Pinecricker
New member
I have been hunting a new drainage this year, one that gets tons of hunting pressure. It is one of those spots that seems to attract tons of both residents and non-residents, and is also very popular with the recreational ATV crowd. It's the perfect the storm of everything you hate to see when you go hunting.
Despite this, I have found one enormous ridge up there that doesn't seem to get noticed, probably because the terrain around it is laid out in a very unusual way, making it hard to see from anywhere, and hard to figure out how to get to. Plus, you actually have to hunt it on foot, which not many people seem willing to do these days. Against my better judgement, I invested a lot of time in the place.
Yesterday, I went out for a drive to do some scouting around the head of the basin for mulies. On the way back down, I was stopped in a low spot in the main road glassing over a ridge that I noticed from up top, when I heard the pop of a shotgun blast, then immediately heard the sound of bird shot bouncing off the corner of my windshield. Before I could react, there was another shot, and I got peppered again. I laid on the horn immediately, and drove up the road to see who the hell was shooting.
It was some dingleberry riding double on an ATV with his young daughter. They were shooting at a grouse in the road, shooting straight up the road over the blind rise I was parked behind. Road hunting for grouse isn't uncommon in these parts, and I'm not opposed to. But, most people would refrain from doing it on such a busy road, and with out visibility of what lies beyond the target. Its more the kind of thing for old grown in skidder trails and logging spurs, not busy main travel routes.
I took down the license number of the ATV, but am debating whether to turn the guy in or not. He did very humbly apologize, but was obviously non-chalant about safety. Luckily I had a windshield protecting me, and it was very minimally damaged. Though, a person on another ATV could have ended up seriously injured. The shot was flying at about face height. What would you do in this situation? Call law enforcement? Write it off as the inevitable consequences of hunting an over-crowded area?
Despite this, I have found one enormous ridge up there that doesn't seem to get noticed, probably because the terrain around it is laid out in a very unusual way, making it hard to see from anywhere, and hard to figure out how to get to. Plus, you actually have to hunt it on foot, which not many people seem willing to do these days. Against my better judgement, I invested a lot of time in the place.
Yesterday, I went out for a drive to do some scouting around the head of the basin for mulies. On the way back down, I was stopped in a low spot in the main road glassing over a ridge that I noticed from up top, when I heard the pop of a shotgun blast, then immediately heard the sound of bird shot bouncing off the corner of my windshield. Before I could react, there was another shot, and I got peppered again. I laid on the horn immediately, and drove up the road to see who the hell was shooting.
It was some dingleberry riding double on an ATV with his young daughter. They were shooting at a grouse in the road, shooting straight up the road over the blind rise I was parked behind. Road hunting for grouse isn't uncommon in these parts, and I'm not opposed to. But, most people would refrain from doing it on such a busy road, and with out visibility of what lies beyond the target. Its more the kind of thing for old grown in skidder trails and logging spurs, not busy main travel routes.
I took down the license number of the ATV, but am debating whether to turn the guy in or not. He did very humbly apologize, but was obviously non-chalant about safety. Luckily I had a windshield protecting me, and it was very minimally damaged. Though, a person on another ATV could have ended up seriously injured. The shot was flying at about face height. What would you do in this situation? Call law enforcement? Write it off as the inevitable consequences of hunting an over-crowded area?
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