Ride safe during hunting season

We ride in a Corps of Engineers park on Lake Sam Rayburn - that is my favorite place to ride. It is surrounded by private property and National Forests. There are deer stands in there. I have seen them with my own eyes. We also ride in a park in Beaumont, TX that is owned by the city - no hunting - but it is surrounded by private property.

Last year two drunk idiots from south of Houston were on a deer lease just about 40 miles north of here. They shot and killed each other over a fight at their campsite. Woot! Sounds like idiots on the loose to me.

As far as personally be affected - yes, as a matter of fact I have. When I was 21 years old my cousin, Darren, went out to target practice in October. He was only 20 years old. He was shot and killed by an idiot that he had just spoke to....I was heart broken and still am 30 years later. He was my best buddy growing up and his death has been something that has just been devastating to my entire family. The man was NEVER charged with anything. Darren was standing beside his 1977 Thunderbird - not a small car - when he was shot.

So, yes, tragedy has struck my family from an idiot hunter or wanna be hunter. So while I am not particularly afraid to ride, no one in my group wants to ride in Ebenezer during hunting season - and I ride with a lot of guys who do hunt.

I am not anti-hunting in the least. My husband used to hunt, my real father and step dad hunted. I believe people should be able to hunt but it would be great if people were more responsible. I am well aware that a PERSON shot Darren - not a gun...certainly not anti-gun in any shape, form or fashion. I do not hunt simply because I have no desire to shoot an animal...but I have excellent hand eye coordination - I bet I could skeet shoot if I took a mind to it.

As a side note, my horses are stabled at a barn that the owners are avid marksmen/women. Ms. Jean and Mr. Gus have won many national awards for their marksmanship and attend shooting matches all over the country. Mr. Gus has more guns than a gunshop and ammo in the barn in in pallets!!!

We turned around and went home from a ride recently because some guys were shooting. I am sure that they were target shooting and meant no harm. The noise was upsetting the horses. They were too close to the road. The place they were shooting had no backdrop to stop bullets. These guys mean no harm, but they are not the brightest crayons in the box. They don't shoot all that often and they weren't breaking any law as far as I know. It was easier to lose one day's riding than to make a deal out of it.

This entire discussion makes living way out west about 100 miles from a main road seem mighty inviting.

Oh...and just remembered. When I was a new born infant we moved to Georgia. Back in Texas my mom's cousin, Archie, (he helped me find my horse Red God Bless him) was shot full in the chest by a shotgun blast across the length of a truck by his best friend. It was an accident. Arch took a blast that left him almost dead. Had packing in his lung. He still has a ton of shot in his body that really lights up scanners. He was about 18 years old when it happened.

He said he looked up and saw Uncle Alva in his room (that uncle was not a visitor of ANYONE) and he said he knew he was dying if he was there!

It is a miracle that he lived - it was an accident though - safety wasn't on or something. I am just glad he is still here - he is my favorite of my mom's cousins!

Joe, I'm not disputing any of your unique concerns. I've done some more looking into Virigina's problems and have come to agree with you that unless dog hunting is drastically changed or eliminated in VA, it's best to have a day when they can't do their thing.

My issue is that every time we have a "hunting season" thread, it just gives an outlet for some to complain about anyone with a firearm in the woods or countryside.

Folks, the Second Amendment has absolutely nothing to do with hunting. You are going to find people in the woods and fields legally shooting at stuff during days where no hunting is allowed. You are also going to come across hunters with rifles on days where hunting is legal but deer season is closed.

Not quite sure how making Sunday hunting illegal in Texas would fix any of the valid issues you have presented.

It would allow my fellow riders to feel more comfortable riding in the forest during hunting season. I would ride in the "front" part of Ebenezer but geez...no one will go with me and it is a 100 mile haul! If it was illegal to be hunting on that day we could go up and ride all day...it would be terrific!

The second amendment also has nothing to do with recreational shooting or shooting in an unsafe irresponsible manner. The state has no more obligation to allow you to shoot on public land than it does to build you a church.Just like dog hunting makes my area and concerns differnt , QOS, has unique things that make her concerned. I frequently hear the "people can still shoot on sundays" argument. It isnt really relevant here. In VA it is generally illegal to shoot on public land unless you are hunting or at a designated range. Several of the Wildlife management areas have sight in ranges specifically because other hunters got tired of the yahoos and figured it there was a free safe place to shoot at many of the hunting grounds people would use them. It is also illegal to shoot on private land without an adequate backstop. Of course adequate isnt defined but its a step in the right direction. Interestingly enough the sherrifs dept will respond to a call of a neighbor shooting on their land and see if they have a back stop, but wont respond if the shooter is shooting at game, or is trespassing on my land. Go figure that one out.
There are people that just hang targets on trees and shoot. Kinda upsets me because people like that can ruin it for the rest of us. I like to shoot and have a big giant dirt pile I shoot into, but some yahoo down the road sending some rounds out through the woods and hits something will end up getting laws passed prohibiting ,me from safely shooting. Pretty much the way it goes. Yahoos that Qos is dealing with will end up ruining it for the responsible shooters.
SOmething I keep bringing up to the "Sunday Hunting" advocates. Police your own, kick the trespassers out of your club, cancel leases to hunt clubs that road hunt, don't dog hunt other peoples land. Push for trespass enforcement, get off the roads and away from the beer coolers. Push for minimum acreage requirements for dog hunting, Do something to aleviate the concerns of the non sunday hunting groups, surprisingly many of whom are hunters. You will see Sunday hunting opposition disappear.

Deer hunters get the brunt of the animosity because they pose the biggest threat to people. I don't worry about someone mistaking me or my horse for a bird or squirrel. If I lived where there were elk or moose, I'd worry about those hunters too.

Target shooters aren't a threat if they are on their own land.

Put another way, if there was no deer hunting, this thread probably would not exist. Not saying that there shouldn't be deer hunting. There needs to be. They have no predators other than hunters. So I get that we need deer hunting. It's just if you are reading animosity toward hunters, it's because deer hunters are the ones we need to worry about the most.

I think most people know that a person can shoot a gun and not be a hunter or that there are hunters around during seasons other than deer.

I have an orange breast collar I use on my horse, an orange saddle blanket and orange reins.

I too am decked out in hunter's orange and try to stay on the roads. If I do go on the trails, I use bells on my horse. I talk a lot to her anyway, so it's not a problem to talk a bit louder.

Joe,
I grew up hunting beagles! They are terrific little dogs. I trained with them in the area behind our house - it was in the city and is now an upscale neighborhood!

My stepfather was big on hunting with coon dogs and he hunted rabbits with beagles - he'd switch back and forth between the two styles. The type of hunting he did was more for the "chase" than killing the coon or rabbit. Never brought home any game that I know of.

He hunted with clubs but the clubs hunted on private property and was often "brace" trials for the beagles. They were never out of the sight of the judges or owner/handler. He did alot of field trials.

Hahaha a farrier out at the barn was shocked when I asked him if he was a coon hunter. I recognized the coon hunting emblem on the back of his truck!!!