MN Firearms Safety

The statistics are clear: Hunting is safer than ever. Far fewer hunting-related injuries or deaths occur in Minnesota each fall than decades ago.

Firearms safety classes and blaze-orange clothing are two reasons for the improvement.

"When you consider there'll be almost a half million people out hunting on the deer opener Saturday, and there might be only a few accidents, hunting is very safe," said Ryan Bronson, Department of Natural Resources hunter recruitment and retention coordinator.

But one place that remains dangerous is the deer stand.

In the past four years, five Minnesota hunters have died and 70 have been seriously injured while hunting in elevated deer stands -- nearly all because of falls, according to information compiled recently by the state Department of Health.

Those injuries included broken bones, spinal cord or brain damage requiring care at one of the state's trauma centers. The statistics don't include injured hunters who were treated at hospital emergency rooms or elsewhere, said Jon Roesler, senior epidemiologist at the Minnesota Health Department's Center for Health Promotion.

"We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg," Roesler said. "Obviously a lot more show up in emergency rooms."

Determining the number of tree stand-related injuries is difficult because of the way patient injuries are documented he said. They are recorded using an international coding system, and there is no code for tree stand-related injuries, Roesler said.

While the data is sketchier before 1999, officials believe at least state 11 hunters have died in tree stand-related accidents since 1994.

The bottom line: Based on the incomplete statistics, one or two hunters could die this year and another 20 could be seriously injured in tree stand accidents.

Last year alone, 17 hunters were seriously injured and one died in tree stand-related accidents.

"These are preventable," Roesler said.

The Health Department collected tree-stand accident reports at the request of the DNR, Roesler said. The department found that Olmsted and St. Louis counties had the most injuries. Injured hunters range in age from 15 to 81. Five victims were women.

Some safety tips: Wear a safety belt or harness while ascending, descending or in a stand. Make sure the stand is secure. Never carry a bow or gun while climbing; use a haul line; and be sure the gun is unloaded. Treat tree stands as you would loaded guns -- with extreme caution.

Blaze orange needed
Minnesota's deer hunting regulations state you can't legally hunt "unless the visible portion of your cap and outer clothing above the waist, excluding sleeves and gloves, is blaze orange." That doesn't mean you have to wear a cap while deer hunting, only that if you do, it must be blaze orange, said Chuck Schwartz of the DNR enforcement division.