Nephew has bird scouted on very public location - easy access, lots of folks know about the area. Has listened to him for 4 days prior to opener. On opening morning he parks where he wants to hunt. Gets there 4 hours before daylight. Has a couple of trucks come in, see his truck and turn around. One goes past (plenty of places to hunt beyond him). The place he is hunting is a U shaped turkey oak flat above a creek bottom. It is 600 yards wide and 300 yards deep at the deepest point.
Just before gobble time he and friend get out of truck, waiting to see where he is roosted. It is about 35 minutes prior to daylight. Truck pulls in and sees him and backs up. He is listening to hear if the truck drives off, but the bird sounds off, so his attention is directed at the bird. The bird is on the end of the flat that he is parked next to. Roughly 250 yards from his truck. He heads in. He gets as close as he dares and sets up. Bird answers his call on the limb. Flies down to the flat. Gobbles. He gives a little light calling when he hears a hen, toward where the guy backed up to. The bird responds to that. They have a little call war, with nephew being a little soft and late guy being aggressive. Late guy has the bird coming and BOOM. Shoots the bird (or at least no more gobbles and no tracks leaving the flat). Not 150 yards from my nephew. Definitely close enough to hear each other's calling. The guy saw his truck and knew he was there. Nephew walks back to truck and down the road to have a discussion but the guy is gone. This is on 550,00 acre WMA in Florida. TONS of rooms to spread out.
I know what I think, but curious to hear from others.
Welcome to public land. I can tell stories very similar. Being public each to his own. I would never do to others as they a have done to me. Saturday is the youth opener for us Iowans. I will be there way earlier than necessary just for the reason you stated. With that said it would not surprise me to hear someone calling from way to close after sun light. Its beat and its public.
Rights are rights, but curtesy is curtesy.
Your nephew sounds like a go getter for sure...it will pay off in the long run.
As the old saying goes, "what goes around comes around".
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No, it's not ethical....but that's public land and those kind you just have to deal with. Greed will make folks do all kinds of things!! That's why I say it is not about the hunt any more, it's about the kill. GREED.....GREED...GREED!!!!!! Some folks just never had the proper up bringing!!!
Legal.....yes.
Ethical.....no, provided the guy knew your nephew was set up on the bird. Some folks are just plain ignorant of ethics. Some folks are devious. Hopefully the ignorant ones learn and the devious ones find another hobby. (I could think of a few worse things that could happen to the devious ones)
I've had it done to me at least a couple times. Both birds got away.
Agree with all the above post. Unfortunately public ground is one of the worst spots for decent manners. I understand an honest mistake now and then. It happens. However I believe in first come first serve and try to get back in away from people before anyone even shows up. People in general are pretty lazy and aren't going to do a whole lot of work. Sorry your son went through that but doubt it will be the last time.
Unethical, but legal for the if it's legal it's alright guys.
I wouldn't intentionally try to set up on a bird that someone else was likely set up on. But if it happened that someone else was calling to a bird I was working, then it's just a matter of who's better at calling him in.
I'm going to put it in the category of just plain rude and inconsiderate. I don't know that it fits the definition of what is or is not ethical, to me. Symantecs - I know... Competition is always going to exist on public ground. That's the unfortunate side effect of unlimited access to a limited resource, even if it is 550,000 acres.
Like others have said, it's more of a reflection on that individual as a person, with a lack of common courtesy. More so than it is a matter of ethics.
I've often lamented the fact that we, as hunters, have to lock our tree stands and game cameras to keep them from being stolen by other "hunters". *sigh...
You had me at "public land"....
I think many of today's turkey hunters will walk into an active gobbling situation, even if they know it's occupied...
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Legal yes but its public land what do you expect. Its not any different then when some cuts you off in a car or skips in front of you in line. Common courtesy for the most part said good bye a long time ago. If you hunt public land this is not surprising. To help avoid this travel further off the beaten path and the chances of this happening decrease. Lazy hunters are less willing to walk a 1/4 of a mile much less a half a mile to hunt so this guy wouldn't have been present most likely.
