where these guys trespassing on his property? I mean he was shooting into one of his fields... How would he know that there would be people there? especially if they were hidden in a duck decoy.
it was his property - but he had given the hunting rights over to the public.
they were not trespassing or doing anything illegal (at least not from what this article says).
For one thing, it seems as though he leased his land to the state for public hunting, in which case he should have expected hunters. Even if they were trespassing, however, it's still not a good idea to go firing rifles without knowing where the bullets are going, unless you own so much land that you are positive that the bullet is going to come down on your land.