Victim of Fatal Bowhunting Accident Identified
A day of hunting ended with a tragic fatality in Brookings County on Friday.
According to the Brookings Register, 62-year-old Mark Steinborn of Sioux Falls was identified as the man who died as a result of a hunting accident.
Steinborn was bowhunting turkeys on Friday morning in Brookings County near White. He was accidentally struck by an arrow loosed by his 29-year-old grandson, Gabriel Steinborn, also of Sioux Falls.
The Brookings County Sheriff's office, White Ambulance, Brookings Ambulance, and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks all responded to the incident. Life-saving measures were taken but they were unsuccessful.
Turkey hunting can be more dangerous than hunting other species of game. According to a study by Penn State University in 2005, it was found that more hunters were injured by accidental shootings during turkey hunting than any other, and at the time they were rising. Accidental shootings were more likely to result in death while deer hunting, however.
The reason turkey hunting can be more dangerous has to do with the turkeys themselves. They are often hunted in woods with a short distance of visibility. Unlike most wild game, turkeys can see colors really well so total camouflage for a hunter is important. If you hide from turkeys you are also hidden from other hunters. If another hunter creeps up to your spot and they don't see each other, that's when disaster can happen.
Hunters for any species of game need to be 100 percent sure of what they are shooting at. Not that they "hope" it's a turkey or a deer, they should "know" they are shooting at a buck that they can see behind the shoulder, or they should "know" they are aiming at a tom with a beard dangling.