Hunting and the A.T.
Virginia -
http://www.dgif.state.va.us/hunting/...tions/deer.asp
Note that small game seasons are already in place, and extend beyond the deer season. On the Rollercoaster, archers will be in the woods from this weekend until 11/16. Some form of firearm (muzzleloader or otherwise) will be in season from 11/3 - 1/5/2008.
Hunting isn't permitted on the AT corridor lands along the Rollercoaster, but I can tell you that a large number of adjacent landowners do hunt... myself included. There are several very large parcels on the western side of the trail that are leased by hunt clubs. Topography through a lot of that area, combined with lot lines, eliminates a lot of the chance for "bullet trespass". Can't be too safe though. If you happen to come across someone encroaching on the AT corridor who clearly ISN'T tracking a downed animal, please report them!
GR Thompson, which borders Sky Meadows Park between Markham and Route 50, is crawling with hunters each year.
I like seeing signs such as this along the trail, this particular one is a few miles north of I70 in Maryland.
Well, attachment was too large:
http://www.pwrpark.com/no-hunting.jpg
Yes, we have signs like that in Pa. I've often thought that posting a safety zone around the shelters would be a good thing, but others have told me that I don't know what I'm talking about. (Come to think of it, they say that to me a lot.)Originally Posted by rday
Moose hunt is underway in Maine and partridge season is here also. The Moose hunt doesn't usually clash with hiking because they, the hunters, generally ride around in a vehicle on back roads till a Moose steps out in a conveinent spot very near the road .
One thing a hiker should be concerned with in Moose country certain times of the year(August/September) is Bull Moose in the Rut. They have been known to act aggressively toward people and your best course of action if you found yourself in this situation is to climb a tree or at least get behind a good size tree and manuver yourself to stay on the opposite side of the tree from the moose.
Last edited by woodsy; 10-03-2007 at 12:59.
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It's good to see the topic of hiker safety during hunting season being discussed here.
While millions of people have hiked the A.T. without incident during hunting season, two hikers have been shot on the A.T. by hunters during deer firearm season. Both hikers sustained life-altering, chronic injuries and probably would not have survived the accidents were it not for fairly prompt medical assistance and lengthy hospital stays. One victim was a novice hiker on one of her first backpacks in Georgia; the other was a former thru-hiker on a day hike in central Virginia (both incidents were on National Forest lands). To the best of our knowledge, neither hiker was wearing blaze orange or was aware that hunting season was underway.
As Chimney Spring points out above, hunting is illegal on A.T. corridor lands, but hunters have (infrequently) been caught hunting illegally on A.T. lands. In some cases it's possible they did not know they were on A.T. lands. You can help protect hikers (and trail lands) by becoming a corridor monitor--making sure boundaries are monitored for illegal activities such as hunting and various encroachments and keeping them clearly marked to help deter those activities. Visit ATC's website at http://www.appalachiantrail.org/corridormonitoring or contact your local A.T. maintaining club (if they have A.T. corridor lands to maintain) for more info.
Laurie Potteiger
ATC
You may be from Maine, and while I don't doubt that from your personal experience (vast or limited as it may be) you believe this to be true, I know dozens of people who have and continue to hunt moose in your state (natives and out of towners) and wouldn't dream of "road hunting". You're making a sweeping, generalizing statement here.
If you say so
Last edited by woodsy; 10-04-2007 at 10:26.
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Wow, a whole $100 bucks fine for shooting at humans. That'll stop 'em! There's a higher fine for littering!
I agree! It'd be a much more potent scare tactic if the punishment were forfeiture of their hunting license, weapons, pick-em-up truck, ATV, and beer!
RainMan
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[I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35
[url]www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker[/url]
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All hunting signs in the south look like that - it is a cultural joke.
SGT Rock
http://hikinghq.net
My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT
BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
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NO SNIVELING
Why would I shoot a moose anywhere far away from the road? Do you know how hard they are to carry out of the woods?
Don't forget civil court. Anyone discharging a firearm has absolute liability for whatever they hit. At least money collected goes to the victim, and not the State. Of course the lawyer gets most of it. Anyway civil court can be a pretty big deterrent.Wow, a whole $100 bucks fine for shooting at humans. That'll stop 'em! There's a higher fine for littering!
Saw this sign somewhere.
woodsy, I feel a certain sense of responsibliity for this thread I started. It seems to be going to hell in a handbasket fast.
Most people from away have never hunted moose, but they can relate to what's involved with hunting deer. Could you clarify to hunters and hikers from away how dispatching a mammal 4 or more times the weight of a whitetail deer might be a different exploit?
Last edited by emerald; 10-07-2007 at 09:12.
You do realize that the sign refers to shooting at wildlife within a specific distance/proximity to camps occupied by humans, and not shooting at humans.. right?
It's easy (to explain.. not to do). You quarter it, cape it out, de-bone the meat to lighten the load, and haul your take out of the woods in game bags. Draggin' a whitetail out by it's hind legs or antlers it ain't, but then again there aren't many solo moose hunters. It's hard work, and there are plenty (indeed a vast majority) of hunters who understand that the work is part of the overall quest - whereas there is a slovenly, ignorant, small section of the hunting community who drives around in trucks and shoots animals when they cross the road. Woodsy would have you believe the opposite is true, while I believe (and suspect that Maine game officials would concur) otherwise.
You really shouldn't be so hard on woodsy. I believe he may have been just reporting his perception of the way things are.
In many places road hunting is frowned upon by sportsmen if not illegal. Now, what might pass as legal where Maine moose hunting is concerned may be another matter.
When hunting elk in the west, aren't horses often used to pack out the hind quarters and loins? I wouldn't be surprised to learn trucks, trailers and ATVs are used more often than not to transport back to the hunting camp what remains of the moose.
Last edited by emerald; 10-07-2007 at 22:39.
Bingo!I wouldn't be surprised to learn ATV's and trucks are used more often than not to transport back to the hunting camp what remains of the moose.
Best thing when you can is back the truck up to the moose and drop him so he falls into the truck bed. ATV's are used when this isn't possible, LOL. And then, some do whatever it takes.
Last edited by woodsy; 10-04-2007 at 16:49.
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PGC's Laws and Regulations page
I've been gathering links to code that relates to the Pennsylvania A.T. and studying it for some weeks in an effort to make what sense of it I can and make what should be known to hikers more accessible and understandable.
Today, I stumbled upon a PGC page that may well have been on PGC's website all along. I think all of the state agencies managing A.T. lands have now linked the applicable code from their sites. Someone also provided me with the U.S. code.
Sometime soon I'll gather these links and post them together where they can be easily found by those who are interested.
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