elkoholic Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 If you have seen some of my old posts, you probably know one of my pet peeves is road hunting/hunting from a motor vehicle. It is illegal in most states with the exception of handicapped/disabled hunters, or in some states if done on private property, Texas for example. To the best of my knowledge no state allows hunting from a public road or right of way. So, with that, if one is spot and stalk hunting, with the spotting done by driving around trying to spot something from a vehicle, is it illegal? I say definitely illegal. Like a mountain lion hunter driving Forest Service roads looking/hunting for tracks to turn the dogs loose on or an elk/moose/deer hunter doing the same thing only stopping every 1/4 mile of so to call. Does the hunting only begin when you see, hear or cut the tracks of your quarry? Or, not until you step out of your vehicle and off the public right of way? What exactly are these people doing before they magically become hunters when their quarry is sighted? In the past 50+ years I have spent thousands of hours tromping around the mountains "not seeing" my quarry so I guess I haven't done near as much hunting as friends and family think I have, but at least I wasn't in a motor vehicle at the time I wasn't hunting. Yes, it is easier to cover a lot of ground in a vehicle (advantage predator) but just what is it you're doing if not hunting illegally? Isn't hunting illegally called poaching? Game wardens here just give me a constipated look when I ask why they do not enforce or even try to educate people about illegal use of motor vehicles during hunting season. Not all people who hunt are hunters, some are simply, poachers. Any thoughts on this subject? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 Good to see you posting Dave. I don't think using a vehicle to cover ground where legal makes someone a poacher. Shooting from a vehicle on a roadway in my view is not the same as using a truck to cover ground then getting out and spotting and stalking. Like you say, I would guess unless someone is physically impaired and has a permit for it then doubt there is anywhere that allows for shooting from a vehicle that is licensed to be on the road. You drive your truck to your hunting area, then is that also in your mind poaching? I mean if you are hunting a large piece of property several sq miles that would be impossible to cover on foot to get where you think you want to be then getting out and spotting and stalking, I don't see a great deal of difference from driving to your hunting area. Riding around and taking advantage of animals from a roadway is just not the same, especially when those animals may be accustomed to traffic and pay little attention to vehicles. Most my experience has been hunting from stands. Only time I have hunted spot and stalk was with Steve Beilgard in Wyoming. I would like to go back someday and I would hunt the same way I did when we hunted with him. Drive to different areas, then climb to the tops of vantage points and spot and try to move in. With all that being said, TN changed our regs a few years back to ALLOW shooting from a motorized non road licensed road vehicle as long as that vehicle is stationary at the time of taking the shot, making it legal to shoot from farm vehicles like tractors and also atv/utv's. I personally do not agree with that reg. I speculate that there are some around that carry their corn in their side by sides, dump it then shoot what comes to their bait(baiting is still illegal here). That infuriates me, game warden is stretched to thin to tromp through these swamps to find bait piles. I regularly see a 90's model chevy hauling his side by side with his buckets in the bed of the side by side coming and going on a property just up the road from me. Too many times on calm quiet mornings sitting in my stand I have heard them ride in, shoot and then ride out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkoholic Posted January 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 William, I do not think that driving to or from an area where you will be hunting is poaching. I do think that if your intent is to drive around until you see something to shoot, or if stopped/parked and spotting from a vehicle you are indeed poaching if hunting from a motor vehicle is illegal in that area. Even if legal, I would question the ethics of that practice. Sitting in a vehicle and trying to spot an animal in the distance that you can then make a stalk on is in my mind hunting from a vehicle, but I am not sure that it gives one any great advantage beyond that of getting from one spotting place to another faster and with little or no physical effort. Therein lies the rub for me. Hunting should require some effort, even if it is just putting down your cup of coffee and getting out of the comfort of your heated vehicle. I know many of the forum members do most, if not all, of their hunting from stands. It is a lot different here in the western states. There is a tremendous amount of land, millions of acres, where I live and road hunting (or poaching) is way too common. There are thousands of miles of Forest Service roads and come the general firearms season they are crawling with vehicles inching along at a snails pace, loaded firearms at the ready. Most shoot from the road and many from the vehicle itself. Even during archery season when the elk are rutting there are those hunters stopping and calling from their vehicles and listening for a reply. They are definitely hunting from a vehicle and yes they are poachers. There is an unfair advantage to being able to cover many miles in a day without breaking a sweat. Stop and get out and burn some boot leather. Hike to a vantage point and glass or call. Bottom line is, whatever the law is in your hunting area, if you are not hunting legally, you are a poacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
im your huckleberry Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 Yup, road hunters tweeks my melon. They scare everything off because all they need to do is shoot at deer a couple of times and the deer are wise. Then the deer stay in bush until dark before they come out to feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawg Posted February 21, 2018 Report Share Posted February 21, 2018 If it's legal in the state/county/parish where you live, more power to you. I live in Jasper County, TX and it is illegal to trail a wounded deer with a dog but there are many counties in TX where it is perfectly legal to do so. If it's illegal in the state/county/parish where you live and you do it anyway, yep you are breaking the law. Call it what you will, poacher, outlaw, criminal.....bottom line is you are breaking the law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted February 22, 2018 Report Share Posted February 22, 2018 Elk, I know where your coming from... we have Natives that do the same thing here. Some white men also. Not everyone is a ground pounder, few of that breed left, but probably the purist from of True hunting. Easten's show that they do is right on, wear out some shoe leather and get back into areas few men see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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