Another Ethics Question! Would you shoot a blind turkey?

[dog1]

I shouldn't tell this on myself, because there's one person on this web site that's going to make me bury my head when he reads this. May have told him about it, can't remember.

A while back, not to long ago, I worked a bird off his roost. He came striaght to me, more or less, was actually walking from my right to left in front of me. I shot, he went down, got up and started to run. He ran a few yards and turned around and ran back across in front of me, at that point I still couldn't get a clear shot, again he turns around and runs back by me. I got on him as best I could (I hunt a lot of palmetto swamp land), fired again and again he went down. He jumps back up and starts running in circles, I shoot again with my third and last shell, a complete miss.

Now I'm standing there, no more shells and an empty gun. I realize I blinded the bird with the first shot. He was like a pinball machine, he would run into a bush, tree, etc., turn around and run again, everytime, geting closer to me. I had done decided, if he gets' close enough I'm gonna swing my gun like a baseball bat, thank goodness he didn't get that close, with my luck that day, probably would have sent the stock to splinter land on some unseen tree.

He finally runs more or less in a straight line and stops when he runs into a bunch of vines. He just squats there, everytime I try to walk up behind him he tries to lift his head, I'm afraid he's going to start that running again and I might not find him.

You ever done something dumb, and look around to see if anyone saw what you did. Well I'm standing in the Georgia swamps, thinking that very thing. Anyway, I hang a piece of toilet paper in a bush, my truck is about a quarter mile away, with plenty of extra shotgun shells, so I take off. I get the truck and drive as close as I can, and you can bet the farm, when I got of the truck I had a pocket and gun full of shells. When I get to the paper he's still in the vines, but his head was down. Everytime I try moving right or left of him to get a clear head shot he would lift his head, now I'm thinking he's gonna take off. To end this ordeal, I decide to start walking straight towards him to make him lift his head high enough for a clear shot, and he did and I put an end to that hunt.

Now admit it, all of you at the start of this post thought I was the most unethical turkey hunter you ever heard of. I'm not, but I was humbled that day andfelt dumb as a box of rocks.

Moral, CARRY ENOUGH SHOTGUN SHELLS WITH YOU, YOU NEVER KNOW!

I still laugh at myself about that hunt. Oh yeah, I lost my favorite slate call that day chasing a blind turkey. I looked every where, had no idea where it could be or where I had actually been while after this turkey. I was so desperate for that call I came home, called Cabela's and had them overnight me another one, which cost me extra. Plus a buddy had one identical and didn't use it, he brought me his. Well I went back 3 days to the same tree I was sitting by when I shot this bird, and there was my call, plain as day, that blind turkey could have seen it, guess I was in a panic. My buddy wouldn't take his call back, I tried to pay him for it, he wouldn't take any money either, so now I have three copies of my favorite slate.

Y'all Have a Nice Christmas,
dog1

[Centaur 1]

When I was 12 years old I was put in a tree stand with only four shells. We were hunting in New Jersey and at the time only buckshot was legal for deer. I learned two lessons that day, one was to carry as many shells as you can bring with you and the second was to never use buckshot for anything other than home defense. I shot him at about 35 - 40 yards away and he finally went down after the third hit. I then put my fourth and last round in the chamber and waited, about ten seconds later he got up and I hit him again and he took off running. He was finally killed by two other hunters about a quarter mile away. Since then I've only ran out of ammo once, I was charged by an angry armadillo and I emptied all ten rounds in my 10/22 at him. Luckily I wasn't physically injured, he rolled up in a heap only inches from my feet. If I only had three rounds like you the results could have been very different.

[huntnma]

a friend of mine shot a bird a few years ago....took a long shot like a DA, got one pellet in the head/neck area....the bird freaks out, he shoots again, the bird runs into a tree, he shoots again, the bird runs into a tree again , he threw his gun down and did the flying tackle onthe bird.....turned out to be the heaviest bird taken to date where i hunt, lol...not the best way to end it , but it ended it....

[hurley0816]

i would say you were ethical to go back to the truck and get more shells and finish what you started.

[LongWalker]

If every turkey hunter had a trained dog, that'd eliminate about 160,00 gobblers every year, nationwide, that are wounded and not recovered, according to turkeydog.org
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[Phish-On!]

Stuff happens. You did what you had to do (including going to the truck for more shells) to finish him off and not leave a wounded bird to die in the brush.

[CamoCop]

i think we can all agree that "ethics" varies from 1 person to another. so why post or ask questions on public forums to thousands of people asking if something is "ethical" or not when you know there is not going to be a right answer and it will probally create some sort of drama?

[TPhunter]

Not trying to start a fight or ruffle your feathers but I can't tell if your ethical or not from your story...I commend you on recovering the bird but the ethicsquestion I have is at the beginning of the story...Why was the turkey blinded with the first shot?...Was the shot through brush?...Was the shot to far?...Did you pattern your gun before goinghunting?...Does your guns pattern hit at point of aim?...These are all questions I had running through my mind while I read your story.

[dog1]

TPhunter,

Actually, the story was true, but meant as a joke for us all to have some fun and see what can actually happen when hunting. Trust me, everything I hunt with is fine tuned from more than 30 years of turkey hunting, stuff happens. I probably jerked the the trigger, who knows, but undoubtedly shot high and only a few pellets hit him in the head.

dog1

[TPhunter]

Thats cool...Makes more sense now.