2023 Hunting Season

[webmaster]

Originally Posted by steve-on-mark

Can you say " shooting fish in a barrel"? Took this just now off my back deck...where would the sport be in this??



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I took this on Long Island in 2002. The deer would walk right up to your car.

[tis]

i agree. And I cringe when I see all these people feeding them and training them to eat out of their hands.

[John Mercier]

If they feed them... they stop being wildlife and become livestock.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

If they feed them... they stop being wildlife and become livestock.

The deer on islands are not unafraid of humans because they are being fed, they are unafraid because they are forced to live in close proximity and have realized that humans are not a threat to them unlike a coyote or other predatory animal.

Feeding them is certainly a no no also but having an open public hunting season with firearms on them is not right and unsportsmanlike in my opinion…it is also somewhat dangerous.

Forcing islanders to put up thousands of no trespassing / no hunting signs is not the answer and is stupid!

Fish & Game needs to get their head out their ass on this one!

Dan

[SAB1]

It's really population dynamics that factor into this as well. Densitiesneed to monitored. We don't want to see CWD in NH that's for sure. The picture above you can clearly see a browse line in that pic. That is not good for the forest and clearly a sign of over population. Same up behind my house. No hunting on camp Belknap or Northwoods. That is 600 plus acres. I jog by deer sometimes less than 10ft from me and they don't move.

[John Mercier]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

The deer on islands are not unafraid of humans because they are being fed, they are unafraid because they are forced to live in close proximity and have realized that humans are not a threat to them unlike a coyote or other predatory animal.

Feeding them is certainly a no no also but having an open public hunting season with firearms on them is not right and unsportsmanlike in my opinion…it is also somewhat dangerous.

Forcing islanders to put up thousands of no trespassing / no hunting signs is not the answer and is stupid!

Fish & Game needs to get their head out their ass on this one!

Dan

The rest of us putting up thousands of no trespassing/no hunting signs don't find it all that intelligent either; but that is a legislative matter.

[Cobalt 12]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

The deer on islands are not unafraid of humans because they are being fed, they are unafraid because they are forced to live in close proximity and have realized that humans are not a threat to them unlike a coyote or other predatory animal.

Feeding them is certainly a no no also but having an open public hunting season with firearms on them is not right and unsportsmanlike in my opinion…it is also somewhat dangerous.

Forcing islanders to put up thousands of no trespassing / no hunting signs is not the answer and is stupid!

Fish & Game needs to get their head out their ass on this one!

Dan

OK, Just so I understand:

No Feeding of deer on an island...

They are NOT forced to stay there, they chose to. They are very good swimmers.

No Killing of deer on a island.. Not sportsmen like, gotcha, " I agree "

Forcing signs to be put up won't do anything, unless an island has a bridge.

Throwing on NH Fish n Game would be a very costly and timely adventure by the State. They care..... But they don't care that much.

If it's bothering the landowners that much on a Island, Hire a Hitman. They can use a 222 caliber with 100% accuracy with ABSOLUTELY NO danger to anyone what so ever, and still dispatch the deer population to where YOU/THEY ( Land Owners ) feel comfortable with the amount of deer left.

I do not ever see NH Fish N Game spending time and effort in this direction. One thing we can agree on is that there are many foodbanks in this area that could use the meat to feed many under privileged human beings in the area that could use a hot meal during the cold season.

I've hunted deer for 60 years. Deer are Deer. Life cycle maybe 8 years for a smart one. Yes they are pretty to watch, but where do you draw the line?

I wouldn't look for NH Fish N Game to deal with this. Other then to give you permission to hire someone to dwiddle the herd so to speak. Good Luck with your endeavors, and just remember........................


Shoot straight and don't shoot often. 300 Savage/Remington 30-06/Marlin 35, Springfield 270, Winchester 30-30 probably 4. To many to count. Just if you do, dispatch them cleanly and quickly.

[ishoot308]

See below in red

Originally Posted by Cobalt 12

OK, Just so I understand:

No Feeding of deer on an island...No feeding of deer anywhere not just on an island

They are NOT forced to stay there, they chose to. They are very good swimmers. Yes they can swim but prefer not to. During the winter months when ice fishing, I have seen and counted .as many as 28 deer all together running across the ice being chased by a coyote

No Killing of deer on a island.. Not sportsmen like, gotcha, " I agree "

Forcing signs to be put up won't do anything, unless an island has a bridge. The problem with putting signs up is two fold...For the most part the perimeter of most islands is sold as lots with varying degrees of water frontage, therefore the entire perimeter of the island would have to have signs put up every 100 yds (wouldn't that look nice around the lake?) Now the center mass of the island is usually owned by one two or a few more landowners. If one of the perimeter lot owners does not post his land that means in theory access could be had to the islands center mass. This means another encapsulating set of signs must be placed around the interior of the island which is just ridiculous in my opinion!

