Hunting Season Starts in the USA

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Hunting Season Starts in the USA
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Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2573
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 12:53 pm Post subject: Hunting Season Starts in the USA

I know there is always much discussion on the right to bear arms, how gun-crazy people are in the USA, etc. I'm hoping this will remain a conversation, and people won't feel need to rant.

Where I live in New Jersey the bow hunting season for white-tail deer has opened. There will be a black powder, and a shotgun season (using a solid slug termed a sabot, I believe.) There's also a season for turkey, and I'm not positive but think there will be a season for black bear, about which I have reservations. New Jersey is too populous for rifle. Someone hunts on our land, gets two deer each season, and provides us with dressed out, wrapped venison. The most deer I've ever seen was the year when the herd built up to 25 / 30 individuals.

Anyhow, there's an interesting article and series of photographs in today's New York Times on-line that I thought might be of interest to folks.

Photos: https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/09/25/us/20100926-HUNTING.html

Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/us/26huntintro.html?hp

I don't hunt, but have cooked not only venison but also woodchuck (aka groundhog or whistle pig) and raccoon.

As I said, I thought this might be interesting to people, for a view of hunting here in the USA. Yes?

Brownbear

Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 14929
Location: South West

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 12:58 pm Post subject:
What I find particularly interesting is that idea that New Jersey is too small for rifles to be used - different attitudes I suppose. In the UK, no stalker would dream or releasing a shot without having a visible solid backstop.

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2573
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 1:10 pm Post subject:
Not too small, Brownbear, too populous. Small state, large population. Land area - close to smallest, no. 46 in size - 7,417.34 square miles. Population as of the year 2009 - 8,707,739. Here's a link - https://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/hunting/instruct.htm - to the regulations in Hunterdon County, where I live.

Brownbear

Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 14929
Location: South West

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 1:22 pm Post subject:

Personally, I think it's very good for youngsters to learn to hunt their own food, and just to learn to shoot. Many children, especially boys, can become morbidly obsessed with firearms unless they learn to use them properly; equally well, there's no better way to learn to respect the meat you eat than to learn to shoot, to go out and kill an animal, prepare its carcase, cook and eat it.

We as a species for the most part, think about the morals of killing far too little. Too urban and urbane for our own good - the worst horrors of industrial farming are only possible because people close their minds to the whole issue of killing, and reach for the cellophane pack of chicken without a thought.

boisdevie1

Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 3897
Location: Lancaster

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 1:30 pm Post subject:
Agree with BB. People seem very happy to have somebody else do the killing and butchering of their meat and some are shocked that I happily despath chickens and rab.bits. Seems a bit morally deficient - I eat meat and have the courage to kill it myself. And I do eat pork, lamb and beef and would be happy to kill that as well.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 1:39 pm Post subject:
One of the things I've noticed most when discussing American hunting here is the difference between American & British attitudes towards bow hunting. Here in VT we have a rifle season that will be starting up in November, and our bear season has already begun. (Hi Jam Lady! I'll try to refrain from making fun of 'the dirty jerz' )

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 1:40 pm Post subject:
What do you hunt bears with then if not rifles? Surely not bow and arrows?

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2573
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 1:43 pm Post subject:
Nah, Slim, just use our "official" name - New Jersey is the Garden State.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 1:56 pm Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

What do you hunt bears with then if not rifles? Surely not bow and arrows?

Don't know the rules down in Jersey, up here it's rifles

Since the vast majority of people up here are out hunting deer, that's what we're typically referring to when we say rifle season. It differentiates from muzzle-loader and bow season.

If you're curious about the different permitted hunting seasons up here, the calendar is available here with all the more obscure hunting seasons (grey squirrel, bobcat, muskrat, crow, raccoon, etc)

I didn't pay attention when it was announced, but the state biologists announce every summer how many moose permits will be lotteried off and how long the season will go.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 2:04 pm Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

What do you hunt bears with then if not rifles? Surely not bow and arrows?

Some folks do actually take bear with bow & arrow. Looking through the states fish & game department website, I see that a bear weighing over 400 pounds was taken in 2003.

I remember when someone in my 5th grade class got his first bear with a bow, don't remember how big it was.

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2573
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 2:45 pm Post subject:

Here is the NJDEP information concerning the black bear hunting season in 2010:

The 2010 black bear hunting season is December 6-11. Anyone wishing to participate in the season must have completed a bear training seminar (see Bear Hunter Education Seminar Information) and possess a Black Bear Hunting Area Permit. The black bear permit application period is October 1 - 30.

There are four bear hunting zones in New Jersey and hunters will be restricted to hunt only in the zone for which they possess a permit. Hunters will be limited to purchasing one black bear hunting permit, and the bag limit is one black bear per hunter.