I don't ever expect anyone to be ethical on public land. I once had a guy set up between me and the gobbler and never call. He shot the bird and took off but I caught up to him at his truck. He was in such a hurry to leave that the bird was not tagged and was still alive!! Only time I every reported anyone to the game commission.
public land story...back when the 835 hit the scene a young friend of mine had to have one. he worked with it and picked his favorite ammo (which was slim back then). he practiced his calling and did his scouting. first week he's on public land set up on a bird on a wide ridge that runs off into a dirt road about 350-400 yards away. he has a bird doing everything a hunter could ask for. the bird is coming in hard and he is ready. the bird shows up to his left strutting. he has the gun ready but watches the show for just a bit. the birds get in the middle of the ridge right in front of my friend about 35-40yds away. he makes a quick alert call and the bird sticks his head straight up, BOOM, bird starts flopping at the exact same time my friend hears blood curling screams from the narrow end of the ridge in front of him. Yep, he shot another hunter that was trying to sneak up on the bird. guy is full of shot cussing and screaming but not dying. friend gets help as soon as possible. local DNR shows and ??? now keep in mind the sneaky hunter admitted he never once made a call. I know the outcome but curious what the gang here thinks it should have been.
QuoteI know the outcome but curious what the gang here thinks it should have been.
No charges. Punishment fit the stupidity. No possible way to know what was behind his target.
Agreed. He positively identified his target. What someone else does out of his sight is beyond his control. It's a horrible thing to have happen but I would put no blame on him.
I have hunted public land many a years and that is just part of it. I do not crowd other hunters or try to work a bird they are already working. it is a very common occurrence now days. turkey hunters in the years past was a different kind of person. they took pride in hunting a tough old gobbler and overall respectful of one another. the way people are today has spilled over into this sport. the generation of I want it now and cant wait is the majority. that being said , I have came across some good guys on public land also. if you think things will change and get better , then I think you are in for a let down. all you can do if you cant deal with these things is buy or gain permission to hunt private land. even then its no gaurentee that things will be much better. I hunt a lease with 5 other guys and we have 2 that hunt the way the op described. we have 1300 hundred acres so that doesn't help. cant get rid of those 2 because they are the lease holders good buddies.
Quote from: g8rvet on April 07, 2016, 09:33:30 PM
Nephew has bird scouted on very public location - easy access, lots of folks know about the area. Has listened to him for 4 days prior to opener. On opening morning he parks where he wants to hunt. Gets there 4 hours before daylight. Has a couple of trucks come in, see his truck and turn around. One goes past (plenty of places to hunt beyond him). The place he is hunting is a U shaped turkey oak flat above a creek bottom. It is 600 yards wide and 300 yards deep at the deepest point.
Just before gobble time he and friend get out of truck, waiting to see where he is roosted. It is about 35 minutes prior to daylight. Truck pulls in and sees him and backs up. He is listening to hear if the truck drives off, but the bird sounds off, so his attention is directed at the bird. The bird is on the end of the flat that he is parked next to. Roughly 250 yards from his truck. He heads in. He gets as close as he dares and sets up. Bird answers his call on the limb. Flies down to the flat. Gobbles. He gives a little light calling when he hears a hen, toward where the guy backed up to. The bird responds to that. They have a little call war, with nephew being a little soft and late guy being aggressive. Late guy has the bird coming and BOOM. Shoots the bird (or at least no more gobbles and no tracks leaving the flat). Not 150 yards from my nephew. Definitely close enough to hear each other's calling. The guy saw his truck and knew he was there. Nephew walks back to truck and down the road to have a discussion but the guy is gone. This is on 550,00 acre WMA in Florida. TONS of rooms to spread out.
I know what I think, but curious to hear from others.
Despicable. Although the "two wrongs do not make a right" theory applies, I know,...but as soon as the bird started toward the other guy, your nephew should have done his best to scare the hell out of that bird before he got to the other A-hole.
Quote from: sswv on April 08, 2016, 08:00:48 AM
public land story...back when the 835 hit the scene a young friend of mine had to have one. he worked with it and picked his favorite ammo (which was slim back then). he practiced his calling and did his scouting. first week he's on public land set up on a bird on a wide ridge that runs off into a dirt road about 350-400 yards away. he has a bird doing everything a hunter could ask for. the bird is coming in hard and he is ready. the bird shows up to his left strutting. he has the gun ready but watches the show for just a bit. the birds get in the middle of the ridge right in front of my friend about 35-40yds away. he makes a quick alert call and the bird sticks his head straight up, BOOM, bird starts flopping at the exact same time my friend hears blood curling screams from the narrow end of the ridge in front of him. Yep, he shot another hunter that was trying to sneak up on the bird. guy is full of shot cussing and screaming but not dying. friend gets help as soon as possible. local DNR shows and ??? now keep in mind the sneaky hunter admitted he never once made a call. I know the outcome but curious what the gang here thinks it should have been.
