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Ride safe during hunting season

9K views 83 replies 27 participants last post by  gunslinger 
#1 ·
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#2 ·
Sing, "I'm a human!" at the top of my lungs?

I once worked a fall for the US Forest Service in Utah. I wore blaze orange everything, made lots of noise, and was shot at more times there than I was 25 years later in Afghanistan...
 
#3 ·
I hate hunting season. We have a hunter who has permission by the landowner to hunt on the trails we ride on and despite our pleas to have him relocate to a more secluded site he still hunts on the trails. It's too bad but I generally avoid the area where he sits in his hut because I don't trust him to mistake us for a deer. Thankfully, deer hunting season is over in our area and all of us are relieved for another year accident free.
 
#4 ·
I put sleigh bells on my horse for starters. I also try to respect the hunters out there, and tend to not ride directly in woods where I know hunters are allowed. Not only to save my own skin, but to avoid pushing the deer away as well.
I live in an agricultural area, so there tends to be pockets of woodlands as opposed to vast acreage, so in full hunting season I tend to just skirt around the bush, only entering if the area is posted no hunting allowed.
 
#6 ·
I used to hunt myself and have seen tons of people with "buck fever" and there is no cure for them outside of a bullet to the head. Honestly, that's one of the main reasons I gave up hunting. Sooooo, I stay out of the woods during hunting season. Only ride in areas where hunting is not allowed and even then I worry.

No amount of bells, singing, screamin at the top of your lungs or blaze orange will stop someone with buck fever from firing. They see motion, point their gun barrel in that general direction and squeeze the trigger. If you're lucky, they are a bad shot.
 
#8 ·
Wow! A bunch of great thoughts I'll have to include them

Singing is actually #2 on the list. I haven't seen hunters, bear, cougar, elk etc, so it must work :)

I hadn't though of putting bells on the horses. I generally have bells on anyway (for bear) but anything to be a little more conspicuous.

I used to live in a no hunting Sunday state but not all are like that. Here in WA there are no restrictions on day of week. It's a bummer.

I too try to avoid prime hunting areas especially during big game season. Sometimes though I don't really have a choice. It's either ride when I can or don't collect information for the next magazine article.
 
#9 ·
I too try to avoid prime hunting areas especially during big game season. Sometimes though I don't really have a choice. It's either ride when I can or don't collect information for the next magazine article.
Bow and black powder is earlier in the year when trails are in still in good but they don't worry me. Those guys have to take care in placing their shots which means they actually do know what they are shooting at.

I get careful when deer season starts as generally the weather is still decent but turning. Often by the time elk season starts I'm off a good percentage of the trails anyway as trails are getting to slick to ride anyway. That's when I mostly move down to flat land state parks for riding where hunting isn't allowed.

But then I'm not facing article deadlines so if I miss a weekend or two of riding, oh well. Seattle weather isn't much different then mine so I assume you hit up central and eastern Washington more in the winter?
 
#10 ·
Hunting season is a huge problem here. We ride dirt roads during the season rather than go off on side trails. We wear orange and talk or sing. I have had issues with hunters in trucks about running me over, but at least I haven't been shot. It is illegal to hunt the road sides here, even the small dirt roads. Some people do it. I am pretty sure that we rode right by a hunter today. I didn't see him, but my horse sure did. She was snorting and blowing like a snake was in the road.
Part of me wishes there was not a hunting season, but the reality of it is that there are already so many deer here that they jump in front of cars on a regular basis. There are no nonhuman deer preditors here and the deer would quickly overpopulate without the season.
 
#11 ·
We live on a peninsula off a mountain top surrounded by Ozark National Forest. It's duck and cover around here the first few weeks of gun hunting season. There are mountains and ridges that border us on two sides and we live in constant fear that a stray bullet from a missed shot will head our way! The horses are kept in a low lying pasture next to the barn.
Before we moved up here we lived in a valley, the neighboring pastures were owned by the forest service. Every year they burned off the 500 acre fields, the flames towered over the trees that separated our land only 20ft from the house! They eventually planted native grasses and populated it with quail, NICE! We got permission to put up warning signs, but had to move them after they saw our HUGE neon signs that said HOME AND FARM, DO NOT SHOOT, WILL RETURN FIRE!!!
We deer hunt but stay out of the forest until after thanksgiving when it gets colder and the yahoos stay home. Trail riding only on the weekdays, with bells.
Like said before, I worry more about the drunken hunters on ATV's and trucks on the trails. They love to roar around us trying to prove the power and superiority of their vehicles vs our horses. Just a bunch of Idiot townies who come out here to raise cain. Ugh, at least gun hunting starts around the time the leaves fall and we don't miss all the color. :)
 
#12 · (Edited)
Big game hunting season begins in Mid August with Archery Hunting and continues thru Jan with anterless depredation tags. Spring Turkey hunts start again in April and May. If I didn't ride during hunting season, I wouldn't get any trail riding done.

