It's begun............that time of year again!

[wjminwi]

Hunters and hunting, I mean.
Sunday we rode and there were guns going off in the distance....not a biggie, but it did put Scout on alert more than usual. The shots were making flocks of birds pop up, then settle again...til the next shot. So that made her nervous.
Then yesterday I took out Scout alone. She did great til we were almost home....there were rustling/clanking noises in the bushes, and then out pops a guy with a whole tree stand and straps and stuff in his arms. He was taking down a stand from last year. He put it in his car and drove off, but I was glad I had just dismounted to shut a gate before Scout heard all his noise and got freaked out by it. We walked til he drove off, then I remounted and finished up fine.
I don't worry too much in bow season. But, as usual, I hope for bad weather during (gun) deer hunting week, so that I am not tempted to ride! If it's really nice, I'll want to go but will feel limited to the road and afraid to venture in the woods or fields.

[ghostrider]

I have an orange construction vest for this time of year. Buddy doesn't mind guns or guys or even deer running out in front of us but I keep our riding to the roads or dirt lanes. There's a lot of idiots out there though so the boys are locked in the corral and the 2.5 acre pasture by the house. I rolled a round bale in a couple days ago so they have no reason to mope.

My son will be home Fri for hunting. Last year he got one in the wooded pasture so I'm hoping he'll get lucky again.

[horsespoiler]

We have already had our rifle season for both deer and elk and bow season was in Aug. We have 3 more weeks of bow deer in our area starting next weekend. My DH has an unfilled tag still and we will be beating the bushes. There are lots of does and spikes but it needs to be a forked horn or better. He missed a beautiful 4X4 on opening day and we didn't see another buck all season. Here's hoping for venison with biscuits and gravy

[Deleted]

My son is an avid bow hunter. So is his best friend, and this house/farm has been bow hunting central for several years. ;-)

I have certain areas of the farm that I ride, but nowhere near the "deer sanctuary". LOL!!! Seriously...I would feel bad if I ruined someone's hunt. I figure riding season is lots longer than hunting season. ( not that you were doing that, Wendi! Just saying that I'm really careful here on our farm.) I'm not sure how I would handle it if I had to go off the farm to ride.

As far as gun hunt...I love it. I don't hunt, but I do cook all day, and take pictures of the deer. This area is known for monster bucks, and many have been taken on this farm. I really enjoy just taking care of the guys. ;-)

I stay off of my horse that week, as it just doesn't feel safe. The horses are now in their own little pasture away from all the hunting, so I don't worry too much about them. DH usually puts a round bale out by the buildings, and they stay parked right there, too. ;-)

[wjminwi]

I wear my orange vest riding around here all year long! Mostly because I have to be on the road for at least 200 yards (and up to a mile) to get to any of the fields or trails except one. I want those vehicles to see me!
It's amazing how the horses sense all the 'different' stuff going on during hunting....more people scent around, the deer more excited/nervous, the pops and bangs in the distance, vehicles parked in odd places...all add up to a less relaxing ride. They know something is up.

[ghostrider]

It's funny but when I got each one of my mustangs they'd pick their heads up and even start towards a vehicle, moving or parked and I realized they associated vehicles with feeding time. They all came from a holding facility/feeding lot and the trucks with trailers would arrive with the hay and the backhoes would unload them therefore vehicles were GOOD.

The deer here are more like antelope in size and coloring. They look so little compared to our mule deer. Kind of hate to hunt them.

[lackowitz]

I've been told Okie's face looks like a deer's butt, so I make sure to have something orange on & hope anyone taking a shot aims for the other end. When I take Tobey, I still try to remember the orange but hope the hunters are aware they shouldn't be shooting at 'deer' that are mostly white. My friend Perle thinks I wear the orange so the hunters can aim better. I've thought about putting some bells on the saddle but I think that might freak my boys out a little.

[wjminwi]

Funny, but makes perfect sense too, about those mustangs and the trucks!

Ha! I don't feel a bit bad about ruining someone's hunt....I'm on Bambi's side :-) I tell them to come to my yard, where there's no hunting, but they don't listen :-)
My neighbor told me that the bow hunters on his land actually LIKE it that we tromp through, it scares the deer up and out of their hidey holes and gets them moving.

[Deleted]

Wendil....I believe everything dies and has a purpose. Besides...if the deer population gets too big, they will starve over the winter. I hate it when I see skinny deer. I also just don't want to be rude to someone who is out doing whatever it is they enjoy. But that's just me. We are all different. ;-) As a little girl I got very upset during deer season.

I did stop riding right at dusk. The deer like to start moving then. I am more afraid of a deer startling my horse than a hunter. ;-) And my hunters do not want anyone coming along and startling the deer. They will "drive" the deer, but that's an organized thing. ;-)

[ghostrider]

When I first came to visit mom in MO I had to laugh because they paint their fence posts and trees with a lavender paint which tells anyone illiterate that hunting is not allowed on their property. Just in case they can't read NO TRESPASSING or figure out why someone has a fence up. Now I've gotta remember tomorrow to bring home a can. SHESH

[lackowitz]

Lavendar paint - what a great idea! I accosted a hunter in my pasture a couple weeks ago. We happened to be home putting up snow fence & I noticed him crossing the pasture & thought 'who the <expletive> is THAT?!' Put on my rubber boots to cross the creek & went stalking through the pasture. Was greeted by the boys before getting to the tree & asking the guy what he thought he was doing in my tree. Turns out it was my riding buddy Perle's friend & he thought Perle had OK'd the stand with me. I told him I didn't remember that conversation, but said he could stay. He was a bow-hunter & was actually pointed in toward the woods rather than out into the pasture, & given the woods are horribly overgrown with multifloral rose & raspberries & other thorny things, I figured the horses were OK. I should tell him to come back for turkey season in the spring & send him up there with some Crossbow weed killer. ;D

Mom & I almost met a 'spike' buck on the way home the other day - looked pretty good sized for having a 'beginner rack'. Stinker was running in the ditch on the far side of the road - decided to cross when he was right at the front of the car. Stupid deer.

[wjminwi]

Hey Denise, are you anywhere near Joplin?
DH and I are driving there on Friday to watch my ds run cross country nationals on Saturday. I'll be watching for lavender posts now as we travel!

[ghostrider]

No I'm 60 miles North of Springfield. I've never been to Joplin but it must be a good sized city because it's on the news a lot. We've got family coming tomorrow, not sure how long they're staying. I guess she'd be my step sister and her husband.
Have a good time at the Nationals.

You'd think that guy would have gotten a definite on that conversation with Perle before heading across your property huh?

[Deleted]

Yikes! We do not let people hunt on our land. Well....our sons best friend hunts here, but he's like one of the family.

My boys do a lot of deer management. they don't just shoot deer to shoot deer. It's a science around here. No one shoots anything that won't get eaten, either.

Having someone on your property hunting that you don't know about is dangerous!!!

I'm looking forward to "opening weekending" this weekend. It's opening of deer gun hunting. I just cook, and cook, and then I cook, and I also cook, and then I cook. ;-))) I love it, though. It's fun.

[cyndi]

I've been enjoying this 'hunting' discussion My dad used to hunt every year, for whatever was in season. I helped "push bush" once, but that's it. My older brother got into bow hunting and got himself a huge bull elk. My younger brother still goes hunting every year (both my dad and my older brother are deceased).