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 Daughter sent me the link to this blog just UNBELIEVABLE SCARY STORIES, can't over emphasize the need for safety and awareness of your surroundings even on private.    Guy getting shot with crossbow, hunter was shooting at the a hen decoy head sticking out of a turkey vest then bolt hit partner in boot   THAT JUST GIVES ME NITEMARES.    When I teach hunter safety always stress that turkey season is  VERY DANGEROUS in regards to getting shot  although treestands are responsible for way more accidents and deaths.    The chance of getting shot as far as percentages for numbers of hunters is extremely low however if you're the one getting shot then odds and percentages don't mean a thing.   Prayers for hunters and families   BE SAFE EVERYONE!!!

  http://www.turkey-talk.com/tblog/?p=1736   

Wow. Scary. Pray for the families involved.....

  how the hell do you shoot at a turkey decoy sticking out of a vest????

There must be alot of idiots in the woods in some places some of these accidents are pure stupidity

Quote from: doublespurs21 on May 09, 2020, 12:45:01 PM
  how the hell do you shoot at a turkey decoy sticking out of a vest????

I know like I can't imagine being the guy to take that shot, beforehand thinking to myself (oh that's a good shot) people amaze me... what a shame

Quote from: Yoteduster on May 09, 2020, 01:54:49 PM
There must be alot of idiots in the woods in some places some of these accidents are pure stupidity

X2 Seriously unbelievable

This is very concerning. This virus has everything shut down and suddenly you have a bunch of people who normally don't turkey hunt now do. Plus with the colder weather I've noticed an increase in participation around my areas where guys don't normally because of the bugs. Boat ramps have been closed when most guys are fishing and warmer weather brings out the bugs. I hunt until the end no matter how warm and humid it is. I've seen some really stupid crap from other hunters on places I hunt. Driving trucks down the fire roads to set up blinds, parking trucks on fire road travel corridors and crow calling before the sun even breaks. If I'm seeing this dumb crap I can't imagine safety is not of top priority.

Nothing surprises me anymore.

I would love to see a profile of each shooter.  Age, gender, hunting experience, background etc.   There was an incident a couple weeks ago in Alabama where an 11 year old boy was shot and killed and his father was wounded.  This was during a wounded warrior hunt.   The veteran who they were hosting was the shooter. 

QuoteTHAT JUST GIVES ME NITEMARES.

10-4 that good buddy....a turkey hunting accident is relived every time you hear a story about one, it's a life long curse. I won't bother explaining how I know.

4 out of 8 reports were of kids being shot. That's a lot especially considering the low number of kids hunting. Wonder why? Moving more? Closer to the ground?

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 ????

You guys bring up a great point when mentioning experience and age along with the fact that TSS can shoot farther

Might be time to start an apprenticeship program. Have to log some time under supervision before being released to hunt solo.

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Considering how many people turkey hunt, I take this as good news. And there seems to be a lot of panic-pushers, aka Karen's, hanging around this site. Honestly, and not directed at the OP, do some of you have nothing better to occupy your day than act like scared 4th grade Girl Scouts screaming "The Worlds Gonna End!!!" all day long?!?!

Quote from: notsure on May 09, 2020, 05:12:39 PM
Considering how many people turkey hunt, I take this as good news. And there seems to be a lot of panic-pushers, aka Karen's, hanging around this site. Honestly, and not directed at the OP, do some of you have nothing better to occupy your day than act like scared 4th grade Girl Scouts screaming "The Worlds Gonna End!!!" all day long?!?!

What are you talking about?

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!

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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Quote from: warrent423 on May 09, 2020, 04:45:48 PM
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.

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

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.       

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.

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 ..

Quote from: Howie g on May 09, 2020, 03:53:43 PM
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"...

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.

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.

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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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.

Quote from: captfire on May 09, 2020, 07:36:38 PM
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.

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

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.

