The Dark side of Hunting

[Vaino]

You seem to get involved in all sorts of confrontational incidents w/ people whereas I'm not that "nosey". Sounds as if you're continually on some sort of crusade. When I go hunting I stay away from other hunters and definitely am not a self appointed vigilante out there "policing" the "neighborhood". If more people would mind their own business, life would be a lot less complicated. I know you agree, so I'll wrap up this "going nowhere" discussion. Say...how's the engraving going?...you seem to have a lot of talent for that work...Fred

 

[jethro224]

I have been peppered with birdshot quite a few times and do NOT appreciate it! :cursing:

Have had shotgun slugs and bullets zip by MUCH too close for comfort! :cursing: :cursing: :cursing:

Had a new guy hunting the farm a couple years ago and told him where I would be hunting, gave him a good area and told him to stay there. An hour before last light he came into my area and sat down right where I expected to see deer come thru my shooting lane. He sat for 1/2 hour and left. The next morning he showed up again and I chewed on him a little bit. He said he was 100 yards away from me so he was in a safe place and I shouldn't be shooting that far anyway. I told him there was no way I would shoot with him there because I'd rather not kill him but I could easily put a ball thru his head and if he ever shot in my direction from there I would kick his arse. He left and never came back. Good riddance.

Have had to run off many trespassers. Some multiple times.

Seen deer shot and left to rot several times.

re ATVs, One farm I used to hunt had a bunny-hugger Dr. who owned the property next door. During the deer season he would drive thru his property every 3-4 hours to make sure nobody was trespassing. He was good for running deer out of his off-limits property onto the farm where we were allowed to hunt. He never did figger that out. :haha:

 

[hoochiepapa]

The engraving is going really well, thank you.
It's no use debating with you, according to you, you're always right.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have posted this before, happened to me last season. Not really bad, just unusual.
What a morning!

Got up real early, planning to be in my tree well before daylight. As I start to pull into the field across from the 18th century graves I see a truck parked on the side of the road about 100 yds up the hill. Trespassers! I walk up to confront them. Halfway there a dog barks at me, coon hunters, I am still going to see what's going on.

First I am confronted by a 150lb rottweiler, fortunately he is friendly, a little too much so I discover later on.There is another mixed breed dog as well. When I get to the truck I can see it is in the ditch, not parked, with a very drunk redneck idiot at the helm.

Turns out the driver had caught a wild rabbit which turned out to be blind( I am not making this up) and was holding it on the front seat. Apparently the rabbit got loose, the driver made a dive for it, lost control of his truck and landed in the ditch. His truck was sitting on the oil pan and rear differential, driver side wheels on the road and the passenger side suspended in the air. He asks me to drive him to town to get his brother but I told him I would get him out of the ditch

Well, I keep a snatch strap under my truck seat to pull drunk guys, with blind rabbits for pets, out of ditches.

I back my truck up to his, fish my strap out from under the seat, and get ready to hook it up. At this point the rottweiler decided to consummate our brief friendship and is on my backside making an attempt. I knock him off and try to complete my work, here he comes again. Mr. drunk says"he is just happy to see you". I kinda' figured that out for myself.

Anyway, I get loose from the amorous rottweiler and finish my hook-up. Mr. drunk says he doesn't think I can pull him out, don't guess he has seen an F250 in action. I snatch his truck back up on the road easily.

I get unhooked with out incident, the dog has apparently left to find another victim.

Now the guys truck won't crank but he says he has an extra battery in the bed of his truck. He gets the battery and gives it another try. I was never so happy to hear a truck crank in my life. Of course the dogs had vanished and the guy spent a while yelling for their return. After about 10 minutes of yelling he drove off.

I go back to the field, pick up my flintlock, gear and head to the woods. I still made it up a tree before daylight. I was there, knew every deer within a mile or two had found better places to be, but I thought I would stick it out. My stand was only a couple hundred yards from where the truck was stuck.

