Hunter shot in tree stand.

A deer hunter in my area was recently shot and wounded by a turkey hunter. The deer hunter was in a tree stand.

This story is not really about tree climbing, but prompted me to add this reminder.

I regularly climb in an area that is open to hunting. During deer season, I only climb on Sundays. Still, I sometimes wear a blaze orange cover over my helmet and at a minium, wrap an orange sash around the tree I am in. I also carry a whistle to alert others who may not see me due to cover or distance.

I have posted safety signs at the trailhead at our environmental center that read \"HUNTERS WEAR ORANGE, SO SHOULD YOU\". Good advice, I think.

I suspect that this post will prompt varying responses, but its intent is simply to say \"Be careful\". Learn what areas are open to hunting or shooting and when these activities are allowed.

It does pay to be aware of the hunting seasons! We do share the forests for lots of different reasons and I would hate to get an arrow or any other kind of projectile stuck in me.

James

I have a Google Alert on the words \"tree climbing\" and every other day I get news of yet another hunter injured or killed while hunting, usually from a tree stand. Many fatalities occur when the hunter is not tied in.

Good points about wearing orange and making a lot of noise during hunting season. Certainly a must for tree climbers in hunting territory. That brings up another subject.

How do you know you are in hunting territory? Can anyone tell me about this?

Hello Peter,

Great question. You can use the same technique the hunters do. Ask the property owner. If you are on private, city, or county property, there is a good chance that hunting is allowed there. Look for \"No hunting\" signs at trailheads or on the trees along the roadway bordering the area where you would like to climb. No signs means it is likely that hunting is allowed.

Some people feel they are safe climbing within a safety zone. That is, within 150 yards of an occupied structure. You still must be careful though. In PA, the law says it is unlawful to discharge a hunting firearm within that area. It doesn't say a hunter can't shoot \"over\" that area.

Here's some info that Peter asked about. At least from here in PA. I'm sure other states have similar information on their fish and wildlife websites.

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=460&Q=173400&PM=1

Here's an interesting tidbit of information for the folks that climb in Pennsylvania...

PA is the only state in the union that has serarate fish and game agencies. We have, of course, the PA Game Commission AND we have the PA Fish and Boat Commission. All other states have a combined Fish and Wildlife/Game agency.

What does this have to do with tree climbing? Well, suppose you walk into the woods to find a nice new wild tree to climb. You find a great tree less than 300 feet from a public lake, stream, or river. There is a GOOD possibility that that land is not only patrolled by the Game Commission, but that portions of it are also governed by Fish and Boat Commission laws too.

This next part may draw mean looks from hunters in my state, but it's been a hot topic in our area for a long time.

In PA, state owned game lands are purchased with money from hunting license fees and revenue from the Pittman-Robertson act, a tax on all guns and ammunition sold in the state.

Every once-in-a-while I'll get a call from a non-hunter (Mt. biker, hiker, birder,(no tree climbers - yet) who has been questioned or harrassed by a hunter because they were on state owned game land. My response to them is: \"Do you own a gun?\" If the answer is yes, then I tell them that they have as much right to be on the land as a hunter - because they helped pay for the land too.

I used to hunt but it no longer interests me. I still buy a licence every year though. Why? It's like a use permit for game lands. I pay my fee just like the other sportsmen so I also have the right to enjoy the land (Uh, trees).

To be sure, I'm not advocating climbing trees or mountain biking during hunting season. I'm just offering my 2 cents.

Comments anyone?

Baker Wrote:

Comments anyone?

During my time in and around the wilderness survival education industry I've had plenty of weird reasons for being in various public wildlands. Once I was even in a group of nearly 200 people walking through the New Jersey Pinelands miles from the nearest road, nearly silently past several hunters. I'll never forget the looks on their face.

Ohio has a single week for gun season deer hunting. I don't recommend that anyone go into the woods during this week that isn't fully enrobed in blaze orange.

Any time of the year however I would stress awareness to be the safest. It's usually best if you know they are there before they know you are there. This is easiest in places we are familiar with because we know where people usually park and so on and so forth. Myself, I have a bad habit of never being seen...

