24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 19,160
JamesJr Offline OP
Campfire Ranger
OP Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 19,160
I thought I'd start a new thread, rather than post more comments about the use of a turkey fan in the other thread. I believe in being safe, and don't take chances to do otherwise. I hunt private land 100% these days, and the no trespassing laws are strictly enforced, and I let everyone know it. I catch someone on my farm without permission, and you better have a good reason for being there, or else you will be prosecuted. I don't like being a hard ass, but I also don't like unexpected encounters. Now, with that out of the way, I would feel totally fine with using a turkey fan to try and lure a bird in, or to sneak up on one....as long as I knew it was safe to do so. I sure as heck wouldn't do it along side a property line, as there could be someone hunting there that I didn't see. But, other than that, I'd go for it. Using decoys, especially a gobbler decoy can be a hazard as well. I knew some hunters who were on their land, had a gobbler decoy set out in a field, and 2 Mennonite boys came walking around the field corner and shot the decoy. Luckily they weren't firing toward the hunters. Things can happen, even though we do everything we can think of to prevent it. I'm with some of you about not doing certain things on public land, as I'd rather come home in one piece, than be shot by some idiot. But I feel pretty safe on my own farm.

BP-B2

Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 4,293
W
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
W
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 4,293

I always put out a band of orange around my calling location.

Not that it will stop an overzealous, poor sportsman from firing at an unidentified target EVERY time.

But I feel better doing it.

Id try the tail, but only to fan it and display and then drop it out of sight occasionally, if I had turks in sight.

Crawling behind one to 5 yards is abit much, mostly cause I dont like to belly crawl.


Trump HAD the World, ", Trump saw our children, "
Trump saw a way to make a brighter day so he started giving
There was a choice he was making, he was saving our own lives
Its true he made a brighter day for you and me. --Trump WINS 2016
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 5,279
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 5,279
On the topic of turkey hunting safety, I published this in a few newspapers this week: Daniel Boone’s Turkey Hunt Video.

Hope you enjoy it.

Steve.


"I was a deerhunter long before I was a man." ~Gene Wensel's Come November (2000)
"A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user." ~Theodore Roosevelt
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,274
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,274
A big problem with turkey hunting is that the accidental shootings mostly occur with an experienced turkey hunter pulling the trigger. Whereas in deer hunting the shooter is of less than 3 years experience, the average shooter in a turkey-related incident has 8 or more years under his belt. The cause is that the hunter claims to have actually seen a gobbler in the direction he was firing. It is the hunter's brain playing tricks on him. Here is a story dealing with this sort of thing:

TreeRooster's Tale

The short of it is that relying on the other guy to exercise proper gun safety is not the solution. You have to be defensive. In the article are some suggestions.

To update the story: I have had experiences with hunter orange and turkeys since writing it. What I can tell you is that hunter orange is highly visible to turkeys and can cause an extreme reaction. In one case, I had a flock bust at 200 yards from spotting me in a treestand with nothing but my head and shoulders showing. In another, I had a young jake spot me in the stand as he was walking underneath. It upset him so much, he jumped into the air and let out a gobble, and continued doing so as he walked away. This was a mid-October muzzleloader hunt. For all I know, this was the bird's first gobbles. It sounded as such. My point is that orange seems to really set them off.





Genesis 9:2-4 Ministries Lighthearted Confessions of a Cervid Serial Killer
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 11,612
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 11,612
May I ask you to cite a source for your turkey hunting accident statement as it relates to years of experience of the negligent shooter?


Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
IC B2

Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,274
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,274
I have seen articles published as far back as about 1985. It was around that time that Outdoor Life had an article that first cued me. I wish I could quote you chapter and verse, but my collection of these things went bye-bye in the divorce from Satan, my first wife. What I will say is that if you read the articles that pop up this time of year where somebody has been shot while turkey hunting, most will include a shooter with a good deal of experience. Turkey hunting, if I remember correctly, has a greater preponderance of mistaken-for-game shootings versus deer hunting.

Deer hunting morbidity on the other hand seems to be related to a lack of experience and poor gun safety, and has seen the greater reduction as a result of mandatory Hunter Education.

Update: I do remember that there was a website back around 2008-2010 that was being maintained by an anti-hunting group. They were against sport hunting and private gun ownership in general and they kept a collection of incidents related to this sort of thing. Their reasons were indeed skewed, but the incidents themselves were real. If you could find that site, you might mine info. I remember there were also links to various state websites that reported similar things.

Also: It dawned on me the 8yrs vs 3 yr stat came from either a Pennsylvania or New York study.

Last edited by shaman; 05/05/17.

Genesis 9:2-4 Ministries Lighthearted Confessions of a Cervid Serial Killer

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
125 members (16penny, 257_X_50, 338Rules, 444Matt, 32_20fan, 15 invisible), 1,852 guests, and 895 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,726
Posts18,400,672
Members73,822
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.099s Queries: 14 (0.004s) Memory: 0.8153 MB (Peak: 0.8821 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-29 07:02:45 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS