road hunting?

[BLACKJACK]

This happens every time. Broken line asks a simple question. Legal or not? And thank you to all of those who participated in that conversation. But for those of you who feel it is necessary to criticize another sportsman's tactics I have this to say.

If someone chooses to enjoy the outdoors in a legal, but dissimilar manner than you leave them alone. Don't throw the "unethical" card out there. What makes any method of taking small game better than another if the method is legal? And who are we to judge that our method is better than somebody elses? Am I a terrible person because I legally shoot some grouse on the road every year? Or should I be forced to hunt with 28 guage and english setters because that's the "ethical" way of doing it?Lets keep the thread to answering Broken line's question and leave our opinions to ourselves.

Barbel, I think guys are just trying to point out how road hunting creates a bad image of all hunters. Most people, whether they're hunters or non-hunters, don't like to see gun barrls snaking out of vehicle windows. And how do you think farmers and landowners feel when they see 'hunters' jump out, blast away, maybe trespass to retrieve their game, then speed away? What are they going to say when an ethical hunter stops by and asks for permission to hunt? And how many cripples are left by road hunters because they don't have permission to enter the private land to retrieve that bird that sailed off 100 yards and dropped?? You decide whats ethical and whats not ethical.

As Harvey and others have pointed out, as you get older and more experienced, you get beyond the 'whackem and stackem' mentality and enjoy the hunt, the sunrises and sunsets, the good companions, and admire the game that you pursue.

Good hunting!!

[Jameson]

...guys are just trying to point out how road hunting creates a bad image of all hunters...

It sure would be nice if they started a new thread instead of hijacking this one!!!!!

[harvey lee]

Jameson, A few members are just answering anothers post with a question in regards to road hunting.

Lets keep this topic to shooting off the roadway and if it is legal or not and forget about discussing the ethics of it.

[Barbelboy]

Harvey,

I typed my initial message before I saw your english pointer post. I just picked a type of dog out of the air. It wasn't aimed at you. I grew up with pointers grouse hunting up north. There is nothing finer than watching dogs work in grouse woods on a beautiful October day.

Blackjack,

I agree completely. I myself have moved in and out of several of the "stages" of being a sportsman. My post was intended to try an slow down some of the criticism of sportsmen that enjoy the outdoors in a different manner than others. I just get tired of people hammering others for how they enjoy the outdoors. I basically meant, "can't we all get along?" That way we can all concentrate on the people who do give hunters a bad name. The blatant poachers, people who litter, trespassers, etc.

[charliepete]

I don't pot shoot birds. To me there is no sport or fun in groundpounding a sitting bird. On a rare occasion I might stop the vehicle load a a gun and walk a clump of brush I saw a bird duck into if I have proper permission and it's legal, but thats far from a sure bet (they know you're coming). Like others have said, I bird hunt to watch the dog work. If the hunting is good I tend to stick to shooting only points. If I can restrain myself from dumping a rooster I put up myself in favor of ones my dogs worked, I think I can hold off from shooting one on the ground out of a vehicle risking my hunting privileges and firearm.

[BobT]

I don't pot shoot birds. To me there is no sport or fun in groundpounding a sitting bird. On a rare occasion I might stop the vehicle load a a gun and walk a clump of brush I saw a bird duck into if I have proper permission and it's legal, but thats far from a sure bet (they know you're coming). Like others have said, I bird hunt to watch the dog work. If the hunting is good I tend to stick to shooting only points. If I can restrain myself from dumping a rooster I put up myself in favor of ones my dogs worked, I think I can hold off from shooting one on the ground out of a vehicle risking my hunting privileges and firearm.

Want a real challenge? Hunt grouse the way my brother and I did as kids. We used .22 because neither of us could shoot our way out of a paper bag with a shotgun. Actually, I wonder if I could today sometimes. We'd flush the birds, note where they went down, and catch them on the ground. Not so easy to do in the north woods.

[charliepete]

Bob....I guess we'll have to disagree. I think shooting a grouse on the wing is 50 times harder than potting one on the ground with a rifle. Even in your own post about the challenge of shooting them with a .22 you say that you did it because neither your nor your brother could hit one with a shotgun. It sounds to me like the real challenge would have been wing shooting them with a shotgun even in your own estimation.

[broken_line]

we shot one that was along ways form a house.. the wind blew it in the private land about 2 feet or so we put the gun in the truck leand over grabbed it and the guy from the houses came running and asked about the legality of the shooting i told him i got 3 responsises we could.. called the dnr, emailed the dnr, a on here.. all said we could.. then he just looked at me for a while then asked what my name was and was struck up a nice chat..

