Quote:
Originally Posted by erykah1310
Some of the hunter warning posts I have been seeing lately both on forums and facebook really have me thinking "What is going on with hunters" We're hunters and it is NOTHING like is described. Perhaps because we hunt on private property? I don't know.
Either way, as a hunter I cant wrap my head around these hunters that have been described as of lately
As for cross bow... I totally MUST try one of those one day  |
That's because you are a good hunter. My OH was always a safety minded and cautious hunter. It wasn't till he became a Conservation Officer that he fully realized the danger. Hunters are like anyone else and have no special claim to integrity or intelligence. Just as someone, for sure, for sure, is driving like an idiot on the 4 lane, limited access highway every time I'm on it, so too are hunters. It just takes that one who thinks he/she is above the rules.
After hearing about some poor safety and gun handling infractions our own friends have made while out hunting I'm so glad my OH no longer hunts.
Private property is no guarantee of safety from hunters. I met a guy after coyotes this winter. He was on private property that I have permission to walk my dog on. He did not know who owned the property so obviously he did not have the required written permission, at all, let along with him. He had no safety colours on. There is no closed season on coyotes.
Another one was a young guy out for turkey with his compound bow. A week ahead of opening. I played dumb and said I thought the season hadn't opened yet (I KNEW it hadn't opened yet) and he informed me this was his third week out. In other words this guy brazenly told me he'd been hunting turkey for 3 weeks pre-season opening. Plus, he was on private land he claimed his father owned. His father owned the adjacent land but not where I found him. Several of us dog walkers and horse back riders have permission to use this piece of private property. This guy may have as well but no property owner can give anyone the right to hunt out of season.
I sell insurance and here is a risk assessment chart I learned. It might help people make decisions. Hope it comes out right.
.............................
Chance of Happening
.............................Low...........Medium. .............High
Consequences..........Minor.........Serious...............Cata strophic
So, say we are talking about the chance you get a ding in the side of your car. Chances of that happening are high, but damage is minor. Most of us grit our teeth, don't have these fixed and may try to avoid them by parking far away from other cars.
Say we are talking about the chances of your house burning down. Chances of that really are low, you can check the statistics. But it could be catastrophic. You could lose your house, all your possessions and you could be very, very badly injured. We handle this by putting smoke detectors on every floor, not storing flamable junk, having an escape plan, not smoking in bed AND we buy house insurance, which is fairly cheap since the chance the insurance company will have to pay out is low.
I assess the risk of being shot by a hunter the same as the risk of my house burning down. Low chance of it happening but could be catastrophic if it did.
I try to make myself visible to hunters to lessen the risk. I could stay home but hunting season for deer and turkeys with bow goes from Sept. to the end of Dec. Maybe I could drive to a nearby Provincial Park (one of the ones that does not allow hunting), that would be the same one I do use in gun season for deer, the same one where I always find shotgun shells along the trails. And the same one friends live next to, the friends who keep finding arrows in their back yard.