By Paul Schmitt

As area deer hunters head out to their tree stands Saturday morning, local DNR officials are asking them to use common sense and check over their stands before climbing up to hunt.  Door County Warden Chris Kratcha says besides gun safety, hunters need to make sure their tree stand is safe to climb.

According to a 2013 hunter survey done in Wisconsin, 84 percent of hunters used tree stands, 62 percent owned a safety restraint, but only 31 percent always used them.  An estimated 600,000 hunters are expected to head into the woods throughout Wisconsin this opening weekend of the nine-day firearms hunt.