Any legal action?
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Hunts_with_stick
04-Feb-21
Is there anything that can be done to prevent my local township from hiring sharpshooters to shoot deer (which they do out of season and between midnight and 4am) My neighbor just found a corn pile where they are baiting (On township property) this decimates the deer herd near me and really sux.
From: JohnMC
04-Feb-21
Team up with PETA.
From: Missouribreaks
04-Feb-21
I think that is a question for the local game warden.
From: LKH
04-Feb-21
Probably not. I'm sure it's approved by the state and is not that unusual. Comes from hunters not being able/willing/allowed to keep the herd under control.
I just spent nearly $11,000 getting my GMC fixed due to deer and antelope hits. You combine that with people not being able to grow anything and people want them reduced.
To grow a garden (ten foot fence) or tree plots (3 wire/2 row electric) requires real effort to keep the deer out.
From: Shuteye
04-Feb-21
When I used to hunt in Illinois the police used to shoot deer at night. The place where I was hunting was an industrial park and no guns allowed. I could easily see two or three hundred deer a day and killing them was easy. I was using bow and arrow. The deer the police were shooting were all donated and I donated mine. The police were using rifles and making mainly head shots. They were allowed to use guns. I gave a couple deer to a bar owner and she said she hoped I killed them all. Her brand new van had already been to the shop twice for deer hits. One good thing, I never had to buy supper or a beer at her bar. That was the first time I was ever allowed to hunt on Sunday.
From: Hunts_with_stick
04-Feb-21
Yeah, you're probably right. The deer herd here is thin as it is. Pretty soon it will be non-existent.
From: x-man
04-Feb-21
Put an editorial in the paper. Talk to the local TV news(if you have one nearby). Go poop next to the corn pile...
From: JL
04-Feb-21
Maybe a smart way to go forward is to get your local township, city, county, state to pass laws that before they can hire these "sharpshooters" for deer control using tax dollars, they must open the the deer removal up to the local hunters first.
From: LBshooter
04-Feb-21
You are powerless. Now, I might suggest that you make a midnight run and spray something to discourage deer from visiting the bait pile. Something that last awhile, like PBY blaster, I think that's the name. Whatever you use just make sure it repels deer and spray it around the bait not on it, that way any other critters who may eat it DNR get sick. They are shooting here in Illinois under the name of controlling CWD, lol yea right. But I believe that the deer belong to the public and they aren't there for the DNR to shoot on a mass scale. Open up the seasons earlier, extend the season and more tags if they want the numbers down.
From: Jaquomo
04-Feb-21
Maybe propose an archery deer hunt, show them examples of where it works elsewhere, volunteer to organize it and vet the hunters with a proficiency test. It works in other places.
I did that here in our community when we had a bear problem. The community was all for it, the Wildlife Commission issued 12 special licenses for me to distribute to hunters who qualified, and they extended the season by a month and a half. We were national news, PETA and HSUS protested and demanded the governor stop it. He told them it was great that we were solving a community problem ourselves.
From: c5ken
04-Feb-21
I live next to a 4,500ac metro park. The park rangers with start their deer cull tonight. The DNR has issued 50 kill permits. My concern is some of the local bucks have dropped their racks. So, I'm sure some bucks will be killed.
From: IdyllwildArcher
04-Feb-21
Go there during the day when their guns aren't trained on the corn pile and bury a couple coyote skins in the corn.
From: Hunts_with_stick
04-Feb-21
Ha ha! Some great ideas. I might pick up some boy spray tomorrow... I get it if we had a huge problem, but we don’t. You’re lucky if you see a deer every few days.
From: Pat Lefemine
04-Feb-21
It always ticks me off that they do this so late in the season after antlers have dropped. Killing Bucks has no bearing on herd reduction and will definitely be shot. I get the need for killing does by sharpshooters where hunting is not an option or effective but why not do this the first week of January and leave the bucks alone?
From: Jaquomo
04-Feb-21
Any bucks that have dropped their antlers are self-identifying as does, and are fair game.
From: Scooby-doo
04-Feb-21
I fill quite a few nuisance permits in a bow only area, I can use a gun as well as a bow or crossbow, any legal weapon. I break it up and shoot them with bows, guns and pistols. The thing here is I have to wait til the season closes(late Dec) and I am only supposed to shoot antlerless deer, which by mid Jan most deer are "antlerless" I myself in doing this for 15 years have only killed two bucks by mistake and they were actually buttons. The issue for me is I could wait til they are sprouting horns pretty good but than the does aree pretty pregnant by than and it sucks to gut a deer and a fawn that is pretty well formed fall out. The bifg thing is the individual needs a vested interest in the deer herd so they are careful to shoot only does and older ones at that. These "programs" don't account for that!! I also have gotten to the point, it is a hassle to kill 20-25 deer in January, its lots of work and not really hunting so after 5 or 6 it sucks!! Shawn
From: GF
05-Feb-21
So you guys are siding with PETA and HSUS to say that these populations should not be managed by lethal means?
Good luck with the fall-out from that.
“ Comes from hunters not being able/willing/allowed to keep the herd under control.”
Yup. I suspect it’s more about Willing than Able or Allowed and more about Allowed than Able.
From: Mule Power
05-Feb-21
Nothing you can do. Are you from Mt Lebanon? Google that up and see what you find.
