View Full Version : Bear Hunting in Georgia/North Carolina OCT 24 2019
steady123
10-26-2019, 11:40
Just finished a Hike from Dick's Gap to Franklin. Encountered lost hunting dogs which had been in the woods for a week. Emaciated, poor poor shape. Good news a female hound was returned to its owner. Good news I hope is that a male hound was escorted by a hiker to Dick's Gap, hopefully made it and is now recovering at a Humane Society shelter. Next trip you might want to bring some kibble. Those dogs need all the help you can give them. Sad part you encounter them in the middle of nowhere and it is a long walk to a place you can hand them off. Lots of hunters at the Gaps. Dogs barking in the distance.
Mr. Bumpy
10-27-2019, 11:50
I'm not sure of the statutes, and the ethics are sticky, but hunting dogs are legally not strays and if you engage them there can be legal ramifications. The law is on the dog owner's side.
One of the nasty little things that I found out a few years ago when one followed me for a couple of miles on the Foothills Trail is that Garmin, so beloved by many, makes the GPS trackers for the hunting dogs. I haven't been too much of a fan of them since.
I'm not sure feeding is a good idea because the dog will follow you, possibly going in the opposite direction from where it needs to go. Most are trained to find a road and their blankie, when lost.
FreeGoldRush
10-27-2019, 21:40
Garmin, so beloved by many, makes the GPS trackers for the hunting dogs. I haven't been too much of a fan of them since.
This summer I saw two lost hunting dogs on the trail and wished the owners had put GPS trackers on them. Is it better if they are harder to find??
Mockernut
10-28-2019, 08:19
FWIW...You can't legally hunt bears with dogs in North Georgia.
I came across a lost bear dog close to my home in VA a few months ago. What a sweet dog. She followed me, and when I took a break, she circled the perimeter of where I sat down before coming back to sit next to me. She loved all the attention I gave her. What a sweet sweet girl. She followed me all the way down the mountain where we met up with her owner. She was back into her cage in the back of the truck to hunt bears another day. :(
Tipi Walter
10-31-2019, 13:42
Stray hunting dogs are the bane of my backpacking life in the mountains of TN and NC. If a normal person left their pets in the middle of nowhere for days at a time they'd be cited by authorities. Hunters get away with "abandoning" their dogs---without supervision---all the time. It's the Grand Southern Tradition of bear hunting. These dogs pee on my pack, steal my food, jump into the tent and claw up gear---and claw up the outside of the tent fly. Where are their owners? In their pickup trucks drinking hot coffee.
I just got back from a trip a couple days ago and saw a pitiful sight---bear hunters parked on a road and waiting for their dogs to chase a bear up to them so they could shoot it right off the road---but this is just my opinion as I did not see such a thing actually happen. While I was waiting for my ride out 5 or 6 loud shots went off and they bagged something---as the gunshots were very loud.
Hunting from the road should not be legal. Heck, using dogs to hunt bear should not be legal.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Gear-TheSevenHolyNylons/Bags-Pads-And-Other-Junk/i-kRKSJGM/0/c020e0eb/XL/Trip%20200%20%28251%29-XL.jpg
gpburdelljr
10-31-2019, 14:35
Hunting from the road should not be legal
Hunting from the road is illegal in GA, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is illegal in most states. But I wouldn’t confront a hunter carrying a gun about it.
stephanD
10-31-2019, 14:59
this kind of hunting not only is not ethical, it is pitiful.
Tipi Walter
10-31-2019, 16:11
Hunting from the road is illegal in GA, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is illegal in most states. But I wouldn’t confront a hunter carrying a gun about it.
As I was waiting for my shuttle ride I took several pics of the guys and one of them really gave me the stank eye.
GoldenBear
10-31-2019, 16:38
Hunting from the road should not be legal
It isn't in Georgia.
http://forum.gon.com/threads/hunting-distance-from-public-road.81627/
www.eregulations.com/georgia/hunting/general-w-m-a-regulations/
Unlawful Activities on WMAs
Hunting within 50 yards of any road opened for vehicular access. (Possession of a loaded firearm within 50 yards of a road opened for vehicular access is considered hunting.)
Sadly, hunters have long developed a culture of "no snitching" when it comes to illegal activities. Don't count on any other hunter to report these criminals to local authorities.
