Ethical or Unethical Scenario?

[Idahoan]

Archery buck season is open. You and your hunting partner have been hunting all morning and decide to head back to camp. You guys are driving back to camp and on the way you see a buck about 60-70 yards off the road behind some trees. You tell the driver to stop and you walk backup the road 40 yards then climb up the embankent and are about 10 yards off the road from where the Forest Service road gravel starts. You then see the buck feeding about 45 yards away. You then shoot the deer with your archery weapon. Keep in mind about 5 minutes have passed since you got out of the car and you didn't shoot from the road.

Ethical or Unethical?

[ducktime]

Tag it and Bag it.

[Trick]

As long as it's legal, it's ethical in my book.

[SImudBogger]

You made the effort to get off the road, i would say ethical and legal. And most of all you are LUCKY

[kilchisfisher]

Then, just after you stick the deer, an OSP trooper with a video camera steps out from behind a tree and complains that you've shot Scruffy AGAIN!!



Sorry -- couldn't resist. lol

Now back to the regularly scheduled thread....

[ehunter]

Yep its legal so its ethical. Now if you were standing up in the back of the truck and shot it you would be un-ethical and illeagal. There is nothing wrong spotting game from a truck its only wrong if your shooting from the truck or the road.

[Eagleclaw]

don't forget the 50ft rule. you must be atleast 50 feet off the road before you dishcharge your weapon that be a gun or a bow. so technically you're only 30 feet off the road but it's not like a game warden would give you a ticket for not being 50 ft off the road.

[CamoHunter]

Not the perfect "hunt", but if you were safely and legally off the road I would not call this unethical. If you have to climb up and away from the road is in not what I would would consider road hunting.

Now if you were driving around with the main reason to shoot an animal from the road, I would than call that road hunting.

Some will say to drive on by...


CH

[FISHNAKED]

I don't belive there is a 50' rule I was told that if you are off the improvement you were good to go as long as you arn't shooting across the road.

As far a being ethical I see no problem with it.

[Eagleclaw]

Originally Posted by FISHNAKED

I don't belive there is a 50' rule I was told that if you are off the improvement you were good to go as long as you arn't shooting across the road.

if so then you're golden

[Klamanite]

Originally Posted by Eagleclaw

don't forget the 50ft rule. you must be atleast 50 feet off the road before you dishcharge your weapon that be a gun or a bow. so technically you're only 30 feet off the road but it's not like a game warden would give you a ticket for not being 50 ft off the road.

There's no specific distance in any of the regs as to how far you must be off of the road. As explained to me by an OSP officer during my son's hunter education course and as per the regs, you must not shoot to, from or across a road or railroad roght-of-way. So, according to the officer, you merely have to clear the right-of-way to be legal. Basically, be on the other side of the ditch or any graded areas and you are good.

The 50 yard rule applies to Antelope only:

No Person Shall:

Shoot at pronghorn antelope from a
point within 50 yards of a motor-propelled
vehicle, including aircraft.

[FISHNAKED]

ding ding ding

We have a winner!

[earlybird007]

No Person Shall:

Shoot from or across a public rd, rd
right-of-way or railroad right-of-way,
except that persons legally hunting on
closed rds within Cooperative Travel
Management Areas are not violating
current prohibitions on shooting from
or across a public Rd. The same is true
for other rds closed to use of motor
vehicles by the public.

[Quaka Wacka]

Originally Posted by CamoHunter

Not the perfect "hunt", but if you were safely and legally off the road I would not call this unethical. If you have to climb up and away from the road is in not what I would would consider road hunting.

Now if you were driving around with the main reason to shoot an animal from the road, I would than call that road hunting.

Some will say to drive on by...


CH

Can't say that I know anybody who would drive by. But I'm just waiting for someone to post that.

[225nontypical]

Originally Posted by Quaka Wacka

Can't say that I know anybody who would drive by. But I'm just waiting for someone to post that.

i would just drive by!!!
i could not resist, kind of lame of me but what the heck.

if it is legal and you are OK with it, it is ethical everyone has to decide there own ethics.

[Snapset]

IMHO, ethics are completely personal. What is ethical for one might not be ethical for another. When we all agree on the ethics of a situation enough to codify it into law, only then does anothers opinion matter.

