Disappointed in non-resident hunters

[sfdoc2000]

Agree with Alibiiv. I am really concerned about the fires in restricted areas. I think one great way even without cell service is to take a picture of the offender's license plates and the fire with GPS coordinates and date of the camp. That is documented evidence of the offender that you can then turn in when in proximity to a ranger station or when you get home. The authorities can then contact the owner of the vehicle and get some action.

A few years ago on Lake Powell I had an inconsiderate boater damage my boat with his wake. Got his boat registration number and pictures of the damage to my boat and the NPS nailed the guy who caused the damage. Same thing as a hit and run on the street. Just get adequate documentation.

 

[Ninering62]

You are correct it isn't only non resident hunters and it isn't all hunters it's just that too many people don't display manners or any common sense and make it not enjoyable for others to be out around them . I personally just don't feel safe out there when it is hunting season now , Sockeye66 , We all have our own ideas as to how safe we feel around others and our reasons as to why we feel that way . I ask a hunter to please not point his rifle at me his reply was it's not loaded . My reply was how do I or you know for sure that it isn't and there have been so many people killed by not loaded guns . I had never met this person or his son before . I don't think he was teaching his son to do the right things when handling firearms . I don't know how you are out there as I don't know you so then after seeing a few that I don't want to be around in the field I don't want to trust and be shot by someone that looks like they know what they are doing but then turns around and does something foolish . And since I do live in the U.S. as do you we can have and voice our opinions from our experiences . I do not like the fact that you were hit by a drunk driver and I know that not all drivers are driving impaired but I think you will be more observant of the other drivers around you because of what happened to you . I hope you have a speedy recovery and that all ended up turning out well for you and yours .

Thank you for your post. You're obviously a very kind hearted individual by the way you handled those instances & absolutely clueless idiots that are everywhere & look at ya like you're talkin chinese when one tries to " educate them " as to their errors & take it like a personal attack. I sure as heck don't get it. I've hunted mostly private land in my lifetime of nearly 50yrs shooting & hunting. BUt I've hunted with a few very select friends on public land in Pa. & Wva. Va. western Md . ( I'm from southern Md. ) I've seen too many times to recall that will have me from mild-mannered & pleasant like now to Yosemite Sam hoppin mad with encounters of ppl seein me in my Summit Viper tree stand when I hit them with a small light I use to navigate in the dark with my handheld GPS & the reflective push pins I placed the eve before & they still stop & set up 50 yds from me. I've seen them take dumps & **** everywhere many times knowing theres another hunter in a stand within 100yds away.... when there are mountains with 1000's of acres to hunt. I've seen guys with their very young kids 5-8yr olds boys & girls at times ( I was 8 when I started hunting but ddn't get to start deer hunting until I was 12-13 there abouts ) but let their kids play with everything they can pick up, throw stuff, brake out a lunch spread , I've seen guys shooting at rustling tree branches & open fire on deer that were jumped & or just shot at by every schmuck standin next to a tree or sittin on a stump about every 50-100 yds RUDE & inconsiderate & absolutely freakin clueless. I found it not only very dangerous, but it just took all the joy, peace & serenity of me being there & all the time & work I put into picking my tree stand place intelligently by reading the area, but nothing prepares one for that kind of craziness & bullets literally flying everywhere, almost constantly. Its wild to be able to hear for miles the direction a running heard of deer take by the gunfire pattern moving through the mountains. Enough was enough & kept to my home state & private land & what public land I hunted was so rough that seeing another hunter was not at all likely & went back to mostly hunting alone. Theres alot more stories of guys smoking cigarettes on the ground & smokin weed, I've seen guys poppin beer cans on the ground, guys with a bad cold & no business or common sense to be out in ball deep snow & sub freezing temps coughing & hacking & sniffeling almost non stop, theres no covering all that noise up. Then theres Aholes drunk at check in stations & local store parking lots, ppl backing into & bumping into each others vehicles in parking lots & checkin stations. All kinds of wild crap, I do have a bunch of fun pleasant memories & met some very cool ppl as well. But man, all that aint for me. well wishes, stay say everyone. Good hunting. My season for ML's starts 10/24 I'm on private land so my usual full camo, no orange & I get to shoot a doe & a buck. Then its Osceola Turkey time fall season, 2 of thems goin in the freezer too with my TC Seneca .40 cal fast twist shooting 60gr T7fff & a 10mm jacketed HP pistol bullets 150gr load.

