Two deaths, three shoot themselves in Wisconsin’s opening gun hunt weekend

One death from health condition, another from gunshot wound

It was a pretty typical weekend for hunting accidents for Wisconsin’s opening weekend.

There was one death and three accidental shootings. In the first couple days of the season, the state usually has 2-5 accidents.

That, however, is still way too many, for Jon King of the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources. He says zero is the goal.

“You’re three times more likely to fall from a tree stand than you are to be shot or shoot yourself, through the course of deer hunting,” King said.

Besides three shootings, in which hunters accidentally shot themselves, another hunter in Marquette County died of an apparent health issue.

King said it’s the health related issues that are way too frequent and generally avoidable.

“Let’s be honest, if we all listened to our doctors, they would probably recommend that we get a little exercise and do a little conditioning before we go out and partake in the sport of hunting,” he said.

Also, in Marquette County, and just a few miles from the first death, another hunter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a deer stand but the reasons of that shooting are unclear.