Uncle Joe
10-31-2019, 21:59
Typically you have to be so many feet/yards from a road to hunt. I'm not against hunters but they must hunt within the law. I came across a lost hunting dog at Cooper Gap once. This was not in season. I don't recall completely but I think I called the number on the collar and the person who answer let the owner know. But as I recall a ranger was nearby and came by and was keenly interested in talking to the owner.
grubbster
11-01-2019, 08:04
Not sure about Georgia but in my area dogs are also used for raccoon hunting. Not all hunters with dogs are hunting bear.
The Old Chief
11-01-2019, 10:44
Typically you have to be so many feet/yards from a road to hunt. I'm not against hunters but they must hunt within the law. I came across a lost hunting dog at Cooper Gap once. This was not in season. I don't recall completely but I think I called the number on the collar and the person who answer let the owner know. But as I recall a ranger was nearby and came by and was keenly interested in talking to the owner.
It's not unusual in North Carolina to see hunting dogs in the woods when hunting season(s) are not in. It's part of the dogs training and the hunters I've talked to do it mostly because they like to hear the dogs hunting. A couple of years ago, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, I talked to some bear hunters parked on the side of the road listening to their dogs. I asked how they knew when the dogs were running a bear toward them so they could shoot the bear and they all started laughing. One of them told me that a dog that could do that would be priceless and it was mostly just luck that brought the bear close enough to the road to be shot.
gpburdelljr
11-01-2019, 11:38
It's not unusual in North Carolina to see hunting dogs in the woods when hunting season(s) are not in. It's part of the dogs training and the hunters I've talked to do it mostly because they like to hear the dogs hunting.
I think that for a lot of Coon hunters the main point is to sit around the fire drinking, and discussing the “voices” of the various dogs.
FWIW...You can't legally hunt bears with dogs in North Georgia.
Bear hunting with hounds became legal in GA beginning this season on two WMAs that are very close to or actually border the AT. These were quota hunts with a small number of hunters allowed. It'll happen again next season as well. After that, it'll be up too the GA Legislature if it continues or not. We'll see...
Stray hunting dogs are the bane of my backpacking life in the mountains of TN and NC. If a normal person left their pets in the middle of nowhere for days at a time they'd be cited by authorities. Hunters get away with "abandoning" their dogs---without supervision---all the time. It's the Grand Southern Tradition of bear hunting. These dogs pee on my pack, steal my food, jump into the tent and claw up gear---and claw up the outside of the tent fly. Where are their owners? In their pickup trucks drinking hot coffee.
I just got back from a trip a couple days ago and saw a pitiful sight---bear hunters parked on a road and waiting for their dogs to chase a bear up to them so they could shoot it right off the road. In fact, while I was waiting for my ride out 5 or 6 loud shots went off and they bagged something.
Hunting from the road should not be legal. Heck, using dogs to hunt bear should not be legal.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Gear-TheSevenHolyNylons/Bags-Pads-And-Other-Junk/i-kRKSJGM/0/c020e0eb/XL/Trip%20200%20%28251%29-XL.jpg
I see this photo and arrive at a somewhat different conclusion. What I see are bear hunters waiting for their dogs to tree or bay a bear, at which point they will pitch off the road and walk to where the dogs are and have a look. They may shoot. They may not. Either way, they'll have to leash the dogs and walk them back to the truck.
Bear dogs don't herd bears to their handlers. The bears either tree or bay at their sole discretion and the hunters must then go to the bears.
Tipi Walter
11-01-2019, 12:04
I see this photo and arrive at a somewhat different conclusion. What I see are bear hunters waiting for their dogs to tree or bay a bear, at which point they will pitch off the road and walk to where the dogs are and have a look. They may shoot. They may not. Either way, they'll have to leash the dogs and walk them back to the truck.
Bear dogs don't herd bears to their handlers. The bears either tree or bay at their sole discretion and the hunters must then go to the bears.
Doesn't explain why I heard 6 loud rifle shots from the road.
Doesn't explain why I heard 6 loud rifle shots from the road.
I get what you're saying. But, hearing the shots from the road doesn't mean that the shooters were hunting/shooting from the road. I do understand that not all hunters abide by the law.
trailmercury
11-01-2019, 12:36
Doesn't explain why I heard 6 loud rifle shots from the road.
