Turkey hunting accidents.

[FredT]

I have a question about turkey hunting accidents.

If you are not a poacher trying to shoot a hen in the spring, how does one accidently shoot another hunter? Is it the size of the beard on the hunter that gets him shot? Does the hunter go into full display just before the shot? What part of the tom do they see before they shoot the hunter? What am I missing? Anything else would be poaching unless the accident is an accidental discharge by a defective gun or the safety did not get used.:smiley_chinrub:

 

[Buckmaster]

A son killed his father last Spring when unloading his gun. Tragic. It occured at a hunt club in Jefferson Co. Be safe.

 

[FredT]

Safety not on? Those kind of sad things can be prevented.

 

[rrr]

Fred -

I think you know the answer Turkey hunting accidents happen by hunters who fail to obey one of the commandments of gun safety - identifying their target! "I hear a bird in that bush, it's gotta be a turkey" Boom! That'd be why I never use a gobbler tube during hunting hours!

I can speak at length about my dislike for the author as an individual, but I'd encourage you to check out Home is Where the Hunter Is by Chip Gross (he's got a website). He is a former game warden and was shot while turkey hunting. It's a great book and I had the honor of learning how to turkey hunt under him, and trust me, he knows his stuff. Just don't expect him to stand up for you if he's caught in a lie with someone else!

Capt

 

[FredT]

That's my point. In the spring it can't be just a turkey, it must be a bearded bird. That you have to see. I do not believe that I have ever heard a tom yelp, yelp, yelping in the spring. So why do people shoot at the yelp, yelp, yelp?

Is it criminal negligence? Maybe it should be.

 

[rrr]

The guy that shot him was given a limited sentence. He expressed frustrated that the case before him was about shooting a doe without a tag and that warranted a bigger sentence.

You're absolutely right though, identifying your target is in the ten commandments of gun safety for a very important reason!

 

[Bowhunter57]

Ignorance! That's the main reason for people getting shot. :smiley_armscrossed: They need more chlorine in their gene pool.

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a hundred times...I got a couple of "sound shots". What the hell is a sound shot? It's when the dumb ass hears something and shoots.

The few times that I've been turkey hunting, I've hunted the people in the woods as much as I've hunted the turkeys. You have to, in order to stay alive and keep from getting shot. Is that fun? HELL NO and the reason why I don't hunt turkeys. :smiley_arrogant:

If they could be readily spotted, I'd rather hunt the people that are shooting the turkey hunters, instead of the turkeys. No bag limits, no weapon restrictions, no permits required and plenty of meat. :smiley_chinrub:

Good hunting, Bowhunter57