Annual Reminder: Tis Hunting Season

[ChocoMare]

So now's the time to be extra diligent out and about AND to get yourself some blaze orange stuff.

http://blackdogfarm.biz/ModShop/ShowCategory/8649/#bottom

http://www.protectavest.com/

Be careful folks :yes:

[Bank of Dad]

What I really want, and have never found, is fly protector ear nets in blaze orange. A prize to anyone who finds me one!

[ChocoMare]

Call the lady who owns and operates that Black Dog site. She'll do just about whatever you want or find a way to make what you need.

[Bank of Dad]

Thanks a lot, I called and she's making them. :)

[tpup]

Great websites and products - thank you!

[Painted Horse]

I live in the West and I am an active hunter who spends more time in the mountains during the fall than any other time of the year. I pack my horses and ride in many miles to areas I hunt, After I harvest my game, I enjoy the mountains by taking horse rides any chance I get. While hunting I often sneek into areas before the sun comes up and stay way after dark. Depending on what I am hunting I may wear blaze orange or I may wear camo. I use a blaze orange saddle bags on the horse and tie a orange ribbon on both sides of his halter. And a couple of orange ribbons on the saddle horn or where the breast collar attaches to the saddle.

That said, I've never felt threatened by other hunters in the woods. I don't quite understand this fear I see other riders worry about every fall. Are hunters that stupid in other parts of the country that this is a ligitimate concern? When I bump into other hutners in the woods, We trade hellos, maybe ask if the other has seen any game. Check and see if they have friends and where they might be located. I've never had anyone every act angry because I rode my horse by.

[ChocoMare]

Alas, Painted Horse, there are some VERY stupid "hunters." I put hunters in quotation marks because the stupid ones are not true hunters. They're yahoo, shoot-'em-up rednecks (not just the south...rednecks are everywhere) who will shoot at the first thing that moves.

********************

So BOD, what's my prize? :winkgrin: Glad she was able to help you. The Percheron you see with the ear nets is my very own Tank showing off her Cha-Cha ears!

[Bank of Dad]

I'll take you trail riding up here any time you want.

[wateryglen]

It's almost always deer hunters with guns who have small tracts of land to hunt and are so eager to get a shot or a deer that they'll shoot at things they hear before they see it or anything that moves. Many have been sitting in tree stands for hours and are anxious to get a shot off. I've ridden in the woods where there were 10 acre lots and there were 2 hunters on each! Amazing they don't shoot each other!

My best advice is; don't ride on saturdays during rifle season in Virginia! Or if you do; do so mid day or from say 11-3pm. Many hunters come in for lunch after a long morning. Their prime times to hunt are sunup to sundown so.....and make a lot of noise so you spook up the deer towards them and away from you and so that the hunters can hear you. I find riding with friends or chatting works. Wear bright colors of course.

But we need to co-exist. If you ride on hunted land; make friends with the hunters. Since the landowner has given them permission too; there's nothing you can do but be friendly. That hunter might be a relative of the landowner ya know!! When you introduce yourself; find out when their prime times/days are and work with that schedule. They have such a limited season and we have all year long access. And since so many of them work. Sometimes Saturdays are all too precious for them. They look forward to it all week! I'm familiar with most of my local hunters and am of the opinion there are too danged many deer in our area and they need thinning. Let them do their thing.

[Sabovee]

Some hunters are "stupid"

My friend was hacking her 17.2hh WHITE Percheron gelding one year through woods that were government owned and not permitted for hunting. She was wearing a bright red coat, horse had on a light blue quarter sheet.

Horse got shot in the flank by a hunter.

He eventually was fine, but we still have no idea how a HUGE bright white horse was mistaken for a deer.

[cloudy18]

Sadly, there are a lot of foolish hunters. We don't ride during the gun deer season, and the horses stay in the paddock near the house, even though I know and trust the people whose land borders us. But we never know who might hunt with them, or who might be dumb enough to trespass on their land. Bow season doesn't worry me as much. And we have run into grouse hunters on the county land near us, never had a problem with them either. But it's not really worth riding during the gun deer season around here. The first few days we hear too many gunshots, it's not worth the risk. Especially with a chestnut and a bay.;)

[Huntertwo]

That said, I've never felt threatened by other hunters in the woods. I don't quite understand this fear I see other riders worry about every fall. Are hunters that stupid in other parts of the country that this is a ligitimate concern? When I bump into other hutners in the woods, We trade hellos, maybe ask if the other has seen any game. Check and see if they have friends and where they might be located. I've never had anyone every act angry because I rode my horse by.

Yup, there are stupid ones out there. But I'm sure, just as many good ones. The stupid ones make the news. ;) Maybe the more densely populated the area, the more accidents? Just a guess. I see you're in Utah.

