Road hunting

[to the point]

Moellermd check your reg. book it says the bird must have taken flight from within OR BE FLYING OVER THE RIGHT OF WAY.I can find no where in the book where it says the bird has to be shot in the right of way.

 

[moellermd]

http://www.sdgfp.info/gfpnews/News09/10_16_09.htm

Here is were I got my info from. The regs are a little clearer. Either way, in order to legal shoot a bird road hunting a lot of things need to go right that don't and people still shoot the bird. I have seen a lot of birds that fly from private ground and a crossed private ground and get shot.

 

[boomer1]

In Oklahoma the regulations concerning road hunting is as follows:

Shooting from or across any public road, highway (or right-of-way) or railroad right-of-way is prohibited. Public roadways are defined as any governmental or corporate roadways where vehicular traffic is not restricted and the roadway is routinely used by the general public.

No road hunting in Oklahoma!

In Kansas is says:

â?¢hunting from roads or railways without legal permission is a form of trespassing called criminal hunting.

So no road hunting in Kansas either!

I know that Texas does not allow road hunting either.

There is a reason most states don't allow road hunting.

LM

At the moment shooting a pheasant from a South Dakota road right of way is perfectly legal should a person follow a few simple rules that are clearly outlined in the hunting handbook. There comes a time when one must accept reality and move on... We all understand you dislike the guy who comes along and shoots a pheasant out of one of your ditches. I have never personally shot a pheasant using this strategy but I'm not going to judge the man who pays for his hunting license and hunts legally according to the handbook. There are always going to be individuals who cross the lines. If roadhunting becomes illegal in South Dakota, I'm fairly certain you will still have the problem your faced with today.

 

[tmrichardson]

http://www.sdgfp.info/gfpnews/News09/10_16_09.htm

Here is were I got my info from. The regs are a little clearer. Either way, in order to legal shoot a bird road hunting a lot of things need to go right that don't and people still shoot the bird.

You have that right!

Many landowners know the law, and see it violated.

FCSpringer has a very wrong impression MN Law, for example. I'm sure he's a decent fellow but one has to wonder how many private landowners he has really PO'd over the years while illegally road hunting.

There's no tradition involved in breaking the law and making all hunters look bad!

In SD a bird has to take off from a legal ROW--then it can be shot while over private land. That's a possibility of course but as anyone who has done it knows--quite often a bird will flush on the other side of the fence, or from private land.

In MN--where you are on a legal to shoot ROW (in a number of cases the landowner has fee title to the ROW, not a government unit, there you often can't), the bird has to be shot and drop in the ROW if the land adjacent to it is posted--or is NOT posted but meets the legal definition of agricultural land that does not need to be posted. In both cases you aren't allowed to go onto such land without permission to retrieve the bird if it happens to fall on posted land (or land that doesn't need to be posted due to the agr. definition). So think about it--how many times while working a ditch are you going to have a bird that can be shot and drop in the ROW? Not many!

There are certainly safety issues with shooting down a ROW with vehicles coming down the road. Even with careful hunters, drivers get a bit spooked if they see a hunter get the gun up on a bird while they are driving at them.

I'm not suggesting places where road hunting is legal (and the regs make it possible in some cases to shoot a bird legally) should see the practice ended, mind you.

I just wish those who say it's a tradition--and how dare anyone question it--would step back and think of the big picture. It doesn't help the image of hunters with many and landowners do have some reason to be upset over it at times.

Know the law, follow it, and show some respect to landowners. Hunters need to have a good relationship with as many of them as possible to continue to have access and favorable laws for us to participate in our sport as we have in the past.

 

[FCSpringer]

You have that right!

Many landowners know the law, and see it violated.

FCSpringer has a very wrong impression MN Law, for example. I'm sure he's a decent fellow but one has to wonder how many private landowners he has really PO'd over the years while illegally road hunting.

There's no tradition involved in breaking the law and making all hunters look bad!

In SD a bird has to take off from a legal ROW--then it can be shot while over private land. That's a possibility of course but as anyone who has done it knows--quite often a bird will flush on the other side of the fence, or from private land.

