Public land BS what would you do?

[3seasons]

You get to the access road and there is no one there. You park walk in to your pre determined spot and as day breaks you hear a bird on the next ridge.  You make your move and set up on the gobbling bird.  After he pitches down you make another move to get into a better position.  You start calling and he starts answering.  After a few minutes he starts closing ground coming  your way. When he gets just over the rise from you at about 80yds and just when he should be toping the rise  so you can see him BOOOOMMM a shot rings out and you hear the bird you were working flopping.  You get up only and walk over only to find out that another hunter has slipped in between you and the gobbling bird and waited for him to present a shot.  Upon talking to this hunter you learn that he knew you was in here and that he didn't care because he had roosted the bird the day before. He also says it was some good calling because the bird was working away until you turned him and then he was coming on a B line straight to you. He never made a call and just piggybacked off of everything you did.   

It's a thing that happens all to often on the public land that I hunt and its beyond aggravating and it is unsafe.  I've had this happen to me multiple times, I've had the tree I was sitting on peppered from the rear because someone shot at the bird that was in front of me and still out of my range. I've had people literally walk past me as I'm working a bird and set up in front of me ( I usually start shooting at squirrels when this happens).

All I can do in these situations is shake my head and leave.  I told the guy congrats on the bird and just walked away. Did I want to start something, oh heck yes, would it solve anything, heck no. Did I want to shoot the bird point blank and blow it to a pulp, heck yes. To me people that do this this have zero morals or ethics and are in my opinion looking for a fight. Is it worth it, maybe.


Realistically how would you handle it. My home state is MS, these encounters have all been folks from other states 90% from one state alone.
I've had way more good encounters with folks than bad so not bashing or hating on OOSers, I'm one myself but I do respect others.


On a positive note me and my buddy was in KY a few years ago and I called a bird around some flooded timber and after my buddy killed it a guy walked up and congratulated us on an amazing hunt.  He had slipped in and watched the whole thing. Said the turkey came by him at 30yds and he just watched it walk by and come to us.  When I asked him why he let it walk by and that I was used to people shooting them out from under me like that, he just said what I would say. Basically treat others as you would want them to treat you. We beat him there and we was working the bird. It wasn't right for him to shoot it out from under us.  Solid guy!

[Yoder409]

I'd have flat-out told the guy it was a B.S. move and I hope it was a bird he was proud of.  Go tell all your buddies you got one. 

And I'd turn and leave.

[guesswho]

Pretty much what Yoder said.   I'd have also mentioned to him that he must be a
member of that if it's legal it's ok and I support my fellow hunter crowd.   

In my younger days it probably would have turned into an all out verbal beat down.

[ChesterCopperpot]

I don't want to think about what I'd have done. Just reading it makes me twitch. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Truly sorry.


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[owlhoot]

I'd have flat-out told the guy it was a B.S. move and I hope it was a bird he was proud of.  Go tell all your buddies you got one. 

And I'd turn and leave.

He wouldn't have cared in the least. Probably would brag about it to his buddies.

[sswv]

I'm to old and beat up to properly deal with people like that now but 30 years ago it wouldn't have turned out well if that would have happened to me. today, I'd have done what Yoder said. you'll have those type of people every where you go.

[Zobo]

    I mean what are you gonna do fight the guy? And you're probably not gonna teach him anything either. These kind of idiots are generally not very reasonable. Maybe you didn't need to congratulate him. I probably would have yelled WTF right after I heard the gun blast. But in essence you did the right thing.

[762hunter]

Numb nuts wouldn't have learned any lesson but couldn't you just see him returning to his buddies for a "social media " post with 2 black eyes and swollen bloody nose and a few teeth missing.
Oh that would be the old days


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[Gooserbat]

Valve-core tool

[RutnNStrutn]

he must be a member of that if it's legal it's ok and I support my fellow hunter crowd.   

Wow Ronnie. Really?
There's legal, which is black and white.
There's ethical, which is up to individual interpretation.
Then there's a selfish ASSHOLE, which is what the guy he is writing about is.
Just because I support any legal method of turkey hunting, doesn't mean I'm a selfish a-hole that would screw someone out of a gobbler. I've been f'ed over by those types of guys on public land more times than I can remember. I didn't like it, so I don't do it to others. That's also why I rarely hunt public land any more.



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[quavers59]

   This has happened  to me a few times. Best thing to do is just walk away without moving in to talk to the Guy.
   Don't  get into a verbal with an Armed Stranger  with both of you all alone.
  Hard to walk away ,but you have to.

[fallhnt]

It's all in the title.

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[coonhunter]

That's how people get shot!  I would have confronted him and told him how dumb and dangerous it was. I would have explained how unethical it was and then left. Nothing you can really do above that. It s public!  No respect these days!!

[eggshell]

Well, in my younger days I would have lit him up with a verbal battering and probably got my skinny arse kicked. Back in those days it didn't really matter,  as long as I got to release my anger.

Today I'm to old and fat to fight. Any fight would be very short and embarrassing, but I'm still capable of some talking. Mostly I'd just say, "it ain't worth it and walk away'. Yet as a born again and reformed Christian I would feel compelled to pray for him. I'd congratulate him and ask if he minded if I said a prayer. Then I build my prayer off the scene from John Wayne's the cowboys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEcjWPkok7s&ab_channel=TheDiamondMine

with a few modifications of course.

[Happy]

That exact thing has happened to me more times than I care to admit. Typically by guys with rifles. I feel for you but in this day and age everyone is out for themselves and really don't care who they run over in order to get it. The last one I had shot out from under me the guy snipes it with a rifle and then sprinted to it, barely slowed down to grab it and kept hauling because he knew full well what he had done. I feel for you man. Integrity and earning what you want is a rare thing these days. Specially if you can just take it from someone else.