Shooting interests hampered by where I live

Hopefully the new job allows you a bit of vacation here and there that you can squeeze in some hunting trips.

What state? Very few don't allow Sunday Hunting....and all of those are part of the original 13 colonies

Bills have been proposed for allowing Sunday hunting in Virginia and never get out of committee. None of the politicians can give even the slightest reasonable answer for why.

I was living in Brunswick/Bath, ME from 2005-2008. Bath, ME has signs posted at every entrance to the city that Shotgun/Rifle/Pistol hunting is Illegal in the town's borders. Blackpowder firearms only.

I always chuckled at those signs. Never understood why.

The landowners should post their land whether there is Sunday hunting or not. I wouldn't dream of tramping on private land without first getting written permission from the landowner and of course I would follow their wishes.

Seems like more politician BS and lies to me...

An hour really isn't THAT far away - I do it regularly to a few clubs

Perhaps there are others in your new area that feel the same way. Perhaps all of you could get together and open a private range.

I went to a high school that had a sister school in Bath. Crazy people up there.

My wife is from Brewer. Nice area. If you ever find yourself around Brewer, say hi to Van Raymond's Outfitters in Brewer for me. I don't know what it's like now, but they had a very nice selection of milsurps the last time I was there, some years ago.

I'm very surprised that there aren't any ranges or shooting areas closer than 1 hr to you, though. Have you asked around at local gun shops? Could it be there are some membership-required ranges that you don't know about? Maine is considerably more pro-gun than my own state of North Carolina, and there is certainly no shortage of hunters and shooters there.

The Sunday hunting ban makes no sense to me either. Apparently, proposals to end the ban are usually hamstrung by landowners who threaten to post their land if Sunday hunting is allowed. It's incredibly biased against those who work for a living.

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I understand the sentiment, but do keep in mind that hunters are not the only users of the land, and it does make some sense to allow one day of the week for nonhunters to use public land during hunting season, though I think private land should be up to the landowner (who can allow hunting on Sundays and prohibit it on Thursday if she/he wants).

In addition to being a shooter, I am an avid mountain biker, and Sunday is the only day I can ride some lands during hunting season (which down here is LONG). A lot of hikers also enjoy the trails that day. I don't mind sharing the land with hunters, but IMO giving hunters six days a week, including half the weekend, is IMO more than fair.

Guess I'm never going to Maine.

EDIT: The only reason I can even begin to think of for a Sunday hunting ban is an attempt to force adherence to respect the Sabbath. But if they were that steadfast about it up there (and I have no clue if that's the case), wouldn't it be on Saturday, anyway?

The Sunday ban goes back to strict religious observations - you were supposed to be in Church all day - not out having fun hunting

EDIT: The only reason I can even begin to think of for a Sunday hunting ban is an attempt to force adherence to respect the Sabbath. But if they were that steadfast about it up there (and I have no clue if that's the case), wouldn't it be on Saturday, anyway?

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The reason we've kept it here in NC (for public lands only, AFAIK) is that it's only fair to give nonhunters one day a week to do our thing. Hunting isn't the only use of public lands, and people who ride horses, mountain bike, hike, etc. pay taxes too.

Private lands are a separate issue (IMO) as long as the rounds fired stay on the private land, and I think it's fair to let the landowner decide.

I do agree with the general stupidity of laws treating Sunday differently from Saturday, but in the case of shared land use, it's a case of splitting the weekend between hunters and nonhunters, at least around here. And since hunters already have Monday through Saturday, we get Sunday.

The sharing of public land thing makes a lot of sense. It actually makes me curious whether Arizona has any sort of "no hunting allowed" day. My brother-in-law and I were planning a possible hunt for this fall, and one of the areas we were looking at is public land designated for hiking, camping, and hunting. From what I understand, the area is very rocky and uneven, so I can't see camping being extremely popular there, but hiking is a possibility.

That would make a LOT of sense if hunting season was year round. But, it's not, so I would wager that non-hunting pursuits happen on public land much more than actual hunting.