In MN--where you are on a legal to shoot ROW (in a number of cases the landowner has fee title to the ROW, not a government unit, there you often can't), the bird has to be shot and drop in the ROW if the land adjacent to it is posted--or is NOT posted but meets the legal definition of agricultural land that does not need to be posted. In both cases you aren't allowed to go onto such land without permission to retrieve the bird if it happens to fall on posted land (or land that doesn't need to be posted due to the agr. definition). So think about it--how many times while working a ditch are you going to have a bird that can be shot and drop in the ROW? Not many!

There are certainly safety issues with shooting down a ROW with vehicles coming down the road. Even with careful hunters, drivers get a bit spooked if they see a hunter get the gun up on a bird while they are driving at them.

I'm not suggesting places where road hunting is legal (and the regs make it possible in some cases to shoot a bird legally) should see the practice ended, mind you.

I just wish those who say it's a tradition--and how dare anyone question it--would step back and think of the big picture. It doesn't help the image of hunters with many and landowners do have some reason to be upset over it at times.

Know the law, follow it, and show some respect to landowners. Hunters need to have a good relationship with as many of them as possible to continue to have access and favorable laws for us to participate in our sport as we have in the past.

OK you are making acusations that are not true, teedering on slander. To acuse me of P.Oing land owners is childish on your part and not the kind of discution this was intended for. You are wrong About the law not me, I suggest you call the conservation Dept. As have I .And as far as you telling the world here that you think I have upset several or any land owners is slander and not true. I ask everywhere I go. You are not an individule with an ounce of integrity at all. And maybe it is yourself with this problem. You are using clever wording on the laws that are missleading. I am not sure of your reason for this but some kind of self gain. If you doubt the true Law you are more then welcome Again to call your game Warden. Why don't you do that? I have. I am not the only one who knows you are Dead Wrong on this.

You have no right to make those accusations, or acusing me of doing something ilegal, Again you have no Integrity if you treat people this way. I am done with this, the rest of you can deal with him....

 

[landman]

Road hunting in most states, including Minnesota, is illegal. And I believe it will be illegal in SD before long too. If the landowners will unite and challenge the unarmed retrieval in court then that will essentually stop road hunting.

Following are some of the things road hunters do:

1. Drive the road until a bird is sighted. Pull past, jump out of vehicle, run towards the bird, if bird flushes then shoot. Road Hunters will nearly always shoot at the bird regardless of where it took flight. I'd say that over 90 percent of road hunting is done this way.

2. Walk ditches while dogs work the cover outside the right-of-way. If bird gets up inside or outside the ROW then shoot.

3. Shoot at birds too close to buildings or cattle.

4. Drop bird in good cover outside the ROW, go look for the bird while partner stands on the road with gun ready just in case another bird takes flight outside the ROW.

5. See good cover next to road in low traffic area. Run out into private land a short distance and hunt to road while partner stands on road waiting for a flush.

6. On ditches with no fence, which many are these days, road hunter will hunt well out of the ROW.

7. Shoot bird from ditch and then takes gun along while trying to find the bird outside the ROW, if another bird gets up will shoot at it.

These are some of the things road hunters do that irritate landowners, there are others. At some point landowners will unite and put an end to road hunting, like most other states have already done.

LM

 

[FCSpringer]

The Idea was not to see if I am doing somtheing or not, It was a ? of legality, yes or no. and I don't road hunt for various reasons. But is it legal in MN? "YES", here is two phone #' in which the state will tell you the same. MN DNR, 888-6466-367 or the Revisor of stututes, 651-296-2868. There are restriction's but it is legal. A simple call will clear this up for those who wish to know. MN Reg. Has unclear and vague clarification of this because they are not telling you flat out you can't.

 

[Deacon]

Yes road hunting of some form is legal in MN, SD & ND within the rules. It is legal.

Yes, most of us do not like slob hunters.

Yes, most of us do support farm land conservation programs knowing if it is good for the farmer it can benefit wildlife.