First off, this is worthy of more discussion on its own merit. You should put it in a new thread so things don't get confusing in this one.
The verdict is that this was a case where the "stars aligned" to result in an unfortunate hunting accident. No charges should have been filed on anyone,...unless this happened in a state with some unenforceable law against stalking turkeys.
What are the odds that a guy could be calling a gobbler in,...and another guy is stalking the same bird,...and the bird does not see the other guy,...and the stalker gets close enough and in line with the shooter at just the moment that the shooter fires,...and the stalker is close enough to result in significant injury? I suspect the odds of that happening are about the same as one of us getting hit by a meteorite....
Quote from: hobbes on April 07, 2016, 09:55:24 PM
Legal.....yes.
Ethical.....no, provided the guy knew your nephew was set up on the bird. Some folks are just plain ignorant of ethics. Some folks are devious. Hopefully the ignorant ones learn and the devious ones find another hobby. (I could think of a few worse things that could happen to the devious ones)
I've had it done to me at least a couple times. Both birds got away.
Agreed
I've had it done to me, never done it to anyone else nor will I.
you guys really make me appreciate the private lands i hunt. im sorry to hear about your nephews luck but im sure given time he will find another bird.
the DNR and local police investigation showed the turkey was killed about 32yds from the shooter and the sneaky hunter was hit at nearly 80yds from the shooter. the woods were just starting to green up where this happened and not seeing someone that far out crawling in the fresh cover is VERY possible, especially when you're young and totally focused on that gobbler you've been working and, ALL officers involved agreed. I guess it's easier for shot to travel thru fresh cover than to see thru it. anyway, the sneaky hunter was hit enough to scream and cuss but walked out just fine with his pride dragging behind.
now, considering this didn't happen in southern New Mexico where GobbleNut is but rather in the mountains of southern WV I guess your 'opinion' of this not happening how it did is just that "YOUR OPINION" and we all know about opinions.
I like hunting alone myself. If I saw another guy or gal on a spot, I'd opt to go elsewhere both because...well....they got there first and I respect other hunter's space and secondly, I don't want to hunt around others. I'll go deeper than the other guys are willing to go just to get solitude...and a crack at the hidden birds.
It was over 20 years ago in the Kisatchie National Forest, I had a guy showed up two mornings in a row just at gobbling time and come in on me and spooked turkeys off the roost as he would walk in. My father in law was a shade tree mechanic who always had a yard full of trucks and cars for sale. On the third morning, I spent some time having the wife ferry me back and forth and when the dude pulled up to come in on me, I am sure he was surprised to find my truck and three other vehicles there. He decided to go somewhere else. I killed the bird that morning. :angel9:
Quote from: Hooksfan on April 08, 2016, 10:46:41 AM
It was over 20 years ago in the Kisatchie National Forest, I had a guy showed up two mornings in a row just at gobbling time and come in on me and spooked turkeys off the roost as he would walk in. My father in law was a shade tree mechanic who always had a yard full of trucks and cars for sale. On the third morning, I spent some time having the wife ferry me back and forth and when the dude pulled up to come in on me, I am sure he was surprised to find my truck and three other vehicles there. He decided to go somewhere else. I killed the bird that morning. :angel9:
I'd call that going the extra mile...three times.
The guy is a dirtball. We're all brothers n should show sportsmanship to the other. Positive note is that lots of guys left area. If he woulda roosted him last night he may be closer than the idiot
Typical slob hunter, I want to earn my birds. Keep working at it. Hard work will pay off. Al Baker
Really depends on the other dudes intent. But really, hunting a bird right next to the road is not a good idea for exactly this reason. If the dude cut off the bird on the way to your nephew, that's unethical. 2 people calling to the same bird though happens all the time. At least there was the rest of the day and 500k acres to continue hunting.
In Maryland goose season there are blinds pretty close together all over the place. People compete for the same birds all day long, I wouldn't call it unethical.
I think if you remove all the things the other guy could not have known the situation is not so black and white.
