Most injuries from unintentional discharges are self-inflicted and the remainder often injure friends and relatives. Studies show that hunters wearing hunter orange clothing are seven times less likely to be injured than those who do not wear the bright fluorescent color. That is even more true during big game hunting season, when people who wear hunter orange are 16 times less likely to be the victim of a visibility-related mishap, and 23 times less likely to be killed in such an incident. While firearms-related hunting injuries are declining significantly, another hazard for hunters is causing an increased number of injuries. In recent years, dozens of hunters suffered injuries in falls from tree stands and in 1997 two New York State hunters died as a result of such incidents.
Permanent tree stands, ladders and steps rot.
Hunters also should avoid overexertion, pacing themselves with in the limits of their individual endurance and physical limitations. The regular Southern Zone big game hunting season opens at sunrise Monday, November 20 and closes at sunset on Tuesday, December 12. A five-day late archery season opens the next day, closing at sunset on December 17. A seven-day late muzzleloading season in the Southern Zone also begins December 13 and ends December 19. The Southern Zone includes upstate New York outside of the Northern Zone, except for Westchester County.