Also, public lands are public. You shouldn't feel guilty using them ever. Some lands are however managed specifically for \"Public Hunting\", and are usually posted as such. In these areas I think that we should be courteous and thoughtful of the hunters, and avoid the heaviest hunting seasons. (they tend to draw the most, and therefor also the least careful hunters)

Carl

So can we draw up a point by point list of things to do if you are climbing trees in a hunting area or in hunting season?

1. Wear orange. The more the better
2. Observe signage. Posted No Hunting means private land?
3. Listen. If you hear gun shots, you are probably in a hunting area.
4. Know when hunting season is.
5. Take a look at parked vehicles near your trail head. Trucks sporting window decals for Winchester or the like firearms might serve as an indicator as well as racks etc.
6. ATVs (all terrain vehicles) might be a hunter indication (or the sound of them).
7. Dead animals in or on vehicles.
8. Blood stains near the parking area. Am I going overboard here?
9. Plucked game feathers in the area? Please! Someone rein me in!
10. Fly swarms on partially concealed animal parts. I need to stop here.

What else can be added sparing gory details like those above?

treeman wrote:

8. Blood stains near the parking area. Am I going overboard here?

9. Plucked game feathers in the area? Please! Someone rein me in!

10. Fly swarms on partially concealed animal parts. I need to stop here.

Ok, a little overboard, but not crazy by any stretch.

Unless it is deer season, or some other large game that is going to be gutted in the field, there isn't going to be much of a chance that you'll notice the animal bits, or the spike in insect life around the area. When I was trained to identify illegal grave sites during some forensic tracking training, we spent quite a bit of time noticing the increasing levels of insect activity as we neared the grave. Depending on timing, mouse, bird, and therefor fox etc... can have a noticeable increase as well. (Three months before the class they had staged a murder and illegal grave site with a roadkill deer)

Finding plucked feathers is more likely to be a sign of bird predators than hunters, and as for blood around parking areas, I would think that the major bleeding would happen far from the cars.

Unfortunately some of the things I would look for to show heavy hunting traffic are much less flattering to the hunters.

1 - Trash. People are messy, and hunters aren't all naturalists. In fact many (but not most) of them are careless and/or drunk.

1a. Spent shotgun shells, shell wadding, or other ammo casings. These are almost a common part of the forest floor debris in some places.

1b. Dump sites. Illegal dumping usually happens in secluded places that are easy to get to and away from. Not sign of hunters but of people who may not want to be seen...

2 - Tracks: boots, or vehicles at least show human traffic, and if you're good enough, and the area shows tracks well, it's pretty easy to tell how many have entered an area, and how many have left. Hunting dogs also tend to run around like crazy near the parking areas, wild dogs tend to avoid these areas.

3 - Shot up roadsigns. Every public hunting area that I know about has at least a few of these.

4 - Gas stations near popular hunting areas make it quite obvious that lots of hunters stop in and hang out there. This is also a good place to make small talk and get a feel for the neighborhood.


Most respectable hunters tend to avoid being near other people if they know they're there, but anyone in the woods will veer of course to investigate a big rope is hanging out of a tree or to see what all that stuff laying under a tree is. Noise and general commotion is going to attract all kinds of hikers, campers, treeclimbers or other curious outdoors folk with a few spare minutes. Most of these folks are more likely to be shooting questions than bullets.

I'd also like to mention here another category of people in the wilderness. Criminals, and otherwise dangerous folk.
If you come across marijuana plants, tripwire noisemaking sort of setups, or other \"traps\" that these people can set up to let them know someone is or has been in the area, you should just go. Report it to the authorities and let them investigate. Surprising someone, or hanging out in these areas can lead to bad things. Shanty style \"campsites\" that the people hiding or homeless use are also out there. Usually in wilderness lands near urban areas.

That's enough doom and gloom, but I was surprised to find out how many wilderness missing persons cases still come down to fowl play instead of a simple lost person. It's just good to know.

