2008 Woodie Awards
Hunter education may save lives
Ashton Shurson - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: Metro
On track for the safest hunting decade in Iowa history and for the second year in a row, Iowa saw no hunting-related firearm deaths in 2007.
Signs point to a 1983 Iowa law that requires younger hunters to take hunter-education courses as a reason for the low number of fatalities in recent years, said Rod Slings, the supervisor of recreational safety programs at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The law requires everyone born after 1972 to take a hunter-education course before getting a hunting license.
"We think that all of our hard work is paying off now," Slings said.
Since the law went into effect, approximately 465,000 Iowans have taken the 12-hour course taught by 1,800 volunteer instructors over the years.
Slings said the number of fatalities is the lowest the state has ever seen, compared with 1966, which had the most non-fatal accidents - 121 - and the second-highest number of deaths - 19.
And while hunter education didn't become mandatory until the early '80s, courses were available in 1960, although the number of accidents and deaths were especially high during that decade.
"There were more hunters in those days, but the opportunity we have today to pull the trigger is greater," Slings said.
Now that Iowans are allowed to hunt wild turkey, he said, a huge influx was created in that hunting season.
Besides the mandatory hunter-education classes, Slings also cites the requirements for blaze orange clothing when hunting upland birds as a factor in saving lives.
He also added that Natural Resources thoroughly investigates each accident and death to determine the cause and how to prevent other future occurrences from happening.
UI senior Steph Wille, who hunts primarily deer and turkey, has taken the mandatory course. She said the first day was primarily book work, and the second was focused on practice and training.
"It was extremely helpful," she said.
The psychology and secondary-education major, who also hunts all of the seasons she can, said that most hunters follow the rules when out in the field.
Although firearm injuries are down, there was one death when a bow hunter fell from a tree stand. There were 13 shooting-related injuries in 2007.
"There are always ways of improving safety," said Slings, who said good communication and creating a hunting plan to follow will help create safer hunting atmospheres.
E-mail DI reporter Ashton Shurson at:
ashton-shurson@uiowa.edu
Signs point to a 1983 Iowa law that requires younger hunters to take hunter-education courses as a reason for the low number of fatalities in recent years, said Rod Slings, the supervisor of recreational safety programs at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The law requires everyone born after 1972 to take a hunter-education course before getting a hunting license.
"We think that all of our hard work is paying off now," Slings said.
Since the law went into effect, approximately 465,000 Iowans have taken the 12-hour course taught by 1,800 volunteer instructors over the years.
Slings said the number of fatalities is the lowest the state has ever seen, compared with 1966, which had the most non-fatal accidents - 121 - and the second-highest number of deaths - 19.
And while hunter education didn't become mandatory until the early '80s, courses were available in 1960, although the number of accidents and deaths were especially high during that decade.
"There were more hunters in those days, but the opportunity we have today to pull the trigger is greater," Slings said.
Now that Iowans are allowed to hunt wild turkey, he said, a huge influx was created in that hunting season.
Besides the mandatory hunter-education classes, Slings also cites the requirements for blaze orange clothing when hunting upland birds as a factor in saving lives.
He also added that Natural Resources thoroughly investigates each accident and death to determine the cause and how to prevent other future occurrences from happening.
UI senior Steph Wille, who hunts primarily deer and turkey, has taken the mandatory course. She said the first day was primarily book work, and the second was focused on practice and training.
"It was extremely helpful," she said.
The psychology and secondary-education major, who also hunts all of the seasons she can, said that most hunters follow the rules when out in the field.
Although firearm injuries are down, there was one death when a bow hunter fell from a tree stand. There were 13 shooting-related injuries in 2007.
"There are always ways of improving safety," said Slings, who said good communication and creating a hunting plan to follow will help create safer hunting atmospheres.
E-mail DI reporter Ashton Shurson at:
ashton-shurson@uiowa.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Dorothy V McElderry
posted 2/09/08 @ 9:27 PM CST
Congratulations and thank you to the IA DNR; to Rod Slings and all who work under him. The DNR Conservation Officers and all the volunteer Hunter Education Instructors as well. (Continued…)
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