westMDbowhunter

I've been seeing a whole bunch and was wondering if people hunt them this time of year?

alleyyooper

Yup sure do. We do the long range rifle method.
Our season is about to close at the end of the month along with coyotes, rabbits and squirrels. Is at the end of April we can hunt turkeys if we drew that time slot.
End of May we are all finished hunting till Sept.

Al

Big Uncle

You might want to look at the attached link before you get into trouble with the DNR folks.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/huntersgu...s_Calendar.pdf

westMDbowhunter

Oh man, our coyote season is year round. Except after march 15 you can't hunt at night. Which is stupid and if I want to hunt at night on private land to help clear out a coyote problem I should be able to if season is in.

Now are you saying there is a lottery of some sort for turkey season in your state?

westMDbowhunter

Thanks man but I know, I do live here lol but thanks
There's two species I don't care about, crows and groundhogs.
Now the groundhogs aren't protected at all meaning anyone can shoot one any time of year with any weapon.
I've heard crows are federally protected hence why we have seasons, if you look in our regs you can also only shoot crow from wed-sat which is very idiotic.
The plain and simple fact is there's an over abundance of crow and I've never been one to follow laws simply because they exist, I need sound reason backing my laws.
I would hate to get in trouble over a lousy crow. but on private it shouldn't matter. I don't think any of the guys here would actually call me on that one. That thinking doesn't carry over to other species for me only groundhogs and crow.

Big Uncle

I wish you well, but fear that you are in for a nasty surprise some day.

westMDbowhunter

my connection was messing up accidently double posted this

westMDbowhunter

it's just crows, they aren't basing that law on anything, they're simply a nuisance.
did you know in downstate Maryland you can kill an unlimited amount of does? the reasoning behind that one? well they're a nuisance down there where its too overdeveloped with cities.
crow is the only thing i would ever shoot out of season, i also hunt the red squirrels all year that decide to take up residence in my shed, my reasoning? because they are a nuisance rodent that bothers me, tearing up plywood and building nests. i guess i could use mouse traps but i just sit in the shed with my bb gun because its fun.

anything that is nuisance should be year round.

they actually were setting of sonic booms out of some type of cannon a few years back trying to get all the crows to leave.

http://www.birdcontrolpro.com/zon_mark4_cannon.htm
like this but much bigger, they kept it going many times every day until everyone in garrett county had enough. i mean it was like a super loud boom that went through the whole town.


not that I condone breaking the law, i just don't condone the law itself. i promise there will still be crows next year. a year round hunting season would be a better management tool than sonic propane cannons. and its not something i would be doing on public anyways. my yards two acres and i grow field corn for deer season. they are always around. not that i even care about shooting crows that much but it should be open all year. i think it makes sense, especially if theyre in my corn. crow coyote and groundhog should be all year.
i bet the corn farmers are with me on that lol
i mean you literally see them by the thousands and thats not a stretch

Big Uncle

There is usually relief provided for nuisance animals that may not be provided with the hunting laws. You may want to find this regulation and print it out for your protection if DNR comes calling. Hunting crows out of season is not legal, but shooting a nuisance crow may be. It would be best to know what constitutes a nuisance, such as damage to crops, but it would be hard to argue crop damage to your corn in March.

The following is an excerpt from Maryland House Bill 196:
c) The Department shall establish by regulation the maximum open season
for hunting crows which is permissible under federal law, and shall include in its
regulations such provisions as are permitted under federal law for control of crows at 1 any time they are found to be committing or about to commit depredation upon 2 ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock or wildlife, or when 3 concentrated in such numbers and manner as to constitute a health hazard or other 4 nuisance.

westMDbowhunter

haha thats a cool excerpt
its humorous that it mentions ornamental/shade trees. there are 40 foot pines bordering my property, we have alot of trees for two acres, the pines also split it in half so that the other acre with sheds and corn is seemingly distant from the house. i cant imagine how crows could damage trees.
but it would be a viable argument that i plant corn, and also have many apple trees. even though im not planting yet the crows i see now im sure nest nearby.
it sounds to me though the law states they must be caught in the act not just on the land you will be planting on.