Five deer hunters accidentally shot since Saturday

CEDAR RAPIDS - At least five men have accidentally been shot across Iowa since deer season opened on Saturday.

The Department of Natural Resources reports that two men accidentally wounded themselves, and three men were shot by other hunters.

"It's a little bit much," said Marvin Holmgren, who has been hunting in Johnson County since 1982.  "Shootings should be down."

The most recent incident sent Dalton Hicks, 20, of Montezuma to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck. According to the DNR, Hicks was accidentally shot by another hunter on Tuesday night while hunting in Poweshiek County.

"There's always going to be accidents - there shouldn't be - but there will be," said Clint Hartsock, a manager in the hunting department at Fin and Feather outdoors store in Iowa City.  "We'll always hope it's few and far between."

Employees at Fin and Feather often offer advice to hunters and discuss safety before selling a shotgun, Hartsock said.

The first deer hunting shotgun season of the year ends Wednesday night. The second and final round runs from December 10 through the 18th. The DNR estimates that 90,000 people will go shotgun hunting this month.

Hunting accidents most commonly occur when hunters try and shoot at moving deer or when they accidentally fire their guns, Holmgren said.

"When we're done, or close to being done, our guns are unloaded," he said. "You don't have a chance of somebody dropping a gun or playing with a safety."

According to DNR statistics, there were 15 deer hunting accidents statewide in 2010, killing two people. There have been no fatalities reported in 2011.