Sad moose hunting story - this sucks :(

[VTrider]

Man talk about a bummer........

My g/f just got off the phone w/her room-mate who just came back to Vermont from Boston. It was one of those conversations where you can tell by the sound of the person's voice listening that there is some major sad, depressing news going on. So she finally get's off the phone and I ask her what's wrong and she replies....

That her room-mate was traveling through New Hampshire on the way home tonight and came upon a bunch of cars on the side of the road, other cars were pulling over - she thought there might be an accident or something. Upon driving closer to the scene she saw people pulling out cameras and gathering on the side of the highway to appreciate the beauty and grandeur of a full adult bull-moose. Then to the horror of a dozen passerby's, two guys in a pickup pull over and *BLAM* shoot the moose dead!

My g/f told me that her roomie was pretty shaken up about it. Now, i'm not about to get into a flame war regarding the finer points of hunting. I've lived in N. New England for over a decade, and have many friends who hunt (don't hunt moose) and have no problem w/it. It's just it's still a tragic story, that would indeed suck being there and seeing that. Poor moose, moose don't 'run away' - they'll come right up to you sometimes, it's not like a traditional 'hunt' either.

Also, I don't hunt and am not familair with New Hampshire's hunting laws (BTW: it is moose season now, lottery only), but I would think that there might be a law against just pulling over on the highway and blowing away a moose with other people/cars around don't you think?

 

[brandonl]

I'm an avid hunter but I wouldn't think of doing that. I'd do it if I was hunting .. not just driving along. I wouldn't do it if other people were there/around

 

[zippy]

<< Also, I don't hunt and am not familair with New Hampshire's hunting laws (BTW: it is moose season now, lottery only), but I would think that there might be a law against just pulling over on the highway and blowing away a moose with other people/cars around don't you think? >>

I would think so. I think there are laws that say that you have to be X number of feet from houses or public roadways or some such thing so an errant shot doesn't hit someone's car or house.

 

[Pocatello]

Boohoohoo. Stupid moose=dead moose. I wish moose in Idaho are like that. They are right down hard to spot around here.

 

[JC]

Wow, 'fish in a barrel'.....bummer.
That's some 'sport'.....

 

[Wallydraigle]

Someone would have probably hit it anyway if it was hanging around the highway. They might have saved someone's life you never know. But I guess it would have sucked to be really watching it when they shot it, I guess, and it was in very poor taste.

 

[VTrider]

brandonl - yeah exactly, I can respect that.

pocatello - I don't get what your implying? Why do you think moose are stupid?

jciv - yeah, I would be proud to have that [ahem] 'trophy' above my mantle, real skilled required to get that one, eh!

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

They are idiots - what if kids were watching? Hunting should be done in the woods, amongst other hunters, not along the roadside with a big gathering.

 

[Pocatello]

I don't care much about hanging moose antler, but moose meat is quite good. We don't have large moose population here, and we have a lottery to see who have the right to hunt them each year, and winning the right to bag one is not very easy. A moose can feed a lot folks. Since Idaho is not the richest state in term of economic success, a lot of us have to hunt to have meat on the table.

 

[etech]

N.H. Regs

IT IS UNLAWFUL TO:

? shoot while hunting from, across, or within the right-of-way of any town or state maintained road (if uncertain of type of road, don?t shoot);
? hunt from inside of, or on the surface of, any type of motorized vehicle, including aircraft, motor vehicle or OHRV;

Moose: This year's moose season is Oct. 21 through 29. The Department will issue 585 permits by lottery. The southeastern region will receive 20 additional permits. Commissioners want to initiate a slow reduction in the moose population there to address their view of the public's changing perception of highway safety issues

and just to make it clear on page 27

IT IS UNLAWFUL TO:
? negligently shoot, wound or kill a human being while hunting, or abandon a wounded or killed human being;

 

[rmblam]

I think the laws vary state by state in regards to where you can shoot from. My friend suggested that in one of the Dakota's you can "road hunt". You can not in Wisconsin. I forget how many feet you have to be from a "highway"; 100 maybe. We just use the rule: No shooting anywhere near a road....

As far as those guys shooting that moose in that manner; that is pretty pathetic. It's that kind of behavior that give "sportsmen" a bad name. Those guys should not be allowed to hunt. Period.

 

[RedRooster]

That's about a 10 year criminal offense up here in Canada. We take our hunting seriously though.
As long as SOMEONE at the site got the plates on that truck, surely they'll be in some mega-trouble. I hope.

 

[johnjohn320]

How did people react toward the hunters? If everyone was so upset, it seems as though there would be some screaming going on. Or, did they hunters just drive off and leave the dead moose there like a bunch of pussies?

 

[VTrider]

<< I don't care much about hanging moose antler, but moose meat is quite good. We don't have large moose population here, and we have a lottery to see who have the right to hunt them each year, and winning the right to bag one is not very easy. A moose can feed a lot folks. Since Idaho is not the richest state in term of economic success, a lot of us have to hunt to have meat on the table. >>



Hey man, I don't know if your not reading me right or something, but you don't have to give me the speech about hunting. I eat moose also, and along with deer and bear I am well aware that they can feed a lot of folk. I live in N. Vermont, and many families here rely on hunting deer/moose/bear to feed there families through the Winter. Unlike deer and even bear, Moose are probably the seldomest seen, and are not that common - both VT and NH also have a lottery system to hunt them.

I see moose a few times a year if i'm lucky (see many more dead on road) and every time is as cool and special as the first, I probably could justify myself hunting them if I had to feed my family, ect. - but the core of my original post was just the tastless tactic that was involved.

 

[Cooltech2k]

<< Also, I don't hunt and am not familair with New Hampshire's hunting laws (BTW: it is moose season now, lottery only), but I would think that there might be a law against just pulling over on the highway and blowing away a moose with other people/cars around don't you think? >>



Here in Idaho it is not legal to hunt withing 100ft of any road... Therefor Jumping out & Blam is illegal... Most often overlooked however... As Far as that goes to get a moose tag it's normally a ounce in a lifetime deal... So if it were me & I Knew I that I Diddnt have much chance of getting one any other way than I Would have done the same as those hunters.....

 

[VTrider]

etech - thanks for the quick search info! (isn't the net great)

I don't have the rest or full story yet, so I don't know how the others reacted. I doubt they left the carcass there - when you hit a moose here in Vermont and are lucky enough to live through it, the game warden usually offers you it (courtesy I think). If not, and if there's not alot of ford parts in it!, the state takes it for the meat. MMMMmmm, roadkill