11 turkey hunters shot with 2 deaths reported so far

[notsure]

I'm talking about all the "is it ethical to hunt this year!!", "can COVID 19 be transmitted to turkeys?!?!", "should I travel out of state this year?!?!" posts. Our Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves given how easily the sheeple are willing to submit themselves to the all powerful State. I mean my G_D! WuFlu  was brought up in THIS THREAD!

[Dtrkyman]

I read an article a while back that stated the typical shooter in these situations has many years experience.

I do not remember the number but it was surprising.

Would love to interview shooters, they obviously all made a horrible mistake, but obviously didn't realize it until it was too late!


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[sswv]

Any of you stupid SOB's shoot me, you better pray to God that you kill me.

a friend of mine use to say that very same thing until he was shot with a load of #6s from a 10ga at about 40 steps.  that was in 1988 and he will tell you to this day that the only thing on his mind was not getting hit with another round. he said that was something that NOBOBY wants to go thru and shooting back was absolutely the last thing on his mind. he said all he could do was yell as loud as he possibly could.  he made a full recovery. he was wearing a very heavy outfit that morning because it was pretty cold and said that most likely saved his bacon.

[eggshell]

Your right sswv, staying alive and not dying pretty much over rides everything else. The thing you'll be firing is prayers to heaven.

[MDSTRUTNRUT]

My intent was to scare people into being ABSOLUTELY SURE BEFORE THEY PULL THAT TRIGGER BECAUSE YOU CAN'T TAKE IT BACK and awareness to safety so we can all go home after the hunt alive and in 1 piece.  The number of turkey hunting accidents is very low compared to hunter numbers but 1 hunter getting shot is too many.  Eggshell I have read your story several times before and didn't mean to cause you to relive your incident of getting shot.    For those that don't know he almost died after getting shot and caused him much hardship which he has wrote about on here before and worth reading, thanks for sharing eggshell.  Also seems like there is more turkey hunters than usual this year  which I think is a good thing since hunters #'s declining over the years, I guess with all the people working from home or not working at all and many things closed.     I teach Hunter Safety and advise turkey hunters if they see or suspect another hunter is nearby to YELL not whistle, wave or worse turkey call you just never know. who's out there and what they're thinking.       

[Southerngobbler]

If you drove a vehicle to go hunting that day you've already done something far more dangerous that turkey hunting. I'm not saying don't be safe but the morons that shoot people are probably too dumb to learn anything new. Since a lot of it has to do with decoys one precaution folks could do if their gonna use a decoy is to use the funky chicken. Nothings fool proof but It would take a real loser to shoot at one of those. And of course cover the red head of any decoy when mobile.

[captfire]

that's why I don't put my decoys right out in forunt of me  I set mine in a 45 degree angle from me ..

[bonasa]

My dad taught me defensive driving before he let me get on a highway .
   Looks like we need to teach our kids " defensive turkey tactics " ..   
  Like others have said . Seems the older I get the less things surprise me anymore .
  With tss carrying so  flat and far , with decoy use , with gota post pics on Facebook crowd etc , I see these accidents happening more and more .   I pray this year was just a fluke year with so many folks hunting from out of work folks .... if not ?    We will hear more and more accidents ,,, sad ?

Yikes, broad statements. I doubt TSS was used in any of these accidents, willing to bet Remington nitros are to blame. Id wager this year is lower than past years but could be an approach by the media or leftist agenda to highlight hunting accidents on a whole and how dangerous it is to have civilians AND veterans afield. Might convince some MORE of the public that guns kill people.  I was taught to "not believe anything I hear, and only half of what I see"...

[RutnNStrutn]

While deer hunting one fall in the Ocala National Forest in Florida, I was waiting at a trail intersection for my friend. An old man came walking up and struck up a conversation with me.
I told him I had not seen anything that morning. He replied that he also had not seen any deer, but he had gotten off "a couple of bush shots". Astonished, I asked for clarification on what a bush shot was, fearing that I already knew the answer. He verified my fears, saying he saw the bushes move a couple of times, but didn't see a deer, so he shot into the moving bush then climbed down to go look at what he shot. The same weekend on the same WMA, a guy shot and killed a grandson out of his grandfather's lap.
I've also had guys "sneak up" on my hen decoys and raise their shotguns to shoot them. Because of these experiences, I always walk the extra mile or 3 on public land to leave the idiots behind. Even when I hunt private land I'm extremely wary and cautious.

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

[eggshell]

No problem MDSTRUTNRUT, reliving the accident is just part of my life. Every turkey season brings with it a little trepidation. Thank you for the kind words. I have posted a lot about my accident because it truly worries me that anyone will go through it.

You give good advice, yes yelling is the best thing to do, but usually the victims don't get a chance to yell. I didn't, the guy heard calling and saw a dark patch he thought was a turkey back. The first hing I knew was when I felt something hit my leg hard.

