Public land..... Slobs
 

<rant>
So, there are a group of folks I call Slobs...They run around on public hunting ground trying to score birds... They show up real late... don't know where to go... end up either in some strange place... don't scout, can't call, walk onto another man's decoy spread or whatever else they can possibly do to screw up a descent hunt...
If any of these traits pertain to you... Do the rest of us a favor and keep your ass at home...
</rant>
Today was an awesome day for the bow opener here in Kansas, just to start it off with slobs... I actually had one guy walk right past my decoys with an owl hooter.... never saw me... or my decoys.... slobs...
I am going to really start pounding proper hunting techniques on people...
Today was the biggest let down I've ever had hunting, and it was due to my fellow hunters, people who share our "rights" with us and have no clue what its all about...

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

oh the joys of public land.......

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Well look at it this way - you are still with us! Slobs - lead to accidents.

me - as he hooted by - probably would of told him Owl season is not open!

JW

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

How observant can someone be to walk into a guys set up, never see him or the turkeys that are sitting right there.....and we wonder why tigers eat their young????

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

isnt just a public land problem...ive had it happen on private land as well.

gets old....but really, theres not much that can be done. i dont own the birds...they have as much right as me to be there...

i think the problem is everyone wanting to be a turkey hunter...but not many take the time to learn the ropes of the game before jumping in. they can goto walmart and grab some calls and a shotgun and all the sudden they are turkey hunters.

the only thing that ive found that helps is hunting birds that others most likely wont find or wont walk to. yes..that means getting up even earlier...hiking even farther...my favorite spot is probably dang near close to 2 miles from the truck. sad thing is i STILL find slobs!! one year dad had a longbeard about to shake hands with me...i could hear him scratching and strutting just around the bend 45yds out on a logging road gobbling his head off. then he shut up...dad and i couldnt figure it out...then we saw the sillouete of a hunter, no requiered orange on, sneaking across the logging road..

another time back there, i had a bird going BONKERS..closed the distance in NO time..he had to be running through the woods to me..it was late..probably after 10am..i was pumped...one of those times you just almost KNOW hes gunna be on your lap quick...then i heard a gun shot..so close i could hear the pump action on the guys gun!!! i put on my orange and stood up and walked to the edge of the hill..the guy had to be there somewhere...i wanted to see the bird and talk to him and either congradulate him and appologize to him or chew him out...im almost 10000% sure he snuck in and whacked the bird out from under me...but wanted to make sure i didnt sneak into his setup...i never heard him call and was setup 15-20 minutes or more...he HEARD me calling. he knew what he did...he had to be hiding down there till i left...

i can go on for days....but no sense in it...just makes something tough even tougher....

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I had a guy walk by me once last year in blue jeans and a red t shirt... said the guy on the radio said it was Morell Mushroom season and that every needed to hit the woods and look for mushrooms....
So he did.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

it's a free country and not everyone starts out hunting
knowing everything there is to know. i prolly pissed alot of people off but i'm not about to stay home.the only way to learn is to do it. and please don't confuse SLOB with inexperienced !

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I couldn't agree more with this post. Couldn't agree more. There is a group of hunters I can easily call SLOBS.

I decided to hunt the opener in Georgia on some public land that has been productive in the past. My buddy was very diligent about scouting and picking out a dream spotalonga dependable travel route. We set up next to a downed log and were sitting still at 5:45 - an hour and a half before daylight. Well, at about 6:45 (sun is nowhere near up) some a** starts wearing out the slate call. After about 30 minutes of thisMISERABLE calling - somewhere near daybreak, this jacka** starts on the crow call and is just wearing it out. My friend and I sat in dissapointed amazement as we watched out 2008 opener go down the drain. Mercifully, at about 7:45, this guys walked off to another spot - we could hear him tromping away. For 30 minutes after his departure we sat silent. We then started some very light, very soft clucking and purring on a diaphram. Lo and behold here comes a wad of turkeys led by a boss hen. They were coming on a string and then suddenlyall of their heads popped up looking past us. Theyimmediately turned around and left the way they came. Well, sure enough about 5 minuteslater, Johnny Jacka** comes walking up through the woodsand walks THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF MY DECOY SPREAD. My buddy and I packed it up about 15 minutes later. I have had TONS of experiences just like this on public land. I don't know why I hunt turkeys on public land. I just get too upset with other folks' bad manners.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

dog_killer,

Yes it is a free country, but also don't confuse inexperienced with inconsiderate. If you manage to stay with the hunting thing, someday the same thing that has happened to every other hunterwriting on this thread involving inconsideratehunters is going to happento you.After all the hard work in preparing for the season, countless hours of scouting to get everything just right, will be screwedup by some inconsiderateRichard(nickname) much like yourself. Then see how you feel. Have fun

