Is "I Hate Hunters" going too far?
Thankfully, hunting season is drawing to a close. I have developed an
ardent distaste for most hunters. Though we have spent most of our lives
promoting and defending hunting, which was a source of business revenue and
a sport and family tradition in which we frequently participated - no more.
I am inflamed right now because there are two trespassing hunters shooting
their guns within a few hundred feet of my home.again. I just posted a "You
Are Trespassing" note (with phone number, I am not anonymous) on their black
Dodge Durango from Bozeman, but really wanted to paint it with orange spray
paint on the side of their vehicle. I didn't, because ultimately I would be
punished legally far worse than they. Last week, we chased forty head of
horses back into their pasture through the gate left open by trespassing
hunters. Last year, hunters in a river boat took six bucks off of the
neighbor's private hunting ranch. My father and I actually watched them
through binoculars as they wiggled the post that held the No Trespassing
sign from the ground.
Notice a higher percentage of irresponsible, illegal, resident hunters in
recent years? They drive up and down the roads in orange, glassing private
property for which they have no regard, trespassing, leaving gates open,
driving through private property and over public land, spotlighting,
injuring countless animals with no kill, shooting out signs, and
disregarding their surroundings. They use their 4-wheelers and pickup
trucks to drive to the game, shoot it out their doors, and then load it in
the back. This clearly isn't for meat, since they are all well employed,
judging the gear and vehicles they drive and the fact they come out in
droves on the weekend. Sportsmen! With the passage of I161, we have further
constricted the ability of licensed outfitters to escort hunters responsibly
into the backcountry, so the inept are pouring in there, too. A record 95%
incompetence was seen this year with men leasing our horses for self-guided
hunting trips. Their ignorance was surpassed only by their arrogance. No
more! I won't put my horses through it.
Here's my public statement: STAY OFF PRIVATE LAND. GO BUY YOUR OWN. I
HAVE AN ORANGE CAN OF SPRAY PAINT IN EVERY SADDLE BAG AND VEHICLE I OWN AND
AM ITCHING TO USE IT. At the very least, go use the public land for which
we ALL pay, just don't cross my property to do so. And don't whine when the
money from out-of-state hunters drops to a level that the public can no
longer afford access, or when the private land owners all lock you out, or
when the tags go up in price, or when the ticket writing regulators turn
their eyes to you for lost revenue. No doubt, regulation, tags, or
permission will not enter in to your decision to grab a six-pack and head on
down the road to your nearest railroad access. That's not the public,
right? That's just business.
Unfortunately, those who need to read this won't. And some who do will use
it as fodder for a wacko ill-conceived gun-control or anti-cowboy or hunting
agenda. Well, so be it. I'm tired of defending the booger-eating-morons.
I say, CALL THEM OUT. I'm not content to watch the last of a very noble
tradition choked into extinction.
R
ardent distaste for most hunters. Though we have spent most of our lives
promoting and defending hunting, which was a source of business revenue and
a sport and family tradition in which we frequently participated - no more.
I am inflamed right now because there are two trespassing hunters shooting
their guns within a few hundred feet of my home.again. I just posted a "You
Are Trespassing" note (with phone number, I am not anonymous) on their black
Dodge Durango from Bozeman, but really wanted to paint it with orange spray
paint on the side of their vehicle. I didn't, because ultimately I would be
punished legally far worse than they. Last week, we chased forty head of
horses back into their pasture through the gate left open by trespassing
hunters. Last year, hunters in a river boat took six bucks off of the
neighbor's private hunting ranch. My father and I actually watched them
through binoculars as they wiggled the post that held the No Trespassing
sign from the ground.
Notice a higher percentage of irresponsible, illegal, resident hunters in
recent years? They drive up and down the roads in orange, glassing private
property for which they have no regard, trespassing, leaving gates open,
driving through private property and over public land, spotlighting,
injuring countless animals with no kill, shooting out signs, and
disregarding their surroundings. They use their 4-wheelers and pickup
trucks to drive to the game, shoot it out their doors, and then load it in
the back. This clearly isn't for meat, since they are all well employed,
judging the gear and vehicles they drive and the fact they come out in
droves on the weekend. Sportsmen! With the passage of I161, we have further
constricted the ability of licensed outfitters to escort hunters responsibly
into the backcountry, so the inept are pouring in there, too. A record 95%
incompetence was seen this year with men leasing our horses for self-guided
hunting trips. Their ignorance was surpassed only by their arrogance. No
more! I won't put my horses through it.
Here's my public statement: STAY OFF PRIVATE LAND. GO BUY YOUR OWN. I
HAVE AN ORANGE CAN OF SPRAY PAINT IN EVERY SADDLE BAG AND VEHICLE I OWN AND
AM ITCHING TO USE IT. At the very least, go use the public land for which
we ALL pay, just don't cross my property to do so. And don't whine when the
money from out-of-state hunters drops to a level that the public can no
longer afford access, or when the private land owners all lock you out, or
when the tags go up in price, or when the ticket writing regulators turn
their eyes to you for lost revenue. No doubt, regulation, tags, or
permission will not enter in to your decision to grab a six-pack and head on
down the road to your nearest railroad access. That's not the public,
right? That's just business.
Unfortunately, those who need to read this won't. And some who do will use
it as fodder for a wacko ill-conceived gun-control or anti-cowboy or hunting
agenda. Well, so be it. I'm tired of defending the booger-eating-morons.
I say, CALL THEM OUT. I'm not content to watch the last of a very noble
tradition choked into extinction.
R
well Said!, I too am a guide orginally out of colordo then new mexico, I have been witness to stupidity of a grand leave
I am also interested in you ranch you have for sale
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I've hunted for a quarter century now and it seems to be getting worse even in Alberta, Canada with both residents and outfitters. I don't own a fine piece of property as yourself and have to ask many a landowner and have built many relationships with them for them to allow me and my family to enjoy a hunt or two on. I applaud your restraint but even I would have snapped and painted their vehicle. I took a drive with my family and spent a few days in the grand state of Montana this past summer and hope to one day enjoy a fine archery antelope hunt in the future. We plan on spending time in MT again in 2012. Good luck in your future endeavors.
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Amen. You hit the nail right on the head. To bad there are few that will tell it just like it is.
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