Road hunting.... is it truly hunting?

[Fl0und3rz]

Who cares, so long as they are courteous, respectful, and law abiding?

They are out in the woods, supporting the sport and conservation efforts, and are not hurting anyone.

I see no point in creating differences amongst ourselves.

[Timbuckto]

Last week I was driving up the dirt road to my house a truck in front of me stops a guy gets out shoulders a rifle. He then points it in to a hay field I say that is private property. He says he has permision. I say okay then pull your truck off the road pulls his truck over gets out and shoots a deer. He never hunted that deer he killed it. He missed out on hunting I pitty him he we look up at those antlers and no in his heart that all he did was kill a deer. I want to face my prey on their terms. I have two quads one above each knee this is how I roll. I am almost to the point of giving up binos trail cams you can keep them. I shot my deer this year at six feet with a stick and string.  The goal to be the best predator on two legs. My dad is 72and can't get around real well so when I go with we cruise around the woods I wouldnt call hit hunting. If it what you choose it is legal go for it just don't brag about anything other than shot.

[Bill W]

road hunting is hunting the same as horsepacking 30 miles back in.  You might just see more people while road hunting.

I used to go on the high hunt and backpacked in for 20 years.  Now that I'm older I can't go on the high hunt anymore and am just happy to find a friend who wants to go out and share a duck blind.

[DOUBLELUNG]

To each their own, as long as they follow the law.  Open road patterns can, as Stein noted, be used very strategically to find animals.  In one area where I used to hunt elk in Wyoming, it was basically a one-day hunt late in the season to find the elk, they were in the few places an ATV could not get - and then a brutal 2-day pack out.  A good deal for the fit and strong. 

Since my health went south, I have tried to acclimate to my limitations, but I just don't hunt nearly as much as I used to - I struggle for satisfaction hunting close to the road.  I urge anyone who is physically capable to hunt backcountry while they are able, I feel sorry for the younger, apparently fit hunters I see just driving the roads, hopefully they are just taking a day off - but I doubt that is the case for most. 

[pianoman9701]

Last week I was driving up the dirt road to my house a truck in front of me stops a guy gets out shoulders a rifle. He then points it in to a hay field I say that is private property. He says he has permision. I say okay then pull your truck off the road pulls his truck over gets out and shoots a deer. He never hunted that deer he killed it. He missed out on hunting I pitty him he we look up at those antlers and no in his heart that all he did was kill a deer. I want to face my prey on their terms. I have two quads one above each knee this is how I roll. I am almost to the point of giving up binos trail cams you can keep them. I shot my deer this year at six feet with a stick and string.  The goal to be the best predator on two legs. My dad is 72and can't get around real well so when I go with we cruise around the woods I would call hit hunting. If it what you choose it is legal go for it just don't brag about anything other than shot.

That's you. You're not everyone. As long as you realize that, everyone's OK. We're losing hunters every year. The last thing we want to do is tell someone that what they're legally doing is wrong.

[Buckmark]

Road hunt, nothing better than cruising around in the cab of a warm dry truck, make sure to have the maximum number of people that will fit in your rig along for the ride, makes the drag to the road easier.
A few good road hunting tips
1) Make sure to have a big thermos of coffee, nothing worse that having to drive back to camp for more.
2) Get a semi auto like a remington with the removable magazine easy to throw in when your bailing out of the truck, no hinged floor plates, they get in the way.
3) If you do use a bolt action, use a rubber band to hold open the bolt, hook it around the bolt and then the butt stock, nothing worse than having the bolt jiggle closed when your riding around on all those bumpy roads.
4) For a hot lunch, wrap a u-nuke-it burrito in foil and put it up on the defroster, it will be nice and warm come lunch time.
5) Don't forget to take your gun with you when you stop to pee (after all the coffee), nothing worse than missing the big one because your standing there holding the little one.
6) A money saving tip is to get a 30-06 and don't buy any ammo, just stop at every camp and ask if you can borrow a shell or two because you forgot
yours, heck you'll have a box or two after a few days.
7) Make sure to have the biggest scope you can afford and set it on the highest setting, that way you wont need a set of binos.
8 ) Make sure to count all the bucks hanging so when you get home you can say i saw blankety, blankety # of bucks but nothing i could of shot at.
*
I hope this helps, it must work because the friggen road by my place looks like I-5 during rush hour during the rifle hunt.

[Hilltop123]

Unless you drive round with blinders on, then who's not road hunting? At some point, getting back and forth to your hunting area.

[Typical8]

I wish everyone would rd hunt

 

How do you guys copy and paste quotes? lol

I'm not sure

LOL. found it!!

[Killmore]

To each there own,  10% of the people do kill 90% of the game. I think I'm in the 10% bracket and I hunt every way that gives me an advantage. And yes I have killed more animals from road hunting. So if you been out hiking all day and get back to the pickup 30 min. before dark and you start to drive and you spot a shooter are you going to pass just because your road hunting?

[theleo]

I claim no moral superiority either way. If I'm heading to a trailhead there's a legal deer off to the side the road and I can legally shoot it, I'm going to. I'm not against working for animals but if I'm going to shoot a meat buck I'd rather not be 7-8 miles back with the mules in some nasty hole if I can shoot one close to the road.

[WAcoueshunter]

Do what floats your boat, it's not a contest.

Some places are most effectively hunted from the truck.  Go on a Wyoming antelope hunt sometime.  I had a late muley tag here a few years back, and a big chunk of that unit is best hunted from the truck too.  Drive and glass, drive and glass.  No reason to limit yourself to how fast or far you can walk.  Conversely, there's plenty of units/hunts where you'll need to get back off the roads. 

[LDennis24]

I agree with the last few posts. However here in Whitman county road hunters are a whole different creature. They drive around drinking beer, throwing cans out the window and if a deer is in a field and no ones around, drive right to it and give chase until you can bail out and shoot. Then tear up the field trying to get to it on the seeded ground. That drives me crazy. However, if your in the mountains on public ground, headed to your favorite spot, and a big buck jumps the road, get that sucker before he gets through the clearcut! Just follow the law and respect private property. I don't get why some people are unable to do that.

[Molon5labe]

I love road hunters. "Hunters". It means less people behind the gate with me. I can't complain too loud because it's bound to happen but when you buy a walk in pass for timber land and some *censored* is driving around all the logging roads exploring and blows through your spot 

[biggfish]

I used to do it with my dad every year, he's disabled and now refuses to go. That being said in high pressure areas it's a great tool just drive around let others run deer out to you. I've bagged all my rifle deer that way in Vail before they were pay to play and you could drive all day and not find a place to get out and hike anywhere. I drive glassing spot to spot and if I see something on the way I will definitely give a go, I do put a lot more boot time in than when I was a kid.

[Timbuckto]

Last week I was driving up the dirt road to my house a truck in front of me stops a guy gets out shoulders a rifle. He then points it in to a hay field I say that is private property. He says he has permision. I say okay then pull your truck off the road pulls his truck over gets out and shoots a deer. He never hunted that deer he killed it. He missed out on hunting I pitty him he we look up at those antlers and no in his heart that all he did was kill a deer. I want to face my prey on their terms. I have two quads one above each knee this is how I roll. I am almost to the point of giving up binos trail cams you can keep them. I shot my deer this year at six feet with a stick and string.  The goal to be the best predator on two legs. My dad is 72and can't get around real well so when I go with we cruise around the woods I would call hit hunting. If it what you choose it is legal go for it just don't brag about anything other than shot.

That's you. You're not everyone. As long as you realize that, everyone's OK. We're losing hunters every year. The last thing we want to do is tell someone that what they're legally doing is wrong.