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I can relate to your problems on private and public land. Twice I had guys come to (my) scouted roosted gobbling bird to try to shoot them out of the tree. One shot from 70-80 yards away. Another time I had a guy come running, lost and yelling during fall season while I had a boss gobbler at thirty yards coming out of the brush. He said he was so glad I was a hunter and not a real turkey......

I had to yell at three guys crawling upon my decoys with the guns ready....and there was this guy who shot from 70+ yards at a gobbler which was approaching my calling and holding its head just above a slight grade...one more step by the turkey and I could see his beard....

Not to mention the times guys try to move in on a gobbler when they know you are working the bird ....once with my decoys setting in plain site in a field....

Then the two guys on a 4 wheeler came racing through the woods toward a gobbler I had been exchanging calls with for 45 minutes....they said they just wanted to see how big the birds was....

Guys who hear your hen calls...call back and start moving in on my location..

And don't forget the road hunters which drive around to locate a calling bird so they can jump out of they car and go running at the bird while their driver waits. I swear I can hear the yell "Charge."

This not to mention coyote, foxes, a bull and dog interference.....

Yes, I can relate.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Here's some experience talking then...
If you have an area you've never scouted, and I'm parked there, and you walk in on my setup... Not only have you made the area dramatically unsafe but you've just screwed us both out of a good morning...
Go somewhere else. sure its public, but don't get shot by some dumbass believing that its gonna be ok to walk in.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I had a problem with another hunting party during the 2nd shotgun deer season in Iowa. We were in the timber getting ready push a public timber a and some other hunting party came in started pushing through that timber. We were standing right there in our bright orange and they walked on by us and started pushing it and as they were pushing a deer got up and ran towards us. We had to duck down behind trees cause there were bullets going everywhere. Its people like that that make everyone else look bad.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

first off,don't call me a DICK ! and you all assume i'm inexperienced.i'm 43 and i have hunted since i was 12.
i know exactly how you guys feel because it has and will happen to me again. what i meant was ,don't stereotype
every hunter that does this as a slob.you people need to get off your self imposed pedastal. and don't call me names.
I DON'T LIKE IT.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

My pedestal is white... and has my name and picture on it...
If you walk in an hour late and bust up a spread, your a slob.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I hunt at a highly pressured public huntng ground..Of all the fellows I've meant..90% of them have been very nice..
a. Pointing me the direction of their stands and inviting meto use them

b.Sharing tips

c.Walking in a big circle around me if they see me in a stand

2. The only bads ones are the type that tell everyone ahead of them at the gate." You bettr pull over cause I'm going ot run over anybody in front of me." Those kind I do just that...pull over and let them by..These kind usually have alcohol on their breath from th enight before..Their language also reflects their heart as well...I advoid these kind..Thank God they are not the 90%...but only the 10%.;)


I honestly hunt so far off the road most of the hunters I meet at that distance are true ethical die hard hunters..
The ones 25 feet in the trees..:D

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Thank you, i agree, i am not always in the woods before light, i am new to hunting to (been hunting three years) its is hard with a tight schedule and just because we dont know where to go dosnt make us slobs, mabey were new to the land, if you cant get out to scout because your 15 and your dad works everyother saturday, and on the days your free your working that makes you a SLOB????? not everyone can hunt the way you do[:@]

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Now you never said anything about a person parkin by ur truck and walking past it, that is stuipid but just because a person is late or something dosnt make them a slob.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Welcome to my world

It makes the turkeys weiry and when you kill one you earned him;)

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Man I am glad that I hunt private land...

