im sorry ,you guys can bash me if you want but i do not believe these guys should ever ever be able to hunt again
I agree, For a number of years back in the late 80's early 90's I instructed a beginning turkey hunting seminar for the DOW. We had extensive info on hunting incidents and practices to avoid. The average age of the shooters in turkey hunting incidents was 40, average age of the person being shot, 39. As has been mentioned above the main excuse was mistaken for game. With that being said here are a few points we always tried to make:
1. Stay away from red white and blue/black. Do not wear a white t shirt or socks. The first thing a lot of hunters see is a golf ball (gobblers head) coming through the woods and they immediately associate anything white with a gobbler. Same holds true for the other colors mentioned.
2. Always try to have a solid backstop behind you, either a big tree or log.
3. If you see another hunter close to you DO NOT move, speak loudly and clearly to him or her, make sure they see you and know your not a turkey.
4. If you use a blind, put some blaze orange ribbon on it.
As a hunter:
1. Never try to stalk or sneak up on a bird.
2. Identify the bird, in the spring you must see the beard.
3. Be careful of tunnel vision and jumping to conclusions, how many times have you been traveling down the road and you see a deer along the road, as you get closer the deer turns into a piece of cardboard or an old rug. Your mind has seen deer before and tries to jump to that conclusion. Same holds true in the turkey woods....fans, golf balls, red spots, all these things can lead to a gobbler, BUT they can also lead to other things as well
4. The bottom line is you are responsible when you pull the trigger. Someone may just be out for a walk and doesn't hunt and doesn't have any idea it's turkey season, could be a mushroom hunter with a white hankie sticking out of his pocket.....if you're behind him and he bends over that white will look like a gobblers head and his outline will resemble a turkey fan. It still does not relieve you of identifying your target.
There is nothing like that old Tom gobbling and struttin into range for the shot, The adrenalin rush and excitement is unbelievable......BUT you've got to be able to control it.
Lastly as the season wears on many of us get more desperate to kill a bird and will take chances we shouldn't. Always stop and ask yourself if it's really worth the risk.