3 Pennsylvania Hunters shot in separate incidents

[Bridger]

One man took 12 ga 3.5 inch TSS to the face at 30 yards and survived. No excuse for this.

https://www.goerie.com/story/sports/outdoors/2025/05/22/pa-hunter-explains-how-he-was-mistakingly-shot-for-a-turkey-game-commission-investigates-3-shootings/83795475007/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKcdApleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE1N1A3U3U0TUcyd3N0QW1UAR5xUfCc9Mj6brxPuRnWsabvll_Dj6WG1zVB4mn80V605nLBabFhhSPGprLZNQ_aem_WTkC2S_wanvGq47qkJ4Y4w

[Lcmacd 58]

It happens every year .... having hunted most of my life this always this al

 makes me wonder what are people thinking

[YoungGobbler]

I really can't believe how you can mis-identified a HUNTER as a TURKEY...

[Meleagris gallopavo]

It happens every year .... having hunted most of my life this always this al

 makes me wonder what are people thinking

Either they aren't thinking or how they "think" is the problem.  I think seasoned hunters have a hard time conceiving how these things happen.


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[3bailey3]

I thought Pa, you had to wear orange while moving?

[strum]

It happens every year .... having hunted most of my life this always this al

 makes me wonder what are people thinking

Either they aren't thinking or how they "think" is the problem. I think seasoned hunters have a hard time conceiving how these things happen.


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My mind does not wrap around how this can happen. Every turkey i ever shot I was waiting, identifying, waiting for the shot. is his head still is he out of strut am I on his cockels ect. These guys are just slinging shots at whatever they see. Glad to hear the victims survived.

[Ihuntoldschool]

I really can't believe how you can mis-identified a HUNTER as a TURKEY...

They're not identifying anything and there's no excuse for it but it happens every year in multiple states.
Always the same way, hunter mistaken for a turkey.
Been quite a few on this forum have been shot.
Several have posted their stories in past.

Guy had probably been calling, heard turkey gobbling like the victim did, caught movement from that direction, maybe saw some skin showing the white of hunters face for instance
No excuse. But time and time again it's proven some hunters will shoot at movement or what they thought was a turkey.

Private land is never as private as you think it is.

[Yoder409]

I thought Pa, you had to wear orange while moving?

That got eliminated years ago.

BUT.......

PA law states that spring birds MUST BE IDENTIFIED AS BEING BEARDED AND MUST BE CALLED TO YOUR LOCATION.   No bushwhacking.  No stalking.  CALLED.   TO YOU.

It's mind-boggling.

[Dtrkyman]

It seems mind boggling, however it seems generally an experienced hunter is the shooter!

[zelmo1]

My little pea brain can't wrap around it but it does happen. My wife got sprayed last year while we were on a private farm surrounded by posted land. They shot her flopping bird, in her direction, and did a grab and run. I was pig biting mad, but couldn't catch up to them before they got to theil truck and pulled off. Scary thing when pellets rip by your face. I got 3 #5 lead in the face while pheasant hunting 40 years ago. It is a scary thing. Be safe everyone.       Z

[joey46]

More than once I've tried to get an answer to the PA stalking rule.  Is trying to slip into a good calling position considered stalking?.  Would hate to think if I heard a distant gobble I couldn't try and close the distance before calling.  Wife's PA hunting cousins answer to this are ambiguous at best.  Please don't say "officer's discretion".

Add - peer pressure can make some do stupid things.  Never seen a hunting accident of this type where the shooter was female.  Guys just hate to think they would be the only one at the VFW that didn't score on a gobbler.  Also many, not all, occur late in the season when time is running short and eating a tag seems unacceptable.  IMO that's why most incidents involve experienced hunters.

[Number17]

I thought Pa, you had to wear orange while moving?

That got eliminated years ago.

BUT.......

PA law states that spring birds ......MUST BE CALLED TO YOUR LOCATION.  No bushwhacking.  CALLED  TO YOU.

It's mind-boggling.

That was never true and it has recently been clarified. You do not need to call to turkeys to legally kill them. You can sit in silence or shoot one as you see it while walking down a logging road. Heck, you can shoot one off the roost as long as it's legal shooting hours.
What you can't do is hear or see turkeys and sneak up on them in order to shoot them directly. No crawling, stalking, reaping......

[joey46]

Still ambiguous - would trying to close the distance on a gobbling bird be considered stalking?  On a clear still morning with my Game Ears I'm sure I can hear one at 1/4 mile maybe more.  Normally given the right conditions I would try and cut that distance considerably before picking a tree, setting up the Funky Chicken and sitting down to call.  Is that stalking? 

[Number17]

The PGC loves to leave things open to interpretation. I call the Game Code the 50 shades of gray book because there are so many "gotcha" phrases in it.

If moving closer to a gobbling bird is stalking, I've been a criminal my whole life.
One of the biggest misconceptions with Pa hunters is that you "must call a turkey to your location." That is absolutely untrue. I mean that's the essence of turkey hunting and the most fun way to do it, but setting up a silent ambush or just suddenly walking into a turkey and killing it is not illegal.
You do not have to possess a call, use a call, or make any noises whatsoever to kill a Spring gobbler legally in Pa.

[Number17]

Still ambiguous - would trying to close the distance on a gobbling bird be considered stalking?  On a clear still morning with my Game Ears I'm sure I can hear one at 1/4 mile maybe more.  Normally given the right conditions I would try and cut that distance considerably before picking a tree, setting up the Funky Chicken and sitting down to call.  Is that stalking? 

My most successful hunts are when using terrain to my advantage to get within what I called the "red zone" or his "bubble" before I start talking to him. Usually under 75 yards if I can manage it. Sometimes much closer. I'm often making one short series of calls and getting my gun up expecting him to be there within seconds.
Is that "stalking"? Well.........that's open to interpretation unfortunately