About 9:45 the wind shifted toward the fence line and I thought I heard a deer run off below me. At 11:00 I heard a house dog bark on John's land west of me. A little later I heard what I thought was a deer come off the hill and ease through the thicket out of sight.

I got down at 11:30 and was greeted by a white pit bull, a border collie, a fiest and a mixed bred. I slipped away from them without further incident.

What a morning

 

[Vaino]

Interesting reading and your writing style is very accomplished. Having all that occur in one morning's time is equivalent to many, many of my morns, if ever at all. You're evidently also a "nice "person to assist a "drunk" out of his predicament. As for the Rottweiler, he needs either lower protein food or a female Rottweiler....Fred

 

[Skylinewatcher]

Thats just hunting in Alabama for you. We have domestic dog problems. I've had more trouble out of somebody's pooch than humans. BTW, doe urine will burn if you get it in your eyes. I had a boxer and a couple of mutts follow my trail to my ground blind. The boxer stuck his head into my blind and I sprayed his face full of buck bomb doe scent. He hollered all the way back up the trail. :rotf: I stank of doe urine also, but it was worth it.

 

[Dave K]

I had thought about carrying a sidearm myself, but it is illegal in Ohio to do so, while hunting unless it is the gun season you can carry it in. Besides, I know my own temper to well and I don't want to alter my freedom. But, I do carry a cell phone and all the numbers I need are in the cell phone. I am NOT afraid to use it and there are some who now know I am not afraid to use it.

ATV's have upset me, since I am a dirtbiker. I know many don't like dirtbikes either and that doesn't bother me as my friends and I know when it is OK to be in the woods because of the hunting seasons and now when to be in the woods.All of my friends and I are also hunters. Besides, if you are not chasing game, they don't react to the dirtbike anyhow. They will look up and then watch you go by. But, the ATV's also seem to go where ever they want when ever they want and that includes the snowmobiles. They seem to think when the ground is white, it is all theirs to run on. The ATV crowd, loves their front and rear luggage racks. It is perfect to carry a case of beer in a cooler and then throw the empties on the ground and not put their trash back in the cooler. As a dirtbiker, we have lost allot of ground from these slobs, just as hunters have lost ground because of slob hunters.

I am reminded of this true story of a guy I knew well, who was hunting south eastern Ohio on his own ground. He lived though about 3hrs. away, but he and friends had bought this ground to hunt on. He had shot a deer and it didn't drop in sight. So he waited for an hour and then took up the blood trail. He was doing good, keeping on the trail and soon he sees the deer is down and dead up ahead. He gets there and lays his gun down and starts to fill out the license. Just then a guy runs up with a very obnoxious attitude, wants to know why my friend is tagging the deer! My friend says he shot it and he blood trailed it to here and if he wanted to follow the blood trail to where he shot it, he was welcome to it. The other guy said no, "I shot that deer", he said! My friend again started to tell his story when this guy then runs up to the very dead deer and shoots it again. Then he trained his gun on my friend and said, are you calling me a liar! You just saw me shoot that deer! My friend walked out of there and never looked back.

Other than trespassers I have never had a problems like this except during the deer gun season.I am though an avid bowhunter. It gets where I dislike any deer gun season with a passion! All the slobs think that buying a deer tag, gives them the authority to go anywhere and anytime to fill their tag. Most are not really hunters at all, but it is a week to get off work and drink beer with their "friends".

Oh yes about driving off-road. Lets' not forget the other off-road vehicles like Jeeps, Blazers, Broncos, etc. When I hunted for 2 yrs. in Colorado, that is all you saw! Cruising around from before shooting time to well after dark. If you wanted to get into the game, you had best take a hike and get far away from the road. Because of my experience there, I am proud to say, I don't need to ever go back. Way to many sissies driving and drinking looking for elk. At least during the rifle seasons.

