Shooting at Reelfoot

[dcopas78]

Not duck hunting but when I was 14 or so dad and I were hunting public land turkey and had someone pull a prick move on us. We were working a bird down off of a ridge and had him about 70 yards uphill from us when a guy came in a couple hundred yards above us and tried to call him back up to the ridge top. A few minutess later, the gobbler came down to us, and I took him at 18 yards...shooting downhill away from the other hunter who we didn't even realize was a hunter at that time. We tagged the bird, dropped down across the holler and started up the other hill. The other hunter then came in to sight across the holler, probably a few hundred yards away, leveled his shotgun in our direction and emptied it. Luckily, we were far enough away and there was enough brush in the road to knock most of the shot down before it got to us, but we still had lots hit close to us. He turned uphill and left like nothing happened. I'm just glad we weren't closer.

 

[Zootownelk]

WTF is the matter with people. Good grief.

 

[Elmacho]

With all the mountain lions, wolves, bears, javelina and sasquatch running around, I now carry a couple slugs in my vest straps to protect my dogs....

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

I've only run into two waterfowl hunters that were ever friendly on public land. The sad part is I have never waterfowl hunted. I just see them from time to time while in my treestand or on my way to the stand and man do they get bent out of shape. Once I was hunting an edge of a flood channel in my stand it was about 30 minutes into daylight. Guy comes up flood channel to hunt ducks and comes unglued on me. "You blanking dumbass whitetail hunters always blanking up my shit. You better stay in that stand 24/7 cause next time you come to sit there it will be gone". I just ignored him and never said a word. Got down at lunch and took my stand with me. Lol

All that, this story, and the horror stories my waterfowl friends tell me makes never want to take up waterfowl hunting.

Also how the heck am I messing up a guys waterfowl hunt sitting still in a treestand. I could limit out on ducks in most my river bottom stands almost every time I sit in them. So I still don't understand that encounter. no offense waterfowl hunters but ur cooky! Haha

 

[F250]

Fishing can be just as bad. I once had to investigate this : Two guys (both with long, violent, criminal histories) arguing over setting tip-ups too close to each other during an ice fishing Derby. Shouting escalated to fighting, then escalated to a running gun battle with both morons shooting at each other from moving trucks all over a frozen bay crowded with dozens of derby participants. Multiple bullet holes in both trucks !!

 

[OntarioHunter]

Fishing can be just as bad. I once had to investigate this : Two guys (both with long, violent, criminal histories) arguing over setting tip-ups too close to each other during an ice fishing Derby. Shouting escalated to fighting, then escalated to a running gun battle with both morons shooting at each other from moving trucks all over a frozen bay crowded with dozens of derby participants. Multiple bullet holes in both trucks !!

Boy, those derbies attract the dregs of humanity, that's for sure! Anytime there's an appearance of getting something for nothing lowlifes flood from the woodwork. Casinos are full of them. Same trash try to shoplift junk at garage sales. Or storm the Capitol to hang the Vice President. I vividly remember the salmon derbies at Port Angeles when I worked there as a ranger in the 80s and lived on my cruiser. People deliberately cutting off someone else's hookup with their downriggers. That happened every half hour at least. And yes, folks shooting at each other. I caught all the drama on the marine radio and CB. I never bought a ticket. Instead I ran out to the border and fished shallow for cohos. The unruly mob was in close to the hook fishing deep for a few late running kings. The last time I fished derby day I somehow hooked into a twenty pound king. Called it in to another guy who was fishing out there and next thing I know my boat is stuck in a traffic jam with guys waving wads of cash! "Let's see it!" Look in the water. I released it. Cohos can up better. "You mean I drove all the way out here for nothing? You f'ing c&$#%er!" Ordinarily my .357 Highway Patrolman slept under the pickup seat but on derby days it was in the boat!

 

[jrabq]

Very sad deal. I don’t know why, but waterfowl hunting has produced the most heated confrontations I’ve ever witnessed or heard of with regards to hunting. I absolutely don’t get it.

I have also witnessed it, and to some extent participated in it, even though I was trying hard to avoid it. I basically quit hunting the State Refuges about 25 years ago because of the yahoo and A-hole factor, but I was fortunate to have options. Besides duck hunting, my experiences hunting whitetail deer on public land has also produced a couple of incidents. Never had a problem elk hunting, but you hear of confrontations at water holes. The common features of the conflicts is having people concentrated in small areas.

