predator
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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!
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!