Deer season not welcome by all
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October 20, 2012 |
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Not a deer |
Many in North Idaho look forward to it all year
long. The days turn crisp with autumn, the
leaves on the hardwoods and the needles on the
larch show off their most spectacular colors and
its finally here, opening day of deer season.
For many, it's a day to take a vacation day or
call in sick at work, rise before the crack of
dawn so as to be out in the woods as the first
light of day spills into the forest. For others,
it may mean a long drive to Boundary County in
the days before the season opens to set up camp,
stock up on essentials and be ready to get out
there after this year's trophy buck.
Unfortunately, too many of those who arrive with
the flush of buck fever are idiots.
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Not a deer |
Hardly a deer season goes by that there aren't a
few sad tales of livestock and pets that aren't
listed on the game tag being shot and killed, of
hunters hunting where they shouldn't be, of
close calls from stray bullets fired where
people are and deer ain't, sometimes with
grievous results.
Typically, it's the county's farmers who see the
worst of deer season.
"I know I live in the wrong area to say this,"
said one Mom on the Westside, "but I hate
hunting season. Some people have no respect.
When they are told they can't hunt on someone's
property, they ignore the land owner and hunt
anyway, sometimes in the dark. When they see
signs saying 'No Hunting,' they shoot the signs
full of bullets. Well, in our case, shooting at
the signs, means shooting in the direction that
people are working or livestock are located."
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Not a deer |
The tales of hunting season woe are varied; a
family watches as a car load of "hunters" step
out of their rig on a county road and open fire,
killing the family's pet dog.
A father and daughter creeping up on their prey
when a car load of "hunters" stop on the
overlook above and, from the road, some not even
getting out of the rig, open fire over their
heads, trying to get that buck first.
Last weekend, a Westside farmer found one of his
calves dead in the road, hit by a carload of
hunters. The calf's mother was lamed, probably
hit by the same rig.
"There were a lot of vehicles with out of
state/county license plates zooming up and down
the road, ignoring our flashing lights and
slowing down only at the last minute when they
realized the cows were not intimidated by their
loud trucks," his daughter said.
The hunters who think that because they received
permission years ago to hunt on private land,
they have a lifetime pass, along with their
hunting buddies.
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Definitely
not a deer |
"They think if they get permission once, it is a
lifetime pass and they can bring as many buddies
as they want," she said. "Then you've got groups
of men scattered about shooting toward each
other, or pointing their guns at the other
hunters to look through their scopes to see who
it is. There are certain people who have been
banned from the property."
It's not that hard to hunt responsibly; Idaho
Fish and Game even has a pamphlet they'll give
you for free when you get your license and tag,
that shows clearly, in pictures and words, what
the game you're after looks like, as well as
sage advice on how to visit our community and
not be considered an idiot.
Why, they even posted it on-line, so if you're
unsure what that critter in the crosshairs of
that fancy $500 scope is, you can make sure that
it is, in fact, what you
should be shooting at. It's at
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/docs/rules/bgDeer.pdf,
you can look it up right on your laptop or cell
phone.
Oh, and before you pull the trigger, be sure to
check what lies well on the other side of that
trophy buck.
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Also not a
deer |
"One year, my dad was working in the corral,"
that farmer's daughter said. "There were some
deer in the neighbor's field. Some hunters, who
may have had permission to hunt on that land,
pulled up and shot at the deer. The deer were
right between my dad and the hunters, so they
were shooting right at him."
Local farmers, along with their daughters, wives and sons,
don't much care for it when things like that
happen ... and most of them have guns, too.
So hunters, please take a close look at yourself
before you take that shot to see whether or not you
might fall into that sad class of rude,
obnoxious or unsporting sportsmen.
If the answer is yes and you see a farm family
with guns headed your way, you can pretty much
guarantee that they're not after deer.
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EXCELLENT article from yet another point of
view! Debbie Dahlberg ... a
farmers wife! |
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