Road Hunting/Shooting from vehicles

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I know a fellow who will lay in his truck bed with the leather bed cover over with the tailgate down when it is real cold outside. It has gone quite well for him... so far.
 
I do it when it's bone chilling cold or raining.

In Arkansas the regulations say, "You may not hunt wildlife from a moving motorized land vehicle." So I park the truck a little ways away from a spot where I know that they are fond of crossing a logging road.

I really don't care if others think it's ethical either. I already have a gun and the deer don't. The ethics ship has sailed. I'm trying to fill a freezer.
 
At one time it was illegal here for anyone to shoot from a vehicle, and it was illegal to even lean a gun on a vehicle, even when not shooting, much less shoot from leaning across the hood. Nowadays it's legal for folk with a permit to shoot from a vehicle and a road and for everyone to lean across the hood and shoot.....as long as you are 50 ft from the centerline of the road.

Road hunting here, while still illegal in most forms is still quite prevalent. Grouse and pheasant along with deer are the most popular targets. Road hunting while spotlighting still takes a good percentage of the trophy bucks in the state, regardless of the amount of enforcement we have against it. The general public is what contributes the most to seeing these poachers caught.
 
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The legality or lack there of, of hunting from a vehicle I can see, couched in a fair-chase argument I can see an argument for not allowing it. We live with alot of silly laws related to hunting due to both fair-chase and safety considerations.

But stepping away from hunting specifically, and maybe this is my libertarian bent rearing its ugly head, but the idea that the government can tell me if I can or can't have a loaded gun in my vehicle on my private land seems completely preposterous.
 
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I don’t do anything illegal but do shoot from vehicles from time to time. My neighbor competes in predator hunt competition with some of his friends, they have a custom setup that fits into the back of a pick up truck for two shooters and a spotter. Says they average around 30 locations a night these days.
 
Basically, it comes down to what is legal in the area you hunt. So many of subjective opinions of various hunting methods is based on how and where we grew up/learned hunting. Baiting was something that was illegal here for most of my hunting life. whether it was with dumped corn/apples or a salt lick. That changed maybe 25 years ago and went from whatever you want to dump to one 5 gallon bucket in 20 acres for deer. Still cannot bait for turkeys. After CWD was discovered, that all changed again and now it is by county whether or not you can bait or supplemental feed. The number of counties you can bait/feed in, gets smaller as the area of CWD gets bigger. The leaning a gun on the car was just an archaic law that was changed as was shooting from the vehicle for handicapped. Again, what is illegal in one state is tradition in another. Running deer with dogs and buckshot for example. First time I went out to South Dakota pheasant hunting back in the early 80s, I had my eyes opened wide. Talking to locals about where to hunt, they all determined where the pheasants were by road hunting. They also determined how many birds were out there by how long and how many miles they had to drive before they limited out. Shooting out the window and riding around with a loaded gun in the vehicle was legal and how they learned to hunt. Don;t know how it is out there now, ain't been out there for a while.
 
Shooting from vehicles is not hunting. And, Paul7, although I live in the middle of many, many thousands of acres, I don't randomly walk around hoping to bump into some game. I hunt where the animals are likely to actually live, and I find that increases my odds significantly, even more than just randomly driving around the thousands of acres would do.
 
Aletheia said:
Shooting from vehicles is not hunting. And, Paul7, although I live in the middle of many, many thousands of acres, I don't randomly walk around hoping to bump into some game. I hunt where the animals are likely to actually live, and I find that increases my odds significantly, even more than just randomly driving around the thousands of acres would do.
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This will no doubt get hard to make black and white as there is a lot of gray areas in the ethics of what constitutes a fair chase. So I would ask why is shooting from a vehicle not hunting? What about a horse for transportation? A human powered bike? Would an electrically assisted bike change that opinion? And to take it to the nearly absurd extreme why is it OK to wear insulated, waterproof, boots with enhanced traction and protection for your feet while the deer has to go on bare hooves?

At what point do technological aids to our mobility violate fair chase? Does the particular game we are hunting change that? What about environmental (snow, water, etc) factors?
 
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mcb said:
This will no doubt get hard to make black and white as there is a lot of gray areas in the ethics of what constitutes a fair chase. So I would ask why is shooting from a vehicle not hunting? What about a horse for transportation? A human powered bike? Would an electrically assisted bike change that opinion? And to take it to the nearly absurd extreme why is it OK to wear insulated, waterproof, boots with enhanced traction and protection for your feet while the deer has to go on bare hooves?

