Roving/stump shooting

[quadrafire]

Anyone have encounters while stump shooting on DNR,WDFW, State, Fed land.
I was curious about what would be considered hunting by some of the "official" types as opposed to just shooting out of season.
ie. Judo/blunts etc.

[KFhunter]

clarify please


Your running around in the woods shooting random stumps, and some LEO type makes contact with you?

[quadrafire]

No..... no problems yet......  I was just wondering if anyone has had any problems.
I have not had any encounters, but I have been checked several times on Fed lands for lesser things.
How do you prove that you are not "hunting"?

[jackelope]

Decided to go shoot some stumps one day...figured it'd be good practice. First stump shot...ruined $12 or so worth of an arrow. That was the last stump I ever shot.
Lesson learned...
Based on that experience, do people actually shoot stumps without ruining arrows? My arrow hit said stump so hard it mushroomed the forward end of the arrow. Drove the judo into the arrow. If I recall, about a 30 yard shot.
No more stump shooting for me.

[quadrafire]

LOL
You are a better shot than me.
I am talking Longbow here. Not quite the impact as a compound. However hitting a few rocks in my backyard have not been too kind to me either.

[earlmarne]

i like stump shooting with footed arrows.they dont break as easy.ive had great luck with gold tip big games without footings.i shoot 72 lbs with 31 inch draw.ruin alot of judo points though.as far as i understand coyote is always open so we can be in the woods whenever we want with a license.idk that i would want to try and argue my case without a license though
 

[JimmyHoffa]

If in the national forest, I'd claim to be coyote hunting.  They are year round and come with any hunting license.  There is/was a law against shooting trees on forest service land (alive or dead)--think they even considered stumps.  Not sure though.  Think it was a safety type thing for protecting loggers.  If the chainsaws hit the bullets (or field tips left in), they could cause damage.

[quadrafire]

Good point Earl
Coyote would be a good excuse.

[jackelope]

i like stump shooting with footed arrows.they dont break as easy.ive had great luck with gold tip big games without footings.i shoot 72 lbs with 31 inch draw.ruin alot of judo points though.as far as i understand coyote is always open so we can be in the woods whenever we want with a license.idk that i would want to try and argue my case without a license though

Whats a footed arrow?

[earlmarne]

i glue a piece of aluminum arrow over the end of my carbon.keeps em together real well.i dont build em like that any more,but it makes for a tuff arrow

[quadrafire]

I have a piece of 1 in. aluminum glued on the end of my carbons. 

[quadrafire]

i like stump shooting with footed arrows.they dont break as easy.ive had great luck with gold tip big games without footings.i shoot 72 lbs with 31 inch draw.ruin alot of judo points though.as far as i understand coyote is always open so we can be in the woods whenever we want with a license.idk that i would want to try and argue my case without a license though

Whats a footed arrow?

A footed arrow is usually a wooden shaft that is reinforced at the foreward 4-5 in by a piece of wood  that is more dense. Makes it more durable and increases FOC

[hrd2fnd]

i like stump shooting with footed arrows.they dont break as easy.ive had great luck with gold tip big games without footings.i shoot 72 lbs with 31 inch draw.ruin alot of judo points though.as far as i understand coyote is always open so we can be in the woods whenever we want with a license.idk that i would want to try and argue my case without a license though

wow learn something new everyday

Whats a footed arrow?

A footed arrow is usually a wooden shaft that is reinforced at the foreward 4-5 in by a piece of wood  that is more dense. Makes it more durable and increases FOC

[RadSav]

You generally want to find a clearcut with rotten stumps and logs.  It's a bit harder these days with little slash burning being done.  Better if you can find it is a road with lots of cut banks and few rocks.  We used to have a lot of those when I lived on the coast.  Judo's are not my first choice as they fill with dirt and get stuck in any wood that is not completely rotten.  Judo's are great if Nerf shooting in the grass.  That's where you take a Nerf football and throw it in a nice short grass field.  You then try to shoot it with a Judo pointed arrow.  Nice thing about Judo's is they rarely drive under the grass.  The wires will usually catch first and flip the arrow up nock first into the air.  Judo's stop skipping too which is a bonus and adds safety.

Plain steel blunts are a favorite of mine for stump shooting and roving.  Super cheap, durable as all heck and you can usually get them out of a tough piece of wood.  Shoot one larger than the diameter of your arrow so you can unscrew it if it gets too buried in hard wood.

As far as wardens giving you a bad time for shooting out of season there is no problem.  Just leave the broadheads at home.  Guys take their .22's out plunking all the time without being harassed.  The bow with no broadheads should be even more trouble free.  I've been roving with the bow since '80 and have never been harassed.  Just don't break the law, stay away from Duvall and you should be fine.

Be sure not to shoot timber or logs that can be sold for firewood or lumber.  You want to get a mill worker or timber company upset about plinkers just let them ruin a blade or two on hard steel arrow points in a good piece of timber.

A little common sense in the woods after season goes a long way.  Try to be as respectful of the land owner and/or timber cutters as you can and all should make for an enjoyable day of roving.  There really is no better bowhunting practice you can do.

[quadrafire]

good post there RadSav

[ICEMAN]

   How do you prove that you are not "hunting"?

You could put targets out, and leave your radio blaring, set snacks out, dump trash all over the place, you know....like some target shooters do...

[Snapshot]

good post there RadSav

[Jake T]

i got stopped one time by a DNR lady because i was carrying my bow along a road.  not shooting at the time as i had just come out of the timber and was walking back to the truck.  she gave me a warning about "target practice" on maintained roads being illegal.  i wasn't shooting so it wasn't an issue but still got the warning...for whatever that was worth.  this was a few years ago so i don't remember exactly what she said but whatever, they don't grow many stumps in the middle of roads anyway.

[Bob33]

i got stopped one time by a DNR lady because i was carrying my bow along a road.  not shooting at the time as i had just come out of the timber and was walking back to the truck.  she gave me a warning about "target practice" on maintained roads being illegal.  i wasn't shooting so it wasn't an issue but still got the warning...for whatever that was worth.  this was a few years ago so i don't remember exactly what she said but whatever, they don't grow many stumps in the middle of roads anyway.

It is illegal to shoot a bow (or firearm) from a maintained road, regardless of the target.

[huntingfool7]

Decided to go shoot some stumps one day...figured it'd be good practice. First stump shot...ruined $12 or so worth of an arrow. That was the last stump I ever shot.
Lesson learned...
Based on that experience, do people actually shoot stumps without ruining arrows? My arrow hit said stump so hard it mushroomed the forward end of the arrow. Drove the judo into the arrow. If I recall, about a 30 yard shot.
No more stump shooting for me.

If you're stump shooting, you're going to lose and damage arrows.
 
I almost always use my hunting setup, running 60-70# draw wt, shooting Beeman ICS arrows tipped with a round head screw covered with a rubber blunt.  The screw + the rubber = 100 grains
If the arrow bounces off, you picked a stump that's not rotten enough.  Most of my damage is at the nock end where they'll split if you're shooting targets that are too solid. 

Gold tips seem to be more durable at the nock end.   

My best spots is in older second growth.  The stumps are older/softer and the shots are really similar to hunting.  Best thing going for range estimation practice and learning to shoot in/around cover. 

We'll make it a competition, the guy that picks the target/shot goes first.  That way he pays for picking poorly.

I've never had anyone stop to question me about it.