Iowa’s first bow hunting season for 2020-2021 lasts from now until December 4th, and because of the derecho storm tree stand safety is more important now than ever.

While Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Jeremy King says hunters should check ratchet straps every hunting season, he stresses checking them several times this year and to check your tree stand before going out on a hunt as many trees were either stressed or damaged because of the derecho storm, “And maybe check all your pins and bolts on your stands, make sure nothing was flexed and broke or bent and maybe will critically fail on you as you’re using it. There’s nothing worse than climbing up in a tree stand in the dark all excited, ready for your first time and something breaks.”

King also reminds tree-stand hunters to buckle on your full-body harness, and connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground, as the majority of falls occur outside the stand.