I own horses because I got tired of packing deer and elk off the mountain. As the Forest Service started restricting back country access to motor vehicles, I found I had to replace my motorcycles with horses back in 1983. My horses are used extensively for back country travel during my hunting activities. So I have no fear of riding them during hunting season and continue to ride them even if I'm not hunting during the fall.

As a hunter from a western state, I have a huge respect for other hunters and expect them to abide by the same safety rules that I live by. You don't point your gun at anything you are not going to shoot. You always make sure there is a proper back stop behind your target. I don't ever shot at a deer/elk standing on a ridgeline where the rifle bullet could travel far beyond.

Here in Utah, our hunting license or tags dictate what we can shoot at. For example Hunters are given tags for Any Bull Elk, Spike Only Bull elk or Anterless Elk. A hunter has to Look at and determine
1st, Is the animal an Elk or is it a Deer, Moose, antelope, horse, cow etc.
2nd is it a Anterless elk, a spike bull or a mature bull. We have to look close enough at the animal to determine does it have horns and how many points does it have.

I can't just shoot at something brown moving thru the bushes. And sound shots are never an option. Why would I ever take the risk of shooting at a noise in the bushes and hope it was the right Species, Gender and Age to match my tag.

In addition the west is very different from hunting in areas back east. We are not nearly as concerned about the bullet traveling beyond the target. Since our mountains have such extremes in terrain. We almost ALWAYS have a mountain behind our target. Rarely do I have to consider, is there a farm house beyond those trees behind the Elk? I'm sure there are different consideration when hunting on flat land. Most modern high power rifles still have about 38-48" of drop in about 500 yards. I you are aiming at the chest of a deer ( about 32-36" off the ground) that bullet trajectory should drop and put the bullet into the dirt in less than 500 yards on flat land. I understand this is why many eastern states require or encourge hunters to hunt from elevated stands, because it points the bullet into the earth sooner than a bullet being shot on the same level as the target.

I exercise typical pre-cautions. I wear some orange, I often place orange or pink ribbons on my horses, Especially in the area of the head/neck where a hunter would have to look to determine the sex of the animal. And on the chest area, where a hunter would aim to take a lung/heart shot. I try to choose areas to ride, where I might not be as likely to encounter hunters. Elk hunting is in Alpine mountains, so I might ride in more desert areas during that week of the year if I wasn't hunting. You can also choose the time of your ride. There are probably more hunters out on Saturday than on say Wednesday. Also more hunters early and late in the day than at mid day. Since hunting season, usually means colder weather riding at mid day, is often a more comfortable time of day to be out than at Sun up.

It's unfair to classify all hunters as being careless or not concerned about safety. We usually do have a hunting accident or two each year. Mostly self inflected or somebody accidently shooting their friend. But that is a MUCH safer margin than the number of people killed each year in traffic accidents or by drunk drivers. Or even the number of murders that take place in a major city. There will always be the dumb smuck who breaks the rules, whether it be about hunting safety, reckless driving, or drunk driving. Just use common sense and think about the risk you are exposing your self to. If your area has a LOT of hunters and it's a problem to ride, Then don't.

Packing horse feed into our hunting camp


Orange Packs on a horse that is similar in color to elk.


Hopefully any hunter looking at this mule would realize he is the wrong color to be ANY type of wild game and the horns are in the wrong place. But even at that we have some orange ribbons tied to his saddle


If the bullet missed this elk, it will impact the mountainside behind it. There is no worry of it traveling a distance and hitting livestock grazing in a distant pasture.


 
#16 ·
The closest place for me to ride is a state park, less than 30 miles outside of Cincinnati, so we often have to deal with the suburbanite hobby-hunters with a severe case of "buck fever" and no sense of direction or common sense once they're in the woods.

Many of them won't go off the trail more than ten yards because it's too much work for them to haul their beer cooler through the undergrowth.:lol:

I wear blaze orange, my horse wears bells, and sometimes I pack along the iPod with speakers in my saddle bag for some extra "noise." That has caused a few hunters to get snippy.

