DENISON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 51-year-old man accidentally shot himself on his way into a western Iowa field to hunt deer with his wife.

The shooting occurred around 5 p.m. Monday in southern Crawford County. The Iowa Natural Resources Department says Daniel Gehling, of Denison, was adjusting the handgun in his waistband when it went off. The bullet struck one of his thighs. The department says his wife, Carolyn, called for help and applied pressure on the wound to stanch the bleeding.

Daniel Gehling was taken to Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison for treatment and then flown to an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital for surgery.