Please!! I'm begging you....

[predator]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-01-04 AT 10:52AM (MST)[p]Fellow Utahns, I am begging you. When you get this year's Big Game Proclamation, please take the time to READ IT ENTIRELY. This past fall has for me been very difficult to enjoy, because I have continually had to witness some not only very idiotic behavior, but some outright illegal behavior. I am beginning to think that I am one of only a few who actually follow the rules, and that makes me very sad. At what point does the public, the DWR decide that enough is enough and take away our hunting opportunities permanently? There are those among us who are our worst enemies, and they are doing a great job of reinforcing the most negative stereotypes out there.

Here are the latest examples, you tell me what this does for our image. Yesterday in the course of attempting to find a way to create a teleportation device over the 6-feet of snow between me, the ground, and 300 yards separating me from the cow I want to put in my freezer, a very nice gentleman stopped by to talk. During the course of the conversation, I found that he was bowhunting and hoping to shoot a nice bull. Well, too bad for him, because the bowhunt ended two weeks ago. When the warden contacted him, he was completely ignorant (or so he claimed). For those who don't understand this whole Extended Archery thing, there are some areas that are were open until today. The Wasatch Front is not one of them. This situation all could have been resolved had he just actually read the details of the Proclamation. Add this to the other idiocy I've seen with other bowhunters, and I'm finding it very difficult to not form an opinion on this group as a whole, and I happen to also be a bowhunter.

The second case was a guy that saw the same herd of elk I did, a group of larger bulls, a spike and one cow. They were on a golf course, 100 yards off the road. The perimeter of the course is posted for trespassing. The golf course is also right across the street from a DOT equipment maintenance shed, which is occupied. The man was headed off to kill that cow. The maintenace guys were really yelling at him, as I watched from the truck with my dad in amazement. In Salt Lake County east of I-15, you cannot even shoot a gun within one mile of a building, particularly one that is occupied. And this man parked right next to the "No Trespassing" sign. Now anyone who knows this area also knows that it is a haven for the non-hunting, self-righteous liberal half of our city dwellers. And I had to listen to them rail on me at the next trailhead about the man at the golf course who couldn't follow the rules. I found myself trying to apologize for him, but then stopped. Why should I apologize for what in the most literal terms is a 'poacher'?

The end of the story is that my dad and I got followed as we stalked a herd of elk by several of the protesters, who did their damndest to make as much noise as possible. In the end, I had to make my third phone call of the day to DWR to report that I was now being harassed.

What we do in the field extends to more than our own personal experience, gain or pride. Please folks, don't be ignorant, read the rules and follow them. If you can't, then stay out of the field. It's not a hard price to pay to enjoy what we have in our own backyard and have a sense of connectivity to the roast you pull out of the freezer in the middle of winter.

I'm sure this will generate some response, let's talk about this some more!

 

[bobcatbess]

predator

YOU CAN'T GET AWAY FROM THE UN-ETHICAL IDIOTS ANYMORE,SAD BUT TRUE!!!

I USED TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK IN FAR ENOUGH TO GET AWAY FROM MOST,BUT NOW THEY JUST DRIVE THEIR LAZY ASSES IN ON THEIR BIG BAD QUADS WITH A BOOK OF EXCUSES!!!

WHEN YOU FIND A PLACE WE CAN GET AWAY FROM THEIR UN-ETHICAL BULL ##### LET ME KNOW!!!

I THINK SOME OF THEM IN THIS STATE JUST HUNT WITH THEIR OWN RULES AND TIME FRAMES!!!

IT'S AMAZING SOME OF THE THINGS YOU CAN SEE IN THE FIELD ANYMORE!!!

THE ONLY bobcat TAKING THE LAW INTO HIS OWN HANDS WHEN LAW OFFICIALS DON'T HAVE THE GUTS TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM!!!

 

[ktg]

Oh boy, another Utah post & BCBOY is going off the deep end.

 

[BCBOY]

LMAO!
Hopefully the hunters in that great state of your's will wake up someday. I want to see some more pics of the big bucks that that country is known for.

 

[predator]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-01-04 AT 01:04PM (MST)[p]Hey BC, I'll try to get some for you, they are really out right now. We have had over 6 feet at 7000 feet, and are expected 2-4 more. I'm afraid we are in for a big winter kill. We watched a moose try to cross I-80 a couple times yesterday, the snow was nearly up to his belly (and you of all people know how big 'dem moosies are!).

And although this post was specifically about behavior in Utah, I'm sure it applies to some other places. I didn't want to blanketly judge other states' hunters, so BC, sorry you have to put up with me.

 

[Bobcatmess]

I'M A PISSED OFF ***** CAT TOO!!!!

