road hunting?

[uplander]

I don't think it ever was a SD vs Mn thing...It's about treading on the grey area between legal hunting and tresspassing...which I think all to often gets crossed while road hunting..giving hunters a bad name....If you were a land owner and you watched guys bail out of a car and shoot some roosters a few hundred feet from your driveway.. Then watched as they had to cross the fence line to retrieve the birds which were clearly shot over your property....Do you think you would give the next guy that actually came and asked for permission to hunt your land the green light???..I'm gonna guess 9 of 10 are going to tell you to get the H out of there..And with good reason...I'm not saying ...I'm just saying!!!

[rundrave]

well in your scenario a couple hundred feet is against the law! Law clearly states that you need to be 660ft away.

And if they shot the birds and they were over the fence they were cleary wrong again. You can take only small game (except doves) and waterfowl within the right-of-way on foot. You must be within the right-of-way and the game must have taken flight from within or be flying over the right-of-way.

I agree with you this is the behavior of some hunters while road hunting that can make the practice difficult to defend.

But my stance is if done correctly and legally, why is there an issue?

[CodyDawg]

rundrave,

I think the issue is that it is very, very rarely done legally. How many guys are gonna pass up a shot at a big, fat rooster when he gets up right on the property line and heads over private property? Very, very, VERY few. You may be one, but there arent many. That roody gets shot at 999 times out of 1000.

And as stated, the ditch may not even be legal to hunt in MN. If it is an easement, it is not legal and you cant tell that unless you get into the title work.

[uplander]

No issue when done legally , none at all! ..while doing it the temptation for some to do wrong is too great...some people just can't hold up on that big juicy rooster 10 feet the other side of the fence..That's all ..and that is when we start to give ourselves a bad name!..Be safe! Have a great season! Try keep in mind what any of does reflects on all of us!!!!

[rundrave]

You guys have a great season as well! It wont be long.

I guess they way I look at it, I drive right by those tempting ones that are even borderline close to legal. There are too many birds out there. I dont need or want to take the risk of getting caught doing something wrong, or putting anyone at risk by firing an unsafe shot.

[harvey lee]

It great that a few follow the road hunting rules but I have watch many road hunters not do what you are doing rundave.

Thats the real problem.

Does not matter what state they break the rules in, it gives a bad name to all of us and also makes it harder to get permission to hunt private land. I see it all the time when hunters, if we can call them that, whack deer from their truck out the window. I never see them get out of the truck and go into the ditch to shoot them.

Thats simply what I see every year in North Dakota. Location of state does not matter as it happens alot everywhere. I watch this happen right out of the kitchen window and then call the CO but he never gets there in time. If I try to get a license number, they leave the deer and run like he$$.

[PGEHound]

To answer the question of the original post. I had the very same question and after looking through the MN hunting regulations there is nothing in there that states it is illegal to take small game from the road, on/off or across. The only thing that is illegal is shooting any game from your vehicle, unless your are disabled with a permit. Though, it is illegal to take big game from the road, on/off or across. Like many have stated you have to be carefull of public property. In MN there are many areas of state land that is open to public hunting.

Road hunting, if done legaly, is not 'unethical'. Not every one has the option of hunting with man's best friend. Hunting through pheasant country is almost impossible without a dog. If you road hunt make sure you bring a bag of 'common sense'. Listen for other vehicles that are possibly coming down the road or just be aware of your surroundings. I believe that is gun safety 101.

[BobT]

In my opinion, hunting is hunting and fishing is fishing. The primary purpose in either case is to take game. Seasons and limits have been established to protect the various species from total consumption. There are those that would like nothing more than to satisfy their own special interests and turn these activities into a purely elitest activity through catch & release or mininum rack size restrictions. My opinion? That's for the birds and if you want that type of activity, buy land, fence it in, and manage it to suit your fantasy.

[Dave S]

With the right technique, a person can be successful sans the dog while hunting public land. Road hunting can open up a big can of worms if the property owners own to the middle of the road. In that case, you would be trespassing and not doing any sportsman/woman any favors.