Well i venture out in bankhead this weekend. I get to my spot and park my truck, get out about 15 mins before light and walk close to hill top about 100 yards from truck. Sure enough about daylight one begins to hammer!! He is about 200 yards from the truck, directly behind my truck. I slip into the woods and get about 100 yards from the turkey and eventually see him on the roost as he is gobbling heavily. Few minutes later i hear a someone over on the main road hoot like an owl then i hear a vehicle speed down the road to where my truck is. Guy parks about 30 yards from my truck and slips right behind me and starts calling. What ever happen to fellow hunters respecting each other. If I see someone parked near a gobbling turkey I let him have his opportunity at that turkey!! As i leave i seen he has a 47(madison county) tag. Personally i think if i lived in Madison county i would be heading to skyline to hunt turkeys!! But then again I wouldn't screw up someones hunt!! Or am I wrong for being respectful??

So he bumped the bird and messed you up?

Some folks don't know the meaning of respect on this public land, I have been threw the same crap. Doesnt make any sense why they do it. If you ever hunt COOSA WMA, expect a lot of the same that happened to you. Just boils down to a bunch of IDIOTS

I want to hear more of this story before I add my 2cents

What else u need to hear buckbrush? U saying you will cut in on a fellow hunter?? It's kind of common sense if you see a truck parked no ones in it and there's a turkey gobbling 200 yards from that truck that they're in pursuit of that turkey! I've hunted this area over 20 years and first time this happened to me! Most the locals there are respectful to each other! After all Bankhead consist of over 180,000 acres so why bust up in someone else's hunt!!

I'm going to a gobbling bird unless I know there is someone there.

Its hard to know that someone is there unless you see them or hear them and that's it.

A truck don't mean chit to me other than another person is somewhere in there.I mean it is a 180,000 acres.

So if it's the only turkey gobbling in that area, 200 yards from a truck, not been daylight long, and if you got common sense telling you "well that guy is problaly after him" you would just bust right up in there??

After the turkey flew off the roost the guy started heading toward it and at this point he finally seen us and he did back out! Thankful for that but just don't understand why he entered in the first place!!

I would, know way to know unless they let you know. That's just public land hunting.

At least they left you working a gobbling bird. That doesn't seem disrespectful at all.

You kill the bird?

Jdawg that was me and nothing was disrespectful about it. I also hunt that area and its a big area. I sat there and listened to that bird gobble a dozen times and didn't hear anybody call back I then walked 300 yards past listening the whole time to him gobble so I sat down about 300 yds away and listen still nothing. So I called until he was about 150 yds away. He was on a figure he would go from one side to the other but wouldn't come any closer. So I move up when he went to the other side so that when he came back he would be in range. That's when I saw you and I turned around, because yal were closer and I figured you would do the same and kill that bird. It was a perfect scenario. I didn't know yal were there you could have been 2 miles down that road. If I would have known you were going to leave after I left I would have stayed and killed him. I wish you wouldn't have left because that bird crossed the logging road right in front of were you parked and was sitting in that select cut about 30mins after you left. Hell I would have been glad to help you kill that bird but I figured y'all had it under control. I don't want any hard feelings, I'm sorry if you feel that I messed you up. And to prove it I have some private land not a mile away that I would like invite you to hunt with me one day your free.

Guess public land hunting has changed more over the years! So I guess I am old school and it's ok to park right beside someone and head that way! Sounds kind of dangerous to me! A relative told me that he had lots guys cut into him lots last year in the same general area!

No this was second day I've hunted this turkey! He shut up once he hit the ground the first day then Saturday he gobbled 4 or 5 times on the ground! Then heard the sounds of a dog! We eased over the hill where we knew the turkey was and there was a dog running around over there barking and acting crazy!!

Wow!! That's weird buckbrush! No hard feelings man! I send u pm

Yes it is....

That's why alot of folks don't hunt public land. That's disrespectful to park at somebody's truck and go into the woods. I wouldn't do it to anyone else.

Sadly, it is. It shouldn't be, though.

Reminds me of an old song "welcome To My World". I promise I take a mental note of vehicles and it will comes back around when the opportunity presents. I love to pull them up the mtn with a gobble here and there and walk off and leave them. I know this one guy that took a dump in a old head net and left in the trail on the way in. He said it was 4 ft over to the side on his way out.

It happened to me and a buddy of mine a few years ago on the Cahaba. That's when we went and found hard to get to places that not many others were hunting. I don't hunt there anymore but he still does. He's killed quite a few turkeys over the last few years off of the places we found back then and said he's yet to encounter another hunter.

I think it is very disrespectful to park beside somebody's truck and go to a gobbling bird in the woods nearby. Odds are they are probably on the bird, even if you do not hear them calling. Most good turkey hunters do not call alot anyways, especially on public land.

Use common sense. Would you want another guy to move in on behind you? I'd be pissed.

Hence the reason why I want it to rain and storm every weekend and in early season and then the last 10 or so days of the season it be good weather. All the wanna-be's give up by then and the wanna-be's don't hunt in foul weather.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is class. Good on you buckbrush.

Agreed

EXACTLY! its why I dont hunt bankhead. I had the same problem up on ridge road. I was TAUGHT that if you see a persons truck you DO NOT go there...they were there first.

The argument of it being 180,000 acres cuts BOTH ways. If you see someones truck I ALWAYS would go to a different spot on that 180,000 acres and assume that a bird gobbling that close to someones truck IS being worked by that hunter.

Last time I was there..I made the mistake of actually working a bird and getting him gobbling....and I called in four different hunters.

Another time I saw people who actually got out at my truck JUST to listen to see if I had one gobbling. I was only less then 75 yards into the woods walking in and this guy just got out and started listening...never called at first...just waited to see if I had one gobbling. Ive never gone back after that.

The LACK of turkey hunting ethics was ridiculous there...and creates an unsafe enviroment.
When people say they listened to see if a person was calling...I mean what the heck? On public land you better call light and soft and try NOT to make him gobble, just let him know where you are, or people DEFINITELY will come in on you. Takes the fun right out of hunting to me.

And I sure dont want to get shot turkey hunting. I know 3 people that have been...one was an outdoor writer and one a 16 year old boy that was almost blinded by taking a load of 4s in the face!

DO ONTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD LIKE DONE TO YOURSELF is what public land hunters need to understand.

No offense to the parties involved but if people followed that simple rule this problem wouldnt happen.