LETTER: Hunters pay their way
- Thread starter Teegate
- Start date
Can of worms for breakfast? Here's my take.....no Sunday hunting BUT, if you want to be on public land on Saturday you must have the appropriate hunting license and be wearing the required orange vest, hat, etc.
A very well written letter that doesn't go hysterical with false claims. A different suggestion than the post above; allow Sunday hunting and anyone recreating on lands supported by hunting/fishing license fee's must carry either one of those licenses when recreating. Fishing would be most folks choice as there are no testing requirements and is the least expensive. Seems fair to me.
I take issue with the first half of the letter, as I do not feel that the financial contributions sportsmen make to public lands and to local economies are a relevant and an effective response to what most opponents consider a safety issue, even though the statements are true. The writer does make good points regarding the actual risks during most of the seasons.
After close to forty years of partaking in most of the activities in our woods that are discussed on this forum, including hunting, I find the fear of being in the woods during an active hunting season no more grounded in reality than the fear my daughter once had of sleeping without a nightlight. Have I missed the rash of reports in the media of people shot by hunters? Even casual attention to the news and its reported frequency of auto accidents instills in me a bigger fear of driving on our roads than of being in the woods while hunting is going on. I’ve seen more shark attacks reported in the last few weeks than incidents of hunting accidents in several hunting seasons. Anyone with the slightest hunting experience knows that hunters are not going to be successful by shooting at sounds in the brush or at vague shapes in the distance. That’s how one ruins real chances of bagging game and examples of it range from over-exaggerated to non-existent. Simply wearing an article of hunter orange or other brightly colored clothing all but eliminates any chance of harm one might fear.
I have no problem with the status quo regarding Sunday hunting, but do take issue with the characterizations of the dangers, which are driven more by other agendas than they are based in reality.
After close to forty years of partaking in most of the activities in our woods that are discussed on this forum, including hunting, I find the fear of being in the woods during an active hunting season no more grounded in reality than the fear my daughter once had of sleeping without a nightlight. Have I missed the rash of reports in the media of people shot by hunters? Even casual attention to the news and its reported frequency of auto accidents instills in me a bigger fear of driving on our roads than of being in the woods while hunting is going on. I’ve seen more shark attacks reported in the last few weeks than incidents of hunting accidents in several hunting seasons. Anyone with the slightest hunting experience knows that hunters are not going to be successful by shooting at sounds in the brush or at vague shapes in the distance. That’s how one ruins real chances of bagging game and examples of it range from over-exaggerated to non-existent. Simply wearing an article of hunter orange or other brightly colored clothing all but eliminates any chance of harm one might fear.
I have no problem with the status quo regarding Sunday hunting, but do take issue with the characterizations of the dangers, which are driven more by other agendas than they are based in reality.
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46er, your proposal is a lose - lose for those that oppose Sunday hunting; not only would Sunday hunting be allowed but the public at large would have to buy a license they won't use and don't want. It would surely get their hackles up and quite possibly be a recruiting tool for their ranks. We need to compromise. Possibly only firearm hunting on Sundays in WMA's, not state parks and forests.
Michelle Byers talks about Sunday being the only day some hikers, bikers, dog walkers, and photographers can get out. I have nothing against any of these activities and participate in some of them myself. For what it's worth Saturday is usually the only day I can hunt. This past season I visited a WMA I haven't hunted in decades. The surrounding population has swelled and it was a far different spot than it was when I last was there. Lots, and I mean LOTS of hikers, bikers, dog walkers, and photographers, not to mention the unregistered dirt bikers and quaders. It was an unsuccessful hunt to say the least, even with my license hanging off my back. I don't think I ruined anyone's hike, bike ride, photo session, etc, that they were allowed to experience for free. Where do I go to complain?
Michelle Byers talks about Sunday being the only day some hikers, bikers, dog walkers, and photographers can get out. I have nothing against any of these activities and participate in some of them myself. For what it's worth Saturday is usually the only day I can hunt. This past season I visited a WMA I haven't hunted in decades. The surrounding population has swelled and it was a far different spot than it was when I last was there. Lots, and I mean LOTS of hikers, bikers, dog walkers, and photographers, not to mention the unregistered dirt bikers and quaders. It was an unsuccessful hunt to say the least, even with my license hanging off my back. I don't think I ruined anyone's hike, bike ride, photo session, etc, that they were allowed to experience for free. Where do I go to complain?
He doesn't really mean it. 46'r just likes to stir the pot, see who gets their hackles up. A born contrarian he is.