Last, we probably all disagree with PETA!!!

Herie Herie. :cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

Happy Holidays

 

[landman]

One of the biggest problems with the SD road hunting laws is that it is impossible to enforce and the road hunters know it. How does a landowner prove that the bird originated outside the ROW even if he was right there to see it? The road hunter can easily violate the law when there isn't anyone around to see the violation so there isn't much risk of getting caught. So a roadhunter uses the illegal technique to walk some good habitat back to a waiting hunter on the road. The guy on the road only shoots if the roadway is clear and even if the landowner shows up and questions the situation, the road hunter can simply lie and say "I'm looking for a bird that I shot".

From the landowner's perspective the SD road hunting law is weak and certainly favors the illegal and unethical road hunter.

LM

 

[Win97]

Landman I don't know who put a burr under your saddle about road hunting, but it is legal and I think will be for a good while longer. I feel the game department reads the surveys they send out and know it a pretty big part of the way some add to there hunting. I know they would sell fewer licenses if they stopped all road hunting.You yourself said there is plenty of roosters so why be so stingy and not let people take a few from the ditches.

 

[tmrichardson]

The Idea was not to see if I am doing somtheing or not, It was a ? of legality, yes or no. and I don't road hunt for various reasons. But is it legal in MN? "YES", here is two phone #' in which the state will tell you the same. MN DNR, 888-6466-367 or the Revisor of stututes, 651-296-2868. There are restriction's but it is legal. A simple call will clear this up for those who wish to know. MN Reg. Has unclear and vague clarification of this because they are not telling you flat out you can't.

FC if you don't road hunt and always ask permission when dealing with any birds on private land, then I appear to have misunderstood your position. I wish we had more hunters like you!

My continuing concern is your strong statements regarding legality of road hunting in MN. W/O going into too much detail, yes I am in a position to know a lot about this.

If you ask someone who is in a position to know whether it is legal to roadhunt in MN, the answer definately is yes--the problem is all the qualifications that come with that answer make it unlikely you can do it in normal pheasant hunting situation in a legal manner. (in the forests it is often quite different due to difference in our trespass law there)

I would urge you to take your own advice and call the toll free number you listed, and ask not just if road hunting is legal--but what the answer to the following questions are. You may want to ask for Pat Watts, if you want, your CO can tell you who she is and how well she knows her stuff.

Ask the following questions:

1) Can I road hunt in the ROW of any road I see a bird on?

2) If I am in a ROW I can legally hunt on, can I shoot at a bird that has flown from posted private or unposted agricultural land?

3) If I am in a ROW I can legally hunt on, can I legally shoot at a bird that has flown from within the ROW but is over posted private or unposted agricultural land at the time I shoot?

4) If I am in a ROW I can legally hunt on, and I shoot a bird that leaves from within the ROW, I shoot at while it is still within the ROW-- but falls on posted private or unposted agricultural land--can I legally enter that posted private or unposted agricultural land to retrieve my bird, without permission?

Please report back the answers you get to THOSE questions.

 

[airmedic1]

I have hunted in Iowa for at least 25 years now and follow their law about guns in vehicles. It must be unloaded and cased or broken down to be legal. I was told once by a warden that I had actually broken the law when I put my uncased shotgun, open and unloaded, in the front seat in order to put my dogs away. He knew us and didn't ticket me because he saw why I put it there. He also knew that we cased our guns from the times we had met him before.
I put my gun in a case, unloaded everytime I get into a vehicle. In fact when the weather is decent we case them and leave them in the back of the pickup right beside the dog box. If it's raining we will put them in the cab but it's nice to have the extra room in the cab. It doesn't matter if I'm in NE, IA, MO, KS or SD. I can't imagine having a loaded gun in the truck or thinking that it took to long to put it into a case before going to the next spot.
Just my opinion though.

 

[sacup]

Support road hunting

For those of you that enjoy road hunting/walking ditches and LEGALLY do so - I encourage you to support the South Dakota Wildlife Federation. They really fight for our right to continue this option of hunting along with promoting better access to public land within the state legislature. I figure we need some sort of voice against all the landowners claiming we're shooting "their" birds.

