Turkey hunter cited for shooting fellow hunter

From the Times Argus Staff - Published: November 19, 2009

Turkey hunter cited for shooting fellow hunter


BRADFORD – A hunter accused of shooting and injuring another hunter last month in Bradford has been cited to appear in Vermont District Court in Chelsea to face an aggravated assault charge.

Richard Sylvester, 42, of Topsham told police he thought he was firing at a turkey when he pulled the trigger and shot Ryan Terrill, a 22-year-old Bradford man on Oct 25 at about 8:20 a.m., according to a news release from the Vermont State Police.

Sylvester and Terrill had arrived separately at a cornfield on Sand Hill Road in Bradford on Oct. 25, police said.

Terrill showed up first and set up a hunting chair in the woods near the cornfield, said police.

Sylvester told police he arrived at the field, saw turkeys, parked his vehicle and started stalking the birds, the news release said. He reported hearing a turkey and shooting at what he thought was a turkey within the wood line, and ended up shooting Terrill, police said.

Terrill was transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. where he was treated and later released for his injuries.

Note from
Eric : fortunately these type shootings are rare, but not rare enough! Everyone is preventable. First and foremost you should never fire until you are 100% sure of your target and beyond. Any doubt at all and it is a no shoot. 2) turkey hunters should never stalk - the odds of success are remote, and most of all it can lead to tragities like this one. Stats show that if there is a hunter shot, 50% of the time it is the person being stalked and 50% of the time it is the stalked who is shot. 3) Lastly hunt defesively . If you see someone coming into your are speak up and tell them you are there, don't wave, stand up or make animal sounds. If your are using a ground blind, put some orange on it - without movement it will not scare turkeys but it should alert other hunters.
During the rifle season for the sake of your family and the future of hunting wear orange! It works

101 Ways to Scare a Turkey

Several years ago I started on a project to determine the top 101 ways to scare a turkey. To the unsophisticated hunter this research may be mistaken for regular turkey hunting, but they simply don’t understand the scientific method and the role of experimentation in testing the hypothesis.
Take yesterday morning. I woke up at 0 dark thirty and headed into the wet woods by my house. I set up under a big maple and stroked out a soft tree call. So far this call has not scared any turkey that I am aware of, but hope springs eternal. As I gazed into the falling rain it occurred to me that it would be a bit dryer under the softwoods about 50 yards away. So I gathered up my stuff and slipped into the hemlocks. Finding a nice big one with a reasonable view I sat down and hit my tree call on my slate again. Immediately there was a rush of wings and a thud behind me. I turned in time to see a hen scooting off like she had a coyote on her tail.
I’m racking this up as an assist for walking under a roost tree and a full point for scaring a turkey with a tree call. So in three years I’m up to a confirmed 39 ways to scare a turkey. Only 62 to go… and who knows, maybe I’ll even kill one before I reach my goal. Now that would be a neat way to scare a turkey!

Turkey Hunting Safety Tips from VT F&W

WATERBURY, VT For many Vermont hunters, May first is almost as important as the opening of firearms deer season, and while turkey hunting-related shootings are rare, extra precautions are needed.

Wild turkeys are not the dummies popular myth makes them out to be. Their keen eyes can easily detect movement and out-of-place colors, making camouflage or drab colored clothing almost mandatory, at least when you are set-up. Unfortunately, camouflage has the same affect on other hunters as it has on the turkeys. Consequently, hunter safety experts warn that you never hunt turkeys by attempting to stalk them.

“Stalking is the common denominator in twenty-one out of the twenty-four turkey hunting-related shootings we have had in Vermont,” said Vermont Hunter Education Coordinator Chris Saunders. “Sometimes it’s the stalker who is mistaken for game. Sometimes it’s the other hunter.”

With the opening of spring turkey hunting season near, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department urges hunter to review the following safety tips:

Ø Never try to stalk a gobbling turkey. Your chances of getting close are poor, and you may be sneaking up on another hunter

Ø Stick with hen calls. A gobbler call is intended for special situations and might attract other hunters.

Ø Don’t be patriotic. Avoid red, white or blue. A tom turkey’s head has similar colors.

Ø Avoid unnecessary movement. This could alert turkeys and attract hunters.

Ø Don’t hide so well that you impair your field of vision.

Ø Wear hunter orange to and from your hunting location, and wrap your turkey in some hunter orange cloth for the hike back to the car.

Ø Always sit with your back against a tree trunk, big log or a boulder that is wider than your body. This protects you from being accidentally struck by pellets fired from behind you.

Ø If you use a decoy, place it on the far side of a tree trunk or a rock so you can see the birds approaching from all directions, but cannot actually see the decoy. This prevents you from being directly in the line of fire should another hunter mistakenly shoot at your decoy.

Ø Never shoot unless you’re absolutely sure of your target. Since only turkeys with beards are legal during the spring season, lack of positive identification could result in shooting an illegal bird, or worse, another hunter.

Ø Consider wearing hunter orange while moving from set-up to set-up. Take it off when you are in position.

Remember, only turkeys stalk turkeys! Keep hunting safe in Vermont and make it even safer.