At what point do technological aids to our mobility violate fair chase? Does the particular game we are hunting change that? What about environmental (snow, water, etc) factors?
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I’m all for birthday suit hunting. I just prefer that in very specific times of the year. That warm day in February before the bugs come out, and that one cool day in August when the drought has pretty much taken the bugs out. Sunscreen is heavily endorsed, and a mixed gender hunting party can really makes things more interesting but can also be pretty distracting.
 
WestKentucky said:
I’m all for birthday suit hunting. I just prefer that in very specific times of the year. That warm day in February before the bugs come out, and that one cool day in August when the drought has pretty much taken the bugs out. Sunscreen is heavily endorsed, and a mixed gender hunting party can really makes things more interesting but can also be pretty distracting.
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Birthday suit hunting would certainly be a challenge. Watch a few episodes of Naked and Afraid and you quickly realize we succeeded as a species due to our extraordinary ability to make, use, and trade tools not because of any physical prowess we have.
 
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Aletheia said:
Shooting from vehicles is not hunting.
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mcb said:
At what point do technological aids to our mobility violate fair chase? Does the particular game we are hunting change that? What about environmental (snow, water, etc) factors?
Click to expand...

I just love how people randomly define what is or is not hunting.

Let's see, over the years these are conditions that I have been told that make hunting not hunting...

Use of a caliber too large (unethical, too much damage)
Caliber too small (unethical, may get away wounded)
Getting too close (unethical, unfair to the animal, too much damage to animal)
Being too far (unethical, animal can't know you are there to run away)
Using elevated stands (unfair advantage)
Using blinds (unfair advantage)
Using optics (unfair advantage)
Subsistence hunting is not hunting as it is harvesting (& specifically hunters and gatherers are NOT hunters)
Trophy hunting is not hunting because it isn't for meat
Hunting to get rid of a problem animal is not hunting (that is extermination), inclusive of hog hunting and predator hunting
Use of a feeder or bait is not hunting, but hunting over a planted field (which is being used as bait) is hunting
Planting a food plot to attract game is not hunting
Shooting multiple animals (unless they are birds) is not hunting
Hunting at night (because, you know, it is night)
From a vehicle...
From a house or other building...

It amazes me how the reasons for disqualification may include methods, means, or intent. Usually, 'hunting' comes down to how the proclaimer hunts.

All I know is that the moment I point my rifle at an animal that isn't a pet or current livestock, the game warden says I fall under the guise of hunting. Invocation of 'fair chase' seems to be hugely subjective and really seems to have nothing to do with being fair to the animals given the other technology that we use.
 
Aletheia said:
Shooting from vehicles is not hunting. And, Paul7, although I live in the middle of many, many thousands of acres, I don't randomly walk around hoping to bump into some game. I hunt where the animals are likely to actually live, and I find that increases my odds significantly, even more than just randomly driving around the thousands of acres would do.
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So therefore neither is a stand or blind? I don't use either, but fail to see any difference. Please explain.
 
I've heard the rationalizations for shooting from vehicles for 60 years. If you see no difference between shooting from a vehicle and hunting big game it is only your loss (and I said "Shooting from vehicles is not hunting" so please stick to the topic - subsistence hunting is not hunting ?????? - Really? That's an argument?) . Shooting from a helicopter is not hunting either for that matter. I'm not talking about "fair chase", or ethics, or technology, or even intent. I'm saying that there is an activity called "hunting" which I have loved for almost 70 years, that sometimes includes the death of an animal of some kind, but that driving around and shooting stuff is not hunting. No amount of offended self rationalization, and absurd analogies will change my views on that.
 
Aletheia said:
I've heard the rationalizations for shooting from vehicles for 60 years. If you see no difference between shooting from a vehicle and hunting big game it is only your loss (and I said "Shooting from vehicles is not hunting" so please stick to the topic - subsistence hunting is not hunting ?????? - Really? That's an argument?) . Shooting from a helicopter is not hunting either for that matter. I'm not talking about "fair chase", or ethics, or technology, or even intent. I'm saying that there is an activity called "hunting" which I have loved for almost 70 years, that sometimes includes the death of an animal of some kind, but that driving around and shooting stuff is not hunting. No amount of offended self rationalization, and absurd analogies will change my views on that.
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And you are certainly entitled to your opinion. One that I don’t necessarily disagree with. But there are circumstances that can be applied where your argument isn’t valid.

