When we first moved to this area of northern Vermont almost none of the land was posted. Now, almost everything is posted and the trend continues. I’d hunted extensively into my thirties and finally quit after being “rained on” by bird shot on two occasions and had an elderly gentleman draw a bead on me with a 30-30 from a distance of fifty feet. I later determined that older fellow’s eyesight was such that at fifty feet he probably couldn’t tell the difference between a crow and an elephant! Nonetheless, upon moving here we did not post our eighty acres in order to be a good neighbor. The majority of land immediately surrounding us ranges from 100-300 acre farms and one 2,000 acre preserve.
After a neighbor dug some slugs out of the door of an out building and a couple of hunters decided that blocking my driveway was just fine…I started to question my initial decision. I decided to post “hunting by permission only” signs. Of course, almost no one bothered to ask for permission! One local who did ask permission still hunts rabbits during the winter on my property to this day.
You might say I got concerned about the mentality of present day hunters after an incident in an adjoining town. The elderly property owner spends his time between crutches and a wheelchair and his greatest joy is tending to his varied flock of farmyard type companions. He took offense to poachers (out of season) using jacklights at night to slaughter doe deer (illegally) in the field next to modest home. He reported the incident to the authorities and they were caught in the act. Three nights later “someone” shot and killed every goose, chicken, and duck in his farmyard. They only wounded his dog!
You might say I got “really” concerned after an incident in a town some thirty miles distant. A sixty two year old farmer was sitting inside his tractor at dusk beside his own field. He had a rifle and was hoping for a deer to pass. A group of hunters were hunting some 200 yards distant on the other side of the field. One youthful member of that group decided to take a “pot-shot” at the tractor ……and he killed the farmer very dead!! The case is in trial now.
The final straw was when I attended a local town meeting and encountered a large group of homeowners that mostly included farmers. The subject was “land posting”. For over two hours I listened to “hunter” horror stories exchanged by these people. Many of those present were or are hunters themselves. Tales of family pets being shot, buildings and machinery riddled with bullets, hunter insults to property owner’s wives, and wanton destruction of non-game wildlife. Rampant poaching stories topped the list. From the stories provided by these land owners it was obvious they were not talking about the unusual or odd incident….they were talking about a pervasive present day “hunter” attitude. An attitude that was almost unheard of in prior generations.
Needless to say, literally thousands of acres locally are now posted and registered as posted land. Mine included! I still let that local fellow and his companions rabbit hunt on my property as he is a “real” hunter. He and his companions are “throwbacks”, if you will, to past generations with a higher set of societal values. Subsequent conversations with friends and family members in other parts of the country provide pretty much the same story concerning present day hunter mentality.
I hope the majority who read this are just that type of “throwback” who enhances the sport of hunting and are not destroying it’s future!!
Excuse me while I step off my soapbox….
Ken
After a neighbor dug some slugs out of the door of an out building and a couple of hunters decided that blocking my driveway was just fine…I started to question my initial decision. I decided to post “hunting by permission only” signs. Of course, almost no one bothered to ask for permission! One local who did ask permission still hunts rabbits during the winter on my property to this day.
You might say I got concerned about the mentality of present day hunters after an incident in an adjoining town. The elderly property owner spends his time between crutches and a wheelchair and his greatest joy is tending to his varied flock of farmyard type companions. He took offense to poachers (out of season) using jacklights at night to slaughter doe deer (illegally) in the field next to modest home. He reported the incident to the authorities and they were caught in the act. Three nights later “someone” shot and killed every goose, chicken, and duck in his farmyard. They only wounded his dog!
You might say I got “really” concerned after an incident in a town some thirty miles distant. A sixty two year old farmer was sitting inside his tractor at dusk beside his own field. He had a rifle and was hoping for a deer to pass. A group of hunters were hunting some 200 yards distant on the other side of the field. One youthful member of that group decided to take a “pot-shot” at the tractor ……and he killed the farmer very dead!! The case is in trial now.
The final straw was when I attended a local town meeting and encountered a large group of homeowners that mostly included farmers. The subject was “land posting”. For over two hours I listened to “hunter” horror stories exchanged by these people. Many of those present were or are hunters themselves. Tales of family pets being shot, buildings and machinery riddled with bullets, hunter insults to property owner’s wives, and wanton destruction of non-game wildlife. Rampant poaching stories topped the list. From the stories provided by these land owners it was obvious they were not talking about the unusual or odd incident….they were talking about a pervasive present day “hunter” attitude. An attitude that was almost unheard of in prior generations.
Needless to say, literally thousands of acres locally are now posted and registered as posted land. Mine included! I still let that local fellow and his companions rabbit hunt on my property as he is a “real” hunter. He and his companions are “throwbacks”, if you will, to past generations with a higher set of societal values. Subsequent conversations with friends and family members in other parts of the country provide pretty much the same story concerning present day hunter mentality.
I hope the majority who read this are just that type of “throwback” who enhances the sport of hunting and are not destroying it’s future!!
Excuse me while I step off my soapbox….
Ken
