MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Buck Firearm season begins Monday, November 25 and will run through December 7.
Officials say there are more than 350,000 hunters in the Mountain State hunting everything from wild boar, deer, black bears and Bobwhite Quail. Estimates show hunting has a $270 million on the state economy annually.
Natural Resources Police Officer and hunting safety teacher, Lt. Ed Goodson says gun-related accidents are down significantly but falls are trending up. He attributes the fall in gun-related accidents to people taking hunter education and safety classes.
“There are two types of people who use tree stands,”Goodson said,”Those who have fallen and those who have not fallen yet.”
Inspecting tree stands, using approved restraint systems and making the sure the equipment properly weight rated is very important.
“I can’t say which safer or which ones are dangerous,” Goodson said,”You have take care because you’re climbing into an elevated position and that’s the most important point to hit on.”
Goodson does not recommend building a permanent stand in a tree or using a homemade wooden stand year after year.
“Wood rots, wood ages, wood is greasy and grimy when it’s wet,”Goodson said,”When it stays out in the woods for any length of time it becomes very dangerous.”