2008 Turkey Hunting Incident Reports Carry Lessons About This Year's Safety
Thursday, April 16, 2009

...At 11:47 a.m. April 25, 2008, a 61-year-old hunter saw a turkey walking through the woods. He released the safety on his shotgun and stood up for a better shot. He stumbled on his shoelaces, and his shotgun discharged as he fell, striking his left wrist.

...At 8 a.m. April 21, 2008, a 21-year-old hunter heard a turkey yelping to his right and waited for the turkey to move closer. About 30 minutes later he heard something walking in the brush in the same direction as the yelps. When he saw something move in the brush and saw something red he fired, assuming it was a male turkey. He struck a woman who was hunting with her husband on the same public area.

...At 8:05 a.m. May 6, 2008, two hunting partners split up. One shot a turkey and returned to their vehicle and moved it closer to where the other man was hunting. Later he heard his friend calling and walked toward the caller, answering with simulated turkey gobbles. When the caller heard the sound of a gobbler and saw movement and a flash of white in the same direction, he fired, striking his friend in the left side of his head, neck and body.