road hunting?

[broken_line]

is it legal to drice gravel roads and shott doves as they fly off the wires??

[Archerysniper]

I would have to say no because you would be shooting off the road right of way.

[grousehunter]

Not sure about Minnesota, but in South Dakota you have to be at least 50 yards from any public road to shoot doves. I would guess it is something similar in MN.

[broken_line]

i took 45 min and read everything that didnt have to do with deer in the regs book.. also looked in the waterfowl book.. nothing about roads... is southdakota you cant shooot the bird on the wire either.. you can here but its unethical..

[Jameson]

hey Brokenline how about e-mailing the DNR with your question? Than posting the response on here?

My memory isn't the greatest, but it seems that I e-mailed the DNR about something similar, and the response was that we are allowed to shoot small game from the roadway. Don't take what I write for law, but I think it's legal.

[brittman]

Gravel roads (maintained and often with names) are treated much different than unmaintained roads by the DNR. Unmaintained roads are prairie trails along section lines and into pastures ... Unmaintained roads are logging roads into the woods. The rules from shooting on or around maintained roads is different than unmaintained...

[CodyDawg]

I have done some research into this and it gets very confusing. The bottom line is this, for SOME gravel roads, the right-of-way is NOT owned by the city/county/state, but rather is an EASEMENT. Thus you CANNOT hunt the ditches withouth landowner permission. In some areas it is owned by the govt and you may be able to. However, in both cases, it may very well upset the landowner, so asking is by far your best option. There are many places to hunt in MN and a little leg work will get you a place to hunt.

[broken_line]

email sent.

[uplander]

Just my 2cents...I think most road hunting is unethical..unless someone is physically impaired and can not get out in the field...The hunt is about the hunt not the kill!....so get out there and hunt!!!! i know it is leagal in some places and if it is leagal why not do it.and that whole deal....But it's not for me...I have three hunting dogs for a reason...to watch them hunt!...I know some people don't have the means to own dogs and I would hate to discourage people without dogs from hunting...But even when I had no dog back in college..I would still get out and walk em up...I know this thread is about doves..but it all ties together...Do what's right in your mind!..Be as ethical of a hunter as you can!..The future of our sport depends on all of us!!!.Have a great season!

[SkitterPopper]

I think it would be alright if you exited your vehicle and walked through the ditch to the other side and then fired. This is granted you have permission on that land or it is public hunting land. If you are caught firing off the road or even having a loaded gun on the road you will be tagged.

I am not sure about the maintained and non-maintained road thing. I think I would ask before doing that.

My big concern is safety. Most of us remeember to think about this but there are people out there that do not. I was out scouting some fields last night for intance. I can around a 90 degree turn in the road and there was a dove hunter picking up a bird in the middle of the road. What could have happen if I can though there a minute or two earlier? He could not see me coming as there was dense brush around the corner and I was moving slow enough that I am sure he never heard me coming. He made sure not to make eye contact as I came by because he knew he just screwed up. I parked behind his truck a ways down the road just to make him sweat a little.

Please do not think I am saying that you or anyone else on here would do that but it was still in my head this morning and I thought I would share. It is amazing how one guy can make a whole group look bad.

[Leaddog]

Uplander:

Well said!

[NoWiser]

I agree with Uplander 100%. Another thing to consider is the impression you are leaving with all of the non-hunters out there. If I was a non-hunter and came around a corner on a dirt road (like SkitterPopper said) to find someone, with their vehicle still running, door open, standing in the middle of a road picking up a dove, what kind of impression is that going to leave me with? Probably not a very good one. From that point on when someone brings up dove hunting that will be the picture I have of it in my mind. We are lucky to have a dove season in this state right now, and it isn't the time to push our luck.

If you find out that what you are looking at doing is in fact legal, you have every right to do it, but with a little research and some legwork I have a feeling you could find yourself some good dove hunting spots without road hunting, and at the end of the day come home feeling much better about your hunting experience. Its not all about filling the crockpot at the end of the day.

Have a good hunting season!

