Oct 23, 2005 3 min read

Every fall, some turkey hunter somewhere in Pennsylvania makes a poor shooting decision or mishandles his or her sporting arm. Often, that lapse in judgment or firearm fumble, turns out to be harmless, an event that reminds a hunter of his or her responsibility to be careful. But they all never seem to end that way. In the 2004 fall turkey seasons, five hunters were shot in such incidents, one with a rifle. “Pennsylvania is yet to have a fall turkey season without these unfortunate incidents occurring, both with and without someone being shot,” noted Carl Graybill, Game Commission Bureau of Information and Education director. “That’s why the Pennsylvania Game Commission annually reminds hunters of the need to hunt safely. We understand that most hunters figure it won’t happen to them. But it can, and unfortunately, it does.

“Hunters have an obligation to be safe. It’s a responsibility they have to other hunters, themselves, and their families. All wild turkey hunters need to be reminded annually that nothing that happens afield is more important than being a safe hunter. Taking risks has no place in hunting. We encourage all hunters to make responsible shooting decisions, to hunt defensively, and to positively identify their quarry as a legal wild turkey before shooting.”

Last fall, five people were injured by sporting arm discharges during the wild turkey season. Four of the five were mistaken-for-game incidents. One was a victim-in-the-line-of-fire incident. That total compares with two incidents in 2003; 15 in 2002. The drop in incidents in 2003 and 2004 is believed to have been spurred by decreased hunter participation, which currently cannot be tabulated because budget constraints have forced the Game Commission to cancel the recent Game-Take Survey, which provides hunter and trapper participation numbers, as well as small game, wild turkey and furbearer harvest estimates.

“Mistaken-for-game incidents continue to dominate the shooting incidents that annually occur in the Commonwealth,” Graybill said. “In two cases, the victim was wearing some fluorescent orange clothing, which reinforces how serious this misidentification problem is. It’s hard to understand how any person can be mistaken for a wild turkey, let alone someone wearing fluorescent orange, an internationally recognized color for caution. Hunters absolutely must do better.”

Turkey hunters should always hunt defensively, assuming every movement or sound they hear is another hunter until they can be absolutely certain that it isn’t. If you see another hunter approaching your calling location, don’t move or wave to get their attention, yell, “STOP!” to verbally identify your presence. Protect your back by sitting at the base of a large tree or rock. Make sure you positively identify your target as a turkey before you disengage the safety of your sporting arm. Don’t shoot at movement or sounds you think might be a turkey. Don’t stalk turkey sounds. Let the turkeys come to you and watch their approach carefully. In addition, consider wearing fluorescent orange clothing while afield at all times.