Disgusted with Westside Elk Road Hunters!

[TONTO]

I'm not anymore, but I still believe that if anyone has more right to be there in a vehicle, it should be the poor soul that barely makes a living working his ass of in every kind of weather all year long.  Never done it?  Then you have absolutely no concept, and I'll just leave it at that.  Oh and Tonto just a word of advice; you (or anyone else for that matter) would NOT want to be caught by a rigging, or cutting crew while you are messing up a lock.  Ever been "stump broke"?   

No I have never been in the logging industry, but I have grown up around a lot of loggers, save the super hero business for somebody else, it's just a job like anyother.    Stump Broke ?  No, but sounds like it might be amuzing.    Like I said the lock thing might not have been the wizest thing to do but this was a one gate access area, and we knew exactly who was up in there at the time.

[BAR C3]

I'm not anymore, but I still believe that if anyone has more right to be there in a vehicle, it should be the poor soul that barely makes a living working his ass of in every kind of weather all year long.  Never done it?  Then you have absolutely no concept, and I'll just leave it at that.  Oh and Tonto just a word of advice; you (or anyone else for that matter) would NOT want to be caught by a rigging, or cutting crew while you are messing up a lock.  Ever been "stump broke"?   

No I have never been in the logging industry, but I have grown up around a lot of loggers, save the super hero business for somebody else, it's just a job like anyother.    Stump Broke ?  No, but sounds like it might be amuzing.    Like I said the lock thing might not have been the wizest thing to do but this was a one gate access area, and we knew exactly who was up in there at the time.

No Superhero, but if you have known alot of loggers, then you would no that there aren't many jobs that compare. I work in a prison which isn't a hard job. Know alot of ex-loggers that also work in the prison. Would go back to logging at the drop of a hat rather than working for the state if the jobs were there. It takes a special person to work has hard as a logger. Other than working on an oil rigging, I don't know of any more dangerous and down right exhausting. When your day ends with a hike straight up a mountain after working the brush all day, you know you have worked!

[logger]

Stumpbreaking is amusing if you are the one givin it, " a job like any other job"  I have had guy's that were all muscled up, could run 20 miles a day  crying like little girls before lunch. Big difference in looking like your in shape and being in shape.

[rasbo]

well most the loggers I deal with are great guys,the drivers also.Heck i give them bear pepperoni when I can..heck one year the only road to get where I needed to hunt was blocked by the logging operation,I got on the CB,and asked when it would be open.An operator up the hill asked if I was the bear hunter with the pepperoni?I said hell ya...Road was opened for me,plus they told me of some bears they have been seeing,,It pays to play well with others, many times.I pay for a key to hunt private timberland,if it was walk in only I still wouldn't have a problem with those that have vehicle access,well except for some envy

[JCClement]

Practical -

1) Buy your own land.

2) Buy archery equipment.

3) Buy a muzzleloader if you don't want to hunt archery.

4) Talk to the company and see if you can get a key.

Fact remains that no matter what you do in life, there are people that will have more opportunity than others.  Don't care if you are talking about hunting, racing, golf, or any other activity people engage in as a hobby.  Does it suck that someone else had an "easier" time getting to where you were?  Yes.  However, obviously you were near enough to a road that you weren't exactly in the timber.  I dunno, it seems that if there were so many "hardcore" hunters that hated "road" hunters, there would be no "road" hunters, and more guys in the timber.

Also, have you ever noticed there is far less comments about "road" hunters and problems with them during archery/muzzie seasons?  Why would want to hunt modern with all the bitching that goes on? 

That being said, I hope everyone is safe out there, and enjoys the moments that make the memories that cannot ever be replicated.

[mrgoodwrench]

Timber compaines DO NOT get a tax break for allowing public access.  They pay reduced taxes on the land as the timber grows.....then they pay an excise tax at the time of harvest.  That is the fact, and all the other tax break stories about public access that I grew up hearing on the Harbor are in fact false.

I'm a timber company employee, with keys to our lands and most other landowners in western Washington, I'm allowed to hunt behind our gates only.....but don't have the balls to do it because I know the pickup would be damaged when I got out of the brush.  I don't rifle hunt, but had my wife out last sunday trying to find her a bull.  We rode the bikes in 9 miles to get on a herd of 33 with one spike, saw no hunters, no bike tracks from opening day, and no one at the gate when we rode in in the morning......about 5 miles from the gate on our way out we caught one of our contract loggers hunting with his truck on a landing......I got pissed becuase I was on a bike and he isn't allowed to use the key for unofficial business.....fired a shot in the cutbank with her rifle and he took off out of the walkin at a hundred miles an hour.

I do work with guys who drive behind the gates....I won't do it...but I also won't pack an animal out from behind a gate if I have access....and I do haul hunters out when I'm working.....they are usually happy to get a ride out after a long day in the weather

[DOUBLELUNG]

Your on private property. Be thankful your allowed to hunt it instead of complaining about how the owners dictate usage.