[harvey lee]

Most stories I have heard did not have quite the ending yours did.

[BobT]

The challenge isn't in being able to make the kill. The challenge is to get close enough to find them again so you can.

[lichen fox]

When we were young my brother and I too started with a .22 rimfire hunting grouse...it wasn't because we couldn't hit anything with a shotgun, it was mainly because our folks couldn't afford to buy us both shotguns and dad had a couple of 22's in his gun cabinet...we'd walk the woodlots slowly...listen, and watch...rarely would we flush a bird before we got a crack at him...it was quite challangeing...but we rarely came home without our limits of ruffies...As for the legality of shooting off a road at a small game animal...it's perfectly legal in Mn....you can shoot off the road, into the brush, or at small game on the road...if you are hunting roads on "private land" you do need permission from the landowner as in Mn the landowner owns to the center of the road...there are currently some "proposed" changes as far as shooting "onto the road", but these may or maynot be implemented next year...the only current restrictions are that you cannot shoot from a road or across a road at a "big game" animal...

[harvey lee]

The problem I see with the road hunting is so many shoot from their vehicle at pheasants and other game from the truck.

More do it than one realizes. That is not legal.

[lichen fox]

I agree, that has never been legal and even with the enhancements they are trying to make to the road hunting laws it's something that "some people" will continue to do...One of the "propsed changes" is to make it illegal to shoot at small game animal/bird "on" the road...you could still shoot from the road but only at game that's off the road...but no matter how they say you are "supposed to do it" there will be some that don't read the regs or choose or choose to ignore it...I still do some road hunting for ruffies, mainly when I'm checking bear baits and when I evening hunt for ruffies I will most often walk a road or logging trail with my shorthair...

[CRAZYEYES]

I can't say that I never have gotten out on a two rut road and shot a grouse when I was younger but I have never pheasant or dove hunted from the car. The problem with road hunting is it makes hunters look bad. As hunters we need to set the best example we can so we dont give groups like Peta any more ammo against hunters. Road hunting will always be a hottly debated topic but if a hunter needs to road hunt to get their birds they probably are not putting enough time into the sport. I do think they should reverse the law on shooting fromnear a motor vehicle and ban grouse hunting from 4 wheelers. I fail to see the sport running the roads with a 4 wheeler and the birds dont even fly most of the time when you pull up to them on a machine. If your legs work walk but if they dont get a permit to shoot from a motor vehicle.

[harvey lee]

Thats the trouble, there is a legal way to do this but as always, some ruin it for the rest.

I have no issues with hunters doing it the legal way.

[CatchPhotoFilet]

I have an excellent area to hunt pheasants in SD. I choose to road hunt because it is an efficient way to hunt. Depending on weather conditions and time of year it will not matter how many fields you walk the birds get up a long ways ahead of you or the snow is chest deep and you cant walk in it if you wanted to. I disagree that is gives hunters a bad name. If anyone thinks that, apparently they dont realize that just cause your road hunting does not mean the bird you shoot at is going to be a certain kill shot. Every bird has just the same chance of escape as the next. No matter how well of a rule follower people think they are nobody is ever 100% by the book.

[CRAZYEYES]

I will agree that no hunter is 100% perfect. But as for the weather being bad, snow being deep and the pheasants being skittish thats part of hunting. Without all of that you couldnt even call it hunting. Another thing is if you ask non hunters if they think driving a car around shooting pheasnts is a fair chase hunting I would have to believe that the absolute majority would say no and makes hunters look bad. Its not all about the kill its about the hunt.

[CodyDawg]

I dont care how skittish the birds are, if you put in an honest effort you will get opportunities. I have hunted all the states around here all season long and I have never, ever, found snow to the point that it stopped me from hunting. Did it hinder me a on very rare occation, sure, but frankly, I can only think of twice where it was a major deal. And we still shot birds in it. I do a LOT of hunting pheasants (too much the wife says!!) and if you put forth an honest effort you will get plenty of birds without having to resort to road hunting.

[CatchPhotoFilet]

Maybe you should of been in SD last winter the last week of the season. Snow was chest deep in a lot of spots. Couldnt get to a lot of sloughs walking or driving. ZERO degrees outside also makes road hunting sound real nice from a heated vehicle! Id rather walk a slough and work a dog than road hunt but sometimes road hunting is the more efficient way to do things. To each their own but I dont think road hunting is by any means unethical or not a fair chase.I think a bird has a lot better chance of getting away road hunting than sitting in extremely think cover where a dog might catch it or it cant fly away. Road hunting takes a lot of strategy to have success as well. Apparently from what you said you have never had to "resort" to road hunting like its the worst possible thing to do as a hunter. Maybe you should try something new and you might see the fun in it!

