Road hunting

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moellermd said:
Well I see I have helped to thoroughly hijack this thread. We have gone from the 5 bird limit to road hunting to unloading the gun and casing it.

I am assuming the reason people think you should unload is for an added level of safety and that is fine. Granted an unloaded gun is safer than a loaded one. But hear is something to think about. I looked at the hunter incident report for SD for the years of 2003 and 2008 (the two I found). Out of all the upland hunting accidents only one was caused by a loaded gun in the vehicle (the guys dog supposedly stepped on the gun causing the safety to disengage and the gun to fire). All of the other accidents were caused by blockers or flankers getting shot or shooting the walkers. If a guy really wanted to decrease his chance of getting hurt he would not hunt with blockers. There I have helped to move the thread father away from the original post.
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There was a fatal hunting accident earlier this season in Gregory County, South Dakota where a guy while getting back into his vehicle after shooting a pheasant, his gun went off, hitting and killing his female passenger.

There was a little publicity about it in the news when it happened.

http://www.argusleader.com/article/20091030/NEWS/910300315/Magnets-urge-hunter-safety
 
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I'll re-hi-jack the discussion for the moment.
I agree with Mollermund re roadhunting/casing being somewhat tied together and I do not want to case my gun between spots (tho I do some fo my doubles). Do any of you remember pick-up gunracks? They are still legal here and screw you if you don't appreciate our cowboy ethic. We like it. The gunrack is hardly practical anymore because of theft. If we could just shoot the folks breaking into our trucks we would not have that problem either. Just not pc anymore.

Re the 5 bird issue and length of season, our unpredictible weather puts a damper on setting the perfect season. Last year the weather pretty much sucked the whole three months. This year we have had too much rain in Oct. and the crops did not get out. Now look at Nov. and the weather we are having. Dec--who knows.
I do know there are a pile of birds out there that have not even been shot at yet!
 
Quote uncle Buck
"Do any of you remember pick-up gunracks?

_________________________--

Just brought back a memory. A friend of mine was in South Dakota at a friends place and they were riding around in the pickup when they seen a skunk. He said lets shot the SOB, they rob all the Pheasant nests. Well, this is classic red kneck cowboy South Dakotan. The Sodak had a 22 bolt riding in the gun rack of the back window of the truck. They puller her out and attemted to load it. The problem is, the old cowboy had left the sliding rear window open all summer and the bolt was rusted shut. They had to beat the bolt open with a hammer that was laying on the floor of the truck, put a shell in and hammer it shut again. Surprising it went off..LOL

South Dakotan=gun=shovel or any other tool...LOL

Back to the 5 bird limit after this message from our sponsor
 
I cringe at the idea of leaving a weapon to rust, and then cringe at the idea of trying to use it. That story is a good example of what not to do, with a firearm.
 
LWJ2009 said:
I cringe at the idea of leaving a weapon to rust, and then cringe at the idea of trying to use it. That story is a good example of what not to do, with a firearm.
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It sure is an example of what not to do - but then he is talking about a South Dakota Redneck. I can only think of one thing more redneck and that is perhaps a Texas Redneck. Its neck and neck for the title.
 
Oh no my friend you have yet to see an Arkansas redneck in action. Oh well glad I am an educated moderate redneck.
 
LWJ2009 said:
Oh no my friend you have yet to see an Arkansas redneck in action. Oh well glad I am an educated moderate redneck.
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Here is a song about gun racks and rednecks - I think the song was inspired by SD rednecks but filmed in TX. The very end of the video is the best part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_eHkrLncVo

I hereby declare this thread a Rambling Thread" - Let her ramble.
 
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I must say I just can't compete with that! When I bought the new vehicle last year it was the SUV type. They are a bit easier on the gas budget and more family friendly then another truck. However no room for a gun rack, I will just have to use the glove box and the back of the Escape. Although I do like getting about 24 mpg on highway, and not crying at the pump anymore.
 
landman said:
Here is a song about gun racks and rednecks - I think the song was inspired by SD rednecks but filmed in TX. The very end of the video is the best part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_eHkrLncVo

I hereby declare this thread a Rambling Thread" - Let her ramble.
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Ah yes but South Dakota got some real class too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1h3alZfMXw

5 birds a day, road hunting and Glen Cambell and the South Dakota State symphony. LOL..really I like old Glen's music
 
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I find it difficult to believe that road hunters would push birds out of shelterbelts if they could not access them. Few belts are that close to the road and any belt that thin that birds feel threatend by a truck slowing down - are probably death traps anyways. Birds feel safe, but the cover will not provide adequate protection from any real winter storm.

I would say a good compromise would then be to stop road hunting in exchange for the opening of private land to all hunters during the "extend, get the roosters under control season" :).

Or you run the extended season on public land only with the provision that if weather turns nasty, the season can be shutdown with one week notice. Use E-W roads across SD and close by region. Residents and nonresidents alike would know they need to keep track of the SD news releases.
 
