TreeRooster’s Tale– The Annual Safety Post

Originally published 2/18/2010

From TreeRooster at Turkey And Turkey Hunting Forum

In the spring of 2005, I had just finished a turkey hunt in Colorado with my friend James a couple days earlier. James headed to Kansas for another hunt and I was on the road to Black Hills of South Dakota. As I drove near a cell phone tower my phone beeped. It was a message from my wife. In an emotional and broken voice she said; “Gary call me, Fred shot James”

James was hit with a Remington #5 Hevi-shot from approximately 40yds (shooters estimate). He was just getting up from a calling position and was in full camo, including face mask and gloves. He had at least 139 hits. One was within millimeters of an artery to the brain. One or Two passed through his lung. Two are, to this day, lodged in his heart.

Below are his Xrays

Let me get up on the soap box for a minute;

My job as a tree climber has some inherent dangers in it and when I first started learning to climb trees my boss said, “Gary, there are 2 times when you will be a danger to yourself. When you are afraid, and when you think you can’t get hurt”. I think the 2nd situation applies to us turkey hunters. If you think you can’t get shot, for whatever reason, you are a danger to yourself. If you think you could never shoot someone, you are a danger to others. James was shot by his BIL that had over 40 years experience hunting and he was shot on private land.

Just like driving we can hunt defensively;

Always assume someone else could be in the woods with you, even if no one is supposed to be there.

Set up your decoy so if someone were to shoot it, the shot would not hit you. Use folds in the terrain, a tree as a block, or plenty of open ground behind the decoy.

Think about hunter orange (hat or flagging tape). Maybe while carrying your bird out, or possibly even a flag at your set-up. You don’t have to use it but at least asses the situation.

TreeRooster: That was a heart wrenching story, but I’m so glad you posted it. If you don’t mind, I’d like to reprint your post on my weblog.

Last year about this time, we got into a similar discussion, and I caught a bunch of heat over my assertion that a frightening number of turkey hunting accidents come from long-time veterans shooting other hunters in mistaken-for-game accidents, and that the average experience was about 8 years as opposed to 2 years afield for comparable deer hunting accidents.

Veteran turkey hunters do not realize that it is their own experience that makes them dangerous. They really and truly “see” a turkey. Fan Club ‘s story about the guy shooting into the bush is a sharp contrast– an inexperienced deer hunter hears a noise and fires. Turkey hunters’ minds actually synthesize a turkey out of what they’re seeing. Perpetrators overwhelmingly are certain they saw a turkey, and are convinced the accident came from shooting through the gobbler and hitting the victim on the other side. The forensics tell a different story. Most times the hunter sees a turkey where there is none. His brain, experienced with several seasons of dealing with the chaotic nature of the woods, synthesizes a turkey. Guys have been shot as close as 8 yards from this sort of occurrence.

Once you realize that, you’re on your way to being safer. As a turkey hunter you are somewhat powerless to control the problem from the shooting end, the best way to tackle this is by hunting defensively. TreeRooster, you are dead on. It is the recipient of the shot that has the best chance to avert this sort of thing.

1) Hunter Orange: On the Opener and when I hunt public land, new land, or near my own property line, I wear an orange baseball cap when I’m out moving around. The turkeys are going to run away at 450 yards whether I’m in full camo or not if they catch me moving. That’s not the issue. The problem is getting another hunter’s attention, and letting them know there is a human out there. I put the cap away when I’m set up, but it might be a good idea to hang it on a bush or up in a tree by your set-up.

2) Eschew Red White, and Blue: Turkey hunters see a brief peek of a red sock-top, or a bit of white underwear and something inside their head manufactures a whole gobbler. Red, white, and blue are the three colors that experienced hunters key on. Those are the three colors you must keep off your kit.

3) Decoys: Be very careful in laying your decoys out.

4) Big trees: Always try to put a tree at least as wide as your shoulders at your back. If the hunter comes in and sees you head-on, you can possibly warn him. It’s the guys coming up on your blind side that you won’t be able to give a heads-up to.

5) Gobble calls: Tell me, is there anyone out there that has luck with gobble calls? My personal feeling is that they’re well-nigh useless. Dangerous? You bet.

6) Stalking: We’ve been round and round about this. I’ve been on my belly a few times. I personally see nothing wrong in putting a strategic sneak on a gobbler to get a better angle. However, I’m doing it alone, mid-week of season on my own property, and there’s no one around for a half-mile in any direction. Some guys say this isn’t being safe enough. One thing I gotta say: you’re not going to fool a gobbler if you try to deliberately close the distance on him in the woods , thinking you’ll get the drop on him. He will see you long before you see him. Dangerous? You bet. This is a major cause of accidents, or at least it was before Hunter Ed starting making an impact. The problem is that the hunter is all keyed up to do a snap-shot on the gobbler. His sensibilities are on a hair trigger. He sees a flash of color (some guy wiping himself with a handkerchief at 10 yards) and . . . you get the idea.

Last year we had a bunch of guys, seemingly experienced hunters, who argued against all this

a) Thought it could never happen to them
b) Thought anyone who would shoot at something that wasn’t a turkey should be barred from the woods
c) Thought that anyone who went out into the woods unable to distinguish between a red sock flashing and a gobbler’s head should stay at home and watch cartoons.

These are the kind of guys who shoot other turkey hunters. It’s okay for them to be the way they are. I’m not saying they’re all that wrong. It is inconceivable for me to think that I’d kill another turkey hunter, or that my brain would synthesize a whole living turkey out of nothing. Still, the stats say that is exactly what happens. You need to be defensive. Don’t argue the point that it’s only some doofus that would take that kind of shot. If you’ve been in the woods more than 8 seasons, you’re the doofus.

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