Legal ? ......yes, Ethical ? .....no..........Would I do it ?......no..........Does it happen on public land ?.........Its probably happening RIGHT NOW somewhere. I dont understand why someone would knowingly set up and work the same bird that someone is already on. Most of the turkey hunters around here want to be alone and will run the other way when they know someone else is in the woods with them,but there is always a few bad apples in the bunch.Here is my run in with a real winner........
I was on a VERY large tract of public land. I drove till the road ended and kept walking. Its late in the morning around 11 Im walking along a pretty steep ridge and made one gobble. I saw him at the bottom heading up(I thought you couldnt call a turkey up a hill ?) with no real place to sit where I was I stepped over the top of the ridge and I'm just on the other side. I'm calling and he is coming. The last time I hear him gobble he is CLOSE. I hear him walking then BOOM ! and the shot was CLOSE ! I stand up and see the bird flopping 30 yards from me and some 20ish year old is standing 40 yards from me . He walks over and now I'm worried that I may have walked up on him. I ask if he was working that bird when I came in and I just didnt see him. He said no I heard you calling and I just thought Id get close in case you lost him. "Oh and by the way thanks for calling for me" I lost it and told him that one or both of us could have got shot and that you NEVER sneak up on a bird that someone is working. He giggled a bit . I had to walk away.
Another time I was at LBL and came in from a boat. I had just walked thru an area and heard one behind me and stated to work it. The leaves are thick and green. I sat down and started to call. I can see the bird is strutting and he is about 50 yards out. BOOM ! I think what the @*^$#^@*!@&^? This guy snuck in between me and the bird.
Quote from: ruination on April 08, 2016, 11:16:47 AM
Really depends on the other dudes intent. But really, hunting a bird right next to the road is not a good idea for exactly this reason. If the dude cut off the bird on the way to your nephew, that's unethical. 2 people calling to the same bird though happens all the time. At least there was the rest of the day and 500k acres to continue hunting.
In Maryland goose season there are blinds pretty close together all over the place. People compete for the same birds all day long, I wouldn't call it unethical.
I think if you remove all the things the other guy could not have known the situation is not so black and white.
Really ? The guy KNEW they were there and parked close enough to sneak in on them.
Goose hunting in a public waterfowl area is the same but different. If geese are just flying around they are free game,but when they start to work another blind/spread you shut up. Alteast you better if your hunting near me
Quote from: ilbucksndux on April 08, 2016, 11:28:29 AM
Quote from: ruination on April 08, 2016, 11:16:47 AM
Really depends on the other dudes intent. But really, hunting a bird right next to the road is not a good idea for exactly this reason. If the dude cut off the bird on the way to your nephew, that's unethical. 2 people calling to the same bird though happens all the time. At least there was the rest of the day and 500k acres to continue hunting.
In Maryland goose season there are blinds pretty close together all over the place. People compete for the same birds all day long, I wouldn't call it unethical.
I think if you remove all the things the other guy could not have known the situation is not so black and white.
Really ? The guy KNEW they were there and parked close enough to sneak in on them.
Goose hunting in a public waterfowl area is the same but different. If geese are just flying around they are free game,but when they start to work another blind/spread you shut up. Alteast you better if your hunting near me
Not even public. Usually there is more than one group of birds in the air at any given time. But let me just try and write it from the other guys perspective. Take in mind that this is not something I have ever done intentionally and I can't know the exact details of this WMA or how it works. I will say this, I have set up on one side of a tree and had another hunter set up on the other side, happens.
"I pulled into the drive trying to find an open area to hunt, a lot of people have beat me to the punch this morning but its getting close to shooting time and I am still driving around looking for an opening. I know of an area, its really well known, easy access, at this point it seams to be my best shot. I pull in, there is one truck here, hopefully he has already walked a bit. I park my truck down the road from him giving him some space and hop out. I hear a gobble pretty close, I think it's pretty lucky I head in. Get set up a few more gobbles come back. I start calling loudly. Gobbler responds. Gobbler starts heading my way. At this point I hear some hen calling, I hope its a hen, but chances are I am competing with another hunter. O well to late to stop now. Gobbler appears, I pull the trigger, pack it in too head home and make breakfast."
So it may just be conditioning of the area I hunt with 4 parking spots for 20 hunters. But if you don't run into another hunter in the area and you don't hear any calling until after you set up I really don't want to pass judgement on a guy.
