There are no recorded hunting deaths in Arkansas during the 2023–2024 season

Little Rock, Arkansas – For the 2023–24 hunting seasons, there were no hunting-related fatalities in the Natural State’s rivers and woods for the first time since 2018.

From July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, there were only two hunting incidents using a firearm and reports of 19 smaller occurrences throughout this hunting season.

“It is the fewest gun-related incidents I have witnessed since joining the AGFC,” said Joe Huggins, coordinator of the organization’s Hunter Education Program. “There was one crossbow incident, but there were really only two gunshot incidents.”

Nonetheless, from 16 hospitalizations from hunting mishaps the year before, Arkansas did witness a small increase in these cases. In fourteen of those cases, there were falls from treestands.

There was no usage of a safety harness in any of the situations.

Huggins said, “It’s like life jackets with boats.” If you don’t wear it and attach it to the tree, it won’t be of any use to you. Learn how to put it on for a minute before you get off the ground. If you fall incorrectly, even small falls might result in fatalities or serious injuries.

Huggins recommended hunters not only to use and wear a safety harness but also to inspect their gear both before and after each use.

Huggins said, “Some people may leave a stand up all year, then go climb in it on opening morning, but you’re asking for trouble.” “A catastrophic breakdown could result from the straps tying the stand to the tree rotting or from squirrels and other animals chewing on them. After spending a year in the weather, some treestands’ welds may even corrode and weaken. Take down and give a stand that you’ve had up all year a good inspection. Don’t take a chance with a stand that is in bad shape, and replace any straps. Additionally, do not enter a stand you notice when strolling in the woods if you don’t know anything about it. People have done that and suffered consequences as well.

He clarified that the number of documented hunting occurrences requiring hospital visits is the only one included in these figures. Accidents that happened outside of the hunting season are not mentioned.

Out of the 320,000 hunters that were projected to have been in Arkansas’s forests last year, only 19 occurrences have been documented this hunting season, translating to an injury rate of 0.006%.