hunting season

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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retired jerry
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Re: hunting season

Post by retired jerry » October 20th, 2014, 4:50 pm

I'm going to worry about Ebola :)

No, I don't have to worry about that, I've wrapped my house in plastic :D

Hmmm, that would be a good project, wrap my house in plastic and try to get a picture on national news :lol:

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retired jerry
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Re: hunting season

Post by retired jerry » October 20th, 2014, 5:01 pm

I run across hunters occasionally. I never feel in danger or anything.

Us city folks don't really know what to expect.

Even though the risk is low, may as well use reasonable precaution. Like in October I usually wear a vest that I got from Sanderson Safety Supply. Maybe $10 and a few ounces. Goes on the outside of whatever I'm wearing.

If I knew I was in a popular area I might be more careful, or vice versa, but I'm not really sure whether an area is popular or not.

I guess I feel better now that it's a couple weeks after the opening of hunting season.

raven
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Re: hunting season

Post by raven » October 20th, 2014, 5:26 pm

I hate going out during hunting season. Once came out on a trail at the end of a hiking day with birdshot raining down. Once was coming up 25 feet from two deer hunters 100 feet from the trailhead and heard one say to the other "Think we've gone far enough to take a stand?" Just then my brown dog (his head came to about mid-thigh) ran between them and they both swung their guns downward on him and told me I'd better watch him because he looks a lot like a deer. And I've seen too many cars slowly driving roads in hunting season with spotlights on to feel safe if finishing a hike late. A friend reported being in a blind when some hunters, seeing something in a tree and not recognizing it, opened fire on him; he returned the fire to indicate what they were shooting at and escaped. Another group of friends were threatened when they told a group of hunters they were in a state park. That same day another friend, in the same state park, was fired upon while hiking.
There are only something like 80 U.S. accidental hunting deaths per year and only a minority of those (15%? 30%? I forget...just google it, the stats are not hard to find) are due to "hunter judgment" errors (the rest due to careless gun handling, are frequently self inflicted, etc).
Accurate numbers seem to be impossible to find. How many shootings are not attributed correctly because statistics are not collected in a uniform manner?; how many people are maimed?; what percentage of hunters are cold sober?; and how many shooters step forward to accept responsibility for their "errors"? Climbers do get hurt, but rarely hurt someone else; hunters shoot other people. Frankly, the numbers of shootings are under-reported -- the only question is how much they are under-reported -- and hikers during hunting season are highly vulnerable, particularly when hiking off trail near roads in areas hunters frequent.

maryannpdx
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Re: hunting season

Post by maryannpdx » October 20th, 2014, 5:36 pm

Go ahead pick on me. I don't care. I am anti-gun and anti-hunter.
No one has yet to answer my initial question of 'Where are hunters allowed to go?' so that I can avoid folks who do cherish these institutions.
MaryannPDX

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BrianEdwards
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Re: hunting season

Post by BrianEdwards » October 20th, 2014, 5:46 pm

Hunters are allowed on BLM, state & NF lands. Exceptions being most of the gorge, and a select few study/wildlife refuge/habitat areas. The coast range, the east and west sides of the cascades, and everything east of HWY 97 is hunting territory. Even the Eagle Cap is chuck full of hunters. Hiking in the gorge will avoid them, hiking wildlife refuges, the beach.

Gun hunting season started Oct 4, with various hunts continuing all the way til thanksgiving
Clackamas River Waterfall Project - 95 Documented, 18 to go.

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derwoodynck
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Re: hunting season

Post by derwoodynck » October 20th, 2014, 7:04 pm

My wife and I were up in the Diamond Peak Wilderness on Saturday (opening day of Elk season) doing a loop past Midnight & Yoran Lake. We saw a total of three hunters on the Yoran Lake Trail and that was in in the 12.5mi. The first two we met thought they were on the PCT, they'd gone the wrong direction from Midnight Lake. We didn't hear one gunshot all day. We did see four elk (all cows) run across the PCT later in the day.

It seems like we hear far fewer gunshots on hikes during hunting season vs. other times when there are periods of constant target shooting going on.

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kelkev
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Re: hunting season

Post by kelkev » October 20th, 2014, 7:18 pm

Saw one hunter on the road near Rocky Top trailhead (Santiam State Forest near Detroit) on Sunday. I'm not a hunter, but I haven't had any close calls or bad encounters in all my years of hiking. Personally, I think your risk is pretty much nil if you wear some safety orange and use some common sense. Probably about the same risk as getting hit by lightning or attacked by a cougar.
"Going to the mountains is going home."
— John Muir

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texasbb
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Re: hunting season

Post by texasbb » October 20th, 2014, 7:49 pm

kelkev wrote:Personally, I think your risk is pretty much nil if you wear some safety orange and use some common sense. Probably about the same risk as getting hit by lightning or attacked by a cougar.
Exactly the point I was trying to make when I almost took this thread off topic (although I'm quite a bit more wary of lightning than cougars :D ).

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CampinCarl
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Re: hunting season

Post by CampinCarl » October 20th, 2014, 8:39 pm

Two specific regs I found- Hunting is prohibited at Crater Lake and most types of hunting are banned in Oregon State Parks.

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RobinB
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Re: hunting season

Post by RobinB » October 20th, 2014, 10:28 pm

It would be nice if the Department of Fish and Wildlife or whatever could make some sort of masterlist of where and when hunting's allowed. I don't think we're all ever going to agree about regulation, but I would just as soon avoid it as best as I can.

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