 

[rockwind]

Unfortunately it was mostly outfitters and ranchers (fellow hunters) who outfitted or leased to outfitters that pushed for and voted in the corner crossing law. Some really great land that became inaccessible when this law passed.

not surprised, so to be clear, there is great public land that is boxed in by large private ranches so no regular person can go on it? how the heck did they get that thru the legislature? holy crap, what a crime!,,, it seems to effectively give the land to the large private land owners/ranchers? you are making my points for me now about ranchers,,,, yet another reason why ranchers and hunters are not on the same side. as for OUTFITTERS,,,I just gotta say it if no one else will. around here they are known for stealing trail cams, blocking roads, running off exeptional animals so no one else can get a shot. i am sure there are some honest ones but all in all,, the outfitter industry is all about the dollar and doesn't really care about the future of hunting, (unless they can get a huge payday from it)

 

[rockwind]

Agree with Alibiiv. I am really concerned about the fires in restricted areas. I think one great way even without cell service is to take a picture of the offender's license plates and the fire with GPS coordinates and date of the camp. That is documented evidence of the offender that you can then turn in when in proximity to a ranger station or when you get home. The authorities can then contact the owner of the vehicle and get some action.

A few years ago on Lake Powell I had an inconsiderate boater damage my boat with his wake. Got his boat registration number and pictures of the damage to my boat and the NPS nailed the guy who caused the damage. Same thing as a hit and run on the street. Just get adequate documentation.

excellent thoughts but easier said than done in many cases. but definitely should be tried. anyone noticed a huge increase in vehicles without license plates running around lately?

 

[travisch]

not surprised, so to be clear, there is great public land that is boxed in by large private ranches so no regular person can go on it? how the heck did they get that thru the legislature? holy crap, what a crime!,,, it seems to effectively give the land to the large private land owners/ranchers? you are making my points for me now about ranchers,,,, yet another reason why ranchers and hunters are not on the same side. as for outfitters,,,I just gotta say it. around here they are known for stealing trail cams, blocking roads, running off exeptional animals so no one else can get a shot. i am sure there are some honest ones but all in all,, the outfitter industry is all about the dollar and doesn't really care about the future of hunting, (unless they can get a huge payday from it)

Yes. Im not sure of CO stance on corner crossing but WY and MT do not allow it and it was driven largely by the outfitters. Not all...there are some really great ones out there but the board of directors are very corrupt. This is old news but it give you a view into how they think.

MOGA, RMEF, and Randy Newberg

Well, since the last four days of my life have been made very difficult by a few fringe elements in the Montana Outfitter and Guides Association (MOGA), I am going to post what has been going on. Makes me wonder if all the MOGA members know a few of their leaders are willing to use their...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[jimisbell]

I am not a hunter, I am a fisherman. Fires are not really a threat on the ocean....LOL, but poachers are. I know a fisherman that flaunts ALL fishing laws, BUT he is a friend of the local warden and when reported,,,,I have once, he just denys it and the warden takes his word for it. Cant get evidence when there is no cover from which to shoot photos. The warden isnt interested since the guy is a friend.

 

[WYO300RUM]

I hunted antelope in Lost Springs area last year on a friends family's ranch. Had an awesome time. We all got our antelope. The Residents were all great host everywhere we went. Great experience. Thanks. Have friends in Poway we hunt coyotes every other week!

That's great to hear !

 

[freddiej]

Y'all as hunters aren't we all supposed to help our fellow hunters, educate/remind them and such when someone is ignorant of something? I know I do have a talk with hunters open to discussion of what they are doing or have done wrong. what I see in this thread; the arrogance and the not caring is a whole new topic. I have seen it in Cali, Idaho, Montana, Washington State, Oregon, Nevada, Utah once, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Indiana. where I have not seen it is the NorthEast.. Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire. one short example from me. I was glassing a valley and forest edge for a bugling bull that I had seen a week or so back and this was his space. he had claimed it and defended it. I was tucked up under a tree by a rock. some moronic guys, I will not call them hunters, they just were too stupid to be of our clan. came up on me and "never saw me" as they claimed later on. It seems I scared the living defecation, literally, out of them when I told them from my position that they were scaring every creature in the valley and it would be 2 to 3 days before this valley could be hunted again. I nearly got shot by one of them. That was 2004. I hate to think it's gotten worse now. BTW I think these idiots were half drunk and Natural Gear works really good.
Stay safe, be well, hunt often as you can.. I'm out.

 

[rockwind]

Yes. Im not sure of CO stance on corner crossing but WY and MT do not allow it and it was driven largely by the outfitters. Not all...there are some really great ones out there but the board of directors are very corrupt. This is old news but it give you a view into how they think.