[ehunter]

If I was driving down the road and saw a good buck I would have no qualms what so ever about going after it. Bucks are where you find them. It must work for some people there sure are lot of mechanical stalkers out there....

[hunter97051]

Correct me if I am wrong but, I think this is what we call spot and stalk!!!!:appl ause:

[Eagleclaw]

Originally Posted by ehunter

IIt must work for some people there sure are lot of mechanical stalkers out there....

LOL.... thats funny

[ommedia]

Yes, this is the rule. A measured distance off the road is an Oregon hunting legand/myth.....

Some of the biggest animals in the record books are spotted from a vehicle or road!

Originally Posted by FISHNAKED

I don't belive there is a 50' rule I was told that if you are off the improvement you were good to go as long as you arn't shooting across the road.

As far a being ethical I see no problem with it.

[quit wishing]

Was The Whole Point Of This Thread To Make The Poster Feel Better About Some Scenario That Happened To Him Or A "friend"?:dor Purely Hypothetical Musings?

[Idahoan]

Originally Posted by quit wishing

Was The Whole Point Of This Thread To Make The Poster Feel Better About Some Scenario That Happened To Him Or A "friend"?:dor Purely Hypothetical Musings?

Why don't you PM me and find out?

[raptorschild]

First of all....I'd say that the kind of wildlife officers I'm accustomed to meeting up with.....would give you a ticket....

But you didnt ask if it was illegal or not.

You asked is it ethical or not. I'd say everyones moral/ethical compass is different. If it makes you happy...then it was ethical.

If you didnt feel like you respected your own "hunt"....then no....unethical.

If you want me to judge your situation...I say unethical...simply because you didnt chase that animal on its own terms in its own environement....you used a machine (truck) in order to get the upper hand on the animal...........But really who cares what I think.

Some say Legal = ethical. I disagree. but to each his own to be sure.

[Bobberman]

Originally Posted by raptorschild

If you want me to judge your situation...I say unethical...simply because you didnt chase that animal on its own terms in its own environement....you used a machine (truck) in order to get the upper hand on the animal...........But really who cares what I think.

Some say Legal = ethical. I disagree. but to each his own to be sure.

I have used a device to get the uper hand on every animal I have ever harvested.

[BlacktailBowhunter]

I don't see a problem with this. It may not be the ideal circumstance, but if you did the sneak and the buck did not detect you then I would say it is all right.

45 yards is a long shot. I think if you snuck to about 30 it would be a better scenario.

It isn't how far you can shoot effectively, it is about how close you can get.

[HuntNFishAddict]

Originally Posted by Eagleclaw

don't forget the 50ft rule. you must be atleast 50 feet off the road before you dishcharge your weapon that be a gun or a bow. so technically you're only 30 feet off the road but it's not like a game warden would give you a ticket for not being 50 ft off the road.

I have always thought you had to be 50ft from the road before shooting. I stopped to ask a game enforcement officer a few years back and he said that as long as you were off the road you were legal.

[Eagleclaw]

Originally Posted by HuntNFishAddict

I have always thought you had to be 50ft from the road before shooting. I stopped to ask a game enforcement officer a few years back and he said that as long as you were off the road you were legal.

that's why i love Ifish.. i thought so too. I learned something new today...thanks guys.

I guess i can load the back of the pickup with lawn chairs and go hunt... joke guys.

[NeverGuess]

A road is a glorified game trail in my mind. It's not the road that is unethical, it's hunting from a vehicle and taking advantage of the fact that animals don't fear vehicles like a man.

If you walk roads all day to hunt, fine with me. Driving all day to spot and stalk, not for me.

Yeah, the scenario isn't ideal, but you didn't really use the rig to get close to the animal.

[Ni!]

Nothing wrong with the scenario you described. I wouldn't feel bad about that hunt.

As far as the 50 foot rule, I think the confusion probably results from the regulations for pronghorn. You have to be at least 50 feet from a motor vehicle in order to shoot a pronghorn. You can be within 50 feet of the road, but not within 50 feet of your vehicle. That rule doesn't apply to other species though.

[Pond]

Originally Posted by raptorschild

First of all....I'd say that the kind of wildlife officers I'm accustomed to meeting up with.....would give you a ticket....

But you didnt ask if it was illegal or not.

You asked is it ethical or not. I'd say everyones moral/ethical compass is different. If it makes you happy...then it was ethical.