Happens to me a lot actually. Last week a guy parked and moved in on the other side of a bird I was working. I heard him yet never saw him. When the bird got in range I killed him. I hate those situations but I love hunting public land. The guy drove past my truck and knew I was there. I looked hard trying to see him because it can be dangerous. If he is willing to knowingly set up like that he will one day get shot. That is the main reason I stopped shooting #4's and went to 7's. I don't want to hurt anyone but if they are stupid then sometimes they have to pay stupid tax. Unethical is not nearly a strong enough word for that behavior.
sswv,
Unless I missed something, I think Gobblenut was just saying that the chance of it happening was very slim and no way your buddy could have forseen it. I dont think he was implying that it didn't happen the way you said.
As far as the original author's thread goes. I dont agree with the retaliation responses, not even scaring the bird off. Wrong or not, escalating any situation when all parties have guns is a bad plan. Any plan to get back at someone by damaging property the next time you see it (suggested in previous ethics post) is illegal and should land you in court. As far as scaring the bird, neither person kills the bird and you still have to deal with this guy next time. At least this way he shouldn't be back next time.
I've lost my temper on a number of occasions, but thankfully not while turkey hunting. I've been mad a time or two for sure, but cool heads will work out much better for all parties.
On one occasion with my 10yr old son we had two guys bust a tom that I'd been working for about 45 minutes since daylight. As they approached our set up talking loudly and cussing, I realized they were discussing how they had just spooked the bird and I realized why he had quit gobbling. I heard one say " I dont know what the ....... we could have done different". I went white hot in a flash and was tempted to start my own cussing match. However, I had a 10 yr old with me that I didn't need to set that example for and there were three grown men counting me with shotguns.
I'm sure I was still red in the face when they got close and I alerted them to our position before standing. I did confront them somewhat but tried to not go overboard. Of course their response was that they heard me calling but hey it's public land. I settled down and talked with them for a few moments and it was clear they were at least somewhat experienced waterfowlers but relatively new to turkeys ( typical in CO).
The point is we all walked away. I'm sure when I left they exchanged a smirk or more and I did the same also lecturing my son on how they were legally ok but ethically wrong once they stated they knew I was there but stalked the bird anyway, but no one ended up in a brawl and no one ended up shot.
It's a turkey.......if you're incapable of keeping a cool head, you shouldn't hunt high pressured public land. I dont Want to use too broad of a brush here so I'm referring to physical retalliation in my next statement. I've found that some of the folks that are willing to retaliate in an illegal or dangerous manner are just as likely to have done the original act that started the whole thing.......they just don't like wearing the shoe.
To in any way move in on a bird you know someone else is working is ethically wrong, and it's obviously also dangerous. That said, I can understand it happening by accident, and that's especially true with inexperienced turkey hunters. For safety reasons, there's a point where the person on the ethically right side of the situation should give up the bird and move on, but that's tough for any of us to do.
My oldest son's last turkey (he was killed in a car accident the next summer) came in such a situation. It was on private land. We were running late, and the bird was on the ground right on the property line when we started moving in close. About that time I heard yelping on the next property, and the bird fired off. Not 100% on it being a hen or hunter, I called. The bird ignored me, and the other caller yelped again. The bird gobbled, but it was obviously a hunter. I couldn't tell which side of the fence the bird was on, but told my son we were leaving to look for another bird because the other guy was on it first and it appeared he had the best opportunity. We hadn't walked far before it became obvious the gobbler was following us. We moved another hundred yards and then had to sit down quick in self defense. I purred, he gobbled and Sam killed him at twenty yards. Guess we were rewarded for trying to do the right thing.
I lost my temper on a trespasser once, and I'm still a bit embarrassed, but he deserved everything I gave him. Only had one other truly negative encounter. It was also on private ground (a hunting club), and it only lasted seconds. Still dark, but birds were hammering, and we were set up right when here comes a guy going by us. I whistled and he stopped a second before continuing. I whistled again; he stopped, looked at us and waved. Then, he continued on toward the birds. I lost it just a bit and loudly said "Hey-expletive deleted," and the dude went nuts. We had words, but he left, and we killed a bird about an hour later.
On public I just won't go near a spot if I think another hunter is there. Sometimes that means a parking spot farther along. Sometimes it means a totally different area. And, sometimes it means going home.
