Several hunters injured in opening days of pheasant season

The opening three days of pheasant season saw six hunters injuries in gun accidents — one more injury than the entire 2002 season. Steve Dermand of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says part of that is due to the increase in the number of hunters out this year.He says the increase in hunters naturally increase the odds that an accident will happen. Dermand says most of the accidents could’ve been avoided. He says recklessness or unsafe gun handling caused the accidents. Dermand says the first week of the pheasant season usually brings out more than half the hunters for the entire season, so the number of problems shouldn’t increase. He says there’ll be fewer people out there, the groups will be smaller and the opening day jitters and anxiousness will be out of the equation. Dermand says another thing to watch this fall is the increase in quail numbers. He expects that to bring out more quail hunters — which leads to more opportunities for potential accidents.He says when a covey of quails busts and flies in different directions, it can be dangerous as hunters look up and twist and turn in several directions trying to get a shot off. Dermand says communication is the key to preventing problems anytime you take to the field for a hunt.He says never take anything for granted as far as other people knowing what you’re going to do. He says you should communicate all your movements to fellow hunters. The D-N-R also reported that pheasant hunters found three meth lab dumpsites over the weekend. Two dumpsites were in Monroe County and one in Boone County.