are you riding in hunting season?

[Trakehner]

[QUOTE=grayarabpony;7184179]
Oh… my… gosh… :no: How badly were you hurt?[/QUOTE]

I was lucky, one pellet in my palm…my poor mare had a bunch in her neck. This is a scary location…lots of city twits hit the “wilderness” and are spooked by all that scary wildlife. I ran into one man who had a Marlin lever-action rifle…I told him he wasn’t allowed to hunt with a rifle in that part of Montgomery County…so he unloaded it by firing the rifle, working the action and firing again! I showed him how to unload it…he said they loaded it for him at the store when he bought the rifle…OMG! Truly scary. I like to shoot, but some of these people scare the living hell out of me.

[Donkaloosa]

We used to ride during hunting season all the time — except for opening day! Bow hunters weren’t a problem because they have to be able to see their targets clearly to get off a shot, so they aren’t going to take a pot shot at some moving bushes that may hide a deer (or a horse, or another hunter). We would tie bells onto our saddles and were always talking back and forth and making a racket. We rode on private property that was used for hunting the the owner’s friends, and there were certain agreements that we all abided by. For instance, if someone was hunting over by the milo field, they’d park their truck nearby — and we’d avoid that area. If hunters heard us coming, they’d would stand up and move out of the brush so that we (and the horses) could see them. The only thing that scared us would be the times we’d come across trespassers — people who had come in from the river and were, essentially, poaching. They didn’t know the rules and we didn’t know them. A lot of public land closes during hunting season, and that probably is the safest. But I was blessed for many years to have a huge area to ride in, privately owned, hunters and all.

[NorthwoodsRider]

[QUOTE=Trakehner;7184423]
I was lucky, one pellet in my palm…my poor mare had a bunch in her neck. This is a scary location…lots of city twits hit the “wilderness” and are spooked by all that scary wildlife. I ran into one man who had a Marlin lever-action rifle…I told him he wasn’t allowed to hunt with a rifle in that part of Montgomery County…so he unloaded it by firing the rifle, working the action and firing again! I showed him how to unload it…he said they loaded it for him at the store when he bought the rifle…OMG! Truly scary. I like to shoot, but some of these people scare the living hell out of me.[/QUOTE]

OMG – makes me glad I live where I do – sure, we have our share of stoopid hunters here too, but you can’t purchase a rifle or get a hunting license without a firearms safety/hunter safety course, the two of which together take a full two days.

Were you at least able to get the license plate and report him after the fact?

[Wayside]

[QUOTE=Twisted River;7178317]
I really like the bells and whistle idea. :yes:[/QUOTE]

Yes, I also have a couple of hip drops with jingle bells on them that I use when I ride during some hunting seasons.

I don’t ride much of anywhere during regular crazy insane gun deer hunting season, though. That’s just too risky around here.

[HalfArabian]

I don’t go during gun ever. I will during Bow and small game. We always have bells and constantly talk LOUD!!! Some idiots were shooting towards us and we started yelling, surprisingly the shots ceased. Lots of Orange and anything bright we can get. We are not proud. Might look like an idiot, but a live idiot!

Karen

[gingerbread]

[QUOTE=kasjordan;7178752]
Yep we ride, it’s actually the best time to ride…Bees are mostly gone, rattlesnakes are cold… We throw orange vests on usually but that’s about it. Would never ride first day of buck season and first day of bear is iffy too…Always fun the first time an archery hunter walks by, silent and in camo- and your horse catches a glimpse lol.[/QUOTE]

Yes, we came face to face with a scary serious silent bow hunter recently—wow!what an eye-opening creature for both the equines and us --but it was he who became rattled, turned quickly and glided back the way he had come—not hunting in season, and hunting in a posted “No Hunting” zone…

[Trakehner]

[QUOTE=gingerbread;7186110]
Yes, we came face to face with a scary serious silent bow hunter recently…not hunting in season, and hunting in a posted “No Hunting” zone…[/QUOTE]

Check out your local Izaak Walton League…they all have a “Turn in a Poacher” programme with an “800” number and a way to report the bad guys. Responsible hunters/gun owners have no tolerance for the dangerous garbage out there. If poachers are caught, if convicted they’ll lose their gun/car/boat and anything else they used (even if they borrowed it, it’s all gone).

[Flash44]

I had a conversation with my blacksmith about trail riding during hunting season. He bow hunts, and told me that if he shoots me, he was aiming for me. I’d be a little scared of turning in a person who was hunting illegally - would he retaliate?

[QHalfgal]

We have a week of deer hunting, turkey hunting and year round coyote hunting. My horses live out 24/7. During the deer and turkey season I put the best high visibility horse blankets on my little herd. My dog wears a high visibility vest for all forest walks for most of the Fall and Winter. I would use everything to alert the hunters senses:vision,and sound to the fact that we are in the area and we are not prey. Check out the high visibility products for your horse, the rider and the dog - http://www.besthorseproductsreview.com/focus/