 

[landman]

Found a big 6 by 7 deer in my CRP on Friday that was hit in the vital area. Also saw evidence of a vehicle driving around in the tall grass, apparently in an effort to find the deer. The deer was located just yards from where the tracks were and about 200 yards from the road. I estimate the deer to be in the 150 to 160 class. I called the warden and he took the deer because it was trophy class and may have been shot illegally.

My vision if what happened is that a roadhunter shot the deer on my land and then made a quick effort to find the deer by driving around in the CRP. Not finding it quickly they left.

It's things like this that make landowners dislike roadhunting even more.

LM

 

[wispringer]

Landman - There is a difference between poaching and road hunting. What you describe sounds more like illegal poaching to me. That's comparing apples to oranges.

IMO - If SD put an end to road hunting, Landman would claim victory and move on to the next topic and begin efforts in taking away more of your rights.

I wonder about Landman and his noble concern over pheasant populations. Remember this all started when he expressed concern over road hunters flushing birds out of their winter cover. I have a hard time believing that if the government offered him enough money to take his land out of CRP or to begin another program that would do the same, that he wouldn't be the first in line for the hand out. I don't believe pheasant populations would be of much concern of his if a large chunk of cash was thrown his way.

Don't try to appease this guy. Nothing will make him happy. Because of greed and money he will always be striving to find new ways to take things away from you.

One last thing. I wonder if he objects to the improved road on his land? Or would he rather the government take that out so he can drive across his unimproved land to his home.

 

[tmrichardson]

Landman has pretty solid hunting and conservation support credentials from what I have seen on this and the old board, WISpringer.

My sense is that the road hunting problems he's having have led to his stance on that issue.

So...we have a hunter and strong conservationist worked up enough about problems to take a negative stance on it. Not someone out to end hunting.

This IMO is where we have to be real careful and open our eyes and ears as hunters. Labelling people who have concerns--even those who may want something different than what we want--doesn't do the cause any favors. It's what leads to politically motivated law changes.

I do agree that this buck situation sounds like a case of poaching and probably ought to be separated from road hunting concerns. Doubtful that deer was shot within the ROW, although I suppose it could have legally been shot on some other land and ran over to and dropped in the CRP. If that's the case then they were trespassing trying to find it. Trophy deer and poaching go hand in hand unfortunately.

 

[wispringer]

"Landman has pretty solid hunting and conservation support credentials from what I have seen on this and the old board, WISpringer.

My sense is that the road hunting problems he's having have led to his stance on that issue.

So...we have a hunter and strong conservationist worked up enough about problems to take a negative stance on it. Not someone out to end hunting.

This IMO is where we have to be real careful and open our eyes and ears as hunters. Labelling people who have concerns--even those who may want something different than what we want--doesn't do the cause any favors. It's what leads to politically motivated law changes.

I do agree that this buck situation sounds like a case of poaching and probably ought to be separated from road hunting concerns. Doubtful that deer was shot within the ROW, although I suppose it could have legally been shot on some other land and ran over to and dropped in the CRP. If that's the case then they were trespassing trying to find it. Trophy deer and poaching go hand in hand unfortunately"



"Labelling people who have concerns" - Hmmmm, seems like Landman can label most road hunters as unethical slobs. Who's doing the labeling?

"My sense is that the road hunting problems he's having have led to his stance on that issue." I'm sure he has. I've had trouble with land owners as well when they have stepped outside their rights. Should I go on here and label all land owners as jerks. Nope, because they aren't.

His comments are more than a bit offensive.

South Dakota should take notice to the states east of them. Through the years sportsman have been willing to give away thier rights a little at at time. Pretty hard to get something back once you give it up.

 

[landman]

I do agree that this buck situation sounds like a case of poaching and probably ought to be separated from road hunting concerns. Doubtful that deer was shot within the ROW, although I suppose it could have legally been shot on some other land and ran over to and dropped in the CRP. If that's the case then they were trespassing trying to find it. Trophy deer and poaching go hand in hand unfortunately.