 

[Southarkrob]

I dont buy the notion that ATVs ruin hunting...In my area everybody uses ATV's and we kill alot of deer. One of my favorite places to hunt is a 113 acre tract right in the middle of a big deer lease... we run a Honda Big Red UTV right thru the middle of this tract every morning (otherwise my disabled Father couldnt hunt it) You can set on your stand before daylight and hear alot atvs traveling to their stands. We killed 17 deer off this tract last year and I spent all weekend there getting stands ready and it looks like the hunting is going to be better than last year!!!

 

[Robert Egler]

Well, throwing my cell phone at an aggressive fox or pissed off raccoon won't work too well. :haha:

Its that sort of issue why I carry a sidearm, (several incididents over the years) although the possibilty of nasty human encounters is something I am always aware of.

I stay out of the woods during the first week of gun deer season, and never go hunting on Saturdays, so I avoid the vast majority of the one-week-a-year 'hunters'

 

[2ELK]

Everyone's posts make hunting here in California look good. My cousin runs a little camp ground and general store in the Mendicino National Forest. For all you folks east of California, Mendicino is one of the big Pot growing areas. The mexican mafia boys come up and plant thousands of pot plants on public land. They like to wear all black and shoot folks who stumble on their crop. My cousin host many hunters in his campground during the fall. Apparently a couple of kids were deer hunting in the forest when they were shot at by the boys in the black pajamas. My cousin informed my that the kids shot back killing one of them, wounding another, then watched them bury the dead guy. They went and called the Sherrif who came out and found the shallow grave. No black pajama boys around, but they found their camp with many canned products from mexico. According to my cousin, if shot at while hunting, be prepared to shoot to kill and get away. There have been many instances in northern california's pot growing areas, hunters go out and never return or are never found.

 

[Eric Krewson]

My most frustrating hunting experience was encountering the same trespassing hunter on our leased land over and over, year after year. Short of doing him bodily harm I don't think any kind of threat could make him change his ways.

Dumb as a box of rocks, always with a lie in place about being lost, just got there, was not hunting on our land, was walking around our land to get somewhere else and other nonsense he expected me to believe every time I encountered him trespassing.

He reminded me of the perps on the"Cops" who when searched would come up with some ridiculous story about what had been found. "Officer, I lent my backpack to my friend, he must have put that severed head in it, I didn't know it was there" "I thought I smelled a dead mouse in it but didn't look to see". Well, you get the picture of what I was dealing with.

Alabama game wardens are really stretched thin and I couldn't get any assistance in having this guy arrested after several requests.

a few years ago this piece of leased land was bought by the state, clearcut and incorporated into the local management area. Ordinarily I would hate to loose a piece of prime hunting land but in this case I was glad to see it go. I wouldn't have to deal with this same idiot any more.

After they clear cut our former leased land this guy pulled up stakes and started trespassing on a friends land a few miles down the road.

Last time I saw my friend he was pulling his hair out trying to find an effective way of keeping this guy off his land.

Early on, one of my goals in life was to buy my own piece of hunting land. Years of dealing with lowlifes on leases convinced me to abandon my goal. Bottom line, you can't keep these types off your land, at least in Bama where they are considered just some "good old boys out having fun" by the court system.

 

[hoochiepapa]

I agree with you in a sense, but after you have busted you behind hiking for an hour or so to get to your hunting spot, and have some come roaring up behind you, then it ruins someone's hunt. Because you have taken every precaution to be quiet and dope the wind, etc.
But I may be relegated to a 4-wheeler some day, and then the hunters will hate me. :idunno:

 

[Dave K]

It is one thing to need assistance in getting to your hunting spot. But, most use them are just to cruise around and drive anywhere and any time. They are not infirm and needing assistance, they are just running pell mell anywhere they want. Sure,if you are going into hunt on your off roader, you know where you are going,you get there, stop and hunt, period. But, it is the cruisers that wear thin on me. Last year, our neighbors decided to snowmobile on our ground. They make one pass, past my ground blind within 50yds and you think "OK", just go away. Later that day, closer to the end of the hunt that day, here they come again. Of course we had deer working toward us also, and we were in this blind for 8hrs. already, when these snowmobiles make another pass. They didn't know they were ruining my hunt as they were playing in the snow. But, they forgot one very important thing, they were trespassing. I went to their house afterwards and let them know what my next move would be and this is a warning. I did tell them, I don't care if you run on our ground real close to the road, but crisscrossing the whole farm doesn't get it. Then the dummy, who has lived next door for the past 20+ years, said he was unsure whose ground he was on! Well, he knows now! It is just common sense. Some days I don't move as good as I would like, but even though I can on my own ground drive across it, I do not drive the across the farm. Why would I want to spook deer the deer on the farm to run off onto the other areas? I want them to feel comfortable right here for me to hunt them.

