Guys messing up Youth Gobbler day?
Pennsylvania
One of my buddies took a youth out on Saturday for his first (Youth)Spring Gobbler hunt. They were hunting public land in the Poconos. At 6:30 they had 3 gobblers coming in to the calls, when all of a sudden they hear a truck pull up and park within 80y of my buddy's truck, get out and start calling to the gobblers. Of course the gobblers then take off running!
Later, they had a hen come in and all of a sudden she putted a couple times and took off running. When they got up, they see a different guy in a blue shirt and jeans with a full strut decoy and a CROW call! This was all before 8am.
What is with these people? Do they NOT know it is the Special YOUTH Spring Gobbler day???!!! WHY on earth would anybody go out first thing in the morning, messing up the Youth Hunt????!!!!! I just don't understand some people.................................... : (
Anybody else ever have this happen?
Happens everyday during the regular season so why wouldn't it happen then? If you are a turkey hunter, youth or adult, and you hunt in PA, you had better get used to it. I've been way, way, back in Gamelands in Susquehanna County and had guys jump in between me and a gobbler, three weeks into the season. Very likely to happen on a bird you can hear from the road. Yes, its stupid, but if you think some people care about a kid getting a bird, you are only fooling yourself. Some guys would shoot a bird out from under their own mother.
I guess I just expect too much from the average PA Hunter! You would think people would have enough common sense to stay out of the woods if they are not hunting on the opening day of the Youth Hunt! At least until Noon!
We should be doing everything we can to SUPPORT Youth Hunting initiatives these days! Not going out early on their day and messing them up! : (
Down here, close to the border, I know guys who "practice" pre season calling on PA birds, then hunt in MD. Of course, they really educate and screw up all the local PA birds. Staying out of the woods during youth season isn't going to happen.
Rut, In all honesty, I did not realize it was Youth Day on Saturday since I have no stake in that game. I also have never "practiced" calling birds in ahead of the season. They may have been trying to get a bird going for a kid that was with them. Maybe? Doubtful.
Chris- both guys were alone.
Maybe the PGC needs to publicize the Youth day a little better and ask guys to stay out of the woods until noon that day.
Yup and those guys have no right to be in the woods? Who do they think they are? Don't they know that the other special hunters come first?
I don't suppose any of you guys ever messed up another hunters hunt?
Roy- do you think it's OK to go out first thing in the morning on the opening day of the Youth Hunt stalking Gobblers and messing up countless hunts for these Youths when your season doesn't even open for 7 days???!!!
Maybe they did not know it was youth season? I believe some folks in here go out and scout for turkey before the season opens?
What if a good guy had a gobbler patterned and here comes Rutnut scouting and spooks the gobbler out of the county?
Bet that guy would call you a slob clown then..
Maybe the PGC needs to publicize the Youth day a little better and ask guys to stay out of the woods until noon that day.
Maybe the PGC needs to publicize that in bow season, please use silencers on your muzzleloaders and rifles too...
That sucks Perry. I think it's a combination of people not even knowing and not caring about a youth hunt. If I see a truck in the parking area I hunt, I just move on. We ran into a lady walking her black lab around 9:30-10 am on game lands on the opening of youth season. We had no problem with it as she had every right to be there, but the dog kept barking and growling and wouldn't pass us on the path until we went into the woods a bit. She kept apologizing for not having a leash. We actually located a couple of Toms shortly after on our way back out but could not close the deal. Not sure what happened, we had them coming in nicely and then we heard them alarm putt and they flew up in a tree about 60 yards away. We were in thick cover and no way they could see us. I thought maybe a fox or coyote but not sure.
Maybe I had a longbeard scouted out and some privileged snowflake that gets a "special season" shot it before "my" season opens. Wink wink !!! Rut, you need to mellow out. Kids need to learn the realities. Where does it end? Do I not scout and hang stands in September because some dove hunter is bothered by it?
Roy- I do all my scouting in March. And even then, I don't try to call IN birds. Just do some intermittent calling to get a response. Once I hear a gobbler, I quit calling. Worst thing you can do is educate these birds prior to the season.
Chris- I am talking one day(actually less than that- 6 hrs?) Is it too much to ask that an adult hunter that has probably had many years of Spring Gobbler hunting under his belt, stay out of the woods for 6 hrs(BEFORE his season even opens) and give a kid a chance???!!! And if you think stalking and purposely trying to call in Gobblers on the opening of the Youth Day is the same as quietly walking thru the woods during archery or hanging a stand in Sept then you know nothing about Spring Gobbler Hunting! ;-)
IMO those guys knew exactly what they were doing, messing up a kid's hunt so they could get a chance at the bird the next week. I put up with the same stuff when my boys were young and we went trout fishing. One of the boys would catch one, before I could get it off the hook and bait on again, guys would come over and throw their lines in the hole in front of us. After nearly coming to blows a couple times, I decided the first couple of days of the season weren't worth it, we waited till the slobs went back to the taverns. If you are a sportsman in PA, its what you deal with.
Well, if that was the case John they SHOULD be ashamed of themselves! : (
Guys like that and the ones you describe are probably the same guys you see knock over a little kid or old lady trying to catch a foul ball at a Mets game!
Rut, did you miss my "wink wink"?
Perry when folks that are suppose to be experienced hunters on this site can't understand it is wrong to hunt on top of someone than how do you expect the average yahoo to? There is 44 acres behind my house that is land locked by private land with no access, some d-bag convinced the landowner in Pittsburgh to lease it to him. There was 6 guys hunting it last year that had to cross posted private property to get to it . It is the way people are today, they have no respect for others.
Chris- I didn’t miss that- I was responding to the second part of your post. ;-)
Uncle Buck- good to see you post here! Sorry to hear about your experience. You know, I kind of expect that kind of thing with adult hunters- I guess I just thought that when it comes to youth hunters, that the kids would be held in a little higher regard!
