Using a fan

[Spurs]

Tried it a few times to try to kill my son his first gobbler, but haven't used it myself. 

Now, I will go to (and have gone) to several extremes to kill a gobbler.  I have snuck, called, stalked, climbed, etc....and will do it all again....YES!!!

Now, as far as reaping, I have a line in the sand there....not that I care if anyone else does or not.  Just that it kinda looks too easy I guess.

To end, we gotta draw it back a little with the BAN THIS and BAN THAT mentality.  We need to remember that with every law, ban, or restriction put on the books, that one more outdoorsman could be pushed to the wayside.  We need to be promoting the sport, not restricting it.


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[spaightlabs]

Seriously though, good discussion.  Especially like that ethics should be more restrictive than law-but shooting a crippled duck while still moving is a great example.  Illegal, but ethical. 

I was making the point that law and ethics don't always equate. Something can be legal yet unethical, at least from one's personal viewpoint. I believe anyone reading this thread can think of examples. The reverse of that is also true. Regardless, ethics are a personal thing, and I'm in no position to judge others who hunt in a legal manner. I've killed birds using a fan, so I certainly can't claim some moral superiority. The fact that I felt I'd done something wrong after the second bird I killed via the method points to it probably being the wrong choice for ME; others could feel differently, and I'm fine with that.

I understood and was commenting on a perfect example (chasing a cripple) where you discussed doing something illegal, but highly ethical.  I have done it many times.

Another great example comes from duck hunting.  If you shoot 5 birds (say Ringnecks) and have them in hand.  You then shoot your final duck and it falls.  You make a concerted, immediate and vigorous attempt to find the bird.  If you are unable to find the bird, after meeting those criteria, it is perfectly legal to shoot another bird.  You never reduced the bird to possession, but made a definite attempt to do so.  In most cases in my life, I count that bird if I know I killed it. That is my ethics.  I have gone ahead and shot another bird on occasion.  On the flip side, if by some odd stroke I shot another bird and later the first bird popped up dead and I found it, I would carry it out and face the consequences. Also illegal, but ethical in my opinion. 

Another example.  Catching Redfish.  I have culled one from my livewell (illegal) when I later caught and gut or gill hooked one that I knew was going to die as long as the first was lively and healthy.  Illegal?  yes  Unethical?  I don't think so. 

Applying the use of a fan is the same thing to me. If it is legal, then it is up to the individual to decide if it is ethical TO THEM.  I know what my opinion is on hunting methods and I do not feel that I have some set of moral superiority to all other turkey hunters that my ethics should apply to all others or they are beneath me if they chose a different set of ethics.  Let's face it, if meat is the only goal, why not just go buy one at Publix? Would be cheaper and less effort. 

I have a friend who's dad hunted them with a rifle on his lease from a box stand.  No baiting.  Is that unethical?  Does it make a difference that he had Parkinson's so bad that he had a hard time walking and needed to steady a rifle on a bench to make a clean shot?  Does the turkey give two craps if it dies via rifle or shotgun?

To quote from The Big Lebowski - "I like your style, Dude."

[davisd9]

Tom Kelly is good with it:

[WNCTracker]

The One thing that is for certain is that it's a totally personal choice how you want to hunt when you're within the confines of the law.  Everybody will have their own opinion whether they think something is ethical and another will have the inverse opinion.  Turkey hunters span the spectrum.  Some people might prefer to pursue a turkey by flashing a fan, belly crawling and stalking it, possibly with a buck knife in their teeth to get a hands on kill while using natural voice calling like native americans did.... and some might prefer to sit in a lounge chair drinking coffee and reading OG posts on their smartphones from a popup tent watching taxidermy quality decoys, shooting 1000 pellets from a scoped gun that will kill to 75 yards.  I personally see no difference in ethics when i compare the two....I know where I stand, in some shade of the gray, as does most everyone else.  So in response to the OP I'd say that whatever you feel is what you want to do, go for it just don't break laws.  You might try it and hate it, or you might love it, who knows.