So, my boy and I get up early Saturday morning to go and see what the conditions are like for the "Shed Hunting Opener" (actually just the opening of the WMA's here in Utah, but might as well be titled as such), hoping for a chance to get some exercise and maybe find a bone or two.
We get to the WMA in question and the conditions are down right nasty with about 3 inches of snow and about 20 trucks in the parking lot (mind you this was before it was even light yet). The actual gate is closed (which may have been the DWR's way of saying maybe it isn't such a good idea chasing the animals around after a good snowstorm) but that didn't stop any of them. I guess that's another story though.
Anyway, we decide it's not such a good idea so we make our wildlife watching tour to see how the animals are doing.
We end up in an area that holds quite a few turkeys and see a bunch about 50 yards off the road with probably 20 hens and about 4 big toms all struttin' and showin' off for the ladies.
We stop to watch them and I realize that Turkey had opened that day. We start looking around a little harder and I see a truck parked off the road across from the field all by it's lonesome.
I tell my boy "I bet there is someone out in the field set up on those birds", so we decide to go up the road a ways and stay out of the way.
As we are sitting there trying to find the hunters and hoping we may get to see someone's success a truck pulls up at the other end of the field and 3 people get out, cross the fence and head out into the field right towards the birds.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Long story short, the guy takes a knee at about 80 yards and pops off a shot. Of course he misses and all of the birds come running right at us and fly over us to the other side of the road and over the mountain.
Just about this time I look out into the field to see 2 guys stand up from behind a wood pile and pick up their decoys and head for their truck.
Now there were some words exchanged but it didn't appear to get ugly and I am sure the guy that busted the hunt truly didn't know the guys were in the field, but I still would've been pissed!
If these guys would have reviewed the situation like I had they should've been able to come to the same conclusion. It seemed to be pretty clear that there was a strong possibility of other hunters in the field, or maybe they just didn't care!
In the end, my boy and I had front row to some exciting action but it got me thinking about how many times people inadvertantly screw someone else's hunt up.
How many of you guys have a story where someone screwed up your hunt, unintentionally, but it could have been avoided if they would have been thinking just a little (or had a little not so common "Common Sense")?
We get to the WMA in question and the conditions are down right nasty with about 3 inches of snow and about 20 trucks in the parking lot (mind you this was before it was even light yet). The actual gate is closed (which may have been the DWR's way of saying maybe it isn't such a good idea chasing the animals around after a good snowstorm) but that didn't stop any of them. I guess that's another story though.
Anyway, we decide it's not such a good idea so we make our wildlife watching tour to see how the animals are doing.
We end up in an area that holds quite a few turkeys and see a bunch about 50 yards off the road with probably 20 hens and about 4 big toms all struttin' and showin' off for the ladies.
We stop to watch them and I realize that Turkey had opened that day. We start looking around a little harder and I see a truck parked off the road across from the field all by it's lonesome.
I tell my boy "I bet there is someone out in the field set up on those birds", so we decide to go up the road a ways and stay out of the way.
As we are sitting there trying to find the hunters and hoping we may get to see someone's success a truck pulls up at the other end of the field and 3 people get out, cross the fence and head out into the field right towards the birds.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Long story short, the guy takes a knee at about 80 yards and pops off a shot. Of course he misses and all of the birds come running right at us and fly over us to the other side of the road and over the mountain.
Just about this time I look out into the field to see 2 guys stand up from behind a wood pile and pick up their decoys and head for their truck.
Now there were some words exchanged but it didn't appear to get ugly and I am sure the guy that busted the hunt truly didn't know the guys were in the field, but I still would've been pissed!
If these guys would have reviewed the situation like I had they should've been able to come to the same conclusion. It seemed to be pretty clear that there was a strong possibility of other hunters in the field, or maybe they just didn't care!
In the end, my boy and I had front row to some exciting action but it got me thinking about how many times people inadvertantly screw someone else's hunt up.
How many of you guys have a story where someone screwed up your hunt, unintentionally, but it could have been avoided if they would have been thinking just a little (or had a little not so common "Common Sense")?
