LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — For the first time since 2018, there were no fatalities from hunting accidents in the woods and waters of the Natural State for the 2023-24 seasons.
This hunting season saw only two hunting incidents involving a firearm from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, and reports of 19 minor incidents.
“That is the lowest number of accidents involving firearms I have seen since I’ve been at the AGFC,” Joe Huggins, AGFC Hunter Education Program coordinator, said. “We had one incident involving a crossbow, but really only two were the result of a firearm discharge.”
However, Arkansas did see a slight increase in hunting incidents that required hospitalization from 16 the previous year. 14 of those incidents involved falls from a treestand.
In each of those cases, a safety harness was not being used.
“It’s just like life jackets with boating," Huggins explained. “It’s not going to help you if you’re not wearing it and connecting it to the tree. Take a minute to learn how to put it on before you leave the ground. Even falls from a few feet can cause major damage or death if you land wrong.”
In addition to wearing and using a safety harness, Huggins advised hunters to always check their equipment before and after every use.
“Some people may leave a stand up throughout the year, then go climb in it on opening morning, but you’re asking for trouble,” Huggins described. “The straps holding the stand to the tree can rot or have been chewed on by squirrels and other rodents, causing a catastrophic failure. Even the welds of some treestands may become rusted and weak after sitting in the elements all year. If you left a stand up all year, take it down and thoroughly inspect it. Replace any straps and don’t take any chances with any stand in poor condition. And if you’re walking through the woods and see a stand in an area, don’t climb into it without knowing anything about it. We’ve had people do that and get hurt as well.”
He added that these statistics only include the number of reported hunting incidents requiring a hospital visit. Accidents that occurred outside of hunting season are not included.
With only 19 incidents reported this hunting season and an estimated 320,000 hunters in Arkansas's woods last year, that equates to an injury rate of 0.006%.