Upland hunting during rifle season--who does, who doesn't

kansasbrittany

kansasbrittany

Banned
First, I don't want this to turn into an argument and please keep it civil when you disagree with other posters, but I gotta ask, who here hunts birds during rifle deer season and who doesn't?

I want to know how many of you think it's paranoia to stay home for those 10 days of the season. My boy is giving me hell about not having any bird hunting plans for this w/e. I told him I didn't want to have him and the dogs out b/c of rifle season. He said, "We'll have our orange and we'll be hunting in areas where there aren't many deer....do you think there will be deer hunters in the CRP, dad?" I told him I didn't think there would be, but that they'd be all around and some ppl are incredibly irresposible. That prompted the next quesiton, "Dad, do a lot of people get hit by stray bullets each season?" I told him I thought most accidents were caused by not properly identifying targets and poor gun safety, but that's just a guess b/c I've never seen any real statistics pertaining to accidents during rifle season, especially as they may pertain to bird hunters who aren't hunting "deer cover".

Geez, it never used to bother me at all. I always thought it a great time to get out and it always seems to snow or at least get cold as heck during the rifle season. At the ripe old age of 32, I guess I'm losing my edge. Maybe it has something to do with the boy being with me, but even if he wanted to sit this w/e out, I'd still probably stay home where I feel much safer!

What do you think? I'm very interested in hearing every thought you have on the subject!
 
I have never let it keep me from going before. I figure if for some reason I get hit by a stray bullet then it must be destiny. Where I live I could get hit sitting on my porch about as easy.
 
duckn66 said:
I have never let it keep me from going before. I figure if for some reason I get hit by a stray bullet then it must be destiny. Where I live I could get hit sitting on my porch about as easy.
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Same here, all the way around. I'm not sure why it's getting to me so much this year:eek:
 
We don't even have a rifle season, but the shotgun season definitely affects my hunting - but more so because the orange army absolutely swarms the public ground around my house. We'll get out some, but it will be mostly private and we'll avoid the public areas on the weekends.

I've heard a few horror stories from my waterfowling buddies about rifle season -- but always a friend of a friend and we don't wear orange so that's a whole different story.

Not sure what I'd do in your shoes. :confused:
 
I have hunted 2X out in Kansas during the deer season and I must say we always had the thought lurking in our minds. Hunting private ground helps but a 30-06 doesn't stop at the property line. Regardless we always wear lots of orange but as far as I know bullets are pretty color blind.
Best of luck to all that get out there and safe wishes from the Wolf:cheers:
 
Rifle Season

I have in the past hunted during rifle time , last year I did and I am sure I will again this year ,I wear lots of Orange and I do worry some about the 30-06 and the one behind it , but I figure if it?s my time I couldn?t think of a better way to go ,that being said years ago ,I was hunting and had a group come in behind me knowing I was there they were not very respectful and I bumped deer out , sounded like a war zone , I was literally laying on the ground on top of my dogs trying to keeping from being hit as soon as the shooting stopped we got outa there it sure put the fear of the Orange army in me , I know not all rifle hunters are unsafe but be safe out there if you?re out there .
 
I usually won't hunt birds during rifle season unless I'm on 100% private ground and know that there won't be anyone hunting deer. I would avoid all WIHA and Corp ground. I don't worry about it during an antlerless season, though. Deer hunters get dog killing mad if they think a dog is running deer. Don't want to be disrespectful to rifle hunters, but for many it's the only time some even hunt. Wear your orange, watch where vehicles are parked and avoid the places you think someone might be deer hunting.

BTW: It's great that your boys want to go hunting and are willing to ask why.
 
^What he said^

I'll hunt birds during deer season, but I stay away from WIHA and public ground. Even so, the dog will wear a little extra orange. However, being a deer hunter myself, I'm usually sitting in a stand during deer season.

Concerning dogs running deer, one of my nicest bucks I owe to a couple of possibly feral, but at least wide-ranging dogs. They ran him right by my stand, and I shot him. As I was waiting the normal 15-20 minutes before following up, here come these two dogs right down the trail taken by the deer. One was labrador-sized and black, but not a full-blooded lab. The other was half that size and white. They were an odd couple for sure. Some deer hunters might not have let those dogs walk away, but I did.
 