THOSE UNETHICAL A$$ES ACT LIKE A PACK OF HYENAS OUT THERE ON MY PUBLIC LAND!!!!

THIS ***** COULD KILL A 40 INCHER IT IT WASN'T FOR THOSE HYENAS!!!!

PREDATOR...YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

THE ONLY bobcat THAT'S MAD AS HELL AND NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!

 

[BCBOY]

Pred,
I know there are jackass' in pretty much every state and province. I've been fortunate the last few years because I've been hunting well away from the masses. But, I have heard several horror stories even in my hometown this year of asses chasing deer right in town, trespassing on marked private land with houses all around. Makes you wonder what goes through their heads to think that what they are doing is OK. When God was handing out brains, they thought He said trains and they missed theirs.
As far as the winter goes, I sure hope you don't end up with a big dieoff. Up here it's been pretty mild and not much for snow yet. In one way that's good for our wildlife, but I sure would like to see more so that we don't have a summer from Hell like 2003 again.
As for that moose, I've seen them in the high elevations in the winter in more than 10 feet of snow. They seem to love the stuff. They are good swimmers. LOL! I've yet to see a winter that those suckers can't handle. Those long legs come in handy.

 

[alwayzbhuntin]

Predator....that kind of thing is not limited to Utah...there is jackass behavior everywhere. The sad part about it is that it seems that those who so try to follow the letter of the law while in the field and elsewhere, all of a sudden find themselves subconsciencely spending their time which is supposed to be for hunting, tracking game wardens down, tailing people to their vehicle to get a licence plate number, and so forth and so on.
Is it fair???? Not hardly. The ones that do follow the law seem to be the ones who pay for the idiot mistakes of others while they keep on doing what they are doing, as in your case and I am sure others too.
It's not hard to read the regs....people don't just out of pure laziness or the I know everything attitude.
Just like stated before many of times, it is a team effort. One oh ##### knocks out a thousand atta boys.

 

[studpile]

As for reading the proclamation, I totally agree that it should be devoured entirely by those who want to follow the rules and know the areas. As for the other thousands of "people" who take their hunting equipment out once a year and go forth to slay the mighty game...they should probably just stay home and take up crochet.
I'm all for getting new and more folks involved in the hunting lifestyle, but it seems lately all the people getting involved are only hindering our sport, not helping it along. I suppose I can't blame it on only the new people, as I'm sure many idiotic traits are passed from generation to generation..ie..poaching, drunk hunting...etc..
Perhaps the barrel has always had a few bad apples in it, but they sure seem to be popping to the surface more lately. I wish we could be looked upon as conservationists, enviromentalists, as well as hunters...but the slob unethical hunter persona appears all too often and is going to make looking at us in any other way difficult.

 

[Tuffbucker]

Predator,

Great post!! I think this can be blanket statement to all hunters everywhere!! Take the time to read the proclamations and all of the specific rules for the area and type of hunt you are hunting. Most of all, be ready and willing to turn in those unethical hunters you witness every year on the mountain. I for one am not going to put up with it anymore. I have ignored the acitons of others on the mountains for too long! So if you are in Utah, and youre hunting anywhere near me, be on your best behavior!! One shell casing left behind and Im having your asses hung for littering!!!

IN all seriousness, its up to us hunters in the field to police the siutation and watch out for each other.....those bureacrats sitting behind the desk at the DWR aren't going to find the solutions to the problems, we are!!

Good luck to you all in your upcoming year of hunting!!

Tuffbucker---Scott

 

[PleaseDear]

That whole Archery Wasatch Extended area should be a seperate draw unit for the elk/deer hunt. No more of this everyone or anyone with a bow tag unfilled can hunt it. That On-line certification should be a sit down class at a DWR office where the 'drawn' tags will be issued AFTER completion of the orientation.

Speaking of reading the proclamation, has anyone read/found what officially the LE elk split is going to be?? is it 65-25-10% or is it 50-25-25% or was the whole Split% deal just a 'Guideline' not a new regulation so it isn't in the proc.??

Ya talk to hunters and they all have what was officially decided on for the splits and it is always a different split %.

 

[kingfish]

Hey Pred,
I was just out duck hunting yesterday and watched two idiots continue to sky bust at ducks out over a river that they couldn't possibly retreive had they been lucky enough to hit...I watched these two continue to shoot after shooting hours were over...It's only a matter of time before we lose our rights to hunt..

