# moral dilema



## Mr. Marley (Oct 28, 2005)

So i decide to scout my spot this morning. Walking down the 2 track, and here comes light, coming straight at me. Just as i am getting to my spot, the car pulls in and parks in the middle of the small field i hunt. I have never ran into a hunter there ever before. I walk up to the car and say hello. As we are chatting, 3 toms are gobbling away in the roost 150 yards away. I advised the guy i had been hunting that spot for years now, and was planning on hunting it on mon morning. He said he and his friend have been hunting there for years also, and that i shot a turkey out from under him last year. This is not what i want to see a few days before the season opens. I wished him. A good day and left. I went to my second spot and find a lone red head walking to where i would set up. Turkey had a red head, but could not see any beard, and it was not that far away. So what do i do, go to my normal spot really really early and have these guys set up between me and the bird, or go chase a possible non shooter tom in hopes there is a bigger one in the area?
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## turkey track (Sep 18, 2008)

I would move to the 2nd spot. You will be able to concentrate more on hunting if you aren't worried about what the other guy is doing. You'll worry so much on what he is doing, you won't enjoy your hunt as much as you should. Maybe you can go back to the first spot later in the morning after most other hunters typically leave. Good luck either way.


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## PLUMBDOG (Jun 29, 2009)

mr marley i would go to your second spot for the morin hunt . and hunt your first spot late morin early afternoon 


plumbdog


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## Mr. Marley (Oct 28, 2005)

Has anyone ever saw a red headed tom? I think it is a small jake. How long does the beard need to be to shot him?
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## Mr. Marley (Oct 28, 2005)

Mr. Marley said:


> Has anyone ever saw a red headed tom? I think it is a small jake. How long does the beard need to be to shot him?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I ment red headed hen.
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## Mr. Marley (Oct 28, 2005)

PLUMBDOG said:


> mr marley i would go to your second spot for the morin hunt . and hunt your first spot late morin early afternoon
> 
> 
> plumbdog


Plumdog, you hunt in the same general area i do, was that you this morning i spoke to?
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## dsconnell (Aug 29, 2007)

I would prob go to your second spot as someone else mentioned and hunt it early AM and then hit your other spot around 10 or 11..


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## PLUMBDOG (Jun 29, 2009)

mr marley no we have'nt spoke . i'll be heading up sat morin and try to roost some birds sat evening and sun morin .

plumbdog


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## Mr. Marley (Oct 28, 2005)

Thanks for the response plumbdog. Good luck
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## Mr. Marley (Oct 28, 2005)

So i have been considering what everyone has been saying about going to my second spot. My concern is if i leave my main spot to these other 2 hunters, i may lose it for ever. These guy obviously know i hunt it, since i shot the bird last year. I still dont know what to do. This is a great spot, and i would hate to give it up, because im the ethical/nice hunter.
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## Super Yooper (Nov 11, 2009)

Is this land public or private?

Were these guys standoff-ish at all when you talked to them?


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## syonker (May 7, 2004)

I'm assuming you are hunting public land right?

In the 2 other states that I have hunted if you went to a spot on public land & saw a vehicle parked there before you arrived, the hunter courtesy was to move on & not crowd that hunter. On these hunts it's common to get to the area at 4AM to "claim" a spot.

In your situation I would like to think that whoever arrived last to the area would extend this hunting courtesy.

It's always good to have a Plan B, so don't hesitate to use it.


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## Mr. Marley (Oct 28, 2005)

This is public land. No the one i talked to was fairly friendly. If someone beats me to a spot, i always move on out of respect. I think i may just set up on the other side of the roost and see who gets lucky. If we are on oppisite sidesan and can not hear each others call, i would think that would be fair. I just hate the thought of having to leave these 3 birds.
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## Super Yooper (Nov 11, 2009)

Only having an A and B for turkey spots puts you in a bad situation. If it was me I think you have two options. You either go to the public spot early and hope they move on when they see your vehicle even though they didn't last year. If you go there and they do hunt the parcel they might screw up your hunt or you might screw up theirs. The other option that you have is head to your plan B spot and try that and then move to your plan A spot later in the morning like others have stated.


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## Feather Mucker (Nov 9, 2007)

Mr. Marley,

I would say set up on your A-spot. Maybe a bit earlier than usual and maybe on the other side of the roost as you suggested. Your hunt may get busted, but as the guy said himself, you shot a bird out from under him last year, so maybe you have the edge on calling and setup. Worst case, you bail out and move to plan B. 

FM


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

Feather Mucker said:


> maybe on the other side of the roost as you suggested


Sounds good. Setup in the opposite direction of the roost as you assume he'll setup and don't call. Hope he calls and any hen's take any tom in your direction.


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## Henrik for President (Sep 21, 2009)

Get a hunting buddy and park two cars in the lot quite early. Maybe it's dirty boxing, but my dad, two brother's and I would drive four cars to our good locales during peak rut this year and hunted in pairs. It worked nice on the heavily hunted public land down here...


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## Big Reds (Oct 14, 2007)

The read head is probably a jake. In Mi, any bearded turkey is legal. If it were me, I would park where the guy is SURE to see your vehicle and get there earlier than him. IF he is an ethical hunter, he will bow out.
This happens on state land a lot unfortunately.


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## jml2 (Dec 10, 2004)

I have seen hens with red heads. If it were me I would find a spot that I didn't have to compete with other hunters. Shuold be plenty of other spots with birds on them. I like to have severals spots to hunt.
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## Mr. Marley (Oct 28, 2005)

Well, i figure i would let you know how it all played out. Sunday night i went out and put the 3 birds to bed, so i know where they basically are. I noticed no one scouting the area. I noticed that i could slid right between these 2 hunters and sit near the roost. So the plan was to get there early and park my car in a very open area, in hopes to fend anyone off. I got in the woods at 5am and set up. Started to get light, so i let out some soft calls, and they gobbled back. Long story short, a single tom and hen came in and only the hen left. No one esle ever showed up, i freaked out for no reason. Dont know why they scouted and never hunted. Worked out for me, i got a tom with an 8 ich beard.
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