Call the law, or handle it yourself

[Scott85]

I would only call the warden if I had physical evidence.

 

[bobbydean]

wrong post

 

[Addicting]

About 40 yards. I did not see the animal before he shot at it due to terrain undulations. This was open terrain - no trees, which was part of the reason I assumed he saw me as he was walking in.

Assumptions and the law don’t coincide. As some one who has had to go thru this and the offender got convicted of wreckless discharge of a firearm, calling the warden is a waste of his time.

To take the assumption away:

You didn’t see him shoot directly at you. You heard him shoot at a deer you didn’t see until after you got up and walked towards him. You don’t know where the deer was for sure when he shot.

You were in a “ambush” spot. There is no proof that he even knew you were there or knowingly shot in your direction. You were purposely hiding to ambush deer.

A Hornady SST is definitely a 200 yard slug. The deer was in his comfort zone to shoot. Your ethics have nothing to do with his decision on his comfortable shooting distance.

So at the end of the day you have a parking violation and assumptions.

Not doing this to be a dick, just giving to you as a former LEO and knows what it takes to get a conviction in this type of case.


They guy may be a Dbag from your point of view, but that is not a crime.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Assumptions and the law don’t coincide. As some one who has had to go thru this and the offender got convicted of wreckless discharge of a firearm, calling the warden is a waste of his time.

To take the assumption away:

You didn’t see him shoot directly at you. You heard him shoot at a deer you didn’t see until after you got up and walked towards him. You don’t know where the deer was for sure when he shot.

You were in a “ambush” spot. There is no proof that he even knew you were there or knowingly shot in your direction. You were purposely hiding to ambush deer.

A Hornady SST is definitely a 200 yard slug. The deer was in his comfort zone to shoot. Your ethics have nothing to do with his decision on his comfortable shooting distance.

So at the end of the day you have a parking violation and assumptions.

Not doing this to be a dick, just giving to you as a former LEO and knows what it takes to get a conviction in this type of case.


They guy may be a Dbag from your point of view, but that is not a crime.

Agree with all except the 200 yard range, based on his sights/choke. In the end, that point doesn't really matter though, as it is perfectly legal to shoot that distance even if there's little chance of hitting the target. In the OP I admit I made a foolish assumption about him seeing me when he was walking in. I chose not to contact LE for many of the reasons you stated. Many people have told me I should have called, but I kind of felt it would be a waste of time. Helpful to get a LEO point of view on this, so thank you.

 

[Ben Sellers]

Best just to deescalate the situation and/or leave. There is nothing about hunting that is worth turning a hunting trip into a physical altercation. Violence when both parties have weapons can lead to a killing. You won’t get much hunting done if you’re in jail or if you’ve bankrupted yourself proving you were in the right in court. Not a pacifist or a wuss, but the Lord was right when he said turn the other cheek.

 

[JohnCushman]

I learned in Iraq that getting shot at is a total awesome rush..until you actually get hit...twice....

 

[Pucky Freak]

Best just to deescalate the situation and/or leave. There is nothing about hunting that is worth turning a hunting trip into a physical altercation. Violence when both parties have weapons can lead to a killing. You won’t get much hunting done if you’re in jail or if you’ve bankrupted yourself proving you were in the right in court. Not a pacifist or a wuss, but the Lord was right when he said turn the other cheek.

I'd say it's more don't pick that hill to die on (could be, literally) rather than turn the other cheek. The latter principle applies to intentional harm, which was not the case here.

Years ago a buddy and I entered a public duck hunting area (unknowingly) prior to the hour of legal access. Another group showed up at the legal time, and one guy in their group was completely irate because we had taken "their" spot. He was threatening, screaming, cussing, and we were genuinely concerned he was going to do something rash. We put our guns away to try and make sure he didn't misread the situation. He got right up in my face several times and tried to get me to swing on him. We repeatedly apologized for our illegal action and tried to reason with him, and find a compromise so we could all salvage the day of hunting, but he wasn't having it. One of his buddies came by later in the day and told us he was sorry his friend had made such a scene.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I learned in Iraq that getting shot at is a total awesome rush..until you actually get hit...twice....

Yeah, not me. I'm never playing paintball again, and if I get drafted I'm completely SOL

 

[mtmuley]

I would have left pissed off, not put it on the internet, and wouldn't have lost a month of hunting over it. But, I don't live in Iowa. Unfortunate, but stuff happens. mtmuley

 

[Pucky Freak]

I would have left pissed off, not put it on the internet,

To each their own

and wouldn't have lost a month of hunting over it.

You're a tougher man than me. I can live with that

Unfortunate, but stuff happens.

