New way of hunting discovered!!!!

[DesertBull]

It would take an act of Congress, literally!

[azcoueshuntr]

quads are great to get from point a to point b not every hunter knows were your at. maybe they were tryin to get somewere they wanted to hunt you cant tell me you never seen a nice buck off the side of the road and then pursued it. my best whitetail was shot near a road. if you plan on hunting plan on more run ins with quads a people in general. a standing deer is fair game if know one else is visible

[TREESTANDMAN]

The fish and game has made it clear that it is illegal to road hunt, and that includes off of a quad. The problem is that it is too difficult do tell wheather someone is actually road hunting or just driving from one place to the other. Someone would actually have to shoot at a buck or bull from the road and be witnessed doing it to be given a fine and the chances of that are pretty slim.

[GRANDE BEAR]

IF YOUR'E ON A QUAD OR ANY VEHICLE, DRIVING FROM POINT A TO POINT B AND HAPPEN TO SEE LEGAL GAME OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND GET OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE, STEP OFF THE ROAD AND SHOOT THIS ANIMAL, IS THIS CONSIDERED ROAD HUNTING AND ILLEGAL? JUST A QUESTION.

 

ALBERT

[GRANDE BEAR]

P.S.

THE REGS SAY YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SHOOT ACROSS OR FROM A MAINTAINED ROAD. IS THIS STRICTLY MEANT IF YOU'RE WALKING DOWN A ROAD OR DRIVING?

[trufletch]

Grande Bear- With this one, your at the mercy of the Game Ranger. We have all seen people(I am hesitant to call them hunters), driving all over creation, all day long-those are road hunters. Never get off the beaten track or off the ATV's for that matter. Hopefully, the Game Ranger has been watching the area long enough and knows who is truly hunting and who puts more miles on an ATV than on their personal cars. You may have to convinve him or her, just remember they are not the definitive answer if there is a conflict. It's a hassle, but you can still take the thing to court- Never any guarantees though. Good luck.

 

Trufletch

[stanley]

trufletch is correct. It is really up to how the game warden interprets what he sees happening. On page 67 of the regs (on-line), it outlines what it means to take/hunt from a vehicle. To summarize, it indicates that "You are unlawfully using a vehicle to take wildlife if you intentionally drive around until you see the animal you wish to harvest and then make an attempt to take". It also says that "you do not have to shoot from your vehicle to be in violation".

 

Based on this, I think if someone was going from point a to point b, saw an animal, and then exited, got off the road, and killed it, it likely would NOT be considered road hunting according to the law. This is because the person isn't intentionally driving around until they see game.

 

This whole debate is tough for me, as I grew-up hunting washes for quail. We would drive up & down the washes until we spotted some quail, then jump out and shoot and chase them a little. We would then get back in and drive around some more. I'm quite certain that many of us that grew-up in souther AZ hunted quail that way (and likely some of us still do.... ) This is obviously road hunting & illegal though, because the law doesn't just apply to big game.

 

Good day all,

S.

 

[azcoueshuntr]

you guys are crazy if you see a 100+ whitetail off the side of the dirt road your gonna just drive by it wow!!! its illegal to use a vehicle in any manner of taking a big game animal and no you cant shot across any maintained road but i think road hunting is okay if its done right like my father who is 72 and still loves to hunt but im not gonna let him try to walk the terrain that some of us young bucks do

[Guest Ernesto C]

azcoueshuntr if an individual is using his or her vehicle with the puspose of finding game and then seen any size deer,stop and shot at it not only he or she are crazy they are breiking the law too. But on the oher hand,if an individual is using his or her vehicle with the purpose of getting from point A to point B and bettwen this two points he or she sees a deer stop,get off the road and shot at it,they are completly legal because they were not using the vehicle with the puspose of finding game.

 

Too bad the law does not care about age,God bless you and your dad,see if you can find him a well use trail or water hole or something like that.

 

Take care.

[azcoueshuntr]

ive hunted with some well known guides and there way of hunting is drive to a nearby peak climb the peak then glass the peak if the deers to far they jump back in there trucks and try to find a nearby road that was closer would that be using your vehicle to take a game animal sounds like it if not then this would be the same as driving around looking for a deer

[couesdiehard]

azcoueshuntr - check out page 67 of the fall hunt regs, bottom left corner of the page. It explains pretty well that if drive around until you see the animal you want to harvest then make an attempt to take, you are violating the law.

The key is in A.R.S. 17-301 B,(which is actually on page 50) it states that "a person shall not take wildlife....from a motor vehicle" and in the definitions on that same page "take" is defined as "pursuing, shooting, hunting..."

So if you cruise roads to look for game to pursue you are in violation. Would your father qualify for a Challenged Hunter Access/Mobility Permit (CHAMP)? See page 60.

[azcoueshuntr]

what is considerd pursuing im a police officer 10yrs and we consider pursuing chaseing after driving around in the hills looking wouldnt fall under this catagorie know if your chasing then i completly understand this law

[Dan H]

You guys sure get worked up on this site,..Road hunters will always be there.

It's the shooting capabilities you have to be concerned with. They'll hop out of a truck hit the edge of a road and fire as many rounds as necessary till that deer shows a sign he's been hit.

We actually witnessed this with people on horse back last year.

Pretty sad when 3 guys have to lite up a canyon on 1 or more deer and not know the outcome of any of the deer they shot at except the one they took down.

Just watch em to make sure they don't pouch anything or destroy good terrain. They will never see half the game a glasser is gonna see.

You can sometimes use someone elses movement to your advantage.

I'll bet the highest number of unsuccessful hunters for all big game every year is road hunters.

I've seen people at work 4+ groups get drawn for elk/deer and come back with 1 if their lucky. They drink, road hunt and probably hang around camp to much.

 

Have fun,

Dan

[Guest Ernesto C]

"Road hunters will always be there." No body is saying other wise but the law says is illegal do we agree? "Is the shooting capabilities you have to be concerned with" well that's another topic,people like that should not be called hunters.

 

Ernesto C.

[Guest Ernesto C]

azcoueshuntr persuing is using your vehicle with the purpose to "locate or take" deer.

 

Ernesto C.