Eliminating night coon hunting ???

[villageidiot]

 Had a hound owner tell me last week the commission was planning on eliminating night coon hunting because it is a safety issue.  If this is true and they do it then hound hunters will be finished in this state.  Hope this is only a rumor.   Racoons are nocturnal so can't really be hunted in the daytime.  Anybody else hear this rumor?

[Kain]

There has been some rumors to night hunting changes floating around.  Just make sure you and everyone you know are telling them how you feel about anymore limitations on hunting.

Here is another thread on it.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,47782.0.html

[BENCHLEG]

it will be another way to sell permitts. mo-money, mo-money, mo-money. THAT IS WHAT THEY WANT.

[billythekidrock]

Had a hound owner tell me last week the commission was planning on eliminating night coon hunting because it is a safety issue.  If this is true and they do it then hound hunters will be finished in this state.  Hope this is only a rumor.   Racoons are nocturnal so can't really be hunted in the daytime.  Anybody else hear this rumor?

Not a rumor. It is in the works. You need to voice your concerns to F&W.

[SuperDave]

The writing is on the wall!  With the elimination of coyote pursuit season, it is just a matter of time!  The hound guy's are getting screwed!

[carpsniperg2]

"are getting screwed"

is they key words ever since they shut down the season nothin but shaft for hound owners

[mulehunter]

Safety Issue   Please explain....

Mulehunter  

Click below....

[villageidiot]

I think I read on biggamehoundsmen under coon hunting that some enforcement officer in Georgia got killed by coon hunters accidentally.   This brought up the idea of eliminating night hunting for coons.  I suggest that we eliminate crosswalks too because people get run over on them, do away with guns since people shoot themselves with guns and on and on.  We can't save the world by changing something every time an accident happens.  Even if it wasn't an accident we still can't change everybody's future to get revenge on one guy or group of guys that messed up.  Leave coon hunting alone, it's the only hound hunting this state has left.  Once it's gone hound hunting is history in this state.

[Kain]

Yep!  Write your letters.  Get your family and friends to write one also.  If we get enough people to get involved early it might make a difference. 

[mulehunter]

I think I read on biggamehoundsmen under coon hunting that some enforcement officer in Georgia got killed by coon hunters accidentally.   This brought up the idea of eliminating night hunting for coons.  I suggest that we eliminate crosswalks too because people get run over on them, do away with guns since people shoot themselves with guns and on and on.  We can't save the world by changing something every time an accident happens.  Even if it wasn't an accident we still can't change everybody's future to get revenge on one guy or group of guys that messed up.  Leave coon hunting alone, it's the only hound hunting this state has left.  Once it's gone hound hunting is history in this state.

   GOOD WRITE!                WDFW   


Mulehunter   

[Bob33]

http://wdfw.wa.gov/about/regulations/2010/wsr_10-08-016.pdf

[wolfbait]

I think I read on biggamehoundsmen under coon hunting that some enforcement officer in Georgia got killed by coon hunters accidentally.   This brought up the idea of eliminating night hunting for coons.  I suggest that we eliminate crosswalks too because people get run over on them, do away with guns since people shoot themselves with guns and on and on.  We can't save the world by changing something every time an accident happens.  Even if it wasn't an accident we still can't change everybody's future to get revenge on one guy or group of guys that messed up.  Leave coon hunting alone, it's the only hound hunting this state has left.  Once it's gone hound hunting is history in this state.

WDFandDoW only need an excuse, how in the hell does some one get killed coon huntin? How many coon hunts have been going on since who flung the chunk. Total BS. WDFW need an overhaul get rid of the flower sniffers, hire folks that actually hunt and know the woods, not the flatassers in Olympia who spend their days out in the woods on the computer!

[Machias]

It wasn't a coon hunter, it was a coyote hunter using NVGs that killed a GA Forest Service worker.  Here is the correct story:

News

Forest Service Officer Shot and Killed By Coyote Hunters Using Night Vision


By Nick Carter
Posted Tuesday March 30 2010, 3:33 PM

A coyote hunter using night-vision equipment on a semi-automatic .223 rifle shot and killed a U.S. Forest Service law-enforcement officer March 5 at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Recreation Area of Oconee National Forest in Jasper County.

