It’s been one of the most successful safety programs on record, reducing the number of hunting related shootings. Whenever you pick up a firearm, you are picking up a responsibility.

You want to be identified as a person from all directions walking in and out of the woods. Turkeys don’t wear blaze orange.

Swinging on game is when the (bird) gets up and the shotgun is swung to the left or right, following that bird. Make sure you don’t violate your zone of fire, that ‘V’ out in...

My first reaction is that this type of accident can happen to anyone, even a seasoned hunter.

We’re still in good shape with the numbers. When we put out as many deer hunting tags as we do, and when we have as many opportunities for hunters as we do, we’re still below...

You pick up a gun, you pick up the responsibility. If someone falls behind, wait for him to get caught up. If someone loses a bird, stop and wait.

We do a very thorough job of investigating incidents and then taking that information and passing it on to our instructors so they know what to emphasize in their training programs. We’re lucky as a...

There is a passion to turkey hunting that is hard to describe unless you’ve been out there as the woods have woken up. I know turkey hunters who have been waiting for this day since...

That’s fairly normal. We don’t have as many duck hunters, and this year, there weren’t that many ducks in central Iowa to lure out hunters.

Since spring turkey hunting can often be a solitary event, it is really important for hunters to leave a hunting plan with someone before they head out to the woods. Outline where you’re going, if...

We had a lot of injuries that were the result of individuals not following proper gun-handling safety precautions. We always stress that hunters don’t point the gun at their toe and don’t point a gun...

We do a thorough job of investigating incidents that occur, and we take that information and we put it into the hands of our 1,800 volunteer instructors. I attribute it to their hard work and...

It was one of those cases that we always warn hunters about that you never fire if you don’t know where that slug is going to end up.

Knowing what is behind your target is your responsibility also. When in doubt, don’t pull the trigger.