Information about the season can be found on page 60 in the 2010 Hunting Digest. https://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/dighnt10.htm Please visit the page of Frequently Asked Questions for further information regarding the bear season. After Harvesting a Bear � Mandatory Bear Check Requirement

Properly licensed hunters who harvest a black bear shall immediately complete and affix to the bear the "Black Bear Transportation Tag" from their Black Bear Hunting Permit. Information included on the black bear transportation tag shall include: the hunter�s name, address, current firearm license number; date and time of kill; nearest road, county and municipality of kill; and the sex of the black bear.

Black Bear Hunt Zones Map and Descriptions https://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/bearzonemap.htm

Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy https://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/bearpolicy10.htm

Bear Facts for New Jersey
https://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/bearfacts.htm

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 2:49 pm Post subject:
Wouldn't really feel comfortable taking a bear myself.

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2573
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 2:56 pm Post subject:

Jamanda, here's the nitty-gritty on New Jersey's bear hunt:

Black Bear Hunting Season: Dec. 6�11, 2010

Hunting Hours: Legal hunting hours for black bear shall be 1⁄2 hour before sunrise to 1⁄2 hour after sunset.

Bag Limit: Only one bear of either sex and any age may be taken per properly licensed hunter. It is unlawful to take or attempt to take or continue to hunt for more than the number of black bear permitted.

Special permit requirement: All black bear hunters must have a current and valid firearm hunting license and a special Black Bear Hunting Area Permit issued by Fish and Wildlife. See Black Bear Hunting Areas, below; see also Black Bear Hunting Permits, page 10. Hunters are limited to purchasing one black bear hunting permit. The bag limit remains at one black bear per hunter.

Game Care: It is critical to remove the hide and cool the bear immediately after checking the bear. Cooling a bear with ice from inside the body cavity is inadequate to prevent the meat from spoiling. If the hide remains on overnight, the meat may be unsuitable for consumption.

Mandatory Bear Hunter Seminar:
All successful permit applicants must successfully complete a bear hunting seminar conducted by Fish and Wildlife. Hunters who completed a seminar in past years need not attend a seminar again. The seminar dates, locations and times will be posted on Fish and Wildlife�s Web site, our Permit Hotline and also will be sent to outdoor writers for newspaper publication.

Youth Bear Hunters: Youth hunters (aged 10 through 13 on or before Dec. 6, 2010), with a valid hunting license must also possess a black bear hunting permit. Youth hunters must be under the direct supervision of a properly licensed adult (21 years of age or older) while bear hunting. The adult must also possess a black bear hunting permit. Direct supervision means the youth hunter and the supervising adult are together at the same location. The youth hunter may not hunt independently of the adult.

Firearms and Ammunition Legal For Bear Hunting

Shotgun: not smaller than 20 gauge nor larger than 10 gauge with rifled slugs. Lead, lead alloy or copper rifled slug or sabot slug. Buckshot is prohibited.

Muzzleloader Rifle: single-barrel, single shot rifles not less than .44 caliber.

Flintlock, percussion and in-line ignitions. Double barrel muzzleloaders prohibited. Persons hunting with muzzleloader rifle must also possess a current and valid rifle hunting permit.

Baiting: No person shall attempt to take or kill a black bear or have in their possession or control any firearm, or other weapon of any kind, while elevated in a standing tree or in a structure of any kind within 300 feet of a baited area. On national wildlife refuges and at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the distribution of bait and/or hunting over bait is prohibited. Hunters should also check with the landowner or administrative agency before placing bait on any hunting area.

Brownbear

Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 14929
Location: South West

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 3:25 pm Post subject:

Just for information, a 'sabot' is a sort of case in which a projectile narrower than the bore of the weapon is held, and which falls away after the projectile has exited the barrel. For example, one might fire a .224" projectile from a .308" rifle by putting the .224" in a sabot and then loading the whole into a .308 Win cartridge.

The same principle is used to fire an anti-tank 'kinetic penetrator' from a large-bore artillery piece or tank gun. On the far right of the image below, the sabot segments can be seen falling away from an anti-tank munition, with the kinetic dart visible between the sabot parts:

matt_hooks

Joined: 01 Aug 2010
Posts: 312
Location: Lambourn(ish) Berkshire

Posted: Sun Sep 26, 10 3:28 pm Post subject:

So a .44 plus calibre muzzle loading rifle, or up to 10 bore rifled slug or rifled sabot are considered "safe" whereas a rifle isn't as the state is "too populous" ?

In the UK, each area of land is assessed on its merits for the use of rifles. Any UK hunter worth their salt will consider the backstop before even considering levelling a rifle at quarry.

It's illegal to take deer with a shotgun under most circumstances, and it is illegal under any circumstances to take any game with bow and arrow, including crossbows.

I'm not sure about the law regarding muzzle loaders/black powder, though I would imagine you would have trouble getting the condition on the licence to use one as a hunting tool. There's nothing specific in any of the game acts that prevent muzzle loaders being used, as long as they meet the energy/velocity/calibre/mass requirements of the various acts.

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