Worst hunting luck that was out of your control?

[MACHINIST]

Had numerous coyotes come in and ruin a few hunts,but other than that nothing like some of what you guys have had

[hoyt]

Many years ago before coyotes had gotten a foothold in SW. Fl. (to see one was really rare, mostly just heard rumors of sightings) I was working a gobbler. He was coming my way but on the other side of a thin cypress head..about 100yds from me. He didn't really want to cross as it was thick so he kept walking back and forth gobbling at my every call.

I was on the verge of looping around to cross the head and get on his side when all of a sudden I hear a small dog yipping and wings flapping right where the gobbler was.

Never heard another peep from the gobbler and for a couple yrs I had it in my mind that some guy who's old pickup was parked up on the power line had turned a little dog loose to screw up my hunt.

I just couldn't figure what a small dog (sounded just like a little fife dog) would be doing way back in the swamps of the public land I was on. Then a couple yrs later I got familiar with what a coyote sounded like and figured things out.

[briton]

I Had roosted a tom the evening before a hunt on a buddys land and we both couldnt sleep with the thought of that old gobbler pitching down into a field he had roosted by. Next morning we snuck in early and set up a decoy in a perfect spot and sat on two large oaks with low hanging branches (you know those trees that scream perfect turkey set up). Sun came up, bird fired up, then pitched down about 150 yards to our left with hens and started to slowly work our way putting on a heck of a show. Next thing we know we see some idiot steadily low creeping through the field! Well the gobbler spooked along with the hens except one of the hens went for some tall grass. We watched in amazement as this fool creeped up the field and jumped the hen out of the grass like a quail hunt and unloaded all three shells folding the hen up like a quail. We sprinted out there ready to beat the brakes of the guy and it turned out to be his younger cousin who claimed he had no idea it was a hen and that we were hunting. Worse than that his dad had put him up to it. Needless to say i dont think very highly of either of them even 12 yrs later! 

[Cut N Run]

From the bigger horse farm I hunt, I heard a gobbler that sounded like he was in the neighboring cow pasture.  I hot-footed it over that way on one of the horse trails I'd cleared.  I hung back about 75 yards off the fence in the woods and could see him strutting on the knoll of that pasture.  Once I was set, I cutt with my long box and he double gobbled right back.  I yelped on a mouth call a few minutes later and he broke strut and headed my direction.  There was a gap where it went from panel fence to 3 strands of barbed wire where the deer crossed all the time. I knew that's the way he'd come. Just beyond the gap was some old rusty farm implements with weeds & small trees growing through them.  About the time the gobbler got 20 yards from the fence, BOOM a couple of guys who had been set up behind the implements busted him.  He was hung up to their calls and when I started calling, that gobbler must have thought the hen was leaving & followed.  At least they thanked me.

Jim