Posted by Julie Pearce

Firearms deer season may be over in Minnesota but the black powder season is still ahead.

Also, Wisconsinites still have seven more days to go in their season.

That means a lot of people will still be up a tree in both states.

We're talking about tree stands, of course.

Next to deer shacks, deer stands are probably the most frequented things in the woods every November.

Getting up a few feet makes spotting the elusive white tail a little easier.

It's not so easy, though, if you fall out of a stand and get injured.

"We hear stories every year of people falling out of their trees when they're getting up in the stands or falling asleep and falling out of their deer stands, " says sporting goods store employee Josh Kolkind.

Safety tips from the DNR's of both Minnesota and Wisconsin include making sure a home built stand is sturdy.

Home made or store bought, people in stands should wear a safety harness.

Some DNR officers, like Don Bozosvkay, say the ones that come with portable stands should be avoided, "It wraps around the tree and then your torso. That'll compress your chest up to your shoulders under your arms and you could suffocate."

Safer harnesses are available at most sporting goods stores.

So are tips on getting potentially dangerous things like firearms up the tree, too.

Haul lines and unloaded rifles take the trouble out of that.

"Make sure it is unloaded and safety on. That way nothing can go wrong. This way, when I climbed up, I had both hands free," emphasizes Kolkind.

Hands free to keep deer season as injury free as possible.

A 2007 study of more than 850 Minnesota hunters who use tree stands indicated that 60% of those people knew somebody injured in a tree stand fall.