View Full Version : Hunters?
Riocielo
04-14-2014, 08:49
I'm new here but read this forum every day. Let me first thank you all for all your wisdom and insight, I have learned so much just from reading your recommendations!
My husband, son and his girlfriend want to do a section hike next October, but my son is concerned about doing it during hunting season. Is this really a valid concern? Ive never read anything here about that being an issue. I'd love October because of the foliage.
Sarcasm the elf
04-14-2014, 08:58
It's a consideration, but not a huge concern. Most hunters don't stray too far from roads since it's not practical to drag a deer over a mountain back to their truck. Stay on trail and Wear blaze orange, including a hat. For what it's worth i was in the Chattahoochee national forest for a week last year during deer rifle season and didn't see a single hunter near the trail.
HikerMom58
04-14-2014, 09:03
Welcome to WB. :) I've never heard of any hunter/hiker problems. It seems when hunting season starts we are reminding each other to wear our blaze orange out there while hiking. No problems that I'm aware of... :)
Here in Flat I have heard (but have no personal knowledge of) hunters resenting hikers because they can not hunt on the trails.
Sent from my Samsung Note 3 using Tapatalk.
Bear hunting is big in WNC around that time. As mentioned, most hunters don't go too far in but there's always an exception. I usually sport an orange hat and haven't been shot yet (knock on wood)! Oh and hunt dogs can show up. Don't feed them or they'll follow you around looking for more.
kayak karl
04-14-2014, 09:32
i have an orange blaze hat. dog has orange blaze coat. saw hunters at delaware water gap, but they were moving, not hunting.
perdidochas
04-14-2014, 10:31
I'm new here but read this forum every day. Let me first thank you all for all your wisdom and insight, I have learned so much just from reading your recommendations!
My husband, son and his girlfriend want to do a section hike next October, but my son is concerned about doing it during hunting season. Is this really a valid concern? Ive never read anything here about that being an issue. I'd love October because of the foliage.\
Get a blaze orange pack cover and a blaze orange hat for each of them.
BobTheBuilder
04-14-2014, 10:42
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Get a blaze orange pack cover and a blaze orange hat for each of them.
I second that. If not a hat, a blaze orange bandana works fine. I have done several sections in October, and have never felt threatened. You do hear distant gunfire quite a bit, especially in the evening. The overwhelming majority of hunters I have met on the trail have been as friendly as other hikers. We all share a love for the outdoors.
Riocielo
04-14-2014, 11:22
Thanks so much for your suggestions. My husband and Son both have birthdays in October, so I think that would be a great birthday present. And my husband loves orange!
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord."
Riocielo
04-14-2014, 13:08
Beautiful music! Thanks so much for sharing it.
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord."
Tennessee Viking
04-14-2014, 13:13
Depends on the section you want to hike.
Bear is pretty popular in the TN/NC sections. Hunters usually run their dogs near the trail, then camp out near on the roads watching their GPS trackers. Unless you see a chased bear nothing to worry about.
But you probably see more bow hunters along the trail. I have come across maybe 2-3 hunters on the trail. But its usually 2-3 miles within a road crossing, forest road, or close to private property. The last thing a hunter wants is to drag a kill 5-10 miles up/down on rocky terrian.
I hike the MST around Raleigh all the time. And there are areas with open hunting or near all year hunting, and I see deer stands staged at powerline crossings. And I feel comfortable.
But wear blaze orange hats/vests. And maybe carry a bell.
WingedMonkey
04-14-2014, 14:00
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord."
Is that a hunting slogan?
Riocielo
04-14-2014, 14:02
It's a Bible verse. . .Psalms 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in His way.
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord."
Check this out for hunting season dates:
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/docs/default-document-library/hunting_seasons_along_at_2013-2014-.pdf
It will change some for this fall, but not much.
Spinning Nock
04-14-2014, 23:01
Most hunters are pretty decent people, but there are some idiots out there. I have walked sections of the AT and hunted along the way, very discreetly, well off the trail, because I was literally living off the land. There are probably lots of people who would think that was bad, but I didn't meet anyone who didn't like my whitetail deer jerky or duck cooked over an open fire. If everyone lived a hunter/self-sufficient farmer lifestyle, there wouldn't be all of the problems there are today. What I have a problem with are these "trophy" hunters, and these idiots that just want to kill something, and the morons switching channels back and forth on TV between pro-wrestling and Swamp People.
These TV programs actually inspire people to go out and kill defenseless animals for fun as an alternative, if the truth is known, to alleviate their frustrations in daily life, because a lot of these morons, what they really want to do, is beat the crap out of some bully or cop or thug, but they feel powerless.
LIhikers
04-15-2014, 00:51
I won't tell you about the tree stand that I saw a few years back. It was in NY state and just a stones throw from the trail. If a hunter actually got to use it, it was so close to the trail that there's no way they could mistake a hiker for a deer. I left a big note on it about no hunting in that area and then called the local trail club when I got home later that day. It was gone by the following weekend.
I won't tell you about the tree stand that I saw a few years back. It was in NY state and just a stones throw from the trail. If a hunter actually got to use it, it was so close to the trail that there's no way they could mistake a hiker for a deer. I left a big note on it about no hunting in that area and then called the local trail club when I got home later that day. It was gone by the following weekend.
While there may very well have been no hunting in the area you found that deer stand, I just wanted to go off on a tangent and say that I don't believe there are any blanket restrictions against hunting adjacent to (or even on) the AT footpath.