Safety

Any hunting accident is tragic. The irony is that almost all hunting accidents can be avoided. Every hunter must have safety on his or her mind, first and foremost.

One possible reason for accidents is the misconception many people have of the turkey's mentality. Often the turkey is incorrectly portrayed as a "super bird." Its ability to avoid the hunter gives some people the impression that the bird cannot be fooled. Some hunters think that in order to harvest a bird, they will have to shoot the first chance they get. Because they do not act cautiously, these hunters are often responsible for hunting accidents.

Actually, the alert and cautious bird is merely a product of its environment. To survive, it must avoid being eaten by coyotes, bobcats and other predators. The more near-fatal encounters a bird has, the more wary the bird will become. Do not confuse the bird's wariness with intelligence. Turkeys do not have reasoning powers. They are best described in relative terms as cautious and wary.

Part of the safety problem also stems from people who want to get a turkey so badly that they risk making a mistake. They feel 90 percent sure that what they are about to shoot is a gobbler, so they shoot before they have a chance for positive identification. Hunters must think before they shoot; there is not a turkey anywhere that is worth a human life or injury.

Since spring 1987, a safety sticker attached to the receiver of the gun has been required of all hunters, and an intensified effort to raise hunter awareness regarding safety has been in effect. The result has been a decrease in the number of non-fatal accidents to 4 during the 2000 spring turkey season.

Carefully select the colors you wear in the woods during turkey season. Studies conducted during deer seasons have proved that wearing hunter orange reduces accidents in the field. However, turkey hunters have shied away from wearing hunter orange because they believe turkeys can see it.

If you choose to not wear hunter orange while working a gobbler, at least wear it when you are entering or leaving the woods, or when moving around during the hunt. Colors that should never be worn in the woods while turkey hunting are red, white, blue and black. Hunters may associate these colors with the gobbler. Black looks like the body of the bird. Red, white and blue are colors of a gobbler's head. Even the distribution of the camouflage you wear can cause you to be confused with a gobbler. The most common type of spring turkey hunting accident is one in which the victim was mistaken for a turkey and subsequently shot. Usually the victim is wearing some sort of camouflage. Camouflage itself does not cause the accidents, but wearing it improperly can and does contribute to accidents.

Regardless, the hunter is responsible for identifying the target before shooting. Remember: shouldering your gun, aiming it at something, and pulling the trigger is a deliberate, "on purpose" act, not an "accident."

Camouflage does not make you invisible, but conceals only the parts of you that are camouflaged. A person who wears only partial camouflage may be concealing just enough of his body to make the visible parts look like those of a turkey. A shiny cheekbone, a shiny or light-colored gun stock or action, part of a shirt, tops of socks, handkerchiefs, hands, boots and boot soles are all items that, when left exposed, can lead to accidents.

If you choose to wear camouflage, be thorough. You want an approaching hunter to see either all of you or none of you. The tone of colors you'll want to wear will depend on the time of year and where you will be hunting. Camouflage tones for spring in Missouri will be a little greener than the browns you'll want to wear for fall hunting.

Even though you sense that a bird is coming into range, remain perfectly still. Many people make the mistake of releasing the safety and putting their finger on the trigger too soon. They risk spooking the turkey by early movement, or worse, accidental firing.

Try not to get too excited when a gobbler answers your call. When the bird appears, first identify it as a legal turkey. Wait until the turkey moves his head behind a tree before you raise and aim your gun. Look beyond the turkey before you release the safety and shoot.

Once you have shot a turkey, he probably won't lie still immediately. Wild turkeys don't normally drop over dead, even when they have received a fatal shot to the head and neck. They flop around on the ground, flapping their wings. As long as his head and neck are down, you've got him. If he's flopping around and his head comes up, get ready to shoot again.

Be careful how you retrieve a downed bird. It's better to let him finish flopping and lie still before you try to pick him up or tag him. The spurs on an adult gobbler are someimes more than an inch long. They are sharp and can cut you badly. It's better to put your foot on a flopping turkey's head to restrict his movement than to try to grab a flapping wing or foot.

Once you have him in hand, ta g him immediately and be careful how you carry him out of the woods. If you harvest a small deer, would you throw it over your shoulder to carry it out of the woods? Probably not, because someone might mistake you for a deer and shoot you. If you we re to kill a turkey, how would you get him out of the woods? Most people carry the turkey over a shoulder. Dressed in camouflage clothing, the hunter blends well with the wood s. The warm, freshly killed bird is limp; its wings droop down and its tail fans out. This, combined with the fact that a person and a turkey sound much alike when walking through the leaves, adds up to an extremely dangerous situation. To be safe, wrap the bird in hunter orange before carrying it out.

Basic Rules for Safe Turkey Hunting