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I agree that its not just a public land problem. Last Year, Last Day and I'm hunting on private property. Got a tom interested in my setup late in the day. I can see him coming and I get set to take the shot when him walks in front of me. I lost sight of him about 30 yards to my right due to a line of trees and bushes. Next thing I know he running like a bat out of h#$l right past my only shooting lane. I couldn't figure out why cause I knew it wasn't me. He couldn't see me and I had stopped calling for couple minutes prior. I found out why though!!! I stand up to see a pickup truck driving up the main path to the back of the farm. The idiot passed right past my truck and has the nerve to wave at me! Well I pack up and head for the truck. I could see when the truck past that I didn't know who they were(2 people). Well being the good cop that I am, I decide to investigate. Well it turns out to be some trespassers that were going to the river along the back property line to fish. After a records check to make sure they weren't wanted(LOL), I decided to be the bigger person and warn instead of arrest. But lets just say, I don't think I will have to worry about them again!!!

Slobs?
I try not to name call, so I will just say sometimes its inexperience, sometimes its an honest mistake, and sometimes its people who lack in the ethics department!

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I must be lucky.Our slobs dont get out of the truck,they just ride around with the window down.As far as the statement about arriving late,Thats what I like to do.Killed a nice Tom this morning at stop number 5,at 9am.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

What is so comical about the people defending thier inconsiderate actions is that they actually realize what they are doing but does not care about how it is impacting their fellow hunters, because it is "Their rights" The answer is very simple, just try to be more considerate of other hunters. Don't move in on someone else, don't try and cut off a turkey going to another hunter, don't mess anothers day up if at all possible.I am so upset about inconsiderate hunters is because I have encountered several a couple of weeks ago. I was in campspeaking with other huntersabout the next day's hunt. I told them where I was going so as to not have other hunters on top of me and for safety concerns. They said they were going some other place. Got into the woods 30-45 minutes before beginning of light. Right at sunrise, these same guys started walking through my decoy setup knowing I was there waved and setup 50-75 yards all around me. There were 4 hunters. And they must have thought they were the best callers in the world because they would not stop calling for over 2 hours. Obviously my day was ruined. We have all got storys similiar to this, just be more courteous of other hunters is all that I ask.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Yes, It does....

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I have had run in with these @%$#@&%@ also!

I had a couple DRIVE through my DECOYS! they came up over a hill on a road they shouldn't have been on.

Saw a guy shoot a Hen out of a TREE! I had a young hunter with me, not the kind of thing they need to LEARN!

Had a hunter walk right to my decoys as I was calling to a tom and he was responding.
Had two hunters come right to my set up as I called a big tom in he had it seamed a 10 inch beard but I will never know! @*&%#@*

Finally had a @*^&#@% Shoot my Jake decoy!
I have a place now that these @&%$#*@ haven't found yet!

All this happened on Fort Carson! It's a great place for turkey, a lot of red tape, and I think half of the @*&$%#*% in Colorado gothere! If you hunt it BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Stop #5....Sounds more like "Road Patrol" Than "Flyway Control??"

__________________________________________________ __________

I like many other serious turkey hunters put a lot of time, money, scouting, loss of sleep and dedicated effort with the hopes of an opportunity to get a nice gobbler into position.

"Hunters" who do not put in the asserted effort, are inconsiderate, use poor hunting methods, get overaggressive, and run interference should not be surprised their actions upset those who have done their home work....and much less try to defend their actions????

Come-on give us serious hunters the change to mess up on our own......

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

A bunch of you folks must be showing up with a sleeping bag at your hunting spot the night before because if you aint then no matter how early you get there you may be interuping some else that got there even earlier and now you are the slob.Folks should think about stuff like that before they go calling folks names. If yuo dont own the land then you can just stuff your complants in your old clay pipe and smoke it. I walked in on a sport at 5am one morning and had some fella cussing me for walking thru his spot. i kicked one of his decoys about 50 feet and told him that he better show me a deed saying i was on his land or shut up andmind his own beeswax sinct we was on public land and he best be curtious. he got real damn curtious real quick and i think that he shot at a turkey and missed about sunrise.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

You are exactly the type of person this post is about. You kicked another guy's decoy? Amazing. Aside from beinga complete jacka** thing to do, that's a good way to start a serious fight or worse. I would never start a fight in the woods knowing both parties haveturkey-loaded shotguns.

And by the way, I have never heard of anyone complining about other hunters arriving too early in the morning.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I see this threadgoing south in big hurry!
It was already pointed in that direction!

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

It's never happened to me, but if I wakked in on someones decoy spread i would feel terrible, backout the way i came and give him a wide berth. If I met him later in the parking area i'd apologize (even though it was not on purpose). It's really a matter of courtesy.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Hoe would you feel if the roles were reversed and someone walked in on you and kicked over your decoy?

