Thursday, December 20, 2007

Help me understand....the Deer Hunter's Quiz

While a waterfowl hunter and sympathetic to hunter's rights, conservation, and habit protection for wildlife, I have always been perplexed by some of deer hunting practices I see each season. I just have a few questions to pose to some in the deer hunting population, who give the rest of us who hunt a bad name:

When hunting in a ditch beside a state road, who has the right of way if a deer presents itself on the other side of the road? In other words, does a passing car have to yield to your shot?

When driving during hunting season, is it best to keep the shot gun fully loaded or with just one chambered shell in case you see a deer on the side of the road?

What is the optimal number of beers to consume before legal shooting time?

Is it possible to hunt deer without a CB radio?

When trespassing on some one's land, does a bag limit apply? Since you really aren't there legally in the first place, do all the rules fly out the window?

What in the world is a "sound shot"?

Again, when trespassing and confronted by the land owner, are you ever concerned about ceding thought leadership for your hunting practices to your dog? When informed that a deer hunter is hunting posted land, the most common answer is "my dog can't read your signs". Well, your dog can't open its own bag of dog food either, but does he decide where you are going our for dinner on Saturday nights?

How many pickup trucks rushing to the spot of a sighted deer broadcast over the CB radio does in take to constitute a demolition derby?

Do earplugs help when shooting from the cab of your pickup?

Does a deer killed spotlighting at night count against your season limit?

I know most deer hunters are good and ethical hunters who respect the outdoors and follow the rules. I know many such deer hunters. However, the small minority of hunters who road hunt, who travel with their loaded shotguns in the rack in case they see a deer, and who rarely hunt without beer really make it tough on the rest of us. If the animal rights and suburbanites who think a goose is born with a bow around its neck ever outlaw hunting, we will know who we have to thank.

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