A good and a bad first day with a "friend"...

[mightyjoeyoung]

This is a long one and still just a summary!...sorry. 
1st day of the PA season found me and a "friend" headed out of one of my spots too a backup as amazingly we had no joy there.  We were maybe 200 yards up the hill and almost withinin sight of my truck and before we crested the ridge to the final drop down the hill, I wanted to see if we couldn't get an answer as I have come down this particular logging road before to see birds within spitting distance of my truck.  I gave a series of yelps from my diaphram and fished with a few cutts and got an answer before I was even finished calling...the bird was withing 50 yards of my truck right down the hill from us.  I set out pretty boy junior and a feeding hen in the logging road and we backed off to the left of the deeks and got set up about 10 yards apart.  We were stuck setting up even with each other as the area had been logged years before and there weren't more than two or three trees big enough to set up against.  I gave another series of cutts and got two answers!  There were two birds comming up the hill to the left side of the road now and as they got within 60 I could see they were mature birds.  They strutted on the other side of a grape vine thicket for about five minutes. We had already decided that I would take the bird on the right and my "friend" would take the bird on the left.  The birds crossed the road just over the ridge and out of sight and popped up on our side headed right to us down a right of way on the property line between the property we were hunting and the nieghbors land.  I eased my Benelli over and layed the red dot from my qwik point on the gobbler on the rights head, waiting for them to get closer.  My combo is a SBEII, PG .670 and 3.5, 2.25 Mag Blends...a combo that finally works for that gun providing for some awesome patterns to 50+ yards (the old man had my custom 835).  My "friend" was using a H&R Pardner turkey, tight wad choke and 3" rem nitro #4 lead.  His patterns make it a 40 yard turkey gun...max.  The birds were about  55 yards out and strutting maybe 3 feet apart when suddenly BOOM!  My "friend" shoots and hits both birds!!  I see the bird on the right somersault and the bird on the left roll and both get back up and run, the bird on the right heading for the nieghbor's land running to my right, the bird on the left heading for the grape thicket.  I swing on "my" bird and shot over his head as I was off balance and shooting to my right and I shoot right handed.  My "friend", ignoring "his" bird on the left throws a load of lead shot at my bird, missing...within about 5 yards of me!  I could actually hear the shot go by!!  I settled down and put the dot low on his neck as he headed straight way from me at about 40 yards and rolled him for good.  You can imagine my anger when the smoke cleared and I got up to see the other bird nowhere in sight and my "friend" heading for my bird!  I asked him what the heck he was doing and he looked at me like I was crazy and said he was getting his bird.  I asked him why he shot so early and why he didn't follow up on the bird on the left that was obviously hit and he said he thought the bird I finished was that bird.  Too angry for words and still a little stunned from his actions I said well go get your bird then.  I went to look for the other bird but as you know trying to find a body shot bird is hard enough, let alone one that headed for a big thicket of vines and brambles!  I looked for about 45 minutes ignoring my "friend" as he helped look for the wounded bird but with no luck.  He was magnanimous and self ritcheous when I asked him what the heck he was doing shooting at a bird that was clearly out of range and standing way too close to another bird. I could not believe how he thought he wasn't wrong in his actions and how he could do something so unsafe as shoot right past someone just to get a turkey!!  I have put a lot of birds in front of this guy in the last 15 years and over the past couple years I have seen him get more and more selfish and eager to ready fire aim.  I have known him since 1996 and we have hunted together many, many  times but his actions yesterday were both selfish and highly unsafe!  I don't think I'll be hunting with him ever again...

[chatterbox]

I think not hunting with him would be a wise choice.

[NYbassman]

Yeah, turkey season, heck, life, is too short to deal with somebody like that. I have no time for a "friend" like that. If it was only the selfishness maybe you could talk to him, but if he is unsafe then there is no reason to hunt with him. I personally would have left him in the woods and never spoke to him again after shooting that close to me.

[3.5inchpainfulldeath]

WOW..... pulling the trigger early on a bird is one thing, but shooting right past you is unexceptable by anyone.  Any unsafe behavior with a firearm is unexceptable.   I think you owe it to your life to not hunt with this guy anymore.

[Ruger M77]

sounds like sombody to stay clear of!

[Muskie03]

110% of the reason why I hunt solo and only call for my friends. I guide most of the spring and I am always afraid of my clients gun handling skills. Better to be on edge than not to be.

[guesswho]

That would wrap me up.  I'd be done hunting with him at the least, and maybe done period!

[lohaus]

I think I'd have a few choice words for him.  I've had a similar setup and my buddy didn't take a shot because I was too close to the action.  We still hunt together.

[jshively]

Sounds like he doesn't have much respect for the birds or common sense.  I think you are right to stay clear - way clear - of him in the future.

[yukonhunter]

PLEASE take it from me. I had a "friend" who had similar behaviors.  I just kind of warned him a few times, then on christmas day 2000, we were rabbit hunting. Me and my responsibe friend were unloaded and going to the truck scott the idiot should have been.  long story short i was shot by him in my right arm only three feet away.  I almost lost my arm, and if it were two inches to the left i would have died.  Like I said  PLEASE dont hunt with him anymore!!!!!!!!!

[WyoHunter]

I think not hunting with him would be a wise choice.

[Divenut2]

Wow, talk about failure to follow the most elementary firearm/hunting safety rules...Scary stuff brother. Like some folks I prefer to hunt alone and as far from the beaten path as possible.