Passing it on to the next generation.....just great!!

[shortwave]

Anyway, my point is I want to make it a place where I am pretty certain to get a deer. That doesnt seem very fair to the deer. Am I wrong?

Is what you're doing legal in your state?

Fair chase means hunting legal in your state and not shooting animals that are penned in a small enclosure waiting to be released with the gunner standing by the fence gate.

I live in the middle of the woods and can shoot a deer most any day of the year from inside the house. It's not illegal here to do so during deer hunting season. I've killed three or four does out of the kitchen window over the years to put venison in the freezer and will probably shoot a few more as the years go by. By no means do I feel this is hunting but rather killing a deer to eat. IMO, nothing wrong with legally killing a deer to eat.

Hunting to me, is the cat and mouse game I play with a certain buck I've picked out earlier in the year or one I've chased for a couple years trying to use my skills in the woods to outsmart him. Would I shoot him out the kitchen window? No.
Would I hunt for him over a food plot whether it be one I planted, the neighbors corn or soybean field or a natural food plot made up of a stand of hickories...YEP. Would I hunt him over his fav. watering hole... Yep. Do I think it's fair to use this bucks natural sex drive against himself and hunt for him where the does are going to be because I know sooner or later he will probably show up trying to court one of the does...Yep.

Everyone has their own opinion/morals/convictions when it comes to hunting. As long as you are doing it within the boundaries of the law where you hunt, let your conscience be your guide.

 

[Pahoo]

shortwave + 1

This is why they call it hunting as oppose to killing. If I measured my involment in hunting, by my kills, I would have quit a long time ago. ...

Hunt and;
Be safe !!!

 

[Pahoo]

Giving back, something positive.

One of the main reasons I became a Hunter Safety instructor, is to give somethng back to this "way of life" and to help young hunters develope an Ethical Code of Conduct. You see, I started out my early hunting years, making my own rules. I threw in with a bunch of teenage outlaws and eventually we wound up in jail. .....

Quite often when teaching hunting ethics, I mention some of the dirty tricks we use to pull. During these times, I will catch a young student, slowly glancing up at his Father. I smile when the Father doesn't return the glance. ..

I don't know much about hunting, but I just wanted to know. Why is it illegal to spot light a deer?

Then first learn about hunting ethics and fair-chase. ...
In Iowa and for sure, other states, it's illegal to hunt by using a "cast-Light". This would include lazers. I believe coon hunting is exempt.

Be Safe !!!

 

[rickyrick]

I figure if you own the land and the kill is for a source of meat, not necessarily for recreation or sport, it doesn't bother me what means that you use to take the animal, as long as no cruelty involved. I feel with recreational hunts, you should follow rules.

 

[buck460XVR]

As long as you are doing it within the boundaries of the law where you hunt, let your conscience be your guide.

This. While ethics can and do vary greatly between individuals, the laws in your state apply to everyone the same. One cannot be prosecuted for their ethics as long as they are legal. Seasons, bag limits, hunting hours and legal means are not ethics and are not arbitrary. Don't matter if it's for fun, sport, or the meat. Very few folks in the lower 48 will starve to death if they don't poach. Around here the fine is $1800 for shooting a illegal deer, plus the loss of your firearm and if the animal was placed in your vehicle, you'll probably lose that too. Free venison is donated by sportsmen, can be obtained from game wardens when illegal deer are confiscated and deer hit by motor vehicles are free for the asking. Yet folks still insist that buck in the back of their new F250 that they shot outta season was to feed their family.........

 

[Deja vu]

When I was a kid I would hear from my father about how his father (my grandfather) was a young man (preteens to early teens) during the great depression. His father killed him self when he lost his job and left my grandfather to be the man of the house.

His mother worked a few odd jobs here and there but there was not much work for a 12 year old boy. So he did what he could he took the only gun he had available (an old single shot 22) and took many deer, raccoon, possum and random birds with it. While technically it was poaching I can not fault him for doing so. His mother (my great grand mother) said that she was often worried that he would get in trouble but was always relieved when he brought home meat for the pot. She admitted to my father that one of the first things she would buy is a box of 22 when the other box started running low.

My grandfather said he was caught once by a policeman who instead of doing any thing to him gave him a ride to the officers home and gave him some more ammo and some sugar and flour.

I was not around during these times but I know they where hard. I have a hard time thinking about my kids having to hunt for there supper at the age of 12. The gun is the gun that my father, my self, my brothers and my children all learned to shoot with. I still have it and it will be passed on to my eldest son when he has his own children old enough to learn to shoot. Its a 1904 (I think) Winchester youth model.

 

[buck460XVR]

My dad grew up during the depression also. He used to tell the story about when they ran outta lead shot for the double barreled muzzleloader shotgun, they had no money to buy more. So they improvised and used carpet tacks instead. Worked well except for having retrieve the squirrels that got NAILED to the tree.......

Times were hard during the depression and lots of folks lived off the land to survive. But that was then. Many states today still have a law on the books that says a landowner can legally shoot small game anytime of year on their property......this goes back to these hard times. Nowadays tho, things are much different. Your Grandfather today, Deja vu, would qualify for free lunch at school. In the morning, he could probably get free breakfast too as many school districts offer this too for those that need help. He and each of his siblings would also get a check every month for $475 from SSI. Today he would have no legitimate reason to poach, same goes for the majority of folks in our country. LEOs and Game Wardens are no longer the Judge and Jury. Their job is not to look the other way, but to enforce the laws and leave the sentencing up to others. Otherwise they are no better than the crooks/poachers they protect. While there will always be extremes and always be one chance in a million that someone needs to poach to not go hungry, odds are today, it ain't gonna happen. They are poachin' cause they enjoy killin', or can't get a trophy legally.

 

[shortwave]

Hey buck, you forgot to mention the free cellphone.

 

[therealdeal]

I don't know much about hunting, but I just wanted to know. Why is it illegal to spot light a deer?

I believe - at least in some states - they consider this unfair sport. Basically the deer freezes in the spotlight and are an easy kill.

 

[buck460XVR]

I don't know much about hunting, but I just wanted to know. Why is it illegal to spot light a deer?

I believe - at least in some states - they consider this unfair sport. Basically the deer freezes in the spotlight and are an easy kill.

In many states , spotlighting is not an illegal activity until one possesses or uses a firearm to shoot the animal. Spotlighting animals for scouting and recreational purposes is legal in many states. One should always know their local/state game laws. Spotlighting only works when it's dark and since legal deer hunting ends at dusk in most cases(except for crop damage and some population control hunts), it can be a two-fold violation if one shoots one using a light.

 

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

The Native Americans here living on Treaty Recognized MN Reservations have been shinning/ head-lighting long before I was born. It's a Tradition according to what I've been told for the different tribes. Gee's what happen to my Traditional Rights?

 

[Husqvarna]

people shouldn't be out hunting at night where a light is needed. very hard to track the animal if they just wound it

 

[Keg]

As far as spotlighting...We always spotlighted for coons..when I was in HS....Hides brought good money....I wish they brought good money now....
U can still spotlight for hogs here(but best to let the GW know)....Our deer count observations are done at night with a spotlight....