There are lot of possible explanations, poaching is only one of them.
The Old Chief
11-01-2019, 12:41
I don't know if it's legal or not to shoot at a bear from the road, but I do know that in Eastern North Carolina deer hunting from the road with dogs is legal. This past Saturday morning we went by several groups of hunters doing this from the road. I've even seen a revolving chair mounted on top of a dog box so that the hunter can shoot from the higher position while sitting. Most of this type of hunting usually takes place in fairly rural areas of the state and is no big deal to locals.
Tipi Walter
11-01-2019, 12:42
There are lot of possible explanations, poaching is only one of them.
About an hour after the shooting a pickup truck left the area with a black bear on the tailgate. Sure, could all be coincidence. Or not.
trailmercury
11-01-2019, 13:48
About an hour after the shooting a pickup truck left the area with a black bear on the tailgate. Sure, could all be coincidence. Or not.
If you thought you witnessed poaching, part of the onus is on you to report it...
Are you saying there is no possibility they harvested the bear legally? Do you know the hunting regulations in the area you were hiking?
Poaching is unacceptable and I cringe at the idea by the way, but legal harvesting of game animals is as much of a justifiable use of public lands as hiking/backpacking. Most here probably prefer the later.
Tipi Walter
11-01-2019, 14:13
Poaching is illegal hunting. But is it legal to hunt from the side of a road??
But is it legal to hunt from the side of a road??
I can only speak for GA, which is the state I live in. In Georgia, it is unlawful to shoot from or across a public road. It is also unlawful to discharge a firearm within 50 yards of a public road. I don't know about what other states allow.
trailmercury
11-01-2019, 14:52
I can only speak for GA, which is the state I live in. In Georgia, it is unlawful to shoot from or across a public road. It is also unlawful to discharge a firearm within 50 yards of a public road. I don't know about what other states allow.
Wisconsin has the same rules regarding roadways, 50 yards from the center of the road
gpburdelljr
11-01-2019, 15:49
Poaching is illegal hunting. But is it legal to hunt from the side of a road??
Since you didn’t see them shoot, you have no idea if they shot from the road. Since you don’t know the laws, you don’t know if they were doing anything illegal.
Tipi Walter
11-01-2019, 16:27
Since you didn’t see them shoot, you have no idea if they shot from the road. Since you don’t know the laws, you don’t know if they were doing anything illegal.
Let's put it this way---I was out in those woods for 18 days backpacking and didn't see a single one of these bear hunters in the area UNTIL I came out to the road and then saw dozens. I surmise therefore they were hunting from the road. But I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. Guys standing around a guard rail with weapons seems suspicious though.
The Old Chief
11-01-2019, 18:23
I've searched North Carolina hunting laws for big game and have not found any law that prohibits hunting from roadsides in season. I just talked to my brother-in-law at his hunting camp (he also thru-hiked the AT this year) and he and the other hunters with him said yep, it's legal. A clue, in the picture that's been posted, that the hunters were legal in hunting from the side of the road is it would be pretty dumb to be standing there illegally with high power rifles in season not knowing whether or not the next vehicle on the road was a game warden.
gpburdelljr
11-01-2019, 18:34
Let's put it this way---I was out in those woods for 18 days backpacking and didn't see a single one of these bear hunters in the area UNTIL I came out to the road and then saw dozens. I surmise therefore they were hunting from the road. But I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. Guys standing around a guard rail with weapons seems suspicious though.
It’s more likely that they track the dogs with GPS, or by the sound of their baying, and drive around to the closest access point with the vehicles. If the dogs change direction, they get in the vehicles and relocate. Once a bear is treed, then they enter the woods on foot from the nearest road. A typical man, even one in really good shape from hiking, couldn’t begin to keep up with dogs running a bear, especially since the bear is likely to head cross country rather than on a trail, hence the use of vehicles.
Traveler
11-02-2019, 07:40
I see this photo and arrive at a somewhat different conclusion. What I see are bear hunters waiting for their dogs to tree or bay a bear, at which point they will pitch off the road and walk to where the dogs are and have a look. They may shoot. They may not. Either way, they'll have to leash the dogs and walk them back to the truck.