 

[Nick87]

I have also witnessed it, and to some extent participated in it, even though I was trying hard to avoid it. I basically quit hunting the State Refuges about 25 years ago because of the yahoo and A-hole factor, but I was fortunate to have options. Besides duck hunting, my experiences hunting whitetail deer on public land has also produced a couple of incidents. Never had a problem elk hunting, but you hear of confrontations at water holes. The common features of the conflicts is having people concentrated in small areas.

This

 

[jrabq]

Deer can make people crazy. Ducks can turn people into a-holes.

Yep, unfortunately true. When I took an adult-onset hunter duck hunting I told him Rule #1:
"Until proven otherwise, always assume the other guy is an A-hole"

 

[ScatterGun]

We hunt ducks there every year and there are more boat accidents than anything else. Rednecks always want to talk smack and threaten each other. 99% talk except for this one.
What is a duck in the bag worth....$10 worth of meat maybe? Nothing worth shooting somebody. Biggest issue is ducks not flying like they used to. A good blind and guides probably take 1000 ducks 5 yrs ago. This year 350 would be good.

 

[Gellar]

Fishing can be just as bad. I once had to investigate this : Two guys (both with long, violent, criminal histories) arguing over setting tip-ups too close to each other during an ice fishing Derby. Shouting escalated to fighting, then escalated to a running gun battle with both morons shooting at each other from moving trucks all over a frozen bay crowded with dozens of derby participants. Multiple bullet holes in both trucks !!

It sounds like Darwin didn’t seize an opportunity in this situation.

 

[EKYHunter]

Man I love to hunt and fish but I will do everything in my power to avoid others, even if it means going to spot I don’t want or think is not as good. I will in no way set up any type conflict or potential adversarial situation over a turkey, elk, fish, etc. Just not worth it. Killing an animal or catching a fish isn’t the end all beat all. I hope they catch this guy and deal with him like he deserves.

 

[LandPro]

New details emerge in Reelfoot Lake double homicide investigation - WBBJ TV

OBION COUNTY, Tenn. — New details have emerged in an investigation into the shooting deaths of two hunters on Reelfoot Lake earlier this week. “One of the first things we look for is a motive. Here, we don’t have a motive. We don’t see a motive,” District Attorney Tommy Thomas said. Three men...

www.wbbjtv.com

Here's one side of the story.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Over a duck?

You have to be kidding me.

Only time I’ve ever had someone point a gun at me (maliciously) was in Bozeman over ducks.

 

[bradr]

Go out and hunt Santee Nebraska on the Missouri enough times and you'll see this very thing. Loved hunting out there, but this is the main reason I stopped going. However, they did eliminate the permanent blinds so hopefully problems have lessened. But yeah, I've seen this type of thing (my spot! Get the hell out!) in hunting, fishing, trapping. Ridiculous, greed, stupidity. There's enough people against us outdoorsman in this world, we don't need to be against one another.

 

[jrabq]

New details emerge in Reelfoot Lake double homicide investigation - WBBJ TV

OBION COUNTY, Tenn. — New details have emerged in an investigation into the shooting deaths of two hunters on Reelfoot Lake earlier this week. “One of the first things we look for is a motive. Here, we don’t have a motive. We don’t see a motive,” District Attorney Tommy Thomas said. Three men...

www.wbbjtv.com

Here's one side of the story.

What a tragedy. And so weird, the story from the survivor just doesn't pass the smell test for me, but I guess anything is possible.

 

[Treeshark]

I agree, something does seem strange for sure.

 

[CPAjeff]

Crazy world we live in - condolences to those who lost loved ones over such a moronic deal.

 

[thomas89]

The pessimist in me agrees, somethings a bit off with this sequence of events.

I have a bit of knowledge of dementia and the symptoms, I don’t know that the story as relayed sounds like a dementia outburst from what I’ve heard of them in the past.

End of the day, these families are going to be tore up about this for generations to come.

 

[LuketheDog]

Only time I’ve ever had someone point a gun at me (maliciously) was in Bozeman over ducks.

Probably a CA transplant...