Here in CT. not a season goes by without someone either getting seriously injured or killed by a reckless hunter. Or worse, poachers. Not in the same category of course.

We are a pretty populated state and not much room for *error*. I definitely stay out of the woods during rifle season. I will in no way risk that.

And when I'm out on State land riding and find dozens of Beer cans within throwing distance of a tree stand, THAT makes me worried. :no:

[twofatponies]

The hunters, farmers and landowners themselves are the ones who warned me against the first few weeks, especially weekends, because that's when everyone's friends and relations come out for (supposedly) beer-fueled shooting rampages. I've never seen one of these scenarios, but everyone tells stories about them (hunters tell these stories to me).

Most landowners I know have one or two individuals they permit to hunt their land, in part to keep an eye out for poachers.

I was asking our neighboring dairy farmer if he ever pastured his cows differently in hunting season, and he said no, they're hard to mistake for deer, being Holsteins. But he had heard a story last year of a hunter in Vermont proudly displaying the doe he had killed...which was actually a Jersey heifer. Oops.

A friend (from New York City) who bought a place in the Catskills a couple years ago was approached by a guy who said he'd hunted there before, and could he again. My friend said, sure, whatever. Opening day 30 guys showed up and there were nearly fist fights over the stands down by the swamp.

The next year he picked one guy he knew and liked, and banned everyone else.

Anyway, every hunter I've met in person has been perfectly pleasant, but then proceeded to warn me about the "other" hunters and to watch out for this and that. Maybe it's all folklore!

[J Swan]

Some hunters are "stupid"


Horse got shot in the flank by a hunter.



Since the person was not permitted to hunt on that land - technically he wasn't a hunter.

He was a poacher. Poachers aren't hunters. Hunters are law abiding citizens who purchase a license, take their safety education courses, and practice with their weapon so they take good shots and make clean kills.

I don't fear hunters - these folks are my neighbors and friends and they're good people. Even so - anyone in the woods during hunting season should wear blaze orange. It's just a really basic safety precaution.

Last season I was riding in the arena next to the road. I heard a report and a whizzing sound above me and to my left.

Poacher shot across the road - he should have known to fire down instead of across. Anyway - he missed and the round almost hit me. He wasn't a hunter - he was a poacher. I know the landowner and she has her farm posted.

Sorry if I sound disagreeable but I admit I get a bit peeved about the anti-hunting stuff. People who disobey the game laws and regs don't deserve to be called hunters. They're poachers or criminals and should be treated as such.

I foxhunt (English, not southern) and happily share the land with my fellow hunters. If any of y'all are having trouble with poaching or other illegal activity there should be a toll free number to call - check your state game department website. Fines are really hefty even for minor infractions - and can include forfeiture of the hunting license.

If any of y'll don't want to buy blaze orange blankets and such - try a livestock marker. It washes off with soap or wears off naturally. You can get them in neon colors at the feed store for a couple of bucks and they last years. I put a big "X" on my goats because they look like deer.



Happy trails and good hunting.

[ToiRider]

When I was a kid in Michigan, a student was shot and killed by a hunter. She was walking home from school down a county road after being dropped off by the school bus. She had a brown coat on. I'm sure she looked exactly like a deer ... to a drunk person.

Drunk deer hunters are legendary where I grew up. So are idiots who shine deer in the dark and shoot at eyes reflecting back at them. One year a bunch of poachers came on my Dad's land and formed a human chain and basically ran all the deer out of the woods into a firing squad. The deer hid in my Dad's land because he doesn't allow hunting there, so they thought they were safe. The ones that survived were up sleeping next to the barn, which many do in hunting season (and only during hunting season). They know where the safe places are. One year my brother confronted a poacher on our land and the hunter aimed his gun at our dog and threatened to shoot it. I have had friends who have had their horses killed in the field, both by guns AND arrows.

I'm sure there are responsible deer hunters, but its the dumb and unethical ones that you hear about and have to deal with.

I now live elsewhere and ride in hunting season in a state forest. We stick to marked horse trails near the horse camp, for the most part, and we make a ton of noise on purpose. We ran into a hunter who was climbing down from his stand taking a break. We asked him if he knew it was horses coming up on him. He said, yeah, he had heard us come up the ridge a mile away - thus he was taking a break. When I ride by myself during hunting season I sing - loudly and badly. My horse doesn't seem to mind.

