a hunter fell out of a 15-foot-tall ladder tree stand. The second occurred when a hunter who was reported missing was eventually found deceased on the ground at the base of his ladder stand.
Earlier this month, an archery hunter fell when getting into a tree stand in rural Iuka. He had to crawl to the road due to a leg injury and was picked up by a relative nine hours after the incident who was out looking for him when he didn’t return home.
IDNR officials say be using a functional and trustworthy fall arrest system and thoroughly examining every tree stand component prior to use, most tree stand accidents can be avoided.
There were six tree stand related falls last year, 13 in 2021 and 14 in 2020.