From: skipmaster1
05-Feb-21
They proposed it here where I am in NY. They ended up setting up a program for qualified archers to access local public land that is otherwise off limits to hunting. It has been a huge success, just using archery equipment during normal season without bait. The first year we took 109 deer off of a 5000 acre piece and it cost the taxpayers no money. I think we are in year 10 and now faced probably 10k acres open in the area that is enrolled in one of the deer management programs.
From: t-roy
05-Feb-21
Yeah, but that makes too much sense, skipmaster....
Lots of places all across the country that have urban deer reduction hunts, and are wildly successful with them. The city of Coralville, which is basically a suburb of Iowa City, does this with no issues, yet the city of Iowa City (think “San Francisco” without the discarded needles and feces on the sidewalks) refuses to allow this type of hunt. Instead, they paid through the nose, for sharpshooters to come in.
From: Hunts_with_stick
05-Feb-21
Yeah, I know about mt lebo, at least they open township property up to hunting to their residents only. I just need to buy my own land....
Speaking of which, anyone have any experience with smaller parcels, like 14 acres?
Mule power, you from around mt lebo?
From: T Mac
05-Feb-21
What is the reason for the cull if not an overpopulation issue? This exact scenario occurred 10 years ago in my township. Speaking with your local municipality officials about the thought of fellow hunters getting involved and saving taxpayer dollars by not paying an outside entity to do what volunteers can do at a fraction of the cost. You need dedicated hunters willing to put the time and work in to achieve the goal. We are just entering the late season damage permit which started Feb 1 bow only and allows us a few more months of bowhunting on public lands only.
It’s a win win for all parties!
From: T Mac
05-Feb-21
What is the reason for the cull if not an overpopulation issue? This exact scenario occurred 10 years ago in my township. Speaking with your local municipality officials about the thought of fellow hunters getting involved and saving taxpayer dollars by not paying an outside entity to do what volunteers can do at a fraction of the cost. You need dedicated hunters willing to put the time and work in to achieve the goal. We are just entering the late season damage permit which started Feb 1 bow only and allows us a few more months of bowhunting on public lands only.
It’s a win win for all parties!
From: redquebec
05-Feb-21
Propose to the state and city officials that re-introduce wolves....
From: Ricky The Cabel Guy
05-Feb-21
part of the problem is that we've convinced a whole generation of hunters that big bucks are the only deer worth shooting. if hunters won't kill the baby makers, sharpshooters will.
From: Habitat
05-Feb-21
Research other towns that have started seasons and push the educated information
From: Live2Hunt
05-Feb-21
They did that one year in a town I live by. The woman in charge thought it to be to inhumane to let bowhunters take care of the deer problem. So, she thought it would be better to hire sharpshooters? LOL, another person not knowing the truth about something but still making a decision based on feelings. Anyway, after spending 150.00 a deer to be shot, the deer herd was not affected. So, someone else stepped in and got the city to allow limited bowhunting by draw. So, they got $X.00 per permit and within 2 years took care of the deer problem. I would try to bring that up, there were no complaints or issues that I hear of.
From: T Mac
05-Feb-21
Ricky is spot on as well. I have said same to a few friends of mine. They want their cake and eat it to. So don’t bitch when they hire people to shoot does. Fortunately we’ve had several hunters willing to step up and work toward the towns objective.
From: Bowfreak
05-Feb-21
When I was younger I had dreams of scantily clad hot women and now I dream of being hired to cull does. I'm jealous of those of you that have a gig like this. Shooting stuff with a bow is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
From: Wild Bill
05-Feb-21
A few of the suggestions on this thread could get you a fine for interferring in a police matter.
From: Hunts_with_stick
05-Feb-21
The reason is supposedly to eliminate deer/car collisions, But I'm telling you, we don't have an overpopulation of deer. I've lived here for 9 years now and haven't had one close encounter. I don't see deer on a regular basis. I don't know anyone that has hit a deer.
From: Mad Trapper
05-Feb-21
Stick are you in a CWD unit? I can't imagine a township killing deer without the blessing of the Game Commission. Doesn't sound Kosher to me. I suspect that CWD management is behind it. BTW the bucks are still carrying antlers in western PA.
From: Hunts_with_stick
05-Feb-21
Yeah. I have seen some half racks...some with both on. No cwd here. But who really knows what they are shooting. They got one last night near me. Saw the evidence.
From: T Mac
05-Feb-21
I’m with you bowfreak. It allows me to bowhunt whitetails year round although I take a few months off during birthing until fawns are able to survive on their own.
From: T Mac
05-Feb-21
From: GF
05-Feb-21
If I thought my town was planning to pay someone to “sharp-shoot” a “thin” herd, I think I would raise merry hell about that.
At the very least, you would think that there would be a legal requirement that there be a Good & Sufficient reason to justify allowing game to be taken outside of an established season.
From: Yellah Nocks
06-Feb-21
Maine game & wildlife continues to imagine they can maintain unrealistic harvest. They actively push for buck harvest. Need a permit(permission) for taking does. Result? Unbalanced herd and pockets of overbreeding. Now with the FEELINGS crowd in southern Maine it will only be a short hop skip and jump to idiotic culling programs instead of allowing hunters to take a doe and if they want a buck then be sure to register that doe. Most folks in the northern tier are looking to fill their freezer rather than antler soup anyhow. If you think thats upside down, check out the fish laws up here. You literally need the book and check it CAREFULLY before fishing any body of water. Yup....different regs for each body, plus special regs just to make sure they catch somebody violatong. Then they complain that they dont have enough tourist hunters up here spending cash.
