Safety in the Spring Wood

By Freddie McKnight

Spring turkey hunting is still growing in popularity, while, at the same time, the amount of hunting land continues to decline.
That puts more people in closer proximity to one another. This fact alone increases the chances of a hunting accident happening. Accidents are bound to happen in anything you do in life, hunting included. If guidelines were followed a bit closer there would not be as many accidents, but there would still be some.
You have no control over the other guy in the woods, but you can do a few things to lower the chances that you may become a statistic.
I remember to this day the closest call I have had in hunting. I was working a gobbler, who was taking his good ‘ole time in coming to my set up, but he was coming in. His booming gobble stood out as a status of him being king on this particular part of the mountain. This bird was not overly vocal, but he would sound off on occasion, when my calls went out to him. Finally he was just over the lip of the bench on the mountain, and I could hear him walking in the dry leaves, drumming as he strutted.

A gobble helped me pinpoint his position and I had my gun ready to bring it to bear where I felt he would pop up over the edge.
The walking in the leaves was loud, but slow. The bird was inching his way up towards the top and would break into my view at less than 20 yards. I was all geared up with the emotion that any excited turkey hunter could understand, ready to get the gun on the bird as soon as I could and fill my tag.
Movement behind a log showed my quarry to be taking his last steps. As soon as he came out from behind a huge hickory tree, he would be in the wide open. The next few seconds still make me nauseous.
Instead of the big gobbler, a hunter in full camo, with gun at hip level, eased into the opening. Had I not been following one of my steadfast rules, I could have very well pulled the trigger on this guy.

After I hollered, to stop him in his tracks, the hunter turned and fled down the mountain as fast as he could go. Teaching Hunter-Trapper Education class in the state of Pennsylvania, I typically stress the importance of one item that I feel would reduce the number of hunting accidents in the state by more than half. Our law clearly states a bird must have a visible beard to be legal. Had I been only paying attention to the turkey’s head instead of first seeing a beard, I could have very well had the gun pointed at the hunter with the safety off.
Instead my gun was still pointed upwards with the safety on. It was a lesson I teach to others that was again reinforced on this particular hunt. This type of incident is the most common in the spring woods. Most cases of turkey hunting accidents involve one hunter being shot by another; the approaching hunter being mistaken for a turkey.

Simply put, these hunters are not properly identifying their targets. Instead they are pulling the trigger at the first hint of movement, or when they hear a turkey calling. Trying to sneak up on birds is illegal in some states, along with being nearly impossible to pull off in the first place, yet many still try it to this day. A large portion of those “shot in mistake for game” accidents happen in just this manner. The use of decoys is an effective tactic for spring gobblers. Their popularity is gaining, and so is their mention in the paperwork of reported hunting accidents.
I like to use decoys, but plant them in either wide open areas, where hunters will have to be in my view before they are in range, or place them in front of a large tree so that if a hunter should sneak in and shoot, there will be a large obstruction between myself and the shot pattern.

Some decoys employ a safety coloring of orange, which does not scare the turkeys, but will make those who may mistake them for the real thing pause just a bit and realize the error of their ways.
Hunter orange is required in my home state when moving about; a solid orange hat measuring 100 square inches is the law. Many hunters resent this and insist that a sharp-eyed turkey will be scared off at the first glimpse of this color.
I not only wear the hat, but add a vest to the scenario as well. I have killed turkeys in both spring and fall while wearing the highly visible material, though I do prefer to take it off when calling.
It is not that the color itself scares the birds, but that a bright color is easier to detect when movement occurs, and it is this movement that will scare the birds away.

As the season progresses and foliage thickens, hunters are bound to wind up in close proximity to one another. The late season is a great time to find a lonesome boss gobbler, but it is also a time when your hearing is hampered.
The thick growth of spring will diminish sounds. Add in a typical morning of fog, or a late morning breeze, and the conditions only worsen. This is the time to be paying attention to details. If you hear a gobbler sounding off at regular intervals, you know he is hot. When moving in to the area, take the time to listen and determine if any other hunters may be working him. If you hunt in areas with streams, this can also add to the noise that drowns out the sounds, but you need to know if you are walking in to an unsafe situation or not.
There will be other days and other turkeys, but not if you walk in to the line of fire when a hunter is lining up his bead on a boss bird. This spring set the safety example for others to follow. Hunt safely and ethically, follow all of the rules, and enjoy the pursuit. Yes, it is nice to fill those tags every year, but I would venture to say that you would rather eat tag soup than be faced with an unsafe situation.

Have fun out there, but be careful as well.