Ethics from this past weekend

[bigbucks]

I agree that's ridiculous. Come on who wouldn't, given the opportunity during archery season check to see when the farmer's going to take his corn out & try to hunt that day if possible? That's not cheating, it's being a smart hunter. It's not like that's any guarantee, it just increases your odds.

[abens1078]

If you were sitting right at the end of the rows or on the combine I could see the problem. But 100 yrds away, those deer could change direction 20 times in that distance. You would also have an issue with how far you would have to be from that combine to hunt legally, if 100 yrds isn't enough, are we talking 1/2 mile or a mile? You lose a big area real fast.

I would think something going 5 mph through a field would be simple for a deer to out run anyway, People on foot can move that fast if they want to. We run into the same issue in Iowa sometimes if a new CO gets assigned to an area and wants to be a rules buff. 95% of the time the corn is out by our deer gun seasons so it isn't an issue.

I know this response will be unpopular with some but if you pay for the tag a combine shouldn't get in the way of your hunt.

[TomBow]

I don't see how YOU are to be held accoutable by the CO because the farmer next door starts harvesting a field. YOU are not driving deer with a vehicle. I think he'd have a tough time proving that in court. The farmer is harvesting his field, a natural occurance in his business, he is not doing it to drive deer so there is no intention on his part. Sounds like the CO is blowing some smoke.

[Stratosman]

I agree, it would maybe be different if you were hunting the same land as the farmer was harvesting, but you were adjacent. So what did he say, you have to be a certian distance from the combine or what?

[Lip RIPPER!]

That just blows my mind that the CO said that to you. It would be different had you been riding on top of the combine with a loaded gun. We had a farmer this past weekend who was combining his barley field right next to a woods we hunt in. About 4:30, a big 8 pointer came out chasing a doe in a food plot on the edge of the woods and one of the guys in our party shot the deer right on the edge of the barley field and plot. That combine was less than 300 yards away. What would the CO have to say about that? I believe you were totally legal hunting where you were.

[lawdog]

Well thanks guys, you've confirmed what I and everyone else I've talked to thought about this.

And to clarify someone's question as to what he told me, he agreed we didn't have to leave the land completely, but said we should sit way on the other end, couldn't watch that field and if anything came out of that field we couldn't shoot it because the combine had driven it to us(like I was supposed to know where it came from when I supposedly couldn't even look at the field...).

We were leaving anyway because we were supposed to go meet the rest of our party to do a couple drives, but if I had planned to be there much longer I would have been real ticked off...

Take it easy and enjoy weekend #2! Almost all the corn that gave me problems right close to where I hunt came out this week so I'm hoping this weekend will be much more prosperous!!!