One of things that is pushing this is government funds. Every sale of hunting and fishing related supplies gets put into a fund and then divided out to each state. The more days you have to hunt is actually a factor. So a state like Rhode Island will receive that extra credit cause they allow hunting 7 days a week versus New Jersey that has its blue laws still. We can already bow hunt Sundays on WMAs. We do not need any more gun days in the pines. I love 6 day just the way it is. That being said I would like to see bow hunting on Sundays in the state forest. Opens up more land for the average Joe who only has weekends off and it also spreads hunters out giving all people who use the woods more room.
Bobpbx - I bit, reel me in.
Pinesbucks, You talk about firearm hunters having six days and then the average Joe that only has weekends, which translates to one day for gunners. Did I miss something?
Pinesbucks, You talk about firearm hunters having six days and then the average Joe that only has weekends, which translates to one day for gunners. Did I miss something?
Nines. That was in reference to deer. I was just stating my personal opinion. Gunners also have permit days for deer as well.
As far as deer the season for bow hunting starts in September, most are still in tee shirts and shorts (people, not deer). It runs for the rest of the year, save for the six day firearm. If that ain't opportunity to fill your freezer I don't know what is.
Nines another factor in my original post in this thread has to do with overall herd numbers. On extra gun days clubs were hitting Wharton hard. This lead to zone 19 being put back to what it is used to be. Now the deer numbers in zone 23 are slightly on the uptick. Even if they add more days it will only equal me hunting and extra afternoon. Between work and kids I am lucky to still be able to enjoy the woods lol.
Add private property to that list, the same as the bow reg. Private preserves hunt on Sundays; property owners should be able to as well. As far as buying a license, instead change that to add an Outdoor Recreation Permit for non-hunters/fisherperson's. The money raised could help to add more CO's; Lord knows they are needed.
I really liked having one day a week in the woods without having to worry about hunters. I"m not really afraid of being shot but I know me walking under a stand even if accidentally must must irritate them. But on the other hand I understand that most hunters are blessed with weekends off and that leaves only one full day a week for them to hunt which I think is really BS considering what they have to pay to hunt.I would be quite glad to accept their Sunday hunting if they will acknowledge that there are other people in the woods with them and they accept that occasionally we will disturb their setup accidentally. I don't own the woods but neither do they or actually we both do on public property. many hunters are quite understanding and I"ve actually gotten into conversations with hunters I"ve accidentally walked into but I"ve also run into a few arrogant asses as well ,people that obviously believed if i wasn't hunting i had no business out there. had one old man threaten to shoot me because He threatened to shoot my dog and then of course I threatened Him. He threatened to shoot me at that point and I explained the imperative necessity for Him not to miss for His own immediate well being. He walked away cussing me. In view of His age I took the cussing and let Him keep walking. If He had shot my dog he wouldn't have been walking anywhere or I wouldn't have one. Once again if a dog is hunting it's cool if not they don't belong there. My dog runs loose when I"m off trail.No doubt illegal but can you imagine trying to bushwack with a dog on a leash? It doesn't work.But like i said most Hunters are cool folks and if they can tolerate me seven days a week i can tolerate them.
Al, the hunter orange, or any other bright color one might wear, isn't so much to differentiate a human from a game animal as it is to avoid taking a shot at game when there might be a person off in the distance, who you might otherwise not notice. A person walking across an open field might be easy to see, but what about these nuts out there crouching through the underbrush, searching for stones?
Many a time I've passed up a shot at waterfowl on the bay because a boat was in the distance beyond. Most times they were well beyond gun range but the sound of the gunfire might have unnerved them a bit, which I'd rather avoid. Bright colors worn by other hunters or non-hunters gives the land-borne hunter the same chance to avoid a similar situation.
A good visual comparison. Go to full screen and it starts at about 1:15 in on the first one. If you don't care for blaze orange, perhaps blaze pink 
That is the same thing, only said differently. You are having fun with word play.
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Maybe, but one needs to have fun where one can find it. Anyway, one of the cardinal rules of safe gun handling during hunting is being sure of your target and beyond. It is the beyond part that concerns me, not the target, which I not only have to identify but discern the vital zone of. Hard to make a mistake after all that. So it is not enough to positively identify your target as a game animal. A hunter also needs to be aware of where a missed shot could end up. A structure, vehicle or other large object that shouldn't be the recipient of gunfire might be very visible in the distance but a human in drab clothing is not.
Good one! I agree
...."the target, which I not only have to identify...". Yes, job #1!