hunting question

[Boyd]

Such a beautiful day today! Walked around 4 miles in Belleplain state park, which was really nice - I had the whole place to myself. While I was there I saw a number of hunters just outside the main part of the park. I've seen this same sort of thing before in Wharton and Lebanon and always wondered about it so I thought I'd ask here.

There were a lot of hunters, probably 20 or more. They were evenly spaced, every 100' maybe, going down the road and around the corner, possibly even further than I could see. They were all patiently waiting with their guns, some had portable stools. A bunch of trucks parked along the road looked like mobile piney kennels - plywood doghouses in the truck beds. So I assume they must have turned the dogs loose in the woods and were waiting for them to flush something out.

So my questions are: what were they hunting? Deer? What's up with that? I have lived in lots of places where there were hunters, but have only seen this sort of thing here in the pines. Is there a name for this? It seems contrary to the whole idea of man vs prey, following a trail through the woods, trying to outsmart the animal. I guess this is a quick way to get results? Is this the way people who belong to those concrete block "gun clubs" spend their time? Looks sort of like a firing squad!

Just curious...

 

[Ben Ruset]

Foxhunting!

Edit: Although it's weird to see a foxhunter with a gun. Ususally they just chase the fox and the dogs don't hurt/attack/kill it.

Incidentally the sport, born in England, has recently been outlawed there. NJ, which has a pretty active foxhunting community (especially in Byrne State Forest) is one of the last places around where the hunt is done.

 

[wis bang]

Such a beautiful day today! Walked around 4 miles in Belleplain state park, which was really nice - I had the whole place to myself. While I was there I saw a number of hunters just outside the main part of the park.

There were a lot of hunters, probably 20 or more. They were evenly spaced, every 100' maybe, going down the road and around the corner, possibly even further than I could see. They were all patiently waiting with their guns, some had portable stools.

Is there a name for this? It seems contrary to the whole idea of man vs prey, following a trail through the woods, trying to outsmart the animal. I guess this is a quick way to get results? Is this the way people who belong to those concrete block "gun clubs" spend their time? Looks sort of like a firing squad!

Just curious...

This week is NJ's Shotgun Deer Season. You saw a group of "Standers" maybe from a gunclub, waiting for the "Drivers" walking thru from the opposite side of the section of property. They may have kennels on their trucks but you can't use dogs for deer [except in places like alabama, mississippi, etc.].

Clubs work together to 'Push" out sections of land. The Standers & Drivers alternate from one patch of land to the next as the club covers 'their' territory.

Must successful [non club] deer hunters still use some variation on sitting on a stand/climbing to a tree stand. Deer have good sight/smell/hearing and a moving hunter won't see many deer & his view of those that he does see & the white tail of a distant deer running away at full speed...

Clubs get some deer using their tacticts but most disturbed deer run in a circle around the disturbance to a point near their original location so most of the deer are running around the "drivers" who never see 80-90% of them...

Stand hunting depends on the movement of the other hunters so stir up the deer that they see. Even dressed in 100% orange, I've had deer walk right up to me, as long as, I did not move, cough, or have my scent blown in their direction...

If you were walking in the park area where hunting was allowed; I hope you were wearing some orange. I'm not sure of NJ's regulations. In PA the state forest roads are closed Mon thru Sat to non-hunting uses. the ONLY way to make sure that hunters DO NOT think you may be their quarry is to have an orange hat/vest. It may be shotgun hunting but alot of them are using slugs [solid projectile] instead of buckshot and have telescopic sights and are shooting out to 150 yards. Muzzleloaders would go farther. Protect your self!

 

[Boyd]

Interesting (whichever scenario it was

Actually I purposely stayed in the section of the park which is quite conspicuously posted with "no hunting" signs. I've never heard anything about roads being closed for hunting season in NJ... could that really be true?

This year I have seen tons of deer. If I wanted to hunt I could easily get a lot of them on my own land!

 

[wis bang]

I realize now that they were over the line while you were on state land. Pennsylvania was different as the Stateforest & Game Lands were bought by the Game Commission for hunting use and they just reciently woke up and realized that, authorized or not, these areas were being used by others. They re-wrote their guidelines to account for non-hunting uses and at that time set up the closure from Sept. thru Jan. except Sundays.

While the season is open, even in 'Non Hunting' areas; I'd still wear some orange. That guy in wisconsin who shot all those hunters on their own land may have relatives in NJ!

 

[Teegate]

I agree with wiz bang. That is as wis bang said a "Drive" which you saw much more of 30 years ago in the pines. I ran into them all the time and they were furious at me. Hunting is not as popular as it once was so you don't see it as much.

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

I agree with wiz bang. That is as wis bank said a "Drive" which you saw much more of 30 years ago in the pines. I ran into them all the time and they were furious at me. Hunting is not as popular as it once was so you don't see it as much.Guy

My step-dad used to drag us out there once in a while to be a driver. It was ridiculous. We had to walk through the freezing rain yelling...yo buck, yo buck!

 

[wis bang]

My step-dad used to drag us out there once in a while to be a driver. It was ridiculous. We had to walk through the freezing rain yelling...yo buck, yo buck!

And all the while the bucks were circling you...Laughing at you...& the laying down in some thick stuff 'till those noisy, anoying hunters leave...