With archery season at the doorstep, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) is pushing a blunt message: stay clipped in from the ground up. The newly released Fiscal Year 2025 Hunter Incident Report shows 17 hunting injuries requiring medical attention beyond first aid, and 11 of those were falls from treestands. Education staff say the transition into and out of a stand remains the most dangerous windowprecisely when many hunters briefly disconnect to step onto a platform or adjust gear. The fix is simple but often neglected: a lifeline that keeps the harness tethered through the entire ascent, set, and descent. AGFC officials emphasize that harness usage was alarmingly low in the recorded falls. Only two of the 11 fall victims wore harnesses, and neither was attached at the moment they fell. The injury pattern is familiar to trauma teams: hips and vertebrae bear the brunt, producing outcomes that can be life-altering even when the fall is from a relatively modest height. Instructors point out that a five-foot fallonto a metal step, bow, or riflecan be enough to cause paralysis or fatal head and neck injuries. Those realities are why the agency keeps repeating a single principle: connect to the tree before your boots leave the ground and stay connected until theyre back on it. The report also notes a repeat trend involving modern saddle systems. For the second year in a row, at least one fall involved a saddle hunter. While saddles are marketed as a safety-forward option because the user is typically tethered while hunting, improper setup can still fail. In one documented case, a linemans belt reportedly popped free while the hunter reached for a platform, resulting in an estimated 25-foot fall. The takeaway isnt anti-saddle; its pro-discipline: confirm carabiner orientation and gates, verify friction hitches or mechanical adjusters, and maintain three points of contact during stick work. A redundant plansuch as a second attachment during transitionsadds margin when hands are busy and balance is compromised. Beyond falls, the incident log includes a single fatality tied to target misidentification: a predator hunter fired into obscured vegetation, striking a non-hunter who was gathering berries. That tragedy underscores two immutable rules: positively identify the target and whats in front of and beyond it, and refuse any shot that relies on guesswork through cover. Instructors add that muzzle discipline, a crisp decision tree (shoot/no-shoot), and the willingness to pass marginal opportunities are the invisible skills that quietly prevent disasters. Practical steps for Arkansas hunters this fall: retire frayed straps and UV-brittled ratchets; pre-stage lifelines so you never climb unconnected; rehearse the stand transition at ground level; keep a suspension trauma relief strap on your harness; and document your set with a quick phone photo shared with a partner so someone knows exactly whereand howyoure set up. If you hunt multiple properties, carry a one-page card listing each sets tree diameter, strap lengths, and lifeline status to avoid field improvisation. Finally, treat cold fronts and opening weekends as risk multipliers: excitement, headlamps, and slick bark combine to punish shortcuts. While the data come from a state with more than 307,000 licensed hunters, agency educators argue that one preventable injury is one too many. The culture shift they seek is modest but non-negotiable: normalize lifelines at purchase counters, on club workdays, and in camp briefingsso a full-body harness and continuous tethering are as routine as buckling a seat belt.