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I knew I should not have commented- don't matter what I try to explain here - both sides where in the wrong.

Still a matter of ethics so i went and got the Turkey's Hunters code of ethics - yes mistakes happen!
[*]As a responsible turkey hunter, I will[*]not let peer pressure or the excitement of the hunt cloud my judgment;[*]learn and practice safe hunting techniques;[*]hunt the wild turkey fairly;[*]know the capabilities and limitations of my gun or bow and use it safely;[*]obey and support all wildlife laws and report all violations[*]respect the land and the landowner and always obtain permission before hunting;[*]avoid knowingly interfering with another hunter and respect the right of others to lawfully share the out-of-doors;[*]value the hunting experience and appreciate the beauty of the wild turkey;[*]positively identify my target as a legal bird and insist on a good shot; and share responsible turkey hunting with others and work for wild turkey conservation.[*]JW

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Somebody needs to take their smarty pill today because the guy wasnt mad because i was early because he wqas mad because he thought i was late. Thats is the point i am trying to make because yu might think you are early but then some clown that beat you by 10 minutes is gonna call you a slob for being late. I walk to my spot in the dark sos not to scare game with a light and so i didnt see him or his damn decoys. It was a simple mistake but he felt obliged to call me a mother F and i doint take that from no man. he is lucky that i didnt bury him and his decoys out in the woods. Different folks come and go out of the woods at different times so you just best get used to different folks having different hunt hours and if somebody walks up on you best mind your manners and be polite other wise you are gonna end up with a pissed off hilljack like me who is always happy to see how tough that some clowns think that they are.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

After reading that I agree, he was out of line. I still would have apologized and left.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

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RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

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RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Is it legal to hunt turkeys at 5AM?

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Or maybe you're both lucky he didn't get so PO'd when you kicked his decoy that he shot you on the spot. After all it was dark and you didn't have a light, how would you know exactly where he was. You could get an idea of his location by sound, but could you be sure? And if it were someone with a bad attitude that didn't give a damn about other hunters,..... well, enough said. I think you both handled the situation poorly.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I 've had run ins in the past on public ground when I was younger. Now I don't let it bother me. All parties in this Post show error in their ways. First, if its public ground, its not your spot regardless of what time you get there. The state or federal government own the ground. Run to a game warden or park official,he'll tell you that.

Secondly, when hunting public ground you have to mentally prepared for interference from other hunters and be thankful for the days you have it to yourself.

Thirdly, aggression towards another armed man will get you killed. Death is permenant. I don't want to die because I destroyed someone else's property or called them silly names. Remember, there are alot of people out there not playing with a full deck. I meet them all the time.

Finally, don't judge people too quickly. People make mistakes. Maybe the alarm didn't go off. Maybe the man really wasn't paying attention. Just because a person walks up on you while hunting "public land", that doesn't make him a slob.I take great pride inmy woodsmanship and I've accidentally walk in on guys hunting deer and turkey hunting. I kindly backed out and went some where else. Thats all you can do. That's ethics.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

I can say this.... I've never gotten downright violent with anyone I meet... I sure as hell don't hang out ranting a raving and cursin folks out.
If I show up to a spot and someone walks by me ten minutes after I show up or if I get to talk with them about where they are gonna hunt at the parking spot or what not.
My real complaint, is that there are 5000 walk in hunting areas with more than 200 or so acres of land each... If its well after sun up and you pull into a spot, you see my car/truck, you say the hell with it and go on in anyways unknown to you where I am... and probably unknown to me that you even showed up... Your a damn fool...
I don't care if you have 2 days hunting experience, or if you have 35 years of hunting experience...
common sense should tell you that this isn't safe to do...
and if common sense isn't workin for ya, go trade your guns in.
You immediately lose your "right" to this sport when it becomes unsafe... maybe you won't kill someone, or get killed yourself..
But you did open the door for that opportunity to happen.

RE: Public land..... Slobs
 

Dude... Know matter how much crying you do... Nothing is going to change... Your still going to have people walk in and hunt the same area's that you hunt... Obviously theres turkeys there... And were you havepublic land with turkeysyou have IDIOTS!!! All I can say is get use to it;)

I'll get to a area and be the only truck there... When I come out to leave there may be as many as 5 trucks there... It boils down to one thing on public land... Public land will make a turkey hunter out of ya;)