Look, numb nuts. I got no issue with legal deer hunting. I like venison. You get your permit for your animal, deer season opens, you go hunting. Hopefully you follow reasonably safe practices, and you don’t hunt my neighbor’s steers, but that’s a different rant. (Truthfully, she’s just as likely to shoot you as not, but not my problem.) Anyhoo.
The subject of today’s rant is the frickin’ geniuses who are firing every 2-3 minutes in the nature preserve that backs up to my property. “Nature preserve” people. State land, mandated no hunting. No anything really. Don’t look at it. Don’t even breath on it. I can’t even clear the blackberry bushes off my damn fence in case the turtles get upset. You can’t hunt there. :smack: Not to mention it’s loud as fuck, my delicate dog is hiding under the bed, and I hate you all. This is Oregon. There are hundreds of miles of lands where you can hunt. Please go find them. Fucking yahoos who can’t read a map with a gps and sherpa to help.
Do you have a TIP - Turn In Poachers operation where you live? Would calling 911 bring some investigations into this? Illegal hunting is very serious and in no way tolerated, so authorities would be interested in hearing about it. But they need to get there while it’s happening.
Is it really non-life threatening? Most preserves I’m familiar with have people walking in them, and I would also be worried about a stray shot coming through my window if my house backed up to it.
IME, calling 911 to get a phone number for Game Warden officer or such has always been fine provided I say not human-emergency but looking to report (ASAP!) poaching. Done it at least four times (or more, I forget). They have always given me the number (that was hard to find online and was not an answering machine) and said thanks for calling about the problem. I was on ‘hold’ a bit as they dealt with ongoing emergencies, but considered my request a valid one and were happy to give me the info/contacts needed But, of course, if you can find Dept of Fish/Game (or whatever Oregon’s ‘wildlife police’ are called there) contact numbers thru Googling, that’d be the first choice. But 911 will get ya to the right place (IME) as there is something illegal/dangerous happening (especially in a wildlife preserve) that needs to be stopped sooner than later.
I will say that the 911-centers I called were of small-town variety and not a big-city set-up (if it matters at all). After all, it is a kind of ‘emergency’, but not of the typical type. I’d be worried about bullets hitting houses/persons with the perps blasting away so close in a total no-shoot area, for example. The shit-stained perps have already shown their recklessness and disdain for the law, and who knows how careful they are with downrange concerns, etc.
This situation seems prime for a Game Officer to set up a decoy-deer (or whatever) and catch some poachers red-handed in their illegal actvity. Or have cameras set up to record and ID the perps at a later time. The sooner the better, IMHO. Hope you can help get that shit stopped
I feel your pain. We don’t back up to a nature preserve, but the area I’m in is 1) right in town and 2) all the houses have ~10 acres or so and 3) all the acreage backs up to land that is open to the public for recreation, though not hunting because there’s just too many houses around, and it’s illegal to shoot within a certain range of a house.
Of course, every year around deer season, some doofus decides this is a PERFECT place to do some target shooting. We call the cops every time we hear them, but more often than not by the time the cops get here, they’re done shooting. Or the cops can’t find them. Or they miraculously stop for the 20-30 minutes the cops are looking for them then start up again.
Fun times. It’s great feeling like you’re gonna get shot if you walk around your backyard.
I always will remember,
'twas a year ago November,
I went out to hunt some deer
On a morning bright and clear.
I went and shot the maximum the game laws would allow:
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow.
Yeah, and if they are shooting every 2-3 minutes they are not deer hunters, probably duck hunters. Duck hunting is allowed in many areas where rifle hunting is not because it is considered less intrusive and the pellets don’t fly very far.
Make that phone call and you will probably find that a waterfowl season opened up Saturday 10-8 and the hunters are doing so legally.
What is a “nature preserve”? Generally, the specific type is defined by federal and/or state law. For example, it is perfectly legal to hunt in “Wildlife Management Areas” as long as you abide by their specific laws, even though the name sounds like some place that animals are being protected. “National Wildlife Refuges” may also be legal to hunt, at least I know a nearby one is.
My state and probably every other state has clearly defined how close you can shoot near dwellings. And if walking in these areas you should really wear orange.
Lucky bastards can even get off a shot, around here all the deer just up and disappeared. Haven’t seen any bucks really.
Also sometimes there are special herd management hunts on nature preserves. Permits to participate in these hunts are usually awarded by lottery. As was already mentioned above, most likely bird hunters.
I’ll be honest. I felt a little sickened when I read the last few responses last night. This is a wetlands preserve primarily. It’s a finger lake (left over from the Willamette river), with a relatively small strip of land set up around it. It’s there for waterfowl, particularly migratory. The deer use it as a corridor. And, around here, there’s some kind of turtle the wildlife folks are crazy about maintaining.
Before the gunfire, most of the birds on the lake were migrating Canadian geese. Usually there are some Snow geese mixed in. We also have egrets, and, yes some ducks. But it was overwhelming geese.
This particular preserve does not have any paths. No humans (other than game wardens or Oregon park personnel). Those of us with property surrounding can see into it.
The migrating birds are not always careful about landing in the preserve, so at this time of year, it’s not uncommon to get up in the morning and have a yard full of geese. They’re messy, and noisy.
Anyway, until last night, I heard no sign of them at all, but I think they’re finally back.
Asshole hunters. I don’t think it’s legal anywhere to hunt migratory fowl.
Oregon Game Bird Regulation. Table titled “2016-2017 Migratory Game Bird Seasons”. Row marked “Regular Goose Seasons”, which is broken down by geographic zone within the state.
Looks like there are a couple of zones that opened Canada Goose and White-fronted Goose seasons on the 8th. Possibly this is the activity you’re seeing.
But unless the state hunting regulations have seasons for illegal hunting, yeah, it’s perfectly legal to hunt migratory fowl in season. You’re not obligated to like it, but don’t pretend your dislike makes it against the law.
ETA: I don’t know the hunting-legality status of the lake you speak of, so I won’t address that. But in general, the statement “it’s not legal anywhere to hunt migratory fowl” is catastrophically wrong.
It was not my intention to sicken a fellow Oregonian but rather to inform. There are legal hunts allowed in wildlife areas and refuges. Among them are youth, disabled and elderly hunts, each requiring a special tag or permit.
And it is probably one of these hunts that started last weekend in your area. I won’t press you for location but since you say it is a wetland area I am becoming more certain that it is a special, allowed hunt preceding the normal season.
Normal duck/waterfowl season starts this upcoming weekend on 10-15, always 2 weeks after the start of deer season. They allow youth and disabled to hunt before all the regular hunts begin to give them an extra advantage and low competition.
This quote is from the official ODFW site about youth hunts. Bolding is mine.