That's all I have for now...
Carl

Having owned bicycle shops, and ridden mountain bikes for years, there is a network of word-of-mouth and listserv announcements in our area working to remind others about the various hunting seasons: bow and arrow, black powder/muzzle-loader, and general firearm, etc.
You would think that a bicyclist's noise would be identifiable as a non-deer entity, but I believe the excitement and adrenalin rush that hunters experience as they discover a target, even if just audibly, clouds their perception. The mindset that you 'only get one shot' at a moving target bodes ill for the cyclist who strays into a hunter's range.
On the few occasions when I have cycled in areas known to attract hunters, even on Sunday (illegal hunting happens) there are a few loud and raucous songs I'll sing as I cycle (quite the aerobic workout, not to mention there is no likelihood of wildlife within a mile after they hear my crooning!).
Tree climbing can be a quiet, contemplative experience, but maybe we can organize a tree-top barbershop quartet for hunting season

I climb in Minnesota. Thankfully, all summer long I climb safely in State and National Forests where I see beaucoup deer stands. When fall arrives, however, I simply stop climbing outside the city limits. Period.

I suppose I could look up hunting seasons at the Minnesota DNR site, but when the bright orange Budweiser \"Welcome Hunters\" signs go up on the outside of local liquor stores, I figure it's time to am-scray from the orest-fray! Booze 'n bullets scare me.

A former student (I teach at a high school) has a fused knee and a permanent bullet in her hip from being shot while up high in a deer stand. Unfortunately, hunter orange didn't do her a bit of good that day.

My policy is to simply stay far away from hunters. I want to climb trees for a looooooooooooooooong time!

I hear what you're saying... Summer of 2007 a daughter and son and I rode across the country (I bicycled the whole way and they each rode about 1200 miles). While with my daughter we met two women from Wisconsin and rode with them for ten days. Later my son and I met them again in central Wisconsin and accompanied them on their last days ride back to the family farm.
Around the campfire that night the stories and beer flowed. The one woman's mom told of how when the daughter was 8 years old she went in to wake her on the morning of opening day of deer season. Each member of the family had a deer tag and they depended upon everyone bagging their deer to make it through the year with freezers full of meat. Finally she got up, put on her bathrobe and boots, walked out into the forest, shot the first deer that came by, tied her tag to the antlers and went back to bed.
Again her mother headed to the room to wake her and was surprised to see the daughter's wet boots by the bedroom door. Realizing she'd done her familial duty the mom let her sleep.
Later when she awoke she could not remember going out and shooting the deer. The brothers had already found it by following her prints in the snow and had hauled it home.
Sleep-hunting...could've as easily shot a mountainbiker or a tree climber...anything that was moving in the wrong place at that time...

Some random thoughts:

Other things to look for, when in the presence of hunters, are rings of bright flagging tape or light-reflective thumb tacks on trees at eye level . Hunters often use these to guide them to their favorite spot in the dark. Very often, hunters enter the woods before dawn and exit after dusk.

Caution must also be taken during small game season, not just deer or bear season. I've encountered hunting dogs in the woods too. Some of 'em aren't so nice. They're not you're average everyday couch potato. They're working dogs, out there to do a jobe for their owner - no matter what.

I often wear a bear bell when I'm in the woods. I spend a lot of time in the backcountry where there is no one else BUT the bears. A bear bell attached to your belt, pack, saddle, or bicycle will make you easier to locate. Even if a nearby hunter can't see you, he'll know the general direction you are in.

Also, climbing on Hi-V, Ultra-V, or similar rope may help you be seen more easily too. I'd stay away from Poison Ivy (camo)Rope for this time of the year. Any tme you put out 100+ feet of something brightly colored, your going to increase your chances of being seen. For you SRT folks, there are lines available that are light-reflective, glow in the dark, or both!



http://www.glorope.com/catalog/detail.cfm?Prod_ID=24&Cat=1&SubCat=18

Interfering with hunting can earn you a ticket. Defining interference would be up to the police/game warden and the courts.

Think just a little about the need to climb in a hunting area.

If I ever do you can bet that I'll have on high viz clothing all the way down to my underwear just like when Dad outfitted me for deer camp.