If you didnt feel like you respected your own "hunt"....then no....unethical.

If you want me to judge your situation...I say unethical...simply because you didnt chase that animal on its own terms in its own environement....you used a machine (truck) in order to get the upper hand on the animal...........But really who cares what I think.

Some say Legal = ethical. I disagree. but to each his own to be sure.

What! Are you talking OSP or a different state??

I've had guys do exactly that same scenario on my WED Buck (Wildlife Enforcement Decoy) and congratulated them if they made a good shot as they were legal and helped them find arrows if they missed.

I'm looking for the guys shooting out of the bed of there trucks and the ones using rifles during archery season. In order to issue a ticket there has to be a violation and none occurred in this scenario unless the actor didn't have a tag.

Pond

[Joe]

I have to say that to me ethics are not ALL about the law. Sure we need to always act in a legal manner while we hunt but I think there are many situations when legal does not equal ethical. I'm not talking about the case mentioned here. To me, that is a fair chase scenario that I wouldn't pass up but there are situations when the respect for the quarry should out way the law. I don't want to hijack this but I could name a few instances that have occurred here locally during gun season involving elk run back and forth in the cow pastures that turned my stomach and I am pretty much all about killing my own food. There is something about bull elk and big Chinook that will make otherwise intelligent grown men do some pretty sad things...

[Drifter2007]

I would agree with the scenario being ethical. If I just so happen to spot game from the road, that certainly doesn't mean I won't go after it. I absolutely hate road hunters, but we all must get from point a to point b somehow, and every once a while you can capitolize on something that you see in between.

It is good to hear from Pond that a game warden is not normally out to hassle ethical people who do walk off of a road. Even with current police activities there are not many places where you can go and not see the hords of road hunters going from clearing to clearing glassing away and never geting more than 20 feet from their 4x4 trucks.

I love locked gates!

[fishboys]

Originally Posted by Pond

What! Are you talking OSP or a different state??

I've had guys do exactly that same scenario on my WED Buck (Wildlife Enforcement Decoy) and congratulated them if they made a good shot as they were legal and helped them find arrows if they missed.

I'm looking for the guys shooting out of the bed of there trucks and the ones using rifles during archery season. In order to issue a ticket there has to be a violation and none occurred in this scenario unless the actor didn't have a tag.

Pond

Can I do a ride along with you guys? I will buy lunch and soda's.

[Pond]

Originally Posted by fishboys

Can I do a ride along with you guys? I will buy lunch and soda's.

I can't pass up an offer like that! I work out of the Bend office 541-388-6213.

Pond

[SILVERSINK]

Id have to drive right by because I only Elk hunt.

[nakoa]

tag it and bag it

[km76]

Being the nice guy and respecting the job that OSP does and what they have to put up with out there, I spooted a officer behind me in subway one day at lunch and offerd to buy him lunch. He promptly told me that he could not accept anything. Conflict of intrest.

[Catch 22]

Some scenerios kinda blur the lines of ethics........

[coyote243]

legal, but not the way I would want to get my deer.

[Idahoan]

Originally Posted by coyote243

legal, but not the way I would want to get my deer.

You do fish from your boat right? What is the difference?

[Old Coot]

Ethics tend to be personal, but laws are pretty clear. I guess this scenario comes down to the manner in which the truck was being driven.

If the truck is operating at normal speed for the time, road and conditions, not an issue.

On the other hand, if it is just idling along, popping gravel, while everybody is rubbernecking for game, to me that is a legal violation. Road hunting, though popular, is illegal in Oregon. I believe the violation is "hunting with the aid of a vehicle."

Tr Pond, please correct me if I am wrong.

[Bobberman]

Originally Posted by Old Coot

Ethics tend to be personal, but laws are pretty clear. I guess this scenario comes down to the manner in which the truck was being driven.

If the truck is operating at normal speed for the time, road and conditions, not an issue.

On the other hand, if it is just idling along, popping gravel, while everybody is rubbernecking for game, to me that is a legal violation. Road hunting, though popular, is illegal in Oregon. I believe the violation is "hunting with the aid of a vehicle."

Tr Pond, please correct me if I am wrong.

you don't hunt without the aid of a vehicle?

I live on only 3ac and need a vehicle to get to most of my spots.

[Old Coot]

Bobberman, I use a vehicle to get to and from the location where I will start and end my hunt. I do not hunt from a vehicle.