Whoa! You public land Dakota hunters ever heard of Road Hunting?? This 5 bird idea sure sounds good to me. Public land just gets better as Dec rolls along in big spacious Dakota. And evening Road hunting is better yet. Lot of places you can pick up your 5 birds in the last hr. I am a So Dakotan with 3 deceased Golden retrievers behind me and #4 is 6 yrs old now. Still shows his pre- Opening Day clipping and looks like a yellow lab but hunts close and won't knock me down when I crack the door for road hunting. Thats what I like about Goldens. they hunt all day with you, got a blood hound nose, won't tear up your motel room and my opinion- the best road hunter out there because he doesn't get overly Hyper once he smells those birds you are sneaking up on, stays tight and up close as you close in, no noise hand signals, usually from the ditch on the opposite side of the birds you spotted earlier. Doesn't bolt until you come roaring over the top. I can remember a few triples even, that way in late Nov and Dec when the cocks are bunched up. What a thrill? Sure you have to clip em but what the hell problem is that? I don't like punching shock collars and love a one dog hunter all day with me. GR's are the most under sung dog out there. Love mine! Ed McGaa, So Dak
 
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FCSpringer said:
walk big areas or is limmited on time for the day that wants to get out and walk a right of way that all our tax dollars pay for should never never have those rights taken away "un American".
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Uh, your tax dollars do not pay for the right of ways. On township roads, where the majority of road hunting occurs, the landowner is responsible for the maintenance of the ditch. The township pays for the grading and maintenance of the actual road. The township is funded by the Personal Property taxes of the landowners in the township. Unless you own land in the township none of your taxes goes to paying for the right-of-way.

LM
 
FCSpringer said:
Yes your right they go to the road that leads to your township road in some cases or most there I don't know. But there are still way more tax dollars going to roads so you can get to yours.
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Based upon your comment about hunting right-of-ways because your tax dollars are paying for it then perhaps road hunting should be limited to only state highways and interstates.

LM
 
FCSpringer said:
I don't think it is a secret that not just one farmers or one land owners minimal tx dollars could possibly pay for all the up keep or building of a any road. I live on a township road and like I said between IA And MN our family farms over 6,000 acres, and in no way is it all there $ taking care of that road. It is the whole township as a collective. Not one guy. That would not be feasable to have one man pay for it. It is conveyed this way by some but not realy true.
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Your state may be different. In south dakota the township roads are the sole responsibility of the property owners in that county. The personal property taxes on those properties pays for the upkeep on those roads. The landowner is responsible for most, if not all, of the upkeep on the ditch where you want to road hunt pheasants for free.
 
FCSpringer said:
Also I think everyone knows that there is nothing free about hunting, $ spent on Lic., shells, gass, hotells,restarauts, bars ect. all help people not in the farming comunity. All who are paying property txs for townships,Not everyone can farm, but Fed dollars do tricle down to the states and town ships. There are several townships that there are more urban dollars generated. So it is just simply some people trying to have more controll I think, making it into a police state so to speak. I think it is just another right that should not slip further twards no hunting. Now if you ask me when I walked a ditch last, I don't know But I probably might againSometimes I have drove hrs to an area and the public is full so I walked a couple miles of road ditch. I don't think I have done any better but that was all I could do in that area.
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So why can't you road hunt in Minnesota?
 
upkeep on the ditch

Landman,

Since you seem to be so hung up on money and what is owed you by the people that hunt your ditches and can't get over the fact that hunters have the audacity to hunt your road ditches, can you tell me how much money you actually spend for the upkeep on your road ditches? If you are truly concerned about road hunting why don't you just spend a little gas money and mow them down to carpet length? That would fix the road hunter for sure.

The best ditches I have ever hunted are those that haven't been touched by man in quite sometime yet you always talk about the maintenance of your road ditches and the significant costs associated with such activity.

I realize you are proud of owning land but what I don't understand about you is why you spend so much time whining about road hunters. If road hunters are such a scourge to winter survival etc etc then why and the heck do you still have so many birds in South Dakota? The way you make it sound is that road hunters have hunted the pheasant into extinction in your great state. I believe we all know that isn't true.

I guess we will all know that hell has truly frozen over when you drop this debate and we find you offering juice boxes and granola to those hunters who are lucky enough to find themselves hunting your road ditch.:cheers:
 
Tpharkman said:
Landman,

Since you seem to be so hung up on money and what is owed you by the people that hunt your ditches and can't get over the fact that hunters have the audacity to hunt your road ditches, can you tell me how much money you actually spend for the upkeep on your road ditches? If you are truly concerned about road hunting why don't you just spend a little gas money and mow them down to carpet length? That would fix the road hunter for sure.

The best ditches I have ever hunted are those that haven't been touched by man in quite sometime yet you always talk about the maintenance of your road ditches and the significant costs associated with such activity.

I realize you are proud of owning land but what I don't understand about you is why you spend so much time whining about road hunters. If road hunters are such a scourge to winter survival etc etc then why and the heck do you still have so many birds in South Dakota? The way you make it sound is that road hunters have hunted the pheasant into extinction in your great state. I believe we all know that isn't true.

I guess we will all know that hell has truly frozen over when you drop this debate and we find you offering juice boxes and granola to those hunters who are lucky enough to find themselves hunting your road ditch.:cheers:
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A few years ago I received a letter from my township stating that I had to remove any trees growing in my ditches at my own expense. Since some of the trees were rather large I hired a contractor to get them all out and it cost over $2000. Each year our township prints a notice in the local newspaper telling landowners to mow at least nine feet on the edge of the road before Oct 15. One year I failed to do that on one parcel and so the township hired it done and sent me a bill for $100 per half mile. If I did not pay then they would, according to law, attach it to my tax bill.

I mow and hay all my ditches. According to the deed, I own them so I have the right to do so.

You won't understand, probably, until you purchase some land of your own. Road hunting is a huge irritation for me as a landowner, but I'm not alone, many other landowners feel exactly the same way.

Does Iowa allow road hunting? If so, what are the restrictions?

LM
 
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I'm not a landowner in SD nor a resident hell I haven't even hunted it but a couple short trips. I can certainly see how people legally shooting and retrieving birds on my land would be a bit irritating.
 
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