We do most of our bird hunting on WIHA these days, so I'm not sure what I'll do.

These responses are exactly what I was hoping for. Thanks gents!
 
well I have been hunting on corr ground and not any WHIA land thus far , but I believe some of the WHIA ground is closed to rifle hunting if my old memory serves me correct , just a thought , years ago when I was shot at I was on private ground and I?m certain those that came in behind me were locals that had permission from the past because the land owner was upset that me and the dogs were caught in the cross fire , he didn?t give them permission , just saying season is too short for me to sit out for the two weeks, I will find some secluded corner to walk around in for the next two weeks , lol be safe if you find the courage or the need to be out there :D
 
The only hunting-related stray bullet fatality in Kansas I remember is that kid who was goose hunting outside Emporia. If memory serves, it wasn't even deer season and the shooter was shooting from the road at least, and most likely from inside the pickup. He claimed he was shooting at a coyote. My goose hunting friends always stand up and move around when a truck stops on the road...
 
matto said:
The only hunting-related stray bullet fatality in Kansas I remember is that kid who was goose hunting outside Emporia. If memory serves, it wasn't even deer season and the shooter was shooting from the road at least, and most likely from inside the pickup. He claimed he was shooting at a coyote. My goose hunting friends always stand up and move around when a truck stops on the road...
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I knew that young man's family and it happened pretty close to where I grew up. It wasn't a stray bullet. The guy pulled up, drew down, and shot the kid inside of a giant goose decoy. He ended up getting like 4 years for being a moron (manslaughter, negligence, something along those lines). It should've been 2nd degree murder IMO, but I digress:mad:

I wanna go so bad this weekend. I'll have to see if Setternut will cover my indoor batting practice so I can go bird hunting Saturday:D
 
The only way it has ever affected me is if someone was hunting deer where we wanted to go and we've usually known about it before hand. Normally it's not a problem, as right now, two spots we'd like to go are being hunted during rifle season.

I hate waiting but have a couple of milo stubble fields which already have been holding birds ready to go if my ankle is up for it. This getting old stuff sucks. :eek:
 
I wonder if Dick Cheney will be in Kansas during deer rifle season. I suppose not, so with that being said I will be there next week for sure. Just saying...
 
matto said:
The only hunting-related stray bullet fatality in Kansas I remember is that kid who was goose hunting outside Emporia. If memory serves, it wasn't even deer season and the shooter was shooting from the road at least, and most likely from inside the pickup. He claimed he was shooting at a coyote. My goose hunting friends always stand up and move around when a truck stops on the road...
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That was a poaching incident, in the dark.
 
1n 1997 while duck hunting I crested a hill at exactly 5:00 pm to handle my dog to a duck. 3 shots were fired at me. Dirt hit my face and I dove to the ground and rolled down the hill. I could see the pickup. The pricks tore out of there when they realized they had mistaken me for a deer.

So the answer is no.
 
kansasbrittany said:
I knew that young man's family and it happened pretty close to where I grew up. It wasn't a stray bullet. The guy pulled up, drew down, and shot the kid inside of a giant goose decoy. He ended up getting like 4 years for being a moron (manslaughter, negligence, something along those lines). It should've been 2nd degree murder IMO, but I digress:mad:

I wanna go so bad this weekend. I'll have to see if Setternut will cover my indoor batting practice so I can go bird hunting Saturday:D
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Where is batting practice? Not sure what my plans are for the weekend, but that could be fun.
 
SetterNut said:
Where is batting practice? Not sure what my plans are for the weekend, but that could be fun.
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Topeka, 11:30-2'ish PM. It's a good way to get some off-season hitting in. The Sports Factory tapes off sections of the batting cage and assigns scores to different areas of the net. For example, a line-drive is worth the 5pts. and a grounder is worth 1pt. The kids enjoy it:thumbsup:
 
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