Decoys and possible trouble

[stabow]

Walking down a logging road in an area that you seen birds quit often you see a bird on a hillside about 60 yards you get next to a tree and see if you can tell if it's a tom or hen if tom you call softly and try and move it in your direction. As I'm looking through my scope I see movement what is it, is their another bird I'm lock on the movement trying to figure out watts moving. It was a hunter; he stood up and was waving his arms to get my attention.  If using decoys on public land please be careful. This could have ended badly.........stabow

[JPH]

ORIGINAL: stabow

As I'm looking through my scope I see movement what is it, is their another bird I'm lock on the movement trying to figure out watts moving. It was a hunter; he stood up and was waving his arms to get my attention. 

Stabow, your concern re. decoy safety is legitimate. I've been startled by MY OWN decoys before.

But I am going to criticize you for a moment. Never, never use your scope to investigate something! You can buy a pair of ceap, compact binocs at Wal-mart for around $20. Use those for looking at far away things. If you cannot clearly identify something as a legitimate target with the naked eye, you have no buisness aiming at it.

Yes, that could have ended badly, and from what you have posted here, at no fault of the other hunter. Thank God that it did not and I hope you learned from it.
 
Sorry if that comes off as harsh, but a lot of young and inexperienced hunters use this site. I want them to learn from this thread.

[grunt_doc]

After reading around this and other forums, I've pretty much abandoned the idea of using a jake deke on public land.  Should I consider doing the same with the hen?  I doubt that I'll see any other hunters, but if the risk is to high, then forget it!  Is there anything different about not using a decoy? (except for the no decoy issue[;)])
 
Doc

[stabow]

JPH you are correct one should never use the scope to try to identify something.
And one should never jump up and wave their arms when a gun is pointed in their direction.
 
"Sorry if that comes off as harsh, but a lot of young and inexperienced hunters use this site. I want them to learn from this thread."
 
JPH not near as harsh as I was with my self........stabow

[JPH]

Fair enough stabow. When presented with that situation, one should remain still and call out loudly in a human voice.
 
I admire your honsety and willingness to help us all learn from your experience. 

[Dank]

You couldnt be anymore correct on this JPH, You should never use your scope to identify your target. And I dont see how anyone could be out in the woods without binoculars. I consider them as one of my neccesities whether deer hunting or turkey hunting. My personal advice to anyone is if you dont have a pair get some, they are extremely helpful.

[Sooner44]

I very seldom carry bino's in the woods, at times I do, other times not. BUT ! I certainly don't use my scope to identify targets. When game is that far away, I usually try to move in, or set up. Working bino's adds movement, and presents you with one more piece of gear to stow prior to getting into hunting position. I carry bino's 100% of the time when scouting though. Agreed Bino's are nice to have, but not necessary to follow general hunter safety rules.

[Fan Club]

Agreed, Bino's are nice to have, but not necessary to follow general hunter safety rules.

 
Not necessary, but the reasons to carry optics while hunting far outweight the reasons not to, and they do promote safety.
 
Say you spot some birds 600 yards away. With binoculars you can verify if there is a gobbler in the group before you spend the next 45 minutes to an hour moving in on and trying to set up on hens or jakes. On public land this is huge as you could encounter two or three other hunters in a 600 yard move, not to mention all of the unseen birds you'll bump. If the turkeys are far enough away (at any distance) that binocs are needed to identify them, your arm movement is not going to be an issue. If you are concerned about unecessary arm movement giving you away, what do you think getting up and moving will do?
 
A good pair of 8 X 36s only weigh about 20 ounces, 10 x 25s even less, so extra weight is not even worth discussing. As far as cost, what is your safety worth?
 
I hunt a 450 acre lease in Missouri. From a handful of select locations, I can cover about 90% of the open area on that farm with binoculars. It keeps my movement to a minimum and helps me keep tabs on the other three hunters I share the lease with. In short, binoculars allow me to be a more efficient, safer hunter.
 
Let's face it, the most dangerous aspect of hunting public land is moving around. Optics can help keep your movement to a minimum and help you to spot other hunters before you wander into their setups. It's a mystery to me why anyone would always take binoculars scouting but not take them hunting. None of these misguided reasonings stand up. It's still your personal choice, but I hope you give these thoughts some serious consideration.
 
Jeff

[RutnNStrutn]

Binos have an absolute use in turkey, and other kinds of hunting!!  Not only for spotting, stalking, and judging game, but also for hunter safety.  I use my binos all the time!! 
I used to not use them as much years ago, because they were kind of a pain.  But, now I use the Crooked Horn Outfitters Bino System.  I love it, and now use my binos all the time.  And, you can get them at Wallyworld for $20.

http://www.crookedhorn.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=9

As for dekes on public land, they too have an absolute use.  You just have to be careful when and where you use them.  Jake or hen, it doesn't matter.  Years ago, I had 2 idiots one time "stalk" up to my dekes, raise their guns and were getting ready to shoot my hen dekes.  I whistled at them when they stalked up.  They looked around, then continued.  So finally I had to yell at them, "Don't shoot my decoys you @#$%&*+!!!" [:@] 
Nowadays, when I hunt public land, I go the extra mile to leave idiots like that behind.  I've also become pretty successful, killing my 2 Osceolas every year on public land, so it's a win-win.

[Dank]

 In short, binoculars allow me to be a more efficient, safer hunter.

[/quote]
 
Couldn't have said it better myself.