That would make a LOT of sense if hunting season was year round. But, it's not, so I would wager that non-hunting pursuits happen on public land much more than actual hunting.

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Even during hunting season, hunters get 6 out of 7 days of the week, and hunting season here is *four months long*, fully one third of the year, running from around 1 September (11 September for deer) to 1 January, with 16 October to 1 January being rifle/shotgun season.

That's some of the best outdoors time of the year; August in eastern NC is hot and muggy---it's still in the 90's here this week, and we were in the 100's last week---and January is freezing, but September through December are absolutely beautiful. So I think giving hunters 6/7 of the best time of the year and reserving 1 single day a week for nonhunting activities is more than fair to hunters, particularly since nonhunters pay the majority of the Pittman-Robertson excise taxes that pay for game lands.

And again, private landowners can allow hunting on Sunday if they want here (AFAIK); it's only public lands that are reserved one day out of the week for nonhunting recreation.

benEzra said:

. And since hunters already have Monday through Saturday, we get Sunday.

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Is the public land designated hunting only Monday through Saturday? If not, I would say it is the non-hunters who are getting 7 day a week access and the hunters who are only getting 6 day a week access.

Virginia is no Sunday hunting PERIOD...even if they were to say public land however, there are State Forests in Virginia that are huge and certainly have enough room for everyone. I don't see where hikers etc. need to be more afraid of hunters than other hunters anyway.

Kliegl said:

That would make a LOT of sense if hunting season was year round. But, it's not, so I would wager that non-hunting pursuits happen on public land much more than actual hunting.

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Hunting season on certain animals (coyotes, for example) in the area I described is open year-round. In addition, even though other game seasons aren't year-round (Whitetail, for example), this particular area is open to hunting a variety of game at every point of the year, to the day.

The Sunday hunting ban makes no sense to me either. Apparently, proposals to end the ban are usually hamstrung by landowners who threaten to post their land if Sunday hunting is allowed. It's incredibly biased against those who work for a living.

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But it's' their land to do with as they please, as long it is with in the confines of the law.

Ben, most hunting is done 6-9am and 3-6pm so there's some coexistence possibility there. Regardless, I'd bet the law is for religious purposes, not sharing the land.

I'm spoiled, I grew up in FL, which has awesome hunting seasons.

Bob, that argument is a little weak. Yes, there's no season on coyotes or hogs, but the majority of hunters hunt game animals with a season, and that was my point. There aren't many coyote hunters where I'm from, but there are deer hunters who might blast a coyote target of opportunity.

It is often a problem to re-start doing your outdoor activities like hunting and fishing once you leave your "home" area short of paying outfitters and so forth for the privilege to hunt or fish under their guidance.

The days of stepping out your back door and hunting or shooting pretty much ends unless you make a effort to live somewhere that is possible. It may also take a shift to black powder or archery to broaden your hunting opportunities.

I moved to Texas and once I started to learn my way around I was somewhat taken back by the system that is in place there (hunting leases etc.). There are even fishing leases. Everyone says... oh Texas, great hunting state... yeah it is IF you can afford it. As a result, I did not hunt there and traveled back to my home state to hunt as I could. In defense of Texas, there are some public lands available for hunting and certainly if you have a boat, warm water and salt water fishing opportunities are substantial.

Maine has hunting opportunities. Unless something has changed, the deer herd is not substantial outside of local high concentration areas. Black Bear hunting is good.

Kliegl said:

Regardless, I'd bet the law is for religious purposes, not sharing the land.

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No doubt...that is why Sunday Hunting is only banned in states that were part of the original 13 colonies, which always had strict Blue Laws.

They may claim land sharing, but that is only an excuse not to have to repeal the laws. The problem is, they are scared of losing votes to both the anit-hunters and the religious zealot hunters who don't believe in hunting on Sunday.

If it was all about land sharing, then there would be more than 7 states out of 50 that outlaw hunting all together and more than 4 that limited it to certain circumstances.