Riding around during hunting season, etiquette question

I am forsaking some of the nicest riding weather so far this fall as a courtesy to the hunters. I can ride for 49 weeks a year, either quads or snowmobile, so they are welcome to a distraction free hunting season.

They are having an awesome season here, both deer and elk. The Saturday before season opened, I saw more sign and animals than I have seen in years.

In the end it really boils down to common sense and courtesy- things much of country seems to lack these days. :)

I know a lot of guys who have harvested a deer because someone walked and or drove nearby and flushed an animal from cover. Those guys could care less about a quad rider and may encourage it.

On the other hand-

There is a reason many states require a hunter to wear orange during rifle reason! Do you really want to be that person (or have your child) flushing game for some of the folks that are out hunting?

On a personal note- We actually had a teenager pop out of the brush and point a shot gun at us just 400 yards from our hunting camp on Saturday. He apparently thought three of us returning to camp after a 14 mile hike sounded like a deer he was going to ambush. No one left that meeting happy!

Personally, I would be considerate because that is such a short season. My husband and I talked about it and we would wait before we rode.

just our 2 cents

TucsonJim wrote:
As an avid hunter, I say ride away. Just stick to the main roads. To be prudent, put on an orange safety vest. When I'm hunting, I try to get as far from roads and people as possible.

Hunting accidents are extremely rare. In 2010, the most recent statistics, there were 10 hunting accidents in California, and two of them were fatal. None of the 10 were while hunting deer. In states like California, the hunter not only has to identify the game as deer, but must also count the number of points on the antlers in order to make a legal kill. This forces the hunter to take their time and make an accurate assessment of the target.

x2

We all share the woods, just be courteous and stay to the main trails and please for safety purposes wear some blaze orange.

What drove me crazy when we were riding with our kids was the OHV park we liked would shut down about 1/2 the park for a youth hunt. I avoided riding on USFS lands for the hunters sake, but then they close half the park down. This time of year is great ATV riding weather. I spoke with the County commissioners about it, but fell on deaf ears. So we stopped going all together. I really figured with all the surrounding lands that were open to hunters that leaving the OHV park alone made sense, keeps us from riding around scaring critters off and gave us space to play. Oh well.

If you're going to go, Orange up and be safe. This is not the time of the year to put deer antlers on your helmet trying to be funny :W

kfp673 wrote:
I do plenty of riding here in PA during hunting season. A post above says give them 2 weeks but it's not even close to 2 weeks. You have archery deer, small game, Turkey, another small game, riffle, muzzle loader, another archery season, bear season etc etc. Basically the entire fall and winter is some sort of hunting season and there is even a spring season. I also dont feel bad for hunters at all. The laws here in PA are sooooo far in their favor and sooooo far against ATV's. We have to pay registration for our ATV's and get very little state provided area to ride yet there are game lands everywhere, all off limits to us. I hunted for years and my take on it is the hunters have plenty of land, I have very select land so ride on!

I agree. I've lived in AZ for about 30 years but still consider myself a Pennsylvanian.. PA. went the way of AZ and probably other States to cut up the Fall & Winter hunts into small pieces to get the maximum revenue from various permits. Our PA. regulations used to be a booklet the size of your hand x 3/8 thick. I don't know about PA. but the AZ legislators passed a fee of $35.00 a year per ATV to be collected by the Game commission for wildlife but they confiscated the money to general funds. I refuse to buy the tag. I'm all for restricting ATV's from prowling the off road hunting areas but not being able to go off road to retrieve your deer is ridicules. I would go back for deer season every year and we always took an ATV with us. It never left the back of the truck unless we had a deer to get out of the woods. We were all seniors and none would risk a heart attack because of some law...I figure your "law" if obeyed won't inconvenience any hunter unless he's a road hunter then I have no respect for them...BTW, I have some PA. venison and even some PA. elk in my freezer from family & friends in my homestead of the North Hills......... :)

I take a little time off riding for the hunters. Never thought of painting cow on the side of the California Slow Elk.

gandude wrote:
We will respect their right to hunt and stay on main roads, and defer our need to discover backwoods riding up there for another time.

Thanks for the input all.

As my Irish Uncle used to say, "You are a gentleman and a scholar and a good judge of fine booze"..... I don't know if this fits into your choice of refreshments but he always used it when he wanted to compliment someone.. :) Thanks..

give the hunters their time :)

also a few weeks wait? I believe it is longer than that in NC.

my hubby deer hunts (bow, musket, rifle) and the season has started and I believe as the weapons change, the reason runs til about Dec/into first few days of January

I could be mistaken, I take no interest in the hunting season days but I know he hunts for a long time--cause he starts with bow, then uses his musket then goes out with the rifles.

It is a long time to be careful where you play in the woods right now :)

I ride and I hunt, just not at the same time. It is good that we all try to respect each others' time outdoors. When it comes to who is paying for what, lets face it fellow citizens, we are all paying all the time.
I think the OP has come up with the common sense solution, and applaud him.