Officer Christopher Arby Upton, 37, of Monroe, was on patrol at about 11 p.m. when Norman Clinton Hale, 40, of McDonough, mistook the officer for a coyote and shot him in the head, killing him instantly.

Steven Ruppert, special agent in charge for the Southern Region of the U.S. Forest Service, said Upton’s presence in the woods at 11 p.m. was routine.

“As for our officers being out and about after hours, that is typical,” he said. “That’s when we want our officers to be out there.”

Capt. Barry Fincher, with DNR Law Enforcement, said there had been complaints in the area.

“Upton was working an ongoing complaint down at the horse park,” said Fincher. “It’s a tragic situation all around. It’s tragic foremost for the family, and also for us as conservation officers and for the community and hunters. We need to identify our targets.”

Capt. Fincher said the rifle was mounted with a sophisticated scope with both night vision and infrared imaging.

“Apparently he was convinced he was looking at a coyote’s eye,” Fincher said. “And once you pull the trigger, there are no timeouts.”

The hunters called 911 to report the incident shortly after the shooting.

The use of such scopes is legal for hunting coyotes in Georgia, as well as on national-forest land, but the area where Hale and a friend, Clifford Allen McGouirk, 41, of Jackson, were hunting may have been off limits to hunting.

Apparently there is some confusion among Forest Service personnel as to the size of the area that is off limits to hunting at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Area. District Ranger Erin Bronk said the area around the more than 25 miles of trail system at the equestrian area has been open to hunting in the past. She said the Forest Service goes by WRD rules concerning hunting around developed areas. She could not give an acreage of the developed area at Ocmulgee Bluff. She said it consists of a trailhead with a parking lot, restroom facilities and a sign board.

DNR’s regulation prohibits discharge of a weapon within 50 yards of a public road, said DNR Law Enforcement Assistant Chief Homer Bryson. He would not provide details in an ongoing investigation, but he did say the equestrian area is a designated no-hunting safety zone.

No charges have been filed against Hale or McGouirk pending the investigation, which is being conducted jointly by Forest Service Law Enforcement, DNR Law Enforcement and the FBI.

“Once we gather all the evidence, we’ll lay it out in front of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the local D.A,” said Lt. Col. Bryson. “We’ll decide which way we’re going and what we’re going to do from there.”

Bryson said investigators are waiting on reports from the autopsy as well as reports on testing of the weapon before going public with results of the investigation.

A memorial service was held for Officer Upton in Athens on March 13. It was attended by hundreds of law-enforcement officers and forest-service employees, according to a report in the Athens Banner Herald.

“This is a tragic incident where the loss of a federal officer’s life could have been avoided,” said Ruppert. “This is a devastating loss for Chris’ family, our agency, other law-enforcement officers and his friends and neighbors in Monroe.”

Upton is survived by his wife, Jessica, and a 4-year-old daughter, Annabelle.

[Machias]

P.S.  This is just my opinion but I don't think they were even considering messing with the hound hunters on this issue, I believe they had coyote hunters in their sights.   

[Wenatcheejay]

Death by 1000 slices; And we will argue amongst ourselves until there is no scraps of lawful hunting left.

[bearpaw]

Death by 1000 slices; And we will argue amongst ourselves until there is no scraps of lawful hunting left.

+2

This is the first I heard of this...

[Kain]

Hello.  The Department of Fish and Wildlife has decided to make some changes to the night-hunting rule, but we are not going to ban it.  We are going to draft a proposal in the next few weeks, and then I will send it to all of you for feedback.
We will take our ideas for changes from the night-hunting rules of 11 other states around the country.  I’m not sure yet what we will propose.  Please wait for me to send you a draft before you send me more comments.  I really appreciate your cooperation.  You are a good bunch of folks to work with.
You’ll hear from me again soon.
 
Lori Preuss, WSBA #33045
WDFW Criminal Justice Liaison &
Administrative Regulations Coordinator
Lori.preuss@dfw.wa.gov
360.902.2930
Fax 360.902.2155