Lanse couche couche

In Illinois (and in some other states, I would imagine), it is illegal to deer hunt with a shotgun or muzzle loader within 300 yards of an inhabitated residence. For other types of hunting, the limit is 100 yards. The law even states that one can be hunting on their own land, but it is still illegal if they are within 300 (or 100 yards) yards of a residence on adjacent property without permission. My question is this; is there anyone here who has had experiences with this law. I mean will the GW take someone's word that you violated the limit, or if they catch you near the limit will they bring out a measure and calculate your distance down to the inch?

This has never happened to me, however, the countryside where I am from is now getting so densely populated that it is pretty common to find a person hunting on one piece of ground that is within 300 yards of a house on another piece of property.

basserman

Our Wisconsin laws say: It is unlawful to, shoot a firearm within 100 yards of a building devoted to human occupancy while on lands you do not own (including public) without permission of the owner or occupants of that building.

I think 300 yards is a bit steep

tim03b

Here in Pennsylvania the laws are similar to that but we cannot shoot a bow while hunting within 50 yards of a public road or a house. With the rifle we cannot shoot within 150 yards of both but i dont know of a law that states we cant shoot within 150 yards with a rifle or 50 yards with a bow if its your own house? Maybe someone else could correct me if Im wrong???

Lanse couche couche

But even if it is only 100 yards how do you actually prove guilt. If somebody passes thru stomping brush for rabbits how do you know if they were 99.9 yards away or 100 yards and 1 inch away?

jakelogsdon

I have an acquaintance who was issued a fine for hunting too close to an inhabited residence. the GW found his tree stand (probably by a tip) then used a range finder to measure the distance to the house it was around 80 yards i believe. GW then waited for the individual to hunt the stand, when he climbed in his tree the warden walked to the base of the stand, asked him to come down, wrote him a ticket and made him take the stand down while he stood there. I think the fine was like 250 or something and some points on your license.

WNYhunter

In new york it is 500'. They have to prove where you were and the distance. A buddy got a ticket goose hunting. When they looked up and saw the game warden walking out there was nothing they could do but admit where they were. the game warden used a range finder and ranged the house. They were a few feet inside the limit and recieved tickets. They had permission from the landowner but the neighbor called it in.

iSnipe

I doubt the game warden will take someone "by their word" there was a violation and charges will become of that because of the word, but they WON'T hesitate for a second to look into matters of violations based on someone's word. Around here that's how the DNR gets their tips.

As for the tape measure question, absolutely YES!

They did it to a friend once. My friend was along a country road. He spotted a deer off in the distance and had a muzzle loader. He snuck down the road, then purposely walked off the road as to not violate the regulations. Low and behold guess who comes along at the moment of the shot? Yep, the game warden.

Game warden saw the evidence in the snow. My friend took the shot laying down. Had the GW measured from the middle of the torso depression in the snow or the where the shoulders or barrel was, everything would be fine. However, the warden measured from the boot prints and my buddy violated by 2 feet! My friend got the ticket for shooting within so many feet of the road.

iSnipe

teedub31

A 300 yard barrier in East Central Indiana would delegate most all ground unhuntable. Are area is broken up in square mile sections with a house or 2 on each road surround the section. Now given that you have to be 300 yards from the residence which is 25-50 yards off the road, you would have to be almost 400 yards off the road. Not a problem until you are 400 yards off of every road, that leaves you a small 800 yardX800 yard section to hunt smack dab in the very center of that square mile. Hope you are lucky to find the handful of spots that will allow you a good stand set up. I know all the areas I hunt, those areas are in the middle of corn and bean stubble

125py

Thats Illinois for ya....should be called "The land of Laws" instead of "The land of Lincoln"

Ol'Mongo

Couple of concepts that generally transcend state lines.

1) There's a thing called "The Spirit vs. The Letter of the Law." Most legislatures dictate Spirit (embodies the Legislative Intent of the law) generally prevails over Letter. So if you fire the weapon from 98 yards from the dwelling unless there's a major hazard or you are blatant in your actions, it's probably not going to be enforced.

2) The second is a law enforcement officer generally (with some exceptions) must view the misdemeanor (assuming it IS a misdemeanor, shooting AT a house is probably a felony everywhere) to arrest for it. He might take a report from a neighbor and investigate it but unless there's corroborating evidence, they more often than not (don't want to use generally too many times) have other things to do.

The usual caveats apply.