Danger in the Turkey Woods

By By Mike Giles / outdoors writer
April 23, 2004
Dressed in full camouflage and totally hidden to the world, Wayne Jones of Pittman Game Calls was working a hot gobbler. Jones was positioned with his back to a large tree with a decoy directly out in front At the time decoys had just come out and Jones hoped that the decoy would be an asset when he carried other hunters with him.
As Jones continued to work the gobbler, things were really heating up. Suddenly bark flew from each side of the tree that he was leaning on, and the sound was deafening, almost like a clap of thunder. It was almost as if a lightening bolt had struck the tree!
Jones instinctively hit the ground and yelled, "Hey! I'm over here!" As he slowly looked up he turned to see another hunter heading for parts unknown. Jones had just escaped a close brush with death. This poacher had heard the gobbler and was trying to sneak up close enough to shoot it. Once he saw the decoy, he was just shooting at a turkey. It didn't matter what kind. Close Call
With Jones in full camouflage and sending out sweet turkey calls, the poacher was clearly fooled. If not for the fact that he had protected his backside by sitting in front of a large tree, he might have been mortally wounded and left for dead. It was clear that the poacher hadn't seen him and furthermore, didn't know if he had shot or even mortally wounded him.
With the advent of modern camouflage like Mossy Oak and Advantage, hunters are totally hidden not only from the wild game, but from humans also. It's a double-edged sword. Novices or outlaws who are looking to sneak up on a turkey are a danger to all law-abiding hunters. Unlike deer that have a distinctive gate, there is virtually no difference in the sound that a gobbler or a man makes while walking through the leaves on the forest floor. That is why it is imperative for all turkey hunters to think safety first. Put that large tree that is wider than your back behind you.
Its also not a good idea to get in the bushes or to put bushes in front of you to hide. With the quality of the modern day camouflage such as the Mossy Oak, there is no need to be behind anything.
While Jones near death incident happened many years ago, the memory was resurrected recently while I hunted with him near Petal. Jones had spotted a gobbler the week before and was saving him for our hunt. On the appointed morning, while standing in a pipeline, Jones sent out an owl hoot and the gobbler let out a lusty gobble In no time flat we were on our way to the set up sight. Just as we arrived we caught movement in the woods. It was barely light but we finally made out the form of a human. A trespasser had come in on us from an adjacent land. He advised that there was another hunter back down in the woods.
Dangerous Intruder
As we tried to set up on the gobbler, chills ran down my spine at the thought of another poacher being in the woods. If they were that brave what might they do next? After finally setting up, the other poacher waited until we had sat down before hightailing it back to the other side of the property line. Thankfully he had not shot us as we approached. With birds flying everywhere, the gobbler was spooked and we were done for the morning.
Later during the hunt on another part of the same property, we heard another gobbler that was really cranking them out. Once we set up however, we never heard another peep from him. After about twenty minutes we heard an awful commotion. Someone had heard the gobbler from the road and had tried to get on the gobbler. They either didn't know we were there, or they tried to cut us off. Either way, it was dangerous and they had actually spooked the gobbler instead. We just couldn't imagine getting on two gobblers and being derailed by poachers in both instances.
Thank goodness all turkey hunters don't hunt like those three poachers or trespassers. A turkey hunt is just not worth your life. Just remember where you are at all times and think safety first when going after that big bird. It's not worth risking permanent injury or death. Just think about it, the life you save may be your friend, neighbor, or even your own!