Do you use your hunting area as a range also?

[slas]

This came up in a thread on another site I was reading. One of the guys on that site had posted showing a pic of his shooting range he uses, that is also his hunting spot. He said he uses it until around September, then stops as to give time for the deer/wildlife to return. In a way I understand this as many of us have limited places we can hunt and/or shoot. I have access to a 200 yard range that I use solely for honing in my loads, but I also have access to my 40 acre hunting area year round, which would give me a 400-450 yard range pretty easily. I've just never used my hunting spot for load testing as I've always reasoned that leaving it undisturbed until hunting season would ensure more deer when the new season come around. Do any of you use your hunting spots as a range also? If so, how do you manage it.

 

[Rick Richard]

I like to keep the area as natural and quiet as possible. So, no I don't shoot there.

 

[JMW67]

Yes we have a pipeline on the far side were we can shoot further than we can shoot but nobody hunts that side of the property and shooting stops one month before hunting season I have been there shooting and have had deer walk out no mature deer but deer non the less

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Our sportsman club has a 400yd range that is surrounded by woods. There are plenty of deer and bear in the woods around the range itself. The range has grass from the benches all the way out and it's loaded with deer droppings from their night feeding habits. I had a black bear walk right across the line of fire at the 300yd line when there was a pause in the gun fire.

We allow hunting (gun & bow) during the 3 weeks of whitetail season. We only close the range during those 3 weeks, not prior. Members take game every year within a stone's throw of the range. I believe that animals get quite accustom to gun fire and aren't bothered by it at all. Giant, noisy farm equipment doesn't seem to bother them and neither does most anything else that they see or hear regularly.

 

[adam32+P]

I do every year...actually one year I shot a buck standing next to my 600 yard gong. Deer get used to it, I've had them cross in front of me on the 200 yard range and then lay down about 40 yards up the hill while I shot. I will usually stop shooting out there a couple weeks before season, but sometimes I'll shoot during that season while preparing for out of state hunts.

 

[LRNut]

Our sportsman club has a 400yd range that is surrounded woods. There are plenty of deer and bear in the woods around the range itself. The range has grass from the benches all the way out and it's loaded with deer droppings from their night feeding habits. I had a black bear walk right across the line of fire at the 300yd line when there was a pause in the gun fire.

We allow hunting (gun & bow) during the 3 weeks of whitetail season. We only close the range during those 3 weeks, not prior. Members take game every year within a stone's throw of the range. I believe that animals get quite accustom to gun fire and aren't bothered by it at all. Giant, noisy farm equipment doesn't seem to bother them and neither does most anything else that they see or hear regularly.

I would agree; I shoot at my CO place and the deer don't seem too fazed. Never watched what they did if I sent a bullet over their heads, but if they are alarmed, they don't stay that way - I see them feeding a few minutes after the shot.

 

[Steves1911]

We have a 600yd range on our farm and usually stop using it once bow season starts there(mid september) by the time rifle season rolls around late November the deer don't mind.

 

[Sockeye66]

A few years back I had to wait for a big blacktal to wander across out local shooting spot and more than a few times have seen bear scat there as well. Loggers here will tell you that all too often elk will be in the middle of active logging unfazed by the action.

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

At some point in mid 90's when I was at the Cheatham Co. Wildlife Management Area's 100 yard range, I had to stop shooting since a doe decided to take a rest in front of target I was shooting.

I don't think your hunting would suffer if you used it as a range.

 

[slas]

I am surprised by many of the responses. I only know that when I've shot at, and missed (had to make a quick off-hand shot last season is my excuse), a deer at my location him/her and any in the area were gone in an instant and I generally wouldn't see any others until several hours later.

 

[milo-2]

A few years back I had to wait for a big blacktal to wander across out local shooting spot and more than a few times have seen bear scat there as well. Loggers here will tell you that all too often elk will be in the middle of active logging unfazed by the action.

I think wildlife becomes conditioned to their surroundings also. On the range I frequent, antelope, mule deer always present, whitetail pop up occasionally too. Big red fox used to also, think he may have been a casualty though.
You can't tell me coyotes, mountain lions prefer to be in city limits.

 

[backwoodsshooter]

where i used to live i had my own range on the property.

had plenty of wildlife and deer coming around. took a few months after we moved in but they got used to it.

i shot at my range, raised chickens including getting eggs out and mowing and like clock work, put out some corn and they always came in within a day or so.

days i shot, they came around the same time as normal.

i asked my gunsmith years ago about this and the way he put it (and it made sense) a gun shot is no different than thunder.

 

[Gwine]

I've had to stop shooting multiple times at my home range when deer moved in.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Yes only in the off season