OC

[Pond]

Originally Posted by Old Coot

Ethics tend to be personal, but laws are pretty clear. I guess this scenario comes down to the manner in which the truck was being driven.

If the truck is operating at normal speed for the time, road and conditions, not an issue.

On the other hand, if it is just idling along, popping gravel, while everybody is rubbernecking for game, to me that is a legal violation. Road hunting, though popular, is illegal in Oregon. I believe the violation is "hunting with the aid of a vehicle."

Tr Pond, please correct me if I am wrong.

Hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle is illegal. We look for an overt act before issuing a cite related to aid of a m/v. We don't issue tickets simply cause someone driving around looking for game to shoot. Using common sense and experince I know that alot of game is shot while traveling to hunting spots, camp, home, etc.. And if your not looking for game while your driving your missing out. The m/v cites are generally chasing game down then shooting, shooting from the vehicle and such. Alot of descretion needs to be used.

Here's an example from personal experince. I took my son who was 6 at the time bow hunting with me. We made a couple hikes and after a couple hours he was whipped. So we decided to scout and drove around for a bit to different areas. Late afternoon we head for the highway and just before we get there I spot two nice buck walking 50 yards off the road. So I stopped rolled down the window so my son could watch. Got my bow out of the case from the back of the truck and made a very short stalk which end up with a perfect miss. My son says you missed again....

I wouldn't do that if I thought it was illegal or cite someone for that either.

Pond

[Don Becker]

'Another story. For several years I threatened that, for at least the first day of the hunt, I was going to leave my rifle in the truck and hike myself near to death into the nastiest places and get absolutely drenched and totally worn-out. This was because it seemed that carrying the extra weight of the rifle and ammo, I wouldn't get to use until the trip back to camp, was just silly. It seemed that the only critters I was seeing were on that trip back to camp - - - so, drive on by, park and begin the stalk. 'Perfectly legal and ethical to most . Don

[HRDBUL]

second scenario, you drive to your hunting spot, park, put on your gear, walk
50 ft see a buck. Do you shoot it? Whats the difference? Still just got out of your vehicle. Why look a gift horse in the mouth. IMO, good ? though.

[baltz526]

rumor in lapine is a neighbor has shot scruffy twice. legally

[coyote243]

Originally Posted by Idahoan

You do fish from your boat right? What is the difference?

I cant walk on water...you used the truck to fined the deer..just not my cup of tea. i mean it sure would make a good story around the camp fire! It could be just me, but I would rather hunt hard for a fork than take a road side 5 point. its about the hunt not the kill, for me. but to each his own.

[coyote243]

Originally Posted by HRDBUL

second scenario, you drive to your hunting spot, park, put on your gear, walk
50 ft see a buck. Do you shoot it? Whats the difference? Still just got out of your vehicle. Why look a gift horse in the mouth. IMO, good ? though.

been there done that, good to go! you used your smarts to fined the right spot, not your truck. . . . pure luck!

[Buglemn]

Originally Posted by coyote243

I cant walk on water...you used the truck to fined the deer..just not my cup of tea. i mean it sure would make a good story around the camp fire! It could be just me, but I would rather hunt hard for a fork than take a road side 5 point. its about the hunt not the kill, for me. but to each his own.

Cool, drive by, I'll take em, now i got more time to devote to elk hunting, whoo hooo.

[Idahoan]

Originally Posted by coyote243

I cant walk on water...you used the truck to fined the deer..just not my cup of tea. i mean it sure would make a good story around the camp fire! It could be just me, but I would rather hunt hard for a fork than take a road side 5 point. its about the hunt not the kill, for me. but to each his own.

The post stated that you were on your way back to camp, not just driving around looking for game...you had been hiking/hunting earlier in the day....

[Buglemn]

Originally Posted by Idahoan

The post stated that you were on your way back to camp, not just driving around looking for game...you had been hiking/hunting earlier in the day....

GOT IT, I CAN READ. DIDN'T SAY I WAS JUST DRIVING AROUND, BUT MEANING HE WOULD BE LEFT ALONE FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE.

[StevenB]

The pack out is more than half the experience of the hunt to me.

Only once did I do something close to what this thread inquired about. I hope I never do it again because once is enough for me

I do like the fishing from a boat analogy.

I guess in the world of big game hunting I'm a bank hunter.