IGNORANT hunters.

[Big Mike in Fl]

so, I've been hunting most of the last week (ever day but monday and wednesday) on the wildlife management are Three lakes, in central florida. I found an excellent stand location last year,a nd placed a stand in there earlier on, and this was my first opportunity to get in it. each day I saw game, however never got a opportunity to get any shots off. The area I'm in is right between two cypress heads, not far from a creek, in some palmettos and thick pines. it isn't a big area to hunt, but like I said, plenty of Game around. it also happens to be pretty far back in the woods, and both last year and this year until saturday, I had not even seen another hunter in the area.

anyway, Yesterday morning, after sitting in the stand till around 9:30 I gathered my cousin from his stand and we decided to push some areas to see if we could chase up some hogs, after moving to the area we decided to push, we started working through the woods following game and cow trails (there are wild herds of cows that run this land, clearing plenty of paths for game and hunters alike) anyway, we get into some thicker scrub oak, tall palmettos and cypress and we hear movement, so we come around a corner and through the bushes we barely make out two hunters, standing in the thicket NOT WEARING SAFETY ORANGE. This is a requirement in florida for deer hunting, whether on public or private land. as we move by them, I saw they both had high power rifles, and asked what they were after and they said deer!!! this angers me, because it isn't like the were in a stand, or on a main trail, but rather in thick brush. this is just asking for trouble!

so, later on in the day, I moved back into my stand about 2pm, as I got into it, there were a couple doe moving around it, I was hopeful if they hung close, they might draw a buck in about an hour after I got in, I hear this aweful commotion coming from the creek bed through the cypress. at first i thought it was the aforementioned cows, but as it moved closer i realized it was even louder than they normally are. as it moved through I finally caught a glimpse of orange and eventually came to realize it was 3 hunters PLOWING through the cypress. finally they come out to the fire break that runs along in front of my stand and i hear the first one say "oh, it opens up out here" - They clearly had NO idea where they were or what they were doing, they ended up going the opposite way of me, but in the process of moving through they completely spooked the doe, and anything else in the area. I didn't see or hear anything else for the rest of the evening. now why on earth would they plow through like that, when there ar eplenty of fire breaks, game trails and natural breaks through this area, and what the heck did they expect to see by plowing through like that???

I hate hunting on public land, and saturday reminded me especially why I hate hunting on the weekends. >

sorry for the long rant, but it drives me crazy... I'm heading back out on tuesday and I'm looking forward to there not being nearly the amount of people out there.

[Tin]

That is pretty much the reason why I choose hockey and skiing over hunting up here. Too many idiots and unfortunatley they are trigger-happy. There is usually a fatality a year in this state where one hunter shoots another, about 50% of the time they have orange on too. A couple years ago a father shot his son that was coming to make sure he was ok because he had been gone all day. The son had orange on as well.

The worst part is, there are not enough hunters up here or they are not any good because our state is absolutley infested with deer.  You cannot drive anywhere without seeing a dead one on the side or in the road. There are 3-5 in my gf's front yard every morning all really skinny and unhealthy looking. Mind you she lives in a 300 house residential development and less than a half mile from the largest highway in the state. At my parents house (they live on the border of a state park) there are 8-12 there some mornings.

[ArcticCat500]

I can agree with Tin, also being a RI'er and ex-hunter this state is over run. I have pix my wife took of 3 fawns on our front lawn last spring nibbling the shrooms.

I have a mere 5 acres, I allow my daughter and her dog to venture out into the woods but come hunting season she and Gunther are limited to the back yard.

It's often scarey to hear the gunshots echoing through the back lot.

[done]

These types of things are the things I do not miss about hunting.

I once had some retard actually using the scope on his shotgun to look around. Which would not have been too bad but he was scoping me. When I was dressing in Orange camo and was up in a tree stand.

When I saw him I pointed my gun right at him, to see if he got the point. That dude went a few hundred yards away, and must have fired 20+ shots over there during the day. Saw him afterwards he got nothing. He should have gone to the range and not hunting that day.

[fishfordollars]

Don't even think you are safe out of the woods. Two years ago a friend and I were fishing schoolies out in the middle of Lake Nacogdoches when a hot round went sizziling right by us. We both hit the deck. Called the police and the warden.  They arrested two poachers that had been hunting a restricted area and just decided to fire off a round. It was close.

I spent a tour and part of another in S.E. Asia back in the late 60s and know the sound well. This was a close call from two fools with a gun that had no business being in the woods(Or anywhere else) with a high powered rifle.

Jack

[Catt]

In the state of Louisiana hunters are required to wear at least 400 square inches of blaze orange during the open gun season on public land.

I'm about 12-14' up a tree in a climbing stand when this idiot walks straight up to my tree and sits down; after becoming completely comfortable I calmly ask seen any thing?

[RobbyZ5001]

In the state of Louisiana hunters are required to wear at least 400 square inches of blaze orange during the open gun season on public land.

I'm about 12-14' up a tree in a climbing stand when this idiot walks straight up to my tree and sits down; after becoming completely comfortable I calmly ask seen any thing?

So midgets can't hunt in Louisiana?

[Tin]

In the state of Louisiana hunters are required to wear at least 400 square inches of blaze orange during the open gun season on public land.

I'm about 12-14' up a tree in a climbing stand when this idiot walks straight up to my tree and sits down; after becoming completely comfortable I calmly ask seen any thing?

So midgets can't hunt in Louisiana?

This explains LBH's where-abouts. It was Catt, in the bayou, with the rifle....

[Rebel Angler]

Don't even think you are safe out of the woods. Two years ago a friend and I were fishing schoolies out in the middle of Lake Nacogdoches when a hot round went sizziling right by us. We both hit the deck. Called the police and the warden.  They arrested two poachers that had been hunting a restricted area and just decided to fire off a round. It was close.

I spent a tour and part of another in S.E. Asia back in the late 60s and know the sound well. This was a close call from two fools with a gun that had no business being in the woods(Or anywhere else) with a high powered rifle.

Jack

That's crazy! There are some real idiots out there.