General Deer Opener

[huntnphool]

That pic is from 224 but you can add 231, 242 and 247 to it, its happened to me in all of them.

[andrew_12gauge]

im takin a young kid from church(18) up deer hunting this season, its going to be his first time deer hunting as he just passed hunters ed, we were talkin about gear a coupla weeks ago and i was goin over what he already had and what he needed, got onto the subject of binos and he said he didnt have any i told him he needed to be getting a pair and pronto, his response was "cant i just use the scope on the rifle", my response was pretty adamant and needless to say he now has a pair of cheap bushnells but at least he'll be lookin through those instead of a rifle scope at someone

[HuntingFanatic]

Good topic! I have been scoped too right where that picture is. Makes you wonder if they ever check their safeties as well.....creepy stuff!

[Austrian Hunter]

My first year hunting I was alone in Kettle Falls with a doe tag, opening day I hiked a little batch of state land and on my way up I thought my orange vest is ridicules, that makes no sense to wear camo and a bright orange vest on top of it (that's what I thought back then), so I took it off and kept hiking.  I set on a tree stump and glassed the hill downwards when I noticed a bright orange spot, I looked through my binos and saw a hunter pointing his riffle at me, in what seemed a mili second let my self fall backwards behind the tree stump pulled the orange vest out of my backpack and waived from behind the tree stump, let say I have learned allot since then.   

[30.06]

Yup, Orange backpack is on, vest too. People also need to remember to hang their orange in a very visible nearby location whenever they are changing layers according to changing body tempature. I've been scoped myself, quite the uneasy experience, never a good reason to have that happen to anybody. Hunting the opener is exciting enough, without having a rifle trained on ya. Keep it safe, and let's try and pass the word to the nimrods, while teaching the next generation.

[MuleySniper]

Even having an orange rifle in this state would help! I wear as much as possible. Id rather look like a pumpkin than a 4pt. muley to some folks.
MS

[Elk_o_holic]

I guess the people doing the scoping didn't have the same instructor I had. He instilled the "Where the scope is pointed is where the bullets headed!" 
During the general season, a numberof years ago, I pulled one of my younger cousins along. We were sitting on a log, all decked out in flor orange, overlooking a shallow valley and up drives these guys. I watched them through my bino. They stop about 350 yards away and down goes the window on the passenger side. Then out goes his rifle, pointing it at us! As soon as I saw that I tackled my cousin to the backside of previously said log. I'm sure Mr. bleep bleep got a good laugh. My cousin was terrified and I was livid

[go4itlab]

I hunt with a bow(never go back LOVE IT), after being scoped a couple times, and during bird season I put a small cow bell on my labs so the idoits dont shoot me or my boys(west side only).

[Yelm hunter]

LETTING EVERYONE KNOW.... THERE ARE GOING TO BE EXTRA GAME WARDENS OUT THIS YEAR WATCHING FOR THIS KIND OF *censored*... UNMARKED GAME WARDENS!! So.... BETTER WATCH WHAT YOU ARE POINTING AT!! I was scoped last year on opening day within 5 mins of season when I went to shoot my deer a AS* HO** UP TOP SHOT 15 OR MORE ROUNDS OFF AT THE SAME DEER I WAS SHOOTING and made several "GUT" shots... Get your gun sighted... CABELAS DOES IT FOR FREE!! DAMN... Its not worth shooting someone!!

[ICEMAN]

My issue is this: Some guys just keep their vest in their pocket to put it on once they near a road.  Seen it more than once.   A few years back, I was perched on a great ridge/look out and saw motion below me at a distance. Glassed it, and watched as some *censored* wad hunted his way towards and below me. He never saw me above him, until I yelled at him as he was within a few hundred yards. I chewed his ass very aggressively, and sure as hell, he had it in his pocket and put it on. I ran into his hunting buddy/father later, and advised him of the asschew. His dad said..."Oh, yeah, he always forgets to put it on..." (BS)

Look, I don't necessarily like wearing orange either, but if I have too, you have too. That's my policy.