 

[Southarkrob]

Erik...In Arkansas you dont have to deal with the game warden on this type of person. You can call the sheriff and let him handle it. I had a similiar instance with a scuzzbag that owned 40 acres next to my farm...he thought he had free run of our place too... it got to the point I thought I was going to have to put a bullet in him in self defense. I called the sheriff and let him deal with him. I dont have to worry bout this guy anymore ...he unfortunately raped his 5 yr old daughter and we wont see him for 30 yrs. In Ark atvs are an integral part of hunting due to the distance you have to travel to get to some areas... If we couldnt use our UTV my dad wouldnt be able to hunt. But this is the reason I dont hunt public land anymore..and gladly pay lease dues. I read some of the things that you guys have to put up with on your public lands and cant believe it. If I had to hunt public land I dont think I would hunt much anymore.

 

[hoochiepapa]

You get used to it, and learn how to deal with the scumbags. In CO, they have to register their 4-wheelers, and it's easy to get the number off the fender and call the sheriff.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Another option to talk to your own attorney about is getting a civil Injunction against these guys. Then any violation( a picture on a cell phone is enough evidence) of the order will result in civil fines( Paid to you) and Contempt of court findings, where they go to jail until the fines are paid. I found many years ago that the civil side of the judicial system often works far more efficiently than does the criminal side, particularly when it involves misdemeanors.

And, if that doesn't work, someone can always get " accidentally shot". :shocked2:

 

[Vaino]

Whether one experiences the "dark or "bright" sides of hunting is oftentimes "in the mind of the beholder". In this crowded, noisy modern age, hoping for an ideal hunt or an idyllic setting can be difficult to find...if it's even at all possible. Three yrs ago while deer hunting in our usual spot, an Air Force jet fighter pilot decided that he wanted to "buzz" the tree tops....the noise was overwhelming and mind shattering during the 4 passes and w/ his welcome departure, the area returned to as much silence as this "modern age" will allow. But what's more important...I and my 2 hunting partners mentally "returned" to our hunt and no mention was even made of the "buzzing" at suppertime, except that it was noted at lunch. A close friend went elk hunting in Montana, hired a guide and camped many miles from the nearest road only to find oil exploration teams drilling and exploding charges and seeing the guide was only licensed for that area, had to endure the noise. It surely was far from even a tolerable situation, but he hunted on the farside of the area and even had a shot at an elk. Of course he would never recommend that guide, but at the time, he didn't allow the "intrusion" to spoil his hunt. One can seek out "wild areas" as I've done a few times, but "modern noises" and "interferences" cannot be "escaped from"...highway noises, too many other hunters, ATV excursions, planes overhead and neighboring gunshots all contribute to a sense that we are still in the "modern age". How we mentally reconcile this fact, determines whether we choose the "bright or "dark" sides of hunting. Wish it was otherwise, but.....Fred

 

[Joe Sullivan]

Skylinewatcher; Thats kinda funny in a sad way :shake: I feel for ya man. Dumb as a box full of rocks. :haha:
Just to through this out there, can't you put up "No Trespassing" signs and call the state police on him? I don't know.

 

[hellerodsyahoo.com]

In Cali. we have POT-GROWERS in our national forest that are very dangerous, never run into any yet,and hope I never do!!

 

[vern faulkner]

Cali. isn't the only state where that activity takes place. It has become a problem in a large portion of the country and is a very serious situation and should be taken as such.

Vern