NoWiser

[CatchPhotoFilet]

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. Ive had some years where hunting is pretty tough due to snow or other conditions and road hunting is about the only choice. and id be willing to bet if you anti road hunters seen a nice big rooster sittin in the ditch or on a wire or in a tree and nobody was comin you wouldnt shoot it out the window or on the side of the road or what have you. yeah right. Thats your choice but any rooster that comes near me when when im in a vehicle best keep its head down cause theres some 5 shot comin right at it. as to say its unethical i think is up to the hunter shooting that animal.Road hunting can be a lot of fun!

[riverrat56]

and id be willing to bet if you anti road hunters seen a nice big rooster sittin in the ditch or on a wire or in a tree and nobody was comin you wouldnt shoot it out the window or on the side of the road or what have you. yeah right.

You'd lose that bet with me, every time.

[grousehunter]

Originally Posted By: CatchPhotoFilet

and id be willing to bet if you anti road hunters seen a nice big rooster sittin in the ditch or on a wire or in a tree and nobody was comin you wouldnt shoot it out the window or on the side of the road or what have you. yeah right.

You'd lose that bet with me, every time.

me 2...hunting is about a lot more than a bird in the bag.

[CatchPhotoFilet]

To each their own i guess huh. Ill walk miles a miles a day through chest high sloughs to shoot my limit of birds.and i will also Hammer that big old rooster sittin in the ditch! Some say its all about the hunt. Apparently those people havent shot limits of birds before and just except it and find other ways to enjoy the day! I enjoy the day by shootin my bag limit! Lighten up and you would see what fun it can be! But if your in SD dont shoot at that rooster cause I sure will!

[broken_line]

this is about doves and it is wayyyy harder tahn it looks// you have to shut the truck off, get out load the gun walk up to it and 60% of the time it flies when you're 60 yards away.. and if they fly over the corn i dont even shoot..because it buggs the sh$$ outa me if i kill or wound something and cant find it.. btw the most we got in a day was 9.. 40 miles of gravel chased 100 birds around just coulndt get any shots where we would be able to find the birds in corn or beans

[broken_line]

[uplander]

I'ld like to know how many times road hunters shoot the bird once it crosses the plain on to private land....Which if I'm not mistaken would be tresspassing...A serious and dispicible offense...Just something to keep in mind while road hunting..so if treading on grey areas in the law is for you keep doing it..And to say people who find it unethical andthink the hunt is more important don't shoot their limit...well that is just plain crazy talk...We just choose to get our limit our way!!!!

[LOTWSvirgin]

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/mourningdove/hunt_info.html

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/hunting/2009/full_regs.pdf

Page 54 55

[BlueLundFishrman]

I don't have a problem with road hunting. Been doing it since before I was old enough to hunt. That being said there is a legal way to road hunt and an illegal way to road hunt, and obviously the rules are different here in SD versus MN. Nothing wrong with shooting a ditch chicken when the legal opportunity presents itself.

[graingrower]

Unplatted ag land property lines come to the center of the road, therefore, the ditch is private property. Consider the perspective of a landowner; road hunters are the uninvited party guests that give us a reason to deny access to legitimate sportsman. Tresspassing is not a victimless offense!

[harvey lee]

I'll be very honest with this one. There was a time when a limit of birds was everything and how you shot them really didn't matter. In the field or off the road really was not an issue.

Then, I purchased myself a great English pointer and had it trained.

Now pheasant hunting to me was all about watching the dog work the birds in the field and the amount shot really did not matter at all.

It may be as one gets older how many one shoots really does not matter but how one shoots them really does matter.

[Barbelboy]

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.

[harvey lee]

I believe some were simply stating that there is a legal way and a not so legal way to hunt off the road.

I myself simply stated that I really enjoy hunting behind a dog and not popping them off the road. Never stated that anyone was a fool or wrong for doing it where it is legal.

Typically this has been and is a very touchy subject for all bird hunters. At times, the sportsmen get bashed pretty hard by the non hunters for whacking birds off the road.