Bear Hunting in Georgia/North Carolina OCT 24 2019

[The Old Chief]

I don't know if it's legal or not to shoot at a bear from the road, but I do know that in Eastern North Carolina deer hunting from the road with dogs is legal. This past Saturday morning we went by several groups of hunters doing this from the road. I've even seen a revolving chair mounted on top of a dog box so that the hunter can shoot from the higher position while sitting. Most of this type of hunting usually takes place in fairly rural areas of the state and is no big deal to locals.

[Tipi Walter]

There are lot of possible explanations, poaching is only one of them.

About an hour after the shooting a pickup truck left the area with a black bear on the tailgate. Sure, could all be coincidence. Or not.

[trailmercury]

About an hour after the shooting a pickup truck left the area with a black bear on the tailgate. Sure, could all be coincidence. Or not.

If you thought you witnessed poaching, part of the onus is on you to report it...
Are you saying there is no possibility they harvested the bear legally? Do you know the hunting regulations in the area you were hiking?

Poaching is unacceptable and I cringe at the idea by the way, but legal harvesting of game animals is as much of a justifiable use of public lands as hiking/backpacking. Most here probably prefer the later.

[Tipi Walter]

Poaching is illegal hunting. But is it legal to hunt from the side of a road??

[Stikbow]

But is it legal to hunt from the side of a road??

I can only speak for GA, which is the state I live in. In Georgia, it is unlawful to shoot from or across a public road. It is also unlawful to discharge a firearm within 50 yards of a public road. I don't know about what other states allow.

[trailmercury]

I can only speak for GA, which is the state I live in. In Georgia, it is unlawful to shoot from or across a public road. It is also unlawful to discharge a firearm within 50 yards of a public road. I don't know about what other states allow.

Wisconsin has the same rules regarding roadways, 50 yards from the center of the road

[gpburdelljr]

Poaching is illegal hunting. But is it legal to hunt from the side of a road??

Since you didn’t see them shoot, you have no idea if they shot from the road. Since you don’t know the laws, you don’t know if they were doing anything illegal.

[Tipi Walter]

Since you didn’t see them shoot, you have no idea if they shot from the road. Since you don’t know the laws, you don’t know if they were doing anything illegal.

Let's put it this way---I was out in those woods for 18 days backpacking and didn't see a single one of these bear hunters in the area UNTIL I came out to the road and then saw dozens. I surmise therefore they were hunting from the road. But I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. Guys standing around a guard rail with weapons seems suspicious though.

[The Old Chief]

I've searched North Carolina hunting laws for big game and have not found any law that prohibits hunting from roadsides in season. I just talked to my brother-in-law at his hunting camp (he also thru-hiked the AT this year) and he and the other hunters with him said yep, it's legal. A clue, in the picture that's been posted, that the hunters were legal in hunting from the side of the road is it would be pretty dumb to be standing there illegally with high power rifles in season not knowing whether or not the next vehicle on the road was a game warden.

[gpburdelljr]

Let's put it this way---I was out in those woods for 18 days backpacking and didn't see a single one of these bear hunters in the area UNTIL I came out to the road and then saw dozens. I surmise therefore they were hunting from the road. But I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. Guys standing around a guard rail with weapons seems suspicious though.

It’s more likely that they track the dogs with GPS, or by the sound of their baying, and drive around to the closest access point with the vehicles. If the dogs change direction, they get in the vehicles and relocate. Once a bear is treed, then they enter the woods on foot from the nearest road. A typical man, even one in really good shape from hiking, couldn’t begin to keep up with dogs running a bear, especially since the bear is likely to head cross country rather than on a trail, hence the use of vehicles.

[Traveler]

I see this photo and arrive at a somewhat different conclusion. What I see are bear hunters waiting for their dogs to tree or bay a bear, at which point they will pitch off the road and walk to where the dogs are and have a look. They may shoot. They may not. Either way, they'll have to leash the dogs and walk them back to the truck.

What I see in this photo are three guys who don't appear able to sustain multiple miles of bushwhacking for long, possibly making roadside hunting medically necessary. Most States do not allow hunting from the roadside or from vehicles, typically requiring a specific distance of 50 yards or so from a public road before legal hunting can be engaged.