They accused us of "scaring away" whatever it is they're hunting - in which case I point out to them that I am using a designated and legal horse trail in the park, and that they need to get farther off the trail anyway.

It's probably the smell of their beer, ham sandwiches and cigarettes that are scaring the deer away. . .and the sound of their heavy breathing and crashing through the honeysuckle with all their gear - not the sound of my sleigh bells and the sight of the bright orange vest I'm wearing.

Besides, the "noise" I am making is not intended to scare off wildlife. It's to keep us from being mistaken for wildlife!

In fact, many times I've had deer and other critters just stop and watch my horse and I go by even with all the "noise" we are making. Then they go back about their business.
 
#17 ·
Badger, I have to deal with the same stuff. We live an hour and a half from town and the townies come out in masses to have more fun than kill anything. The ridge next to us becomes a shooting range, ATV's roar around the trails, and during mid day all you can hear is the banging of guns around the hillsides when the boys get their drink on and have shootouts at "deer camp".

Painted Horse, we are much alike. I USE my horses during hunt season. They are about the only way we can haul the deer outta some of these hollers. I'd love it if we were more remote! The crazies scare the wildlife the first two weeks so badly that it takes forever for them to get back into their normal routines. You won't find many deer that aren't bedded down during the day now, they have it all figured out and switch to grazing at night. Lucky for us "kind of" the deer seek refuge on our eventing properties, farms, and here on the 80. We manage to get a few safely in the freezer! Just went down and checked our tower blind and found someone has been set up on us! Left their snacks, dip, bottles, etc... madder than a hornet because we've been feeding for months now and they probably got our good ones. So we hunt too, even killed a 500+ black bear a couple years ago and for AR standards it was huge. Saw a bigger one this year but quota filled up in a WEEK. Next year...
I appreciate your side of the story and how it should be! Awesome photos! Never been hunting out that way but my family of "GREAT WHITE HUNTERS" has taken several trips, Elk is quite tasty, especially in my campfire stew!
 
#18 ·
We ride in a local park animal sanctuary so there is no hunting but there is hunting on grounds adjacent to it. Never heard shots there though. I assume most people actually want to "get out of town" to hunt. Our favorite riding place does have hunting on it so we don't go there during hunting season as we have alternatives.

Seems every year some hunter gets shot around here. A few years ago some idiots from just south of Houston were hunting just north of me and they got all drunked up (is that a word?) and one of them shot and killed the other over something stupid. Like my barn manager said "those aren't hunters in the woods - those are stupid drunks with guns!"
 
#19 ·
A few years back a couple of hunters on stands were talking to each other, at a distance of about 50 yards. Without thinking I rode my fairly close to them to check the fence, then realized my error. (I rented my land to them for hunting). A beautiful buck came out of the trees to within 50' of me, quite unconcerned about me on the quad but very concerned about the guys who were talking.
 
#20 ·
Just a short while ago on the edge of one of the places I ride (might of heard of it since it hit national news) a marine home on leave was shot and killed while hiking with a friend. The hunter has been billed as experienced and had his young grandson with him to show him the ropes. Guy said he thought the marine was a bear. Now, they were hunting on private property and the marine should not of been there (strayed from established trails) but a hunter should always make sure of what they are shooting at. Sadly to many don't.

This incident along with a whole lot of others is why I stay out of the woods during rifle season. Luckily, our rifle season is rather short so it's not much of an ordeal (forgot to mention that earlier).
 
#21 ·
One thing for sure this goes for all hunting season trail riders you cannot wear to much blaze orange. Put it on you and the horse if possible. I am a hunter and one thing that every hunter should know is what your looking at. If you are not 100% sure what it is do not take the shot. If say i was deer hunting and there was what looked like a deer i wouldn't shoot it cause i think its a deer. Same with mules and elk antlers and horses. They may look like a elk or a moose but you should first of all not hunt near the trail and make sure you aim away if hunting in the 100 to 200 yards away. And again making sure of the target.
 
#22 ·
Local law (and I think that it is Georgia state law) prohibits hunting within 50 yards of a public road. I like to ride on the local dirt roads, so I am glad of that. There are not all that many official riding trails. The only one near here is in a park and they do not allow hunting there.
 
#24 ·
Having a law and enforcing it is certainly a different thing.

Our local $2000 fine has helped tremendously. This huge fine for illegal hunting was started after a local man was shot on his own property. He was in a tree stand. The tresspasser said that he thought that the guy was a wild turkey. It was not even turkey season. Most of the locals believe that it was murder. The guy was convicted of manslaughter. To add to the tragedy, the victim's wife never got over it. She started drinking heavily. She eventually died of multiple organ failure. I guess most folks would understand why people around here are not terribly friendly toward poaching.
 
