Head shot turkey hunting - me not the turkey!

[2MANY]

Wishing you happier hunts moving forward.
This sucks.

[rosscrazyelk]

That sucks.  Glad you are alive... I was shot  once quail  hunting, it hurts..

[tonymiller7]

I blame the property owners.  If this guy thought he was the only hunter on this property than why not pursue a moving turkey?  He had no idea you were there.  Sounds like there was a sufficient background of trees behind the turkey unfortunately you were sitting at the base of one, but with the camo these days it would have been nearly impossible for him to see you.  Shouting, or shooting, or moving all could have helped this scenario.  Again this is really unfortunate and you are very lucky, but I can't really fault the other guy.  If he knew that you were going to be hunting there as well, I retract 100%.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Turkey hunting is very dangerous ..you never know who is sneaking up on you . Doesn't matter if its private or not . Trespasser can be anywhere ..Happened to me this year with my wife . I have one the premierest  places to hunt over there . And no one was to be there . I hear a bird gobbling its head off at daylight . I soft yelp 2 times he gobbles on the roost and all the sudden ....POOOOOW POOW...Some snuck in the back door and blew him off the limb ...Sounds like they never knew you were there So I guess that's as accidental as it gets . I have been thinking about call WDFW and giving them my 2 cents on this issue . One way to let other hunters know you are there is to carry a piece of orange ribbon and place it around the tree your sitting by and above your head . pretty scary anymore with all the hunters out there ...think I was In PA or something !

[Yelper Guy]

We tried to keep the landowner uninvolved. They have been allowing us to hunt their land for several years, and don't want to end that relationship. I agree that letting us know another hunter was there would have helped. The wardens did speak with the landowner and his son during the investigation, and I apologized to the landowner that they were even involved.
I don't know how they feel about giving permission to hunt in the future. Time will tell.

[Rainier10]

Unfortunately you might be looking for another spot.  My guess is they may now being weighing the benefit versus risk of allowing hunting.  It is going to at the very least take more work on their part to manage who is on the land and make everyone aware for safety reasons.  Unfortunately it is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

I have insurance on my vacation property and an umbrella policy also to cover me for anything extra.

[Jarhead Chase]

Had something similar happen on public land this year. I parked a little ways off the road in an area not too far from Colville.  There were no other trucks or cars around, and as soon as first light came around I was set up and had a group working in. Someone must have spotted them coming from the road, working in, got between me and the turkeys, and blasted the tom from about 30 yards away from me. This could have been really bad because he positioned himself directly between the birds and myself. We were lucky nobody got shot. Cheers to being lead free for you btw.

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[Yelper Guy]

I have no intention of holding the landowner liable. I do however intend to get all my medical bills paid for by the shooter. They are adding up quickly. Tetanus shot at a minor emergency with an x-ray. 2 pellets removed in the ER and a CT scan. Outpatient surgery to remove the last piece of shot in my cheek, and lost time from work.

[Rainier10]

I hear ya, it wasn't the landowners fault, he just granted permission and maybe didn't communicate with the two of you well enough to make sure everyone was as aware and as safe as they could be.  Both parties felt comfortable being the only ones on the property not knowing there were multiple hunters allowed on.

Good on you for not going to the landowners insurance for help, however there are those that would sue the landowner or whoever they could to cover the costs.

Just hypothetical, if it were someone else who was shot and injured worse than you were or even killed and the person doing the shooting wasn't able to cover the medical bills the victim or victim's family would be looking for someone to cover the cost and compensate them for the loss.  Next person in line after the shooter is the landowner.

Just saying that is the way of the world.

I assume the shooter in this situation has been good to deal with.  Do you know if he is going to get a ticket or loose his hunting privileges at all?

[Yelper Guy]

The shooter has been pretty cool about the whole situation, all-in all a nice guy. The investigation is still underway & I haven't heard anything about how this will work for him or me.
It was an accident and I'm not sure how F&G will handle this.

[ryan8888]

Ouch

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[Rainier10]

The shooter has been pretty cool about the whole situation, all-in all a nice guy. The investigation is still underway & I haven't heard anything about how this will work for him or me.
It was an accident and I'm not sure how F&G will handle this.

I will be interested to see how it plays out and share that with the hunter ed students as well.  I go back and forth on this.  I keep siding on the "this was an accident that could have been prevented but don't think anyone should get a ticket or lose hunting privileges."

I will wait until it is all settled to ask your opinion, probably via PM.