Throwing on NH Fish n Game would be a very costly and timely adventure by the State. They care..... But they don't care that much. Nothing was broke, there was no need to change any laws in my opinion.

If it's bothering the landowners that much on a Island, Hire a Hitman. I don't get where anyone said it was bothering them...the rule changes are bothersome not the deer! They can use a 222 caliber with 100% accuracy with Little or NO danger Hmmm....a .222 is just as deadly as any other rifle, not sure what you mean by this?? I wouldn't want to play goalie in front of a .222to anyone what so ever, and still dispatch the deer population to where YOU/THEY ( Land Owners ) feel comfortable with the amount of deer left. I never said there were too many deer on my island Welch...as a matter of fact I do not believe there are... as I stated previously, based on my cameras during the "yard up" months I have counted a max of 10 deer on Welch. These deer do leave the island if and when the ice freezes as they are chased off by predators. Whatever is left after the ice thaws usually stays all summer. I do know Long Island and Governors island had issues in the past and permits were granted at some point to cull the deer as necessary. This worked for many years why are they trying to fix something that isn't broken and by changing / fixing and making new laws they are making things worse!

I do not ever see NH Fish N Game spending time and effort in this direction. One thing we can agree on is that there are many foodbanks in this area that could use the meat to feed many under privileged human beings in the area that could use a hot meal during the cold season. agreed!

I've hunted deer for 60 years. You have 10 years on me! Deer are Deer. Life cycle maybe 8 years for a smart one. Yes they are pretty to watch, but where do you draw the line? No line to draw, leave things as they were...

I wouldn't look for NH Fish N Game to deal with this. Other then to give you permission to hire someone to dwiddle the herd so to speak. Good Luck with your endeavors, and just remember........................ I don't want to change anything!...I just want them to leave it the way it was! The individual towns around the lake will probably now have to come up with their own ordinance regarding hunting on the islands just like Long island and Governors island have their own town ordinance regarding this


Shoot straight and don't shoot often. 300 Savage/Remington 30-06/Marlin 35, Springfield 270, Winchester 30-30 probably 4. To many to count. Just if you do, dispatch them cleanly and quickly.

Dan

[Cobalt 12]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

See below in red


Dan

Taking this a little personally aren't ya there partner. This was not directed to you, but seems you feel it was. I stand behind what I said.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Cobalt 12

Taking this a little personally aren't ya there partner. This was not directed to you, but seems you feel it was. I stand behind what I said.

No not all... just responding to questions you quoted from my previous post.

Its all good..."partner"!

Dan

[John Mercier]

Ahhh... but you fail to understand that no laws were changed.

F&G is getting hit for allowing certain landowners to be ''special'' when it comes to speaking before a legislative committee on the current posting requirements.
So their ''rule making'' is once again in question.

I think you will see the purple paint ''No Hunting'' movement get another shot.

[SAB1]

Some interesting comments here. I'll first say I am a deer hunter of 30 years, primarily archery. Access to new land is always good. I am surprised though that this is not an archery only application from F&G for safety sake. If I was an island home owner on Winni I'd probably have my hackles up as well and hope for sure folks adhered to the 300ft law. How many islands on Winni are actually huntable with the 300 ft law, especially if multiple hunters were on the island? Doesn't seem like many. Everyone is different but personally I don't see myself getting up at 4am loading my gear into my truck, unloading it into a boat, driving a boat across the lake in 20 degree weather (to tie my boat up where?) Then trudging into a legal spot and possibly running into others hunters. No interest here.

[John Mercier]

Muzzle loader is end of October, and rifle is about two weeks later.

I don't think they expect a lot of hunting on the islands.

They just keep taking hits on their rule making.
And what is worse, are always underfunded.

[rhubarbpie]

Island owner here and learned about this just the other day. Will certainly post no hunting signs but to keep hunters off that will also require 60 other residents and the couple owners of the inland portion to post extensively. It’s also very late in the season to implement this rule and provide landowners the time to post.