Amen that!  The roads got closed to the public due to abuse (garbage dumping, vandalism, theft, etc). If public hunters on foot are doing the same garbage (slashing tires, for instance), why let public hunters on at all?

[Practical Approach]

sounds like your jealous if i had permission to drive in i would and if you got mad about it i would laugh at ya. you should be happy they let the public in there at all. if you don't like their policy hunt somewhere else and quit crying about it 

Not jealous.  I don't enjoy road hunting.  Just disapointed that my hunt was ruined a couple of days by road hunting.  I do appreciate the opportunity to hunt on private lands, but wish everyone played by the same rules.  I put a lot of work into scouting areas by foot and bike, only to have someone that thinks they deserve to not play by the same rules as everyone else.

[Practical Approach]

The rules seem clear to me.  If you have a key, you can drive in.  If not, you are walking or biking.  Start destroying other folks property, and the rules will change to only those with keys can hunt.  If you had a key would you pedal in?

This being said, it is not fun when someone screws up your hunt like it sounds like those folks did.  That happens on private and public land all the time, as well as in the east and west. 

Wrong!  When the private timberlands policy regarding hunting is stated at each gate, that is what you abide by.  Usually they read something like Hunting by non moterized vehicle or non-motorized vehicle access allowed.  THis doesn't mean Joe lazy Arse gets to drive because he swiped, stole, never returned or thinks it is his divine right to hunt from his truck.

[Practical Approach]

I spend several days scouting elk on the westside this past week.  Found a couple of nice herds with bulls in them and was pretty stoked.  This was on Rayonier and Green Crow properties, which were all gated.  My hunting buddy and I spend hours riding and pushing bikes all over the hills scouting for elk to find the ones we did.  On the day before the season opened an Gabe Regard and a crony of his started using his keys to get behind the gates and drove all over the country side scouting for elk.  He wasn't working in the area, just scouting.  Well I was sitting on a elk herd watching them for the day and waiting for them to bed for the evening.  Well low in behold Mr. Regard came driving in on the herd that I was watching.  At first they just stopped the truck and glassed them for a while.  So I stepped out of my hiding spot and let them know I was there watching the elk.  They drove past me without acknowledging I was there and drove right into the herd of elk spooking them out of the area.  This crap pisses me off.  So now a perfectly laid plan is wasted.  

One guy did not have permission to be back there in his truck.  THat is what really had me pissed.  I have a hard time believing every Joe out there that tells me he has the landowners permission to hunt by vehicle.  I doubt it.  Just plain arrogant and lazy in my opinion.


Then to top it off my buddy radios me telling me that there is another truck driving around scouting for elk as well. He is an employee of one of the timber companies and he has permission to hunt using his truck.  How is a guy to compete with that bullsnot.  These two timber companies disgust me with their lack of enforcement and key management.  I have seen in other forums where Tribes are considered poachers for not hunting by the same rules, well if this same argument applies, then these fat lazy jerks are poachers as well.

If the gates are closed forvehicle access, then they are closed for everyone.  No privileges.  I don't care who you are or who you work for.  If this ever happens to me again and I catch up to the truck parked somewhere, they will be buying a new set of tires for sure.  You have to be a pretty sorry sort of person to feel like you are owed the right to drive around shooting up all of the elk herds while others are abiding by the rules and working there asses off to do it.  




Anyone else run into this type of crap?

 I didn't take the time to read the pages of posts, yeah I'm gonna be that guy tonight I'm tired. You had my sympathy untill

I don't care who you are or who you work for.  If this ever happens to me again and I catch up to the truck parked somewhere, they will be buying a new set of tires for sure.

 Keep in mind it is private property, and they do aperantly have keys. Quite possibly they do have the property owners permision. So say they do get their tires slashed then this gets back to the land owner. Nothing pisses a land owner off more than equipment vandalized, yeah even if it is a private owners truck. Next it is not only gated but written permision is required.....

Same thing has happened to me and my brother, we scouted, put the elk to bed , and were a good 6 miles in on a 7 mile hike to where the elk were seen at dusk the night before. Then we were passed by a string of 4 trucks, up around the bend they go, and the shots rang out. They took 3 of 4 bulls at daylight from the ridge we were on the night before.
 Then we got the pleasure of seeing them drive back and forth the rest of the day, racks sticking in the air, looking for the fourth. The was one other guy in the area that had passed us earlier on a mtn bike. He had license numbers and was headed to report them. I heard from my brother later that they were all fired from the jippo outfit that they were working for. I guess I'm saying sometimes you should take the high road, don't make it look bad for the rest of us.
 OK we didn't actualy go away without a little revenge I guess, back at the truck my brother took a super glue coated toothpick and broke it off in the lock while they were still in there. Probably not the wise thing to do, but they get to explain why they had to cut the lock to the property owner.

