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By: Brendan McDonough

Reporter for North Tonawanda

It’s that magical time of the year that people across Western New York have been waiting all year for; hunting season.

Early bow hunting season is underway and runs through November 16th. Regular Deer Hunting season kicks off November 17th and goes till December 9th.

Hunting experts say it is something that many look forward to each year and with that excitement there also comes a need for safety. With that in mind, employees at Niagara Outdoors in North Tonawanda have been working overtime trying to get people the right gear so they are out hunting safe.

“Once people go out their senses are elevated in the air and they are elevated, with one error and they are on the ground, gravity beat them, the,” said Jeff Pippard, Owner of Niagara Outdoors.

Jeff Pippard, owner of Niagara Outdoors, says the number of accidents with hunting do not happen on the ground but in trees from using tree stands.

He says a combination of bad equipment and poor judgment are leading to people not getting into trees properly.

“There are more mistakes in that than in any part of our system. It’s in the tree stands. It could be old stands that are put up and not maintained. Going up without some sort of safety device is a huge error that we see too often,” said Pippard.

To avoid these errors, Pippard says checking equipment should be done months in advance – around June or July – and not a week before the season starts.

He also says it’s important for people to take their time and not rush when going out hunting.

“I always say I would rather be a half hour early than a minute late because when you are a minute late what are you doing? You are rushing! And when it comes to safety when hunting there should be no rushing. There are things that need to be set properly. So, if you rush through that, even getting to your stand in the morning while it’s dark or wet, you run the risk of creating a scenario that risks your well-being as well as others around you,” said Pippard.

Unlike what many people think, New York State does not have a color system for hunting. A lot of states require hunters to wear orange but New York State does not.

“They want you to identify your target,” said Pippard. “If you put orange out there what you are doing is looking for what is not orange and it moves and that put you on the point of aiming and shooting and it’s not right.”

Late Bow Season runs December 10th through the 18th.