Accidents happen on public land as well as private. I mean turkey hunting is a secretive business...... But most of these occurances described are caused from a lack of respect.. Plain and simple.. just my :z-twocents:
hey hobbes. I hope you're right but it sure read different to me. anyway, it's all good on my end.
Quote from: sswv on April 08, 2016, 02:40:16 PM
hey hobbes. I hope you're right but it sure read different to me. anyway, it's all good on my end.
I guess this just goes to show how the written word can be misinterpreted and people get turned sideways due to misunderstanding. Hobbes was absolutely correct in his assessment.
My intent in my response was to state that your friend was not at all at fault for what happened and that the odds of something like that happening were astronomical. By no means was I suggesting that he had made up the story to cover up a negligent act. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Quote from: hobbes on April 08, 2016, 12:03:20 PM
I dont agree with the retaliation responses, not even scaring the bird off. Wrong or not, escalating any situation when all parties have guns is a bad plan. Any plan to get back at someone by damaging property the next time you see it (suggested in previous ethics post) is illegal and should land you in court. As far as scaring the bird, neither person kills the bird and you still have to deal with this guy next time. At least this way he shouldn't be back next time.
I've lost my temper on a number of occasions, but thankfully not while turkey hunting. I've been mad a time or two for sure, but cool heads will work out much better for all parties.
On one occasion with my 10yr old son we had two guys bust a tom that I'd been working for about 45 minutes since daylight. As they approached our set up talking loudly and cussing, I realized they were discussing how they had just spooked the bird and I realized why he had quit gobbling. I heard one say " I dont know what the ....... we could have done different". I went white hot in a flash and was tempted to start my own cussing match. However, I had a 10 yr old with me that I didn't need to set that example for and there were three grown men counting me with shotguns.
I'm sure I was still red in the face when they got close and I alerted them to our position before standing. I did confront them somewhat but tried to not go overboard. Of course their response was that they heard me calling but hey it's public land. I settled down and talked with them for a few moments and it was clear they were at least somewhat experienced waterfowlers but relatively new to turkeys ( typical in CO).
The point is we all walked away. I'm sure when I left they exchanged a smirk or more and I did the same also lecturing my son on how they were legally ok but ethically wrong once they stated they knew I was there but stalked the bird anyway, but no one ended up in a brawl and no one ended up shot.
It's a turkey.......if you're incapable of keeping a cool head, you shouldn't hunt high pressured public land. I dont Want to use too broad of a brush here so I'm referring to physical retalliation in my next statement. I've found that some of the folks that are willing to retaliate in an illegal or dangerous manner are just as likely to have done the original act that started the whole thing.......they just don't like wearing the shoe.
I agree with almost all of the points you make here, Hobbes. I guess I am just not quite as forgiving as you are about some things. Your point about not having a physical confrontation with guns is right on,...as is your statement that damaging someone's property in retaliation is not proper either.
In this specific situation, the guy that ended up shooting the bird did some things that were not only unethical, but highly disrespectful to his fellow hunter, as well. If I am hunting somewhere and pull up to that spot and someone else is already there,...and that person is right there at his vehicle,...I will take the time to get out, talk to that individual, and find out exactly what their plans are. If they are hunting close enough to where I was planning on going, I will make it clear to them that I am going to leave and go somewhere else entirely. I don't want them worrying about the possibility that I might try to "end-around" them,...creating an unsafe situation, and probably impacting how they would work a bird.
Never would I consider backing out far enough to make another hunter think I was leaving, and then sneaking in to try to steal someone else's bird. That would never cross my mind to do that,...and anybody that would pull that needs to be "disciplined" in some manner.
For me, since I would never consider a physical confrontation or damaging their vehicle, I would do my best to scare that bird off before the guy was rewarded for his BS actions. That can be accomplished without direct confrontation with the guy.
I guess I am just getting old and cranky, but that's my perspective on it. Fortunately, I have never had anybody intentional do something so disrespectful while hunting
I agree totally. It was completely disrespectful. Trust me Gobblenut, I'm not always that forgiving. Ive embarassed myself more times with my big mouth than i care to admit luckily most of it wasn't while carrying a gun. I can fly off the handle entirely too quick so I try to avoid any opportunity to lose it. I'm typically with my boys (at least the last 6 or 7 years) and that sways most of my choices. You know....the "What kind of men do I want them to grow up to be" voice. Not to mention I dont Want some fool shooting towards me or them and I dont need 4 flat tires on my rig the next time I walk back.