[halflife65]

I also went to archery but I used to actually tie small strips of that marking tape in some bright color like flourescent orange or pink (like what they use to lay out clearcuts) onto the antlers of deer if I put them on a packboard - at least if the antlers happened to be facing up.  I used to hunt the Snake a lot and it was wide open - you'd think that people would identify targets but they also take 300 yard shots on average and I saw any number of guys take 800 - 1000 yard shots (never successfully).

I didn't have anybody shoot at me, but did see a nice buck from about 1000 yards, walk through a canyon and up the other side of a big ridge and was about 150 yards away from the buck.  I could just see his head and top of his antlers over the break in the ridge and the deer was walking straight at me with his head down feeding.  I just sat down and waited.  Some other guy walked up to the point where I was when I originally saw the deer, looked over and saw the buck, HAD to see me (all dressed in orange sitting in about 6 inches of grass waiting on the buck) and just opened up at about a 1000 yards at the deer DIRECTLY over my head.  I stood up and was waiving my arms around and then just vacated.  The guy never saw the buck and I supposed figured it was better to Hail Mary a couple over there because there was no way to beat me to it.

I REALLY wanted to find the guy and beat the *censored* out of him.  Not only did he intentionally screw up something for me he could have killed me (although I was 150 yards down the hill - not super close.  It was still right over my head, though.)  I have no reason to think that this guy was a good shot and certainly not an ethical hunter...Anyway, if people can intentionally do stuff that dumb, I have no doubt they could accidentally shoot someone.  Wear your orange, use binos or a spotter and be careful.

[Bean Counter]

I don't think I've scoped anyone before. Carrying binos just seems to make good hunting sense. Binos have a greater field of view than a riflescope and ones eyes can stand to look through binos longer than a scope.

I hate to see government regulating personal activity but I have a tough time arguing with the states that require rifle hunters to carry binos and cite those that don't.

[haugenna]

Look, I don't necessarily like wearing orange either, but if I have too, you have too. That's my policy.

I am with ICE on this one.  

I will take it a step further though, if you are not wearing orange and someone scopes you, deal with it.  Not saying its right but it is very easy to tell a pumpkin moving from a camo spot moving in the bush.  I use my binos to identify a deer and if it is a deer and I confirm it with my binos, I am on it with my rifle ready to shoot if it meets my standards.  If I have time, I set up the spotter and tripod.  

[uncoolperson]

I hate to see government regulating personal activity but I have a tough time arguing with the states that require rifle hunters to carry binos and cite those that don't.

I've gone out plenty without bino's, then again I can't scope someone with open sights. The worst someone has to worry about with me is being the target of squinting and getting what looks like the stink eye from a few hundred yards out.

[colockumelk]

 I woldn't be surprised if one of those "scopers" gets smoked.  There are alot of returning combat veterans out there.  I know that when I returned from my second deployment (it was a bad one) I was very jumpy.  For 7 months straight if someone pointed a weapon in my general direction they got smoke checked.  It's simply a reaction.  Muscle Memory if you will.  If someone would have done that to me when I went hunting a week after I returned I may have shot someone because of my muscle memory. 

Case in point.  A month before I deployed for my second deployment I went ML hunting for deer along the Palouse.  I was stalking a doe when some guys in a truck pull up on the other side of the river and three of them all take a shot at the doe which was 250 yds away from them on the other side of the river (my side of the river)  I know they all saw me because I was 50 yds from the doe (who was bedded down in some tall grass) I was in a clearing.  I distinctly heard the bullets whizzing over my head.  I did not shoot them because it was before my deployment.  If it had been after my deployment   

My point being for all you "scopers" out there be carefull who and what you scope.  There's some of us that may have just returned from somewhere where the Rules of Engagment are "IF YOU FEEL THREATENED".