[Practical Approach]

I would call Rayonier and Green Crow. We use to do bear damage hunts for Green Crow on the Peninsula. Got keys to the gates for bear hunting only! If we got caught for anything else, we would loose the privledge. I saw one of the biggest blacktails of my life while baiting and didn't shot it because I follow the rules. I then bicycled in and shot the biggest blacktail of my life. Got the photos to prove it. I know when I lived over there both had security on the roads. Regardless if Gabe is working in the area, he cannot use the keys for hunting and he knows it. He could have also copied the keys from previous work. I would turn is butt in. Can't stand him. Tell him Chris Fitzpatrick says hi if you see him again. Dated his wife before he married her. He isn't a big fan, so you may hurt his feelings.
If you want to know my feeling on this gate thing, read my thread on the Peaches Ridge Violators. Dealt with the same crap and the tree huggers at the Forest Service and the timber company could careless, so the phone call could be a waste of time. I would still call and give them a piece of your mind!

We did turn him in.  Not sure what came of it though.

[tbuck6568]

Regards to tire slashing...
I was blessed with a beautiful 4x4 bull this year which I took on logging property and had to hike WAAY back in for. On my return trip I met another hunter who told me to call the logging co, and they would allow me to drive back in to retrieve my animal. I called and they gave me access through a manned gate. You would not believe the looks I got driving in there...I thought I was going to be shot. I took 2 wrong turns. 1st time resulted in a shaking head and a hunter stopping me to ask how and why I was back there. I took one other wrong turn and spooked a small herd another hunter was working and boy did I feel like an ass. Needless to say, he stopped me and cussed me up one side and down the other...
I ran into the very same hunters on my way out with my bull in the bed and was able to talk with them. The one who cussed me out was actually very happy for me and we both apologized profusely. The other hunter was also happy for me, wishing that I had been along about 10 minutes earlier to give him a ride back to the gate.
Moral of my story: There were those 2 hunters who actually stopped me, asked me for my name and reason, and took my license plate. Kudos...seriously. They WOULD NOT sit by and let somebody illegally road hunt and had the balls to challenge me. Those same hunters were also people I hope to run into next year and have the pleasure of shaking hands again.
Other moral...please don't slash my tires....

[alecvg]

I think your being kinda stupid to be honest.  I understand why you were mad at the first guy, but the second guy?

I work hard for the animals I hunt, I hike in, push bikes in, and in many cases climb in.  That being said, if I was a logger, and had a key for the timber lands, and had permission from my employers to hunt it, I would drive in there.  You would be an idiot not to!  I think you are being very ignorant. 

Also, it is private lands.  You should be happy you are allowed to hunt it, the owners, and managment of the property has the right to give keys to whoever the hell they want, get over it, or don't hunt it.

[Hyde]

I worked in the woods for years.  We had keys to the gates, and drove around at will in the course of our duties.  Often times there was no logging going on in a certain area, but we would be there looking at the new ground or marking strips, etc.  You may be correct that the guys who blew past you and boogered your herd were scouting elk (loggers hunt...) but it is also possible that they were scouting out landings, etc., or both.  One thing for sure... if we were caught in the gated area with a firearm during hunting season, we were in deep kimchee. 

It is frustrating though to have a plan blown up by something or someone else.  I once had a herd of elk with a small shooter bull feeding towards me.  I had the spike at 300 yards, but they were heading right at me and I though I would get a better shot, so I waited.  Then some guy comes bee-bopping through the thicket whistling and kicking pinecones.  This young teenager had probably never seen an elk, and probably wasn't expecting to.  If I had to guess, he was bee-lining for his camp and the stale moon pies in the cook tent, not really paying attention to anything.  I could tell that he didn't see me, or the elk, and I was trying to get his attention so he would stop and be quiet.   He stopped about a hundred yards from me and threw up his rifle, aiming at something off behind us and the elk.  Seconds later... BOOM.  The elk exploded in every direction and I was really pissed. I stood up and let this guy have it.  He was shocked to see me, and when he saw the ass end of some of the elk, he said "Wow... there were some elk over there...".  When I realized he was just a teenager, I cooled off.  I asked him what he was shooting at, he said a chipmunk.  We talked for a few minutes and he continued along his way.  I was steaming mad for a few hours, but in reality, I was as much at fault as he.  I wasn't wearing orange (not required in Oregon back then), and I had a good shot but I got greedy for what I thought would be a chip shot.  Public land... I won't make that mistake again. 

[mjbskwim]

If I owned the land,the first guys to hunt it would be my employees.
As for screwing with locks and gates,seems like a good way to get your own rig screwed up.
Those guys have a job to do just like you.How do you feel when someone screws your work place up?