My brother had two guys set up on a midmorning bird he was already calling to once on NF. He could hear them walk in on the next ridge over and caught a glimpse or two of them. He swore up and down that they knew he was there since they parked just past his truck. My brother is more than proficient at killing fat easterns, but the guy's lousy sounding calls must have sounded good to the tom because the tom that had been steadily creeping his way in began to drift towards the other guy. My brother was quite PO'd, and I can understand that completely. However, he decided to fire off a round in a safe direction into the sky to make sure he scared the bird and they couldn't kill it since he was afraid he'd get shot if he ran towards the bird.
I told him he should have let it be. There was forest service on both sides of the road and they may not have heard him calling. He couldn't believe that, but some people are just that ignorant. He later found out that the two "guys" was a father son(a kid) pair. Maybe dad should have been smarter, but the kid knew no better and was probably hoping for his first tom.
We tend to only see things from our own perspective and fail sometimes to consider the other guy's.
Now....let's see if some loser blows a hunt for me and my youngest in the morning on public land and I have to eat crow.
Poor sportsmanship.
I saw two young men park beside two trucks at a FL WMA last year and get out and literally run past two guys heading into the corner of the property.
Yep, the latecomers got the whole corner to themselves. I hope they turned an ankle running in tho. ::)
hey GobbleNut. no problem here and THANK YOU for the apology. it's all good and I hope we communicate for years to come.
Quote from: sswv on April 08, 2016, 07:29:41 PM
hey GobbleNut. no problem here and THANK YOU for the apology. it's all good and I hope we communicate for years to come.
Good deal, sswv. I try to be careful with how I word things, but sometimes it comes across wrong. Glad to hear things are good between us.
My nephew had almost the same thing happen a few years later. This time he elected to stand up and start talking in a loud voice. He then left and went elsewhere to look for a bird.
He hunted the exact same location this morning and did not see another soul. Nor did he hear a gobble.
Gobblenut,
I pulled up in a nearby location and a guy was parked. He was outside the truck. Now mind you, there is a mile of swamp bottom and ridge past where he was parked. I got out to see if he had a bird roosted or would be working toward any bird he heard. Turns out we knew each other. We quickly made a plan (I would only chase one north of this finger of the swamp and he would only chase on south of it). We both heard birds. Neither of us got one (mine was on the far side and flew out that way). Don't know why he did not get one, but he later told me he had not killed it. I used a similar tactic in a Mississippi WMA when we were duck hunting and had our decoys set. Someone walks in a sets up 100 yards past our decoys - right in line with where we needed to shoot. We walked down and told them they were in our line of fire and were gonna mess us up. They were younger guys and said they would leave. We told them not to leave as we had scouted a mess of birds there the day before and we just helped them reposition to a safer spot. Both groups killed birds and they thanked us on the way out. Communication goes a long way.
It's public land but tools like that do that kind of stuff anyplace they hunt.
I hunt public land also, so I feel the pain as well. I had it happen to me several times, and it's really upsetting if you've scouted a bird, and spent a lot of time doing prep work, to have somebody walk in and either kill the bird, or blow the deal. I'm a cool headed guy, and I'll let a lot of crap go, cause I believe what my grandpa told me, that turn about is fair play!
All of this sounds like me last weekend. I walked into a spot about 900 yards down a logging road. Right at daylight. I hear a bird farther in. So, I went that way. I realized the bird was across a creek and I needed to go there too. So, I crossed the creek. My plan was to angle up the ridge down from him. But, I walked up on a guy set up by a tree. I whispered I was sorry..I had no idea he was even there. I was at that time .96 miles from my truck (by GPS). I gestured to let him know I was going back to my right, which was kind of the way I came from. I went over a couple of hills and listened to him (the turkey) for about an hour before the guy shot. I never heard him call. I would have stopped if I had. I just pray he knows I didn't walk in on him intentionally. I still have no idea where he came in there from as I didn't pass anybody else and he sure didn't walk past me. I think the nearest road was about 3/4 mile but not sure what the ground looked like in there. Oh well..I did what I thought was right. It hurts though...especially since I lost a striker somewhere in there that I had just gotten.