ORIGINAL: cayugad

With hunting season now in full swing in many places of the country, the unethical hunter has always been my #1 concern when hunting. Over the years, I have ran into my fair share of them. And the worst part is, they do not seem to care that the manner in which they hunt is wrong.

I was once asked why I hunt with a muzzleloader. The person talking with me told of shooting five times at a deer running through the woods with his 30-30. When I told him I hunted with a .54 caliber black powder rifle that shot a roundball, he was stunned. But what if you need a second shot he asked me? I told him if I do my part right, there really is no need for a second shot. So he said, well what would you have done with a deer running through the woods as he described it to me. I told him, watch it run away and hunt it another day.

There was a fellow who purchased for his kid a SKS 7.65x39mm semi automatic rifle. I stopped and talked to them as they were going to head across a field to some hardwood hills. This SKS rifle holds 10 rounds. About three hours later, while sitting on a stump looking over a nice cedar trail far away from them, relaxing and enjoying the afternoon. I heard RAMBO cut loose with all ten rounds becauseI counted them. I saw them the next day as they were getting ready to head out again. The kid bragged, I had one running and tried to knock it down but it kept going, with this big grin on his face. I then asked him, what was behind the deer you were shooting at? He said, I don't know.. woods. So I asked him, any hunters sitting on that hillside that you were area of? Then I asked him if he was aiming? His father scoffed at me and ******ed his kid off into the field. They did not want to discuss their hunting adventure anymore. I do not blame the rifle. I have an SKS, and have hunted with it. By the way, it takes one shot from them to take a deer off their feet.

The worst is, people I know, they live near me,were making a drive of some thickets and woods. I later learned that one of the people I knew shot another member of the party through the thigh with a 30-06. He thought it was a deer's leg he was seeing in the thicket. The person shot had on brown Carhartt canvas pants that shed brush well, and a blaze orange jacket and hat. My thought was, why did this happen?

While a slob hunter might turn our stomach.. they are out there. A lot more so then we care to think. Consider them when you pick your hunting spot, your hunting partner (there have been a few I sent home), dress out your deer, and remove your deer from the field. Blaze orange does save lives. Be careful out there.