[CRAZYEYES]

Last year I was out near Madison MN near the SD border the last couple days of the pheasant season. There is no is question that it was pretty brutal. We tried to get into one of my favorite sloughs and the snow was chest deep in the cattails and we watched a good 200 birds get up a block in front of us. We had to use some strategy and post guys on one side of the slough while a couple of us plowed through the cats and snow on another. We did that a several times at a couple different sloughs and patches of dogwood trees and we got our birds. If you can get birds that time of year when they're buched up and jumpy it makes them true trophies. It probably would be more "efficent" to drive the roads shooting them but I cant see a lot of strategy or real effort there.

[CodyDawg]

My dad used to do a little road hunting from time to time. I never liked the idea. It is extremely easy some of the time and moderately easy most of the time. There are always issues with trespass....even if you do it completely legally, you were still within feet of not doing it legally. Chest deep snow can be navigated pretty easily with a pair of snowshoes. Most of the time when it is that deep, the pheasants arent there either because all the cover is buried. Believe me, I have hunted in lots of snow and as the previous poster said, if you put in an honest effort and use a little stategy, it is a lot of fun and you can have success. As for road hunting in general, we will have to agree to disagree because there is no way you will convince me it is an ethical way to hunt. I have seen way too many road hunters, I have seen way too many pheasants from the road (sometimes I will stop and they just stand there or run into a wee bit of cover and hold) and I have hunted way too many times to believe that is a good way to hunt them.

As for the birds holding in thick cover... that just doesnt happen enough to be an issue. I have been around thousands and thousands of birds and my dog has caught exactly 1, which was released unharmed (thank goodness for a soft mouth). Now you can make the point that I have a pointer and flushers are more likely to catch them. True. But my 3 best hunting pards run flushers and I can only recall them catching a couple. So that is no comparison to road hunting.

[SkitterPopper]

Quote:

I make 3 trips a year to SD most locals hunt not only pheasants from the roads but deer as well. It is not unethical that is your opinion.

Once again a thread takes a hard right. I was not calling anyone unethical that was road hunting legally. I know the guy in my story was on the road when he fired and I would assume the bird was over the road as it was in the center of the road. That is not legal. He was not in the ditch as it was heavy cover as I stated so he could not say he was in the ditch when he fired. In my opinion the risk is not worth the reward in road hunting.

I saw in your thread that you hunt deer from the road. I know in Minnesota the only legal way of doing this is if you are handicap. There are no other legal options to shoot out of your vehicle window at big game, and I hope that never changes.

[harvey lee]

In my humble opinion, shooting deer for a truck is not the sportsman way of hunting. Just because people do it does not make it ethical.

I do believe hunting a deer and beating his senses is hunting and not whacking them from the road.

I'm sorry but I cannot believe people would hunt like that.

[BLACKJACK]

Lets face it, people - note I didn't say hunters - that are in favor of road hunting are more interested in meat in the gamebag than they are about the sport of hunting. Forget the fact that they're feet away from trespassing and being illegal, forget the fact of how many birds fly away wounded to die later, at the end of the day they want a pile of meat to show off and put in the freezer.

Where we pheasant hunt in SoDak, the owners brother-in laws road hunt all day long, they get their birds, but the telling comment is 'you guys should come with us, we could use your dogs to find the birds'. How many do they shoot that they can't find?

Also in SoDak I watched three trucks chasing deer across a section, one of them a big buck. You could hear the pow, pow, pow as they pounded away. They went out of sight but who knows how long they chased those deer? Puts meat on the ground but not very sporting.

[rundrave]

lets not turn this into a SD hunter VS Minnesota hunters. There are a few bad apples that give our sport a bad image in both states.

Take it for what it is, road hunting is legal in SD, and the rules are different than MN.

I can tell you this I am not a fan of road hunting and I very rarely do it, but I do know that I could walk acres and acres of private land in the early season when crops are still in and not find alot of birds. However just before dark that same time of year I can run a dog down each ditch on the side of the road and wait for one of my dogs to go on point. Is it the way I like to hunt no way not at all.

But early season when the temps are still warm during the day, the grass is still tall and the crops are still in, its just another way to utilize birds. Its completely legal when done correctly. Just because its not your way to hunt, dont criticize other hunters for hunting with in their legal right.