In my 23-1/2 years in my former job I the opportunity to be personally involved in investigating or assisted the investigation on  4 hunting accidents where someone was shot where they were mistaken for game all were non-fatal.     Only 1 was turkey hunting where a 12 year old shot his father in the face after his father left him and snuck away to work a gobbling bird then crawled back and waved a brown glove at his son, he lost an eye.  The juvenile had not attended a hunter safety class.    Another group was quail hunting released birds when a teenager shot a father of a friend that when he didn't check the background as he  swung on a bird.     It was raining and no orange was visible as they had raincoats on.     In another a deer hunter shot his brother in a field at dark or just after with a .30-06.   The victim had on brown coveralls and probably did not have orange displayed.     The last was a deer hunter that shot his friend on a moonlit snow covered nite with a 12 gauge slug( it was muzzleloader season) and the victim was riding an atv looking for his friend sitting in a ditch.   Point is sometimes it's not a stranger or slob road hunter but a family member or hunting partner.     That's not alot of data or accidents so like stated turkey hunting is safer than riding in your vehicle to your hunt spot but can tell you it was devastating to those all those people involved.    There were other accidents that I was familiar with some fatal  but these I had personal hands on knowledge.   I guess the accidents reported this year struck a nerve and I just wanted to keep up everyone's awareness.     Again  BE SAFE!

Agree with those of you saying stay diligent; in my decades of hunting I have been stalked twice (chilling!) and had several friends who where shot-thankfully none fatally. Shannon I am sorry for your loss! Yes...turkey hunting is a safe sport considering the accident rate in many other pursuits, but none of us should be complacent or satisfied with even 1 hunter shot in the spring turkey woods. 

For probably the last 30 years of my turkey hunting career, I have continuously carried a lightweight hunter orange vest like those commonly used during deer season in the right cargo pocket of my hunting pants. Easily reachable even when sitting on the ground or in a gobbler lounger. If I see or hear another hunter approaching my location, I just slip it out and display it. It quickly gets their attention, and is, in my opinion, safer than any other form of communication in those situations, even yelling. The one exception to this is if it I happen to be set up on a bird predawn when it is too early for the orange to really stand out. I think I've only had that happen once, and then I did speak.

One advantage of the orange is that the other hunter doesn't have to be on top of you. See someone at the other end of a quarter mile long field? Displaying the orange vest lets them know another person is in the area quietly and safely.

Quote from: Yoteduster on May 09, 2020, 01:54:49 PM
There must be alot of idiots in the woods in some places some of these accidents are pure stupidity

+1

Please understand I am not targeting anyone specific, but just making a general statement.

It's common thought and opinion that mostly or only idiots do stupid things and thus are the perpetrators in accidents. My friends, we have all had our moments of idiocy and poor judgement. The point of discussing all these accidents, reaping and unsafe acts in general is to make us think more and be aware we all are one second away from making a bad decision at any moment in the woods. The more it's in our mind the less likely we are to do something stupid. I for one wish I could say I have not done stupid things, but I can't. I think it's when we think we can't make a mistake that we do. I can't tell you how many times I have had hunting partners with me say, "I hear a hen" and my reply is, "it's a hunter" and they say, "no it's a hen" and I repeat,"it's a hunter until you know it's not". Most of the time it is a hen, but you should think it's a hunter. One time a very good friend and I had this very conversation and he set up on a tree and pointed his gun down the hill saying there may be a gobbler following that hen. I said sternly get your gun down it's a hunter. 10 minutes after that, we pick out a guy working his way up the hill and sure enough he stops and calls and he is a darn good caller. My buddy looks at me and with a very long face and says, ok it's a hunter I'm sorry". It actually was a water shed moment for him and he has never approached a hen call the same. Now fall hunting complicates the scenario greatly as hens are legal. We do call to the hens and set up on them, but we never raise a gun until we are sure.

I used to flip out that orange flap on my vest when toting out birds on public.

Thinking about a light orange beanie type gap maybe for walking out!

Just read about a deer hunter being shot while dressing his buck, he was wearing ornage


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Man this stuff scares the bejesus of me. I always throw the orange flag on my vest when I'm walking out, and carry an orange ball cap that I also wear on the way out.

Please stay safe my friends, and make safe decisions.

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