MOGA, RMEF, and Randy Newberg

Well, since the last four days of my life have been made very difficult by a few fringe elements in the Montana Outfitter and Guides Association (MOGA), I am going to post what has been going on. Makes me wonder if all the MOGA members know a few of their leaders are willing to use their...

www.hunttalk.com

wow! what horrible news. i guess i don't keep up on any news really. that is terrible. did randy ever get on the board? i hope he fights the MOGA till the bitter end. it is so sad when a large special interest group tries to steal land using their power but it sounds like they did effectively steal the land if no one can get to it except by helicopter.

 

[Deleted member 107796]

Y'all as hunters aren't we all supposed to help our fellow hunters, educate/remind them and such when someone is ignorant of something? I know I do have a talk with hunters open to discussion of what they are doing or have done wrong.

This is the best way, if possible, to have those not thinking correctly, to work on those things.

I'll broaden this up a bit to say that, as Americans it is easy to compare our culture with others from other places and I'll easily conclude that not enough Americans embrace the idea that we are also a land of responsibility vs purely a land of opportunity. "Pay a few dollars and I'm going to do the hell that I want" is what I see too often.

 

[Hugnot]

There are areas where private and public land looks like a checkerboard. Jumping across a corner to stay on public land is "corner crossing." It is not legal in WY

Got it - should have figured this out - Thank you


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Land_Survey_System#:~:text=The following table indicates some distance and area, 3 more rows

Learning new stuff every day.

 

[Alibiiv]

I didn't classify all non-resident hunters as the problem. As a matter of fact I also pointed out the lack of etiquette with resident hunters - one I later pointed out as being the mayor of Rawlins WY and his kid(s). The point I was trying to make was stay home if you are an idiot or lack hunting etiquette.
As far as face masks go...I don't believe in them. Where are all the hazmat containers for people to throw them away? Before COVID nobody wore a mask when hunting the west to ward off hantavirus which has a 36% mortality rate and there is a bazillion deer mice roaming the woods.

This reply does not even deserve a response!! When someone posts, "The WY guys deserve a good beating and the non-residents should just stay away...hunt you own state." , well I'm a non-resident hunter, and that "DOES" put me in that category of a slob-hunter according to your standards and your judgement. After reading your reply about face masks, and.....again your comment about HAZMAT containers I feel that you are one of those people, who I wrote about, who do not care about others, only oneself, and one's own selfish beliefs. Instead of whining about what others are doing, perhaps it would benefit everyone if you did something about it instead of complaining. You did receive some good responses about contacting the local authorities, might want to try that whether it's via phone right then, sat phone, or by contacting by any other means when the means are available. Good luck with your rant, my thoughts are that this thread doesn't warrant following anymore.

 

[skinnyjk]

Idiocy doesn't have a particular zip code, and their are non resident hunters who do have etiquette and are very thankful to hunt in the one of the premier states. I live in a small town between Seattle and Portland and I don't agree with anyone who would broad brush stereotype me as an non resident without etiquette because of where I live and work. The campfire thing is either ignorance or idiocy. Had a drunk driver not t boned me last week I would've been leaving on my first out of state trip to Idaho, something I've looked forward to my whole life, and my etiquette would have gone with me.

Well spoken! I'm from OH and drive 2000 miles to WY to hunt. Haven't lost my manners or sanity yet. I have actually been amazed at the kindness and respect shown to us by residents

 

[2Rope]

Anyone who thinks ranchers are the problem are not using their head. It does not matter if the land is deeded or lease (BLM or USFS), the grass and water on that land is the ONLY thing that allows the rancher to do business there. Without grass and water, the rancher cannot raise beef and without cattle, he is out of business.
A Ranch is a business just like a restaurant or a shoe store, if you have no product to sell, you don't stay in business. A cattleman sells his calves to make a living. Cows have calves. He keeps cows so she can have a calf yearly. If he lets his grass get overgrazed, his cows have nothing to eat. If that happens, he has to sell his cattle and then he is out of business... or maybe he buys another ranch because we all know how rich ranchers are...!
A profitable ranch must provide forage and water for his stock. Wildlife benefits from it as well, how many elk do you see where there is no water or forage? When a rancher leases public grazing he has to maintain the land and water or loose his permit. On his home ranch, if he has hunting at all, he must also manage the wildlife as well as his domestic stock because the hunting makes up a portion of his livelihood.
I'm not saying all ranchers are good, we have bad ranchers just as there are bad hunters, preachers, teachers, cops, and every other profession.
Be very careful not to turn one of huntings closest allies against you.,,