Here is my assessment. If the deer was shot legally by one of my neighbors they would have called to ask permission to look for the deer, which I would have granted. It was obvious that the person looking for the deer did it by driving in a vehicle rather than by foot. The vehicle tracks were less than 20 yards from where the deer was found so they came close to finding it in the tall grass. Since the CRP patch is less than 10 acres in size they spent very little time looking for it. The deer had a shot wound right in the heart area, a killing shot, so its unlikely the deer ran very far, if at all, after it was hit.

Given the evidence it is very likely the deer was shot illegally from the road by someone other than a neighbor.

Furthermore, we know that the person looked for the deer and therefore trespassed on my land without permission. We also know that he was in a hurry and had little respect for a person's property because he drove in the CRP grass. It's possible that the person shot the deer and came back later at night to look for it, which would explain why they used a vehicle, rather than walking, to look for the deer. It's also possible that the person intended to come back again to look for it.

LM

 

[Ringneck Redneck]

Landman, you say we need a law to end roadhunting and then you tell the story about the deer. There is a law that makes it illegal to roadhunt deer but that was broken. It was probably shot out the window which has a law that prohibits it but it was broken. You thought it might be poached which has a law that prohibits it but it was broken. They trepassed on your land which has a law which prohibits it but was broken. Do you think a law stopping roadhunting will stop the lawbreakers? It didn't for the deer. Laws only stop law abiding people from breaking the law. We need more people to enforce the laws and more people to turn in the lawbreakers. We need parents to raise their kids to be true sportsman instead of competitors who have to get the trophy buck or their limit every time they go out.

 

[landman]

Landman, you say we need a law to end roadhunting and then you tell the story about the deer. There is a law that makes it illegal to roadhunt deer but that was broken. It was probably shot out the window which has a law that prohibits it but it was broken. You thought it might be poached which has a law that prohibits it but it was broken. They trepassed on your land which has a law which prohibits it but was broken. Do you think a law stopping roadhunting will stop the lawbreakers? It didn't for the deer. Laws only stop law abiding people from breaking the law. We need more people to enforce the laws and more people to turn in the lawbreakers. We need parents to raise their kids to be true sportsman instead of competitors who have to get the trophy buck or their limit every time they go out.

Here are a couple of points that I'm trying to get across:

1. The slob hunters are hurting landowner/hunter relations.
2. Landowners are fed up with bad hunters so they are opposed and outspoken every time the Game Commission trys to provide more hunting opportunities such as increased limits or extended seasons.
3. The only way we can stop slob hunters is for every landowner and every ethical hunter to report every hunting violation they see.
4. If we can together, make it more difficult for deer hunters to hunt from the road and pheasant road hunters from breaking the law then we can reduce landowner irritation.
5. If landowner/hunter friction is reduced everyone will have more hunting opportunities.
6. The battle is not between the landowner and the hunter, the problem is the unethical hunters who continously break the law.
7. The landowners are fighting back but the ethical hunters are, for the most part, unwilling to turn in fellow hunters because they fail to see the connection.

And yes, I am opposed to road hunting, not because the law is too lenient, but because I don't believe that the majority of pheasant hunters will abide by the law. It is my belief that more than 95% of all road hunters will shoot at a bird originating outside the ROW if they feel they won't get caught, for example.

Another observation is that the majority of road hunters drive the roads until they see a bird, then jump out, run towards the bird and shoot when it gets up, whether in the ROW or not. It seems that Iowa was successful in stopping this activity by requiring all guns to be cased and unloaded when in a vehicle. South Dakota could do the same, and in so doing help reduce landowner/hunter friction.

In summary, the problem is landowner dissatisfaction with unethical hunters. The solution can come from new laws or from ethical hunters helping police the bad actors in hopes of improving hunter relations, which will lead to more hunting opportunities. If you want more hunting opportunities then call the warden when you see a violation of the game laws.

LM