#25 ·
Celeste, that is so sad. Some things you DON'T get over. Whether it is a stupid hunter or an idiot in a vehicle - a split second can change someone's life forever. Be safe always and remember that once some is hurt/dead all the "I didn't mean to, I am so sorry" will not change squat.
 
#26 ·
I avoid riding during main gun season, wear orange, dont ride a buckskin or any horse resembling the color of a deer. This is why I love my bright white horse, or I cover my sorrel with orange. If they shoot at the white horse covered in orange they have some explaining to do. the only deer that my horse resembles is an albino, which in my area of michigan are illegal to hunt. And/or why they shot at hunters orange.
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#27 ·
Let me rephrase that whole not riding, I avoid riding on trails. I still ride on the roads wearing hunters orange and having conversations with my horse.
 
#28 ·
Around here (northern Idaho) there is so much area to hunt that there isn't very much pressure on most of it. As a result, there are very few hunters in any given area. So we go ahead and ride. We wear blaze and if there are fresh ATV tracks along a road or trail I take a different one.

I have yet to actually see a hunter out in the woods when I'm riding. I've seen them with their rigs along the roads, but not out in the woods.

I used to live in Wisconsin where there was tremendous hunting pressure and LOTS of people with high powered rifles in relatively small areas. That was scary! I think that when the hunting pressure is higher more people tend to shoot stupidly. When you're the only hunter in the woods there's time and incentive to take your time and plan your shot--instead of shoot at "that thing that moved!"

I didn't even ride my ATV in Wisconsin during the hunting season. Out here I don't much worry about it.
 
#29 ·
As an avid hunter, and budding horse addict, i can understand both sides of the equation, and respect both sides.
I am also a firearms instructor, certified by the NRA.
One of the basic safety rules is "know your target, and what lies beyond it", and another is "never point your firearm at anything you dont intend to kill".
Unfortunately, not all hunters observe and practice these basic tenets to safety.
Bells are good, blaze orange is good, making noise is good to an extent.
Deer and elk are curious animals, and are known to be attracted to strange sounds.
Chainsaws and weed whackers are both extremely noisy, and can be heard for great distances.
They also attract forage animals, like deer, as the noise is something they equate to fresh tasty food. Think about it - deer and elk are grazers, similar to horses. Mowing down weeds to expose fresh understory is like ringing the dinner bell!
Staying on roads is wise, bright colors are wise (definitely not brown or white-the same colors as bodies and antlers), and bells, are all smart moves.
Riding in larger groups is also smart. Deer may ber herd animals, but big bucks are generally solitary until the rut. Elk tend to congregate around the dominant bulls, especially during the rut.
You can find out when the rut generally happens by talking to the folks at the gun counter at the local sports shop.
I would use the time of the rut as a training time in the pasture instead of venturing out into the woods if possible. It lasts about a month from start to finish, but it's the most prime hunting time, and its when the boneheads that call themselves hunters are most prone to doing stupid things.
As an aside, i have only had one negative experience while hunting. A bowhunter, and i use that term very loosely, thought he saw a deer and let an arrow fly, which impacted about two feet from me. I proceeded to remind him of the basic safety rules, specifically of knowing what you're shooting at.
Long story short, i cut his bow season short by cutting his bowstring.
Darwinism doesnt always work itself out. Sometimes it needs a little push.
 
#30 ·
I have lived and hunted in Utah my entire life. Always with horses. I have gone on multiple hunts in Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho. My favorite place to ride is in Big Elk country and there is no better time than during the rut whether you have a tag or not. The fall colors are out, the air is crisp and the bucks and bulls can be seen in all their glory. I wear orange because it is legally required during the rifle hunt. I wear every bit of camo I have when Muzzleloader and Archery hunting and am as quiet as I possibly can be. I have never been shot at or been in danger that I know of. I have never "almost" shot at anything that I didn't hold a legal tag for. At least in the west I don't see any problem riding during hunting season other than you might have a hard time finding a place to park at a popular trail head. Obviously I can't speak for places I haven't been and it very well may be dangerous.

If you want a great ride where you can feel safe and be in the Mountains when they are most beautiful load your horses and head west for a ride in late September/early October. If you have never heard a bull elk bugle on a crisp fall morning in the high country you need to. The best time is during the Muzzleloader hunt.
 
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