I don’t bait deer. I will never bait deer. I don’t hunt in planted fields either. But the guy in Iowa or Ohio who hunts a cornfield or bean field, is a hunter. The guy in Texas who puts out a feeder, or corn on the ground is a hunter.

The handicapped person who hunts off of an electric wheelchair, or out of a vehicle, is a hunter. So is the older person in less than ideal health like @.308 Norma wife. What is the difference between sitting in a vehicle and a tower blind with a heater? I would actually argue the tower blind gives you a much greater advantage. Elevated means you can see farther. And you can shoot any direction out of a tower blind. I believe it’s @WestKentucky (I think) who posted a picture of him and his young daughters in an elevated shooting house that had a radio, heater, table, chairs, and the girls even had their tablets. They are hunters. They’re just young hunters. And he was able to spend quality time with them while them not being bored and ready to go home. There have been days I’ve been in the woods when I wish I could have traded places with them. But this is the life I chose.

Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I play games on my phone while I’m hunting. Not often. But it happens. And I’ve shot deer out of a truck and from leaning across the hood. Why not? I was there to fill a few freezers, had the tags, and still continued to the woods after putting that one on the ground. So if you want to say I wasn’t hunting, it’s no skin off my back. I’d agree with you. It was harvesting. I’m not disabled, old, or in poor health.

What about Native Americans who hunted Bison from horseback? Those were the vehicles during their time. And they could literally chase them down and ride right up next to the Bison and shoot them or spear them. Were they not hunters?

When we start defining what is and what isn’t hunting, based on circumstances of our choosing, then others are free to do the same to us.

Now, we do have an “exotic ranch” about 30 miles from here that a mediocre distance shooter could shoot from corner to corner of. And there’s 3 tower blinds on the property. THAT isn’t hunting in my opinion. Because if you don’t kill an animal, you’re just a crappy shot. You can see every animal the guy has in the field. And they can’t hide or get away.
 
Aletheia said:
I've heard the rationalizations for shooting from vehicles for 60 years. If you see no difference between shooting from a vehicle and hunting big game it is only your loss (and I said "Shooting from vehicles is not hunting" so please stick to the topic - subsistence hunting is not hunting ?????? - Really? That's an argument?) . Shooting from a helicopter is not hunting either for that matter. I'm not talking about "fair chase", or ethics, or technology, or even intent. I'm saying that there is an activity called "hunting" which I have loved for almost 70 years, that sometimes includes the death of an animal of some kind, but that driving around and shooting stuff is not hunting. No amount of offended self rationalization, and absurd analogies will change my views on that.
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Not trying to change your mind just trying to get more details and a broader understanding on how you define what hunting is and is not. In the context of this thread that seems focused on mobility/vehicles and hunting. At what point is the involvement of a vehicle no longer an ethical hunt? I suspect that will vary allot from hunter to hunter and dependent on the particulars of a given hunt.
 
What I do in pursuit of game animals is legally "hunting" as far as my state is concerned, and as such im required to abide by the laws that govern such an activity, or suffer the consequences should I be caught doing otherwise......

I spend quite a bit of time "road hunting" or driving the 30-40miles around maunakea checking specific spots for animals. Some spots are drive up and wait, some are drive up and walk. I do everything i can within the letter of the law to insure that all I have to do is step out and shoot, should I run across something I want to eat.

Theres very little hubris tied up in hunting for me, and I enjoy the kill as well as the hunt, ill take the advantages I can get, and where theres no advantage to be had ill substitute hard work. Everyone has decisions to make, I certainly dont feel anyone should compromise personal values, especially when we are in effect talking about the process of killing, nor do I feel any need to justify my choices based on any ideals but my own.
 
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I mentioned an Elk earlier that my SIL and I tracked for quite a while trying to get around on for a second opportunity except the darn wind just wouldn't cooperate, anyway long story short we heard a shot a ways off and thought Crap the Elk doubled back on us and someone popped him, so working back we finally reached a road with a truck sitting along side with the door open and binos on the dash we moved in to find a fella tracking a super tiny blood trail, when asked he said it was a big Buck I said ..you road shot that thing didn't ya.. Swearing he did not we left but I damn sure know what he did and then only wounded the animal ta boot.
What a turd ...
 
Hunting from a vehicle is the norm around here. Shooting from a vehicle is strictly illegal. Walking or biking behind gates on public land is also pretty common. It is certainly not considered unethical to hunt from a vehicle here.
 
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