 

[Wes]

"P"
First off let me say "Thank you" for the service you provide to our community.
Too often a person's desperation to bag something will lead them into stupid actions. Then there's also the slobs who could care less about the rules and regulations. As a lot of these folks here have stated it's up to us to police our ranks. Everyone is complaining about the violations they witness but too often do not report it to the DWR. I have Jerry Schlapi on speed dial on my cell phone. I report every violation I see, then it's up to DWR to pursue it. DWR needs to be a little more heavy handed in prosecuteing violations tho.
This past season I went along on an elk hunt up on the Oquhirr's with some relatives of a friend of mine who I didn't know. I just took my horses and went along for fun. The hunter killed a big bull the first day. After quartering the bull we had a major horse wreck that almost killed one of our horses. So with the approaching darkness and the steepness of the terrain it was too dangerous to try and get the bull off that night. I told the hunters to return the next morning and pack the bull the 150 yards down to the crick then giive mne a call and I would come back up after church and pack it out. Well they went back and got the head and the small bag of meat and left the rest to rot. I reported them for wanton waste. They were only fined $500 and allowed to keep the head and meat they carried out. My friend who is related to them was initially angry that I'd turned them in, but I told him I would even turn him in if I ever witnessed him violating the law.
You showed great restraint while you were being harrassed on your hunt. If those morons had been harassing me I would have givin them a little "Laying on of the hands" and maybe a foot or two.
Wes

Screw the wolves, save the Cowboy

 

[Packout]

Robb- The split for LTD Elk is 60% rifle - 25% archery - 15% muzzleloader.

Once again us ML guys get ripped. haha

Good Luck on the draw.

 

[kingfish]

Wes is right!!!.

I "use" to hunt with some fellas that would party hunt. I didn't say much about it because one of them was a very good friend of the family..(neighbor). I have never party hunted and would never party hunt!!!!. One night while we were all sitting by the fire at camp this friend of ours mentioned to his hunting partner that he seen a 2 point that day and if he saw it tomorrow he was going to shoot it and tag it with a tag his wife had bought..(she doesn't hunt and never went) She would purchase a tag and write a letter for him before he went hunting stating that she had shot the animal and had to leave early...This would allow him to "legally" transport "her" deer home...I told him if he tagged any deer with his wifes bogus tag I would turn him into the game department and tell them about his little scheme...Well that spoiled that hunt and that friendship...Oh well!!!. I have said it before it's up to us (hunters) to police ourselves or suffer the consiquences....

 

[PleaseDear]

Thanks Packout, I can't find it in the '04 proc. anywheres. Good luck back at ya.....

 

[BUL_KRZY]

Great thread!

Just wanted to add that ALL hunters need to read the proclamation. I hunted the General Rifle deer with my father this year in the NE region. Talking to DWR/Parks & Rec guys on the afternoon of opening day, of the 100+ folks they had checked tags for ... GET THIS.... 60% were in the wrong region!!!!! 100% of those people thought they were hunting the Northern Region and had northern tags. They told me about a nice wide, heavy 4 X 3 that was going to be taken away from a young hunter, due to him not having a NE tag. This area is near Cold Springs, not even close to the Northern/NE boundary in my opinion. People just need to go pick up a "FREE" proc. and read the thing, and then follow the rules.

my $0.02 anyway

 

[RINK]

"And that's the way it is" good night,, W. Cronkite

It is all sad,, the real sad part is that the law breakers are usually men in their 30's or 40's not the youngsters . which tells me it is usually not a lack of education or supervision, it's usually, and I say usually loosly, dumb ass middle aged drunks that don't want to work for the game. They just want to kill it at any cost, go back to the couch and brag about it to their other drunk buddies over a cold pack and a "bowl"...

DWR is so understaffed same as most other state agencies the odds of making a call on a cell phone and getting a response from an officer are slim to none unless your report to them is that "Some guy is shooting big game animals with a fully automatic rifle from State St. and 2100 S. off I-80" otherwise forget it.. So sometimes it's necessary to collect Valve-stems whenever possible or a handful of dirt in ye old petrol tank,,, Call me just as bad as them, "dumbasses who cant follow the reg's" thats fine. the personal enjoyment of knowing you singlehandedly totally ruined that dumbasses whole week suits me just fine.. Plus you never know when you'll need a few 2nd hand valve stems..

Ron

 

[nk]

i often hunt a regional park in az. the park is off limits to rifle hunts, and motorized vehicles. while archery hunting this past few weeks i noticed several quads in the park, and one hunter hunting with a rifle! I reported the incidents but have not heard anything more. i actually called the parks office and the person did not even know that the park was off limits to rifle hunts (it was not the park ranger, he was sick that day)! i was extremely disturbed and i am continuing to attempt discuss the issue with the game and fish officer who manages the area. hope we can spread the thought of ethical hunting to those who have problems with following the regs.
good luck all,
nk