Do we know what prompted this rule change? Why there wasn’t notice to landowners? Is there any way to reverse it?

It does seem like an epic pain in the butt to go hunt an island, especially during rifle season, but we had an incident many years ago where a couple of our friendly island doe were killed in a very unsportsmanlike manner, for no apparent reason other than to kill things, so I don’t put anything past people at this point.

[Cobalt 12]

Originally Posted by rhubarbpie

Island owner here and learned about this just the other day. Will certainly post no hunting signs but to keep hunters off that will also require 60 other residents and the couple owners of the inland portion to post extensively. It’s also very late in the season to implement this rule and provide landowners the time to post.

Do we know what prompted this rule change? Why there wasn’t notice to landowners? Is there any way to reverse it?

It does seem like an epic pain in the butt to go hunt an island, especially during rifle season, but we had an incident many years ago where a couple of our friendly island doe were killed in a very unsportsmanlike manner, for no apparent reason other than to kill things, so I don’t put anything past people at this point.

Was it from " Hunters " or just some people not appreciating wildlife? I just don't know any " Hunters " that just go out to " KILL THINGS ". I would hate to have everyone lumped into one circle..

[John Mercier]

Notice was given on March 9th.
Public hearings were on March 30th, April 4th, and April 5th.

Our area generally goes to F&G headquarters for the hearings. Those were on March 30th.

The ''rule'' generally isn't likely to be turned back.
Few incidents with the current restrictions involving unintended targets have ever been recorded.

[rhubarbpie]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

Notice was given on March 9th.
Public hearings were on March 30th, April 4th, and April 5th.

Our area generally goes to F&G headquarters for the hearings. Those were on March 30th.

The ''rule'' generally isn't likely to be turned back.
Few incidents with the current restrictions involving unintended targets have ever been recorded.

Gotcha. Unfortunately we never received notice, and it's not something we would have been looking out for, because in my lifetime it's never been a concern.

I'm still unclear on what the rationale was for changing to allow hunting on the islands, other than "overpopulation" which certainly isn't the case on ours.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

Notice was given on March 9th. Public hearings were on March 30th, April 4th, and April 5th. Our area generally goes to F&G headquarters for the hearings. Those were on March 30th. The ''rule'' generally isn't likely to be turned back. Few incidents with the current restrictions involving unintended targets have ever been recorded.

That's good.

In the past, there seemed to be many reports of "accidental shootings". (Usually out-of-state hunters shooting other hunters).

Regarding islands, where are these "harvested" deer gutted-out?

My neighbor can tell you. (Under high-water conditions, Wolfeboro Neck becomes an island). Over 100 acres of Wolfeboro Neck is posted against hunting, but guess who maintains a tree stand in the middle of that acreage?

A tenant's kid handed me a bone cut-through with saw marks. It was found in shallow water--under my dock.

On a walk with a Wolfeboro friend, I asked my companion, "This is a tiny State Park with lots of markings of antlered deer, but where are the deer?" She answered, "Look behind you". So that I wouldn't be contributing to the delinquency of deer, I'd carried a banana peel in my back pocket. Five deer were following me!

[John Mercier]

I can't speak for all hunters, but they tend to gut almost immediately.
The guts will decompose.

I doubt that other than domesticate dogs off their leash, that anyone will notice.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

If they feed them... they stop being wildlife and become livestock.

Remember the farmer who used huge letters to paint COW on the sides of his dairy herd?

[Descant]

From the LDS article posted above: "Timmins said the department held three well-attended public sessions on the proposed rule changes — in Concord, Keene and Lancaster — and no significant opposition was voiced."

How many islands with deer herds are in Concord, Keene and Lancaster?

This reminds me of times past when Dept. of Safety used to hold boating related hearings in the off season when summer boaters weren't around. The legislature re-wrote the hearing standards to get them set better in time and place.

[Descant]

Am I correct that driving deer is illegal? Easy for a handful of hunters to start at one end of an island and proceed to the other end, forcing deer into limited spaces.

[John Mercier]

The three meeting locations are the same ones used for all F&G issues.

[SAB1]

I've heard archers are doing well. Few nice bucks have come off the islands.

[Descant]

Originally Posted by SAB1

I've heard archers are doing well. Few nice bucks have come off the islands.

Source? Which islands?

[Steve 58]

Several have been taken on Cow by bow.
The hunters are very responsible from what i have observed.