[Simbalism]

Painted Horse, I think part of the problem with hunters here in the east is that the tracts of land they are hunting are smaller with closer proximity to farms and homes. When I was growing up, I lived in a small town in western NY. A lot of people came from the city(about an hour away) to hunt. Most really not that interested in actually getting the game, mainly just interested in shooting something and playing with their guns. There were always a fairly large amount of cows(mostly black and white) and horses shot during hunting season as well as hunters. My cousin's husband lost his brother in a hunting accident(most likely from a member of their hunting party). One particular incident I remember was a horse large black and white draft type shot out from under a rider in an open field. Here in Va, I used to board my horse near a large farm(several thousand acres). We had access to ride on the trails. I quit riding there during hunting season as many of the farm workers and friends had permission to hunt there. I came upon numerous groups of men hanging out at the side of their pickup trucks swigging back a few frosty adult beverages. In your case, you are serious in your hunting. Here, most hunters go somewhere for the day to hunt, drive practically to their stand or favorite area to hunt, have their cooler at the ready.

[Painted Horse]

I guess there is an advantage to living and hunting in states where the mountains jump to 11,000-13,000 feet.
1st of all a drunk hunter is not going to make the hike up that steep mountain.
2nd. A drunk hunter would probably fall off one of the cliffs and kills himself in the fall.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-8/807323/Bouldertop.jpg

[wateryglen]

Yes Virginia has a lot of poachers!
And yes, Virginia needs more cliffs!!! :winkgrin:

[CarrieK]

That fly protector in orange is a great idea. So is an orange "X."

If you're trail riding, a bell is a good thing, too. A jingle bell, not a bicycle bell or, say, the liberty bell. Sure, some grumpy hunters won't like that you're scaring the deer with the bell, but then, your horse will probably startle the deer, too, so you might as well be a bit safer.

I agree with JSwan: hunters who know their stuff aren't a problem at all; they're outdoors men and women and appreciate others who enjoy the land, too. I'm in Michigan, out in a semi-rural (fastly suburbanizing) area, and I've been a 911 operator/police dispatcher for coughdecadescough. The problems I've encountered--both personally and on-the-job--are trespassers (and that usually includes firing too close to an occupied barn or dwelling, or in one memorable instance, in our pasture with our horses) and drunks. And these are usually deerhunters, and not bird, rabbit or turkey hunters.

The fact is that even though land in this county--the same county as Detroit--is being suburbanized there are tons and tons of deer here (Detroit even has a significant deer population; they live on Belle Isle and in a very large cemetary on the east side). People don't seem to realize that "gentlemen's estates" are nothing like farmland, and even tho it's billed as "country living" you're not really in the country anymore.

[Mtn trails]

About a month ago a woman was shot and killed while on a popular hiking path by a teenage hunter who thought she was a bear! :eek: The woman was wearing a blue jacket and had bent over putting something in her backpack when she was shot in the head. So not just dumb drunks are out there not making sure what they are shooting at is what they are supposed to be shooting at. The woman was a mother of two young kids that'll now grow up without her.

[ChocoMare]

2009 Bump to remind us all :)

[jeano]

Yes ma'am, I even bought a nice new highway worker style vest in eye-burning orange with green/yellow trim at Tractor Supply. When gun season starts I will start using my dayglo orange saddle cloth (a couple bucks worth of fleecy material from wally world.) I used to wear a blaze orange sock hat pulled over my helmet but that was too dorky even for me.

I have had good luck asking hunters in the area give me permission to ride on their tracts--they appreciate having someone keep an eye on their place during the work week. I appreciate having additional hundreds of acres with nice trails to ride on. I have been riding during gun season for several years and so far have never encountered a hunter in the woods, so I think my system works.

I WILL NOT ride at all on opening day of gun season, but after the first day or so things calm down. If I know "my" hunters are at their place I give those trails a rest. Its best to ride midday and weekdays.

We have an incredibly long season here and it eats up the BEST months of riding, but the riding gets done and so far, worst hazard has been the occasional pile of legs or offal left by the side of the road. When you have a trail horse that can march over a rotting dead deer, you can certify him as bombproof.

[starkissed]

I think I am going to get myself one of these saddle pads
http://www.statelinetack.com/item/tropical-brights-fleece-all-purpose-pad/SLT722784/ in orange of course. I wish it came in a square pad though.

I usually wrap my horses legs in hot orange polo wraps- but those aren't always the greatest for cross country. I was either thinking hot orange bell boots or slplint boots. Any ideas?

[BlueDoubleDiamond]

Our "hunting season" attire http://s540.photobucket.com/albums/gg355/BlueDoubleDiamond/?action=view&current=1019080933.jpg

Got everything, including the ear net, off ebay.

[Bank of Dad]

Stop posting more stuff that I just have to buy. Love those saddle pads, my guy can only use fleece. We are set for the Halloween ride at Morven Park!

[Painted Horse]

I usually buy some Hot Orange surveyers tape/ribbon. I tie a length on the halter on both sides of the head, Weave a little in the tail, tie some on the saddle on both sides.

I also have orange paniers and orange saddlebags.