Target shooting during hunting season

[HarryHaller]

I was out this weekend in a shooting area I'd never been to previously. A friend of mine told me about it knowing I'd been looking for a place to shoot longer distances, at this spot I could shoot at 400 yards. After shooting for a few hours a man drove down to talk to me. He said that I was ruffling feathers of the hunters in the area by letting off so many shots. He was very nice about it, we chatted about guns for awhile and I packed up for the day.

This lead me to the question of etiquette of target shooting during hunting season. I don't love the idea of not shooting in the woods for those months, but also don't want to be the jerk scaring all the animals away. Thoughts?

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[Velzey]

Out of respect I never do it! There are areas around to shoot with no hunters...

 

[DieselScout]

Being a hunter myself I don't, but I have done it in the past being ignorant of hunting season.

 

[Koda]

If you see rigs parked at gates, clearcut edges etc. then best to find another area. If your going to make a full day of it then probably not good etiquette especially if you cant tell if hunters are using the area. If you just want to squeeze off a few rounds for quick practice probably no harm done.
Drive around a bit and get a feel for the area, be safe and leave no trace.

 

[oregonty]

I did not know etiquette existed in public hunting areas.

 

[Hook686]

I did not know etiquette existed in public hunting areas.

Depending upon when, and how you were raised, etiquette can exist everywhere people are.

 

[SturgeonSlayer]

it used to be in the ODFW regs if you are out on public land during a controlled hunt you must have a license and tag for said hunt.

 

[Ligito]

I did not know etiquette existed.

I fixed it for you.

 

[mancat]

I avoid doing it myself.

One of our friends showed up at our hunting camp this year and started popping off his .22 pistol at cans. We asked him to stop. Even a .22 will carry a long way and disturb a lot of animals, causing them to scatter or bed down.

There is also no way to be sure unless you have a solid backdrop that you are not shooting towards a hunter. Blaze orange can't always be seen through a stand of trees or tall brush.

 

[jcw]

Were it me, and it wouldn't. I'd err on the side of not being a jerk.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

bubblegum the bambi murdering hunters!



just joking, don't be that guy. All I have managed to do this season is see some does and catch ONE MASSIVE.......case of poison oak.

 

[mjbskwim]

Y'all know they stop shooting at ranges when the deer walk through right?

If it an established area,it shouldn't be a big deal. The animals hear it all the time. If it isn't a regular shooting area,then you will probably get some flack.
I'd be more afraid of getting shot that disturbing the game

 

[Bookworm007]

While it does ruin the peace and quiet of the area, so long as you aren't lobbing shots into an area that hunters are actively using I wouldn't worry about it. This season I was out hunting deer and had some folks out target shooting at the gate we walked in from. My buddy instantly got bummed figuring that they were going to scare away all the deer. Well at least in my area the deer don't give a hoot about noise from guns. We saw half a dozen deer that day and none of them seemed skittish from the noise. Plus I at the range I go shoot at it is not abnormal to have deer walk onto the range and have to halt shooting till it trots off.

 

[ruger338]

etiquette in the woods and on private property should always be respected .Don't forget about bow hunting season and bear spring and fall .There is hunts all year long try to find spots where the shots don't carry and drive around a bit and check the seasons to see if there is a hunt going there is a controlled hunt you are supposed to have a unused tag or johnny law will have a word with you no one likes the that .If everyone tries to respect each others sport there will be less ruffed feathers.
my bear season was rudely interrupted with a blaze of shots about an hr before dark and hiking my but off to get into BOW range waiting for the shot he decided he was going to leave the county .I was so pissed fired a warning shot in the air . bad thing about a bow no one hears a darn thing !

 

[PuddleMonkey]

You hunters whine more than any liberal I know.

 

[PuddleMonkey]

Especially bow hunters.

 

[Bookworm007]

Okay lets be realistic. In some areas there is hunting of deer or elk going on from the end of september all the way till mid December. Public land is there for everyone and asking folks to avoid there favorite shooting spot for almost a third of the year is a little demanding especially when I have never seen an animal effected by the noise from shooting unless they were being shot at. That being said I would I like it better if I only had the sound of nature around me instead of Rambo? Yes, but also acknowledge that we have to share public land with everyone.

 

[thorborg]

I tend to agree with bookworm. I actively hunt everything allowed in the sports pack and targer shoot at least once sometimes twice a month year round. Some form of hunting is allowed all year round and the woods are (for now) available for us all and I'm taking full advantage of it while it last. The irritation is primairly in ones own mind as most game muddling arround where people shoot don't react much to shooting unless they see you, or bullets ricoche near by. On the other hand I'm convinced Deer, Elk, & Bear seem to know when hunting season is happening as their habits will change. During General seasons some areas have nearly a convoy of road hunters, then there is the ATV's screaming there way through the woods. Everyone wants a piece of the wooded pie and need to get along. Etiquette for me, is relitive to space. like being too close to the next guy on a fishing hole is wrong, move on to the next. Same for the woods. Most target shooters stay within a couple miles of the highway which usually leaves plenty of country for hunting if the target shooting proximity bugs you. Logging, chainsaws, AtV's, road hunters worn out exhaust pipes, Target shooters, Keggers, Damn! Anybody or any animal feeling agoraphobic.

 

[xlsbob]

Animals get accustomed to things pretty quick. The job I'm working on, one of the other contractors was driving pile yesterday for the first time on this job. Ten minutes after they left for the day, the local deer herd was walking around the crane like it wasn't even there. We went out to some big units to shoot my .50 last weekend and the place we like to go had several hunters already there so we passed on the shooting. If I had been there first I would have went ahead with shooting like I had planned and let the hunters go elsewhere.

 

[TapRackNGo]

Out of respect I never do it! There are areas around to shoot with no hunters...

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