[Slo-go'en]

What I see in this photo are three guys who don't appear able to sustain multiple miles of bushwhacking for long, possibly making roadside hunting medically necessary. Most States do not allow hunting from the roadside or from vehicles, typically requiring a specific distance of 50 yards or so from a public road before legal hunting can be engaged.

Same with NH. Game Wardens will set up a mechanical deer in a field next to a road and wait for someone to come by and shoot at it, then they jump out of the bushes and arrest the person.

[jigsaw]

here in mass the law says 200 ft from the road.they banned hunting with dogs a decade ago and as a result we are overrun with bears.to think your gonna go into the woods and stalk a bear without the help of dogs or over bait is wishful thinking. a bear will smell you and be long gone.

[Tipi Walter]

here in mass the law says 200 ft from the road.they banned hunting with dogs a decade ago and as a result we are overrun with bears.to think your gonna go into the woods and stalk a bear without the help of dogs or over bait is wishful thinking. a bear will smell you and be long gone.

Massachusetts is overrun with bears? There are an estimated 4,500 black bears in the state. The state's human population is almost 7 million. 7 million vs 4,500?? So, who's overrunning who????

[jigsaw]

i cant speak for the whole state.just know whats happening here in the berkshires.10 years ago you never saw a bear now i see several a month.
they have no fear of humans, dogs or anything else.my friends wife had to call the cops as the bear came thru the slider trapping her and the kids upstairs as it tore through the kitchen.also doing a number on local chicken houses.

[SkeeterPee]

Massachusetts is overrun with bears? There are an estimated 4,500 black bears in the state. The state's human population is almost 7 million. 7 million vs 4,500?? So, who's overrunning who????

An interesting fact from NatGeo https://www.nationalgeographic.com/n...-conservation/

"Scientists believe there are now more black bears in North America than there were when the settlers arrived in the 1600s."

[greensleep]

i cant speak for the whole state.just know whats happening here in the berkshires.10 years ago you never saw a bear now i see several a month.
they have no fear of humans, dogs or anything else.my friends wife had to call the cops as the bear came thru the slider trapping her and the kids upstairs as it tore through the kitchen.also doing a number on local chicken houses.

I live in northern Florida (some would call it LA; lower Alabama) in the panhandle area. I moved here 19 years ago. At that time, an occasional sighting of a bear or bear with cubs was a once in a 2 to 3 month occurance. Now, with the inevitable overpopulation and overdevelopment (by my own definitions), we have destroyed or removed hundreds of acres of wildlife habitat, leaving bears with a much reduced grazing/living area. We have daily sightings of bears walking through the neighborhoods and exploring garbage bins. No aggressive confrontations yet, but that's coming. Since bears are not relocated here, they will be euthanized.

[ocourse]

Let's put it this way---I was out in those woods for 18 days backpacking and didn't see a single one of these bear hunters in the area UNTIL I came out to the road and then saw dozens. I surmise therefore they were hunting from the road. But I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. Guys standing around a guard rail with weapons seems suspicious though.

I think there is a lot of judging based on appearance here. I much doubt that the pictured hunters were doing anything illegal. The gun is most likely unloaded. There are very few facts here, and I think you probably wrongly accuse legitimate hunters.

[Tipi Walter]

I think there is a lot of judging based on appearance here. I much doubt that the pictured hunters were doing anything illegal. The gun is most likely unloaded. There are very few facts here, and I think you probably wrongly accuse legitimate hunters.

I never said the hunters were doing anything illegal. Like I said in my quote about hunting from the road---I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. But hearing the gunshots directly on the road and guys standing on the guard rail seemed suspicious. I mean, why have guns at the ready if they were not hunting . . . uh . . . from the road? Just keep them in their trucks which were parked nearby.

[ocourse]

I never said the hunters were doing anything illegal. Like I said in my quote about hunting from the road---I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. But hearing the gunshots directly on the road and guys standing on the guard rail seemed suspicious. I mean, why have guns at the ready if they were not hunting . . . uh . . . from the road? Just keep them in their trucks which were parked nearby.

Why should hikers dictate how hunters act? Keep guns in their trucks? One can't hunt without a gun. How about hunters tell hikers what to do. Multi-purpose areas are just that. HYOH and Hunt Your Own Hunt.