Two people in Iowa have died while hunting. Here's how to stay safe:

Two hunters have died so far this season, marking a potentially dangerous trend in Iowa.

There have been just 12 hunting-related deaths between 2003 and 2022 in Iowa, according to Jamie Cook with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The recent deaths of 53-year-old Mark Arends in October and 26-year-old Seth Egelhoff about a month later marked the 13th and 14th, reflecting a huge uptick in one season alone.

Egelhoff, from Chesterfield, Illinois, was hunting at the Bays Branch Wildlife Area in Guthrie County on Saturday when he suffered a gunshot wound to the face. Arends was hunting coyotes with friends on private land in Hardin County on Oct. 8 when he was shot. Both cases still are being investigated.

In another case, 18-year-old Joe Salmon was seriously injured when he was shot in the head while hunting for waterfowl at the Spring Run Wildlife Area in Dickinson County on Oct. 21. He is now is a rehab facility and has been trying to talk and sing, according to a GoFundMe update.

There also have been five other personal injury incidents and two property damage incidents in 2023, according to the DNR.

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"It's always a bad thing when somebody loses their life out doing something that's supposed to be fun and then it ends up like that," said Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright. "I feel bad for families, everyone involved. It's always tragic."

Before hunting education was mandatory for licenses, the number of deaths from hunting activities was a lot higher. Since then, deaths and injuries have declined significantly, according to Cook. Iowa requires a minimum of 10 hours in hunter education courses before people can purchase hunting licenses.

Often, hunting deaths are caused by hunters not being totally aware of what's around them. Cook refers to it as "target fixation," when a hunter is so focused on what they want to shoot, they put what's beyond the target on the back burner.

"Target fixation happens because in the heat of the moment, or in the rush of a bird getting up and flying, if it's a deer running through the woods, hunters can often get so focused on that target, that they forget what's in front of or beyond it," he said.

How hunters can stay safe in Iowa

The big thing Cook stressed to hunters is being aware of their surroundings: "Knowing who you're hunting with, knowing how far away they are from you, knowing their position at any moment is probably the most vital piece that hunters can have while in the field."

Creating a hunting plan will help with knowing where everyone is at all times and anticipating other hunter's movements.

"In most scenarios, if you're hunting (with) guns here in Iowa, you're gonna want your hunters walking in a straight line just to minimize the chance of shooting out in front and injuring someone or possibly even taking a life," Cook said.

For deer and pheasant hunting, during which a firearm is allowed, wearing blaze orange on your chest and hat is required, Cook said. This helps people be more visible in prairies and wooded areas.

More information on safety techniques including wingshooting, learning to shoot, and learning to hunt can be found at www.iowadnr.gov/hunting/hunter-education.

Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter@NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Hunting safety tips for Iowans as two hunters have died this season