What I see in this photo are three guys who don't appear able to sustain multiple miles of bushwhacking for long, possibly making roadside hunting medically necessary. Most States do not allow hunting from the roadside or from vehicles, typically requiring a specific distance of 50 yards or so from a public road before legal hunting can be engaged.
Slo-go'en
11-02-2019, 07:53
What I see in this photo are three guys who don't appear able to sustain multiple miles of bushwhacking for long, possibly making roadside hunting medically necessary. Most States do not allow hunting from the roadside or from vehicles, typically requiring a specific distance of 50 yards or so from a public road before legal hunting can be engaged.
Same with NH. Game Wardens will set up a mechanical deer in a field next to a road and wait for someone to come by and shoot at it, then they jump out of the bushes and arrest the person.
here in mass the law says 200 ft from the road.they banned hunting with dogs a decade ago and as a result we are overrun with bears.to think your gonna go into the woods and stalk a bear without the help of dogs or over bait is wishful thinking. a bear will smell you and be long gone.
Tipi Walter
11-02-2019, 09:49
here in mass the law says 200 ft from the road.they banned hunting with dogs a decade ago and as a result we are overrun with bears.to think your gonna go into the woods and stalk a bear without the help of dogs or over bait is wishful thinking. a bear will smell you and be long gone.
Massachusetts is overrun with bears? There are an estimated 4,500 black bears in the state. The state's human population is almost 7 million. 7 million vs 4,500?? So, who's overrunning who????
i cant speak for the whole state.just know whats happening here in the berkshires.10 years ago you never saw a bear now i see several a month.
they have no fear of humans, dogs or anything else.my friends wife had to call the cops as the bear came thru the slider trapping her and the kids upstairs as it tore through the kitchen.also doing a number on local chicken houses.
SkeeterPee
11-02-2019, 10:14
Massachusetts is overrun with bears? There are an estimated 4,500 black bears in the state. The state's human population is almost 7 million. 7 million vs 4,500?? So, who's overrunning who????
An interesting fact from NatGeo https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/06/150626-black-bears-animals-science-nation-conservation/
"Scientists believe there are now more black bears in North America than there were when the settlers arrived in the 1600s."
greensleep
11-02-2019, 10:30
i cant speak for the whole state.just know whats happening here in the berkshires.10 years ago you never saw a bear now i see several a month.
they have no fear of humans, dogs or anything else.my friends wife had to call the cops as the bear came thru the slider trapping her and the kids upstairs as it tore through the kitchen.also doing a number on local chicken houses.
I live in northern Florida (some would call it LA; lower Alabama) in the panhandle area. I moved here 19 years ago. At that time, an occasional sighting of a bear or bear with cubs was a once in a 2 to 3 month occurance. Now, with the inevitable overpopulation and overdevelopment (by my own definitions), we have destroyed or removed hundreds of acres of wildlife habitat, leaving bears with a much reduced grazing/living area. We have daily sightings of bears walking through the neighborhoods and exploring garbage bins. No aggressive confrontations yet, but that's coming. Since bears are not relocated here, they will be euthanized.
Let's put it this way---I was out in those woods for 18 days backpacking and didn't see a single one of these bear hunters in the area UNTIL I came out to the road and then saw dozens. I surmise therefore they were hunting from the road. But I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. Guys standing around a guard rail with weapons seems suspicious though.
I think there is a lot of judging based on appearance here. I much doubt that the pictured hunters were doing anything illegal. The gun is most likely unloaded. There are very few facts here, and I think you probably wrongly accuse legitimate hunters.
Tipi Walter
11-03-2019, 13:17
I think there is a lot of judging based on appearance here. I much doubt that the pictured hunters were doing anything illegal. The gun is most likely unloaded. There are very few facts here, and I think you probably wrongly accuse legitimate hunters.
I never said the hunters were doing anything illegal. Like I said in my quote about hunting from the road---I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. But hearing the gunshots directly on the road and guys standing on the guard rail seemed suspicious. I mean, why have guns at the ready if they were not hunting . . . uh . . . from the road? Just keep them in their trucks which were parked nearby.
I never said the hunters were doing anything illegal. Like I said in my quote about hunting from the road---I could be wrong as I did not actually see it happen. But hearing the gunshots directly on the road and