The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is putting extra emphasis on hunter safety following a spate of accidents last weekend. The reported incidents ranged from simple property damage to fatal injuries. A deer hunter in Muscatine County was struck in the midsection by a member of his hunting party and was transported to the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City for treatment of his injuries. Another hunter in Allamakee County sustained only minor injuries after a slug grazed his hand during a deer drive, and a pheasant hunter took four pellets to the neck and face in Calhoun County. Thirty-seven-year-old Nathan Allen Sharpnack of Winterset died after he was struck in the torso by a slug while hunting near Lake Red Rock in Marion County. According to DNR staff, these accidents could have been avoided by following basic hunter safety protocols. Know and understand your hunting plan, avoid target fixation, wear more than the minimum amount of blaze orange and be aware of your limitations as a marksman. Hunter Education Coordinator, Jamie Cook, says, “This is especially true when utilizing a rifle for the first time during the shotgun season. Hunters need to exercise good judgment when taking their shots and remember that when using a higher capacity magazine that they could be shooting over a longer period of time and possibly covering a larger area, so they need to be even more aware of what’s going on around them and not get fixated on the target.” Iowa’s first shotgun deer season ended Wednesday, Dec. 8, but second season gets started almost immediately, running from Dec. 11 to Dec. 19.