I leave no doubt it's a person. If I hear someone call within  200 yards I do the crappiest owl hoot you ever heard, if they continue calling and moving my way I yell Hey Bob I found some Mushrooms over here. That usually does it. I once heard a guy yell back Stupid a%s mushroom hunters, it's turkey season, LOL. If they still get closer I get the heck out of dodge fast. They can have the turkeys.

[catman529]

Considering how many people have been out turkey hunting this year, 11 accidents is actually an extremely low number. Turkey hunting is a lot safer than we think.  Common sense is important as with anything.


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[Brian Fahs]

Several years ago while hunting public land in the mountains of maryland I witnessed a guy just begging to be shot. I was sitting on a very heavily hunted ridge top at gray light when I heard a gobble straight in front of me. Then closer then again just over the rise. I saw the unmistakable. Head of a gobbler "walking" straight to me at close range. Something looked odd and I hesitated for a second thank god. A hunter in full dark camo with gloves and head net was walking the ridge carrying the jake decoy under his arm with the head up and facing foreward. He stopped, set his gun against a tree and shook his red wolfe gobble shaker repeatedly 30 yards in front of me. I about  my pants.

I yelled and identified myself. He came over and wanted to shoot the bull like it was no big deal. I shut it down for the day and really did some praying for that guy.

The next week my cousin saw the same guy doing the same thing on that ridge. How he did not get killed I have no idea.

Some people just don't know better.

[silvestris]

that's why I don't put my decoys right out in forunt of me  I set mine in a 45 degree angle from me ..

Very intelligent post until a neophyte crawls at 45 degrees to your dolls and takes a pot shot.

[Old Gobbler]

My uncle Mike was killed right in front of me "by a stranger "28 years ago , while we were fall Turkey hunting .....on a public Florida WMA ... the shooter was convicted in court --we didnt do anything wrong we have killed countless gobblers there for many years , we avoid situations....that morning some fool simply decided to shoot at the sound of a Turkey " hollered up in a bush" those are his words.....and we had to pay the price ...guys there are idiots out there ! I've taken extreme precautions ever since , I've actually heard the shot from a distance  of another turkey hunter being killed by another hunter ...I've also heard another hunter shoot his friend in the face with #4's in close proximity,  I have another friend who was shot in the hand with buckshot and abandoned by the shooter....all of those are florida public wmas...I dont hunt them anymore unless it's a very good quota hunt

..I rarely if ever bring it up even with the closest of friends ....it tends to make people uneasy and me being a reserved type , I just keep it to myself -im fine discussing it , it's just that it makes folks act "weird "

If you hunt long and frequent enough...YOU WILL HAVE CLOSE CALLS , especially on public land ....WHAT TO DO ?

Hunt defensively.....its not only safer ...its more enjoyable and  depending on how you do it ....more productive

#1 rule...AVOID PEOPLE ....do not park up on folks... I dont even go to places where i think people will do it to me , I dont crowd folks , I also dont move in on birds folks are working .... if you knowingly  frequent these  well known crowded areas that are loaded with idiots,  your braver than me ....

#2 go remote ....avoid the easy to get to spots ....I kill way more birds in remote areas , because let's face it ,  hunter interference is a way bigger problem than henned up gobblers ,or sparce opportunities

#3 ....I "almost "always....use a decoy , if someone's getting shot...its the decoy ...you can get shot from.sitting behind a decoy on a common travel route for idiot hunters who shoot decoys...but I just set up the decoy where I am not lined up with a possible shot --some of you may turn your noses up at decoy usage....that's your cup o tea ...you havent been in my shoes , if you did , I bet my bottom dollar you would be toting a decoy too

Spot "A" has 5 mature gobblers and is a 2 minute walk from a easy to get to spot that everyone knows about and is often hunted....sometimes with several trucks parked there

Spot "B" has 1 gobbler, nobody knows about this gobbler ...it is a 5 mile walk through a gator and snake infested swamp and the area is very hard to hunt and takes several hours to get to...and get out of

I can tell you with a lifetime of experience..SPOT B gobblers are more likely to ride home in my cooler that the SPOT A gobbler my dad used to say ...the turkeys are easy....its the people who are the problem. the sooner you figure that out , the sooner you are to becoming  a successful Turkey hunter in these days

Be safe--Shannon

[Sir-diealot]

I know a family that one uncle shot the other (His brother) while unloading the gun (Rifle) and in the same family next generation down the younger brother shot the older brother because the older brother went ahead to scout for turkey and when the younger brother was waiting he heard something approaching and thought it was a turkey and shot his brother in the neck and face. They did end up finding out the younger brother was in very desperate need of glasses, not that that excuses it.