Deer season - Page 3

Sad to say there are slobs in every aspect of every activity at some point.  Pointing out the slobs using hounds to hunt is right up there with using a slob puppy mill as a comparison to all dog breeders.  Please people, differentiate between the two groups, slob versus very ethical.  I have many friends who hunt with hounds.  These dogs are some of the best cared for animals I know.  These people are some of the most ethical hunters and guides I know.

OK, I called and talked with a Officer of the PA Game Commission and he said this Law didn't pass. Yet. Apparently, a Jeff Pyles from Indiana was the one who proposed this new "tracking dog" and "right to retreive" law here in PA. It had minimal support from the PA Game Commission and a slew of land owner opposition this year, that's why it didn't pass. Yet.

I was told this Jeff Pyles wants to introduce these Bills again the first week of November .... special regulations starts this Sat and opening day for the State is Oct 2nd.  The Officer mentioned he didn't see it passing in PA even with major Game Commission support, too many land owners prohibit it via property rights. But he said nothing is certain. He did advise me to immediately post my lands, a sign every 15 feet along the perimeter ... When I got off the phone I figured it out ... HOLY CRAP, that more than a million and 1/2 signs I need to buy. Who does this stuff ?

This brings alot of questions from me, because this is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing around here.

In the States that allow this .... do the land owners even have property rights ? or are all property rights institutionalized and free game for the dogs ? Just wondering.

Molly,
I've heard of whole packs just not being picked up after the last hunt but thankfuly I've never seen it happen myself. I certainly don't agree with shooting whole packs but I suppose it's a better humane decision to dispose of them that way then it is to just leave them to starve or get run over.

BabyEagle, thanks for the clarification on that. Fish and Wildlife carries a lot more weight than normal state or local law. Even if it passes soon, it might not take effect until next year. Be a good idea to go ahead and post your land anyway. That will eliminate a lot of knocks on the door from people seeking permission.  Just make sure you post it properly and recheck your signs frequently. I have to replace a few every year.

Animules,
I know exactly what your saying. I used to keep a few bear and boar dogs myself and have always had a retriever and a field dog or two of some type until recently. There's always crap at the bottom of every barrel and it's sad to say, those few make a bad name for every one else. All my friends hunt and most with dogs and the hunt clubs. for them it's a tradition going back generations. Most of these guys make their primary living as hunting guides and commercial fisherman. I don't deer hunt with a club but I have several times in the past and just found it a distasteful practice. I don't have a family I have to feed off the 6 tags I get every year but these guys do. I can afford to still hunt and not harvest anything, they can't. I can say, all their dogs are very well cared for and highly prized. I coon hunt with a guy who runs a brace of hounds he paid $20,000 for. We never shoot a coon, just tree them. He won't chance his dogs getting ripped up. In my nearly 30 years actively hunting, I've only run across a few unethical hunters and most were common low life poachers and not hunters that run dogs.

I really hope this doesn't pass EVER in PA !!!  I like to give permission and allow hunters on my land .. but NO way in hell will I allow everyones dog running at large chasing deers all over the place ... no way, no how.

Glad they give a 60% discount to YF&R peeps purchasing No Trespassing Signs. I got lucky there. Now, I'm gonna have to have a No Trespassing Sign party next weekend to get all those signs posted.

Glad the subject was brought up. Thanks.

BabyEagle we were posting at the same time.

I can tell you how the law applies down here but it may be different than what's proposed in PA.

"Right to retrieve" gives a hunter the right to cross onto private land, even posted land, to retrieve wounded game or hunting dogs. Some state or local laws may require hunters to notify the land owner before trespassing or obtain permission. Some do, some don't.

"Tracking dog" laws are designed to allow hunters to trail wounded game with dogs and can include hunting with dogs. Usually they're pretty well written and spell out what you can and can't "active pursuit" hunt like deer, rabbit, etc. Birds of any type are usually a whole different ballgame and and covered differently.

Go here: www.statehuntandfishregs.com/PA/ for your latest published updates.

Posting every 15 feet seems a little excessive. I don't have to post that close and have never seen it done that way except at access points to the property. You do have to post the entire perimeter and with the proper signs and the specified distance and height  for your state. You may have a way to register your property as posted for non hunting. If you can do that and really don't want it hunted, register it.

BabyEagle
Before you go spending money and a bunch of time on 'no trespassing" signs check with the regulations. You may have to post "ho hunting" or something similar and some states like NC have a state specific sign you have to use.

I can't tell you about the law up there, but down here it works this way
Caught on private unposted land is simple trespassing
Caught on posted land (no trespassing or no hunting) is defiant trespassing and a worse charge
Caught on no trespassing posted land with a hunting weapon is still just defiant trespassing
Caught on no hunting posted land with a weapon is poaching. Very bad.

If you post your property, make sure you give anyone you allow to hunt it specific written permission to do so. Just a simple note signed by you saying so and so has permission to hunt my property (short description and address) during which season (der, etc.) for the year July 1 2010-June 30 2011.

Mt lion hunt.
I personally think that this is unsportsmen like , sick and cowardly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHbT0q4PFDQ&feature=related
Bunch of wacko pussies with guns and dogs!
 I have no problem with hunting even so I do not hunt myself. But this is sick.
Also this is not dear hunting I am talking about.
Prager Hans

Ya, I ordered a skid of Posted Private Property signs after getting off the phone with FIG. Little lettering that defines everything, no trespassing, criminal charges etc. These were the signs he told me to get.
 
 I have a meeting at FIG on Monday to get the details of where the Military Reservation allows temp public hunting. They did tell me though it's restricted from TA0-TC500 ... that covers my whole southwestern end and it will be scouted numerous times a day he said. Which is a good thing, then I know noone or dogs should be drifting onto my property from the southwestern end anyhows. I'm still gonna post the signs though, I didn't order that many for nothing.

I left a messege with my insurance company too .. they should know about this.

Kinda sucks doing this, it's not the hunters that bother me, they are welcome here, it's everyones dogs allowed to run deer all over the place. That's not deer hunting if ya care to know what I think. And definately not respecting other people's property. It's taking advantage and if passed I'll be confronted one day with "because I can" while I'm drinking a coffee in my slippers down by the creek. Property owners rights should surpass hunters rights. Gezzzz  What about the dogs that live on our property, do they have to be locked up ?

What a morning. I'm going for a bike ride. Wish I had a husband to deal with all this crap. Pffssst.

I agree Prager - Mt Lion and Bear hunting with dogs is basically just shooting a scared cornered or treed trapped animal-  it may as well be in a cage.  Not hunting at all IMO - to me it's disgusting and cowardly.

molly

Try to locate a lion without dogs..lol. Not that I would hunt a Lion or a Bear, but dogs are used to hunt certain game animals not unlike the sport of Schutzhund, these people train and work hard with their animals. Here it is not uncommon for someone to let dogs loose to stir up the deer in late season... the dogs are often shot doing this. It's not legal here to use dogs to hunt chase or retrieve deer. A land owner always has rights, and you are expected to get permission to retrieve your kill, you are obligated to retrieve you kill here. Land posting must be done through the Sheriffs office here, and you must post it publicly in a news paper along with putting up signs. Then you must enforce your own posting unless neighbors assist. A deer may turn on a single dog and defend itself, a pack can bring a deer down. It's not sporting period. Thats not how you kill a record Buck.