Absolutely does. Just part of life

 

[mtmuley]

I've had a couple rodeos antelope hunting with idiots. Not worth the time to try to turn them in. Then you have to prove your accusations. Just move on and hunt. I'm sure the crowded public land in Iowa has far more incidents like you describe than Montana. Trying to make sense of what you experienced that day on social media is tough, and sorta pointless. Glad you are ok. mtmuley

 

[Pucky Freak]

I'm sure the crowded public land in Iowa has far more incidents like you describe than Montana.

It does. Except a lot of IA public isn't very crowded

Trying to make sense of what you experienced that day on social media is tough, and sorta pointless.

Point taken

Glad you are ok.

Thank you

 

[madtom]

In my experience, there’s just about a 0% chance a warden will follow up on a call for someone parking illegally during the height of gun season with bigger fish to fry all around. When i lived there, most wardens covered two counties, so good luck getting any response within a timeframe that matters - much less on the busiest weekends of the year.

As negligent and dangerous as this guy’s actions were, it’s not illegal to accidentally shoot toward someone. So I don’t think getting the law involved would have helped in this case. Crappy situation for sure.

 

[kenton]

This thread really peaked my interest. I don't disagree with anything said previously but perhaps just walking away isn't the ideal way to handle it … at first. I think Elkfever2 handled it in a fine manner but is there an even better way? I don't particularly like playing the "what if" game but here goes: what if he didn't know that parking where he did was illegal? Does a law abiding ethical hunter have the obligation to indicate a less than proper, legal, safe practice to another hunter? Not by threatening, screaming, or cussing like the duck hunter, but just in an informative way. It just seems to me like an opportunity to potentially help someone. Obviously, most of the time someone isn't going to just admit to a mistake when caught off-guard and that may be the time to walk away, but as a former hot-head, even if I got pissed off at being proven to be wrong, when I had time to reflect later I could see my error. I don't mean to hi-jack but we've had a few of these threads lately and I'm curious what everyone thinks.

 

[stuckinthecitylife]

It sounds to me like you're hunting way too close to the roads.

 

[madtom]

It sounds to me like you're hunting way too close to the roads.

Lol. Ever been to Iowa? Lots of roads.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Valve stem removal.

I actually got one of those in my pickup hahaha. Amazing the effectiveness.

 

[antelopedundee]

Curious to know what others would have done in this situation

Last year I walked in to IA public ground deer hunting and set up for ambush. About an hour later a truck pulls up, parks illegally, and guy gets out and walks in directly towards me with the wind at his back. I figure he can see me (horrible assumption) because I am dressed like an orange flashlight. Next I hear gunshots, then the sound of several slugs whizzing past my head. I walk towards the guy and he stops shooting, and see a deer that was between us bound away. When I'm about 100 yards from him he starts yelling out, asking where I am parked. When I get up to him, I can see he has a waterfowl shotgun with open sights, which has an effective slug range of about 50 yards. The deer was 200+ yards from him when he was lobbing rounds at it. I calmly point out that his slugs nearly hit me. He changes the subject, so I leave.

I was in shock at first, and it wasn't until about an hour later that the fear and anger started to sink in. It was also really disturbing that someone wouldn't even blink after learning they had nearly killed someone. I didn't hunt for about a month afterwards due to the trauma.

So what would you have done? Take cover and wait it out? Give him an earful, and more? Take his license plate # and call law enforcement?

If I could do it all over again I would have waved my arms and got his attention when he was first walking in, then if he still didn't see me, start screaming bloody murder once his first shot rang out.

For some weird reason I can't post a reply unless I quote someone so I would suggest that next time you see someone walk in like that make damn sure that they see you even if it means standing up or waving your arms or even yelling. Don't assume that he sees you just because you're wearing orange. Oftimes during turkey season when it's still dark some guys will flick a Bic or a flashlight to let you know that they are there.

 

[bullbugle307]

If I had a dollar for every time some jackwagon did something blatantly stupid or selfish on public lands where I'm hunting or fishing, I'd be a rich man. I feel for ya.

Last year I was whitetail hunting on a walk in, when all of a sudden I see like 15 dudes appear to the west of we walking a line without weapons with the wind at their backs to drive the deer off the walk in and onto their neighboring property where they were hunting to the east. Man was I pissed.

And I'll never forget all the times I've hiked a big loop to get on an animal and every road hunter in the country starts driving around and circling the general area I'm in just because it blows their minds that someone is actually out walking and they're hoping I'll push something to them that they can shoot from the road. People suck sometimes.

 

[kmott]

I've had several close calls pheasant hunting were some fool tried to pull a cheney on me. actually been peppered from long distance on several occasions. once had a pheasant explode from an old dudes shot literally about two feet from my head .this old guy had no business either driving or carrying a gun any more. got to the point were if I saw his truck at the wma I just went elsewhere.

the joys of public land hunting


it is a shame there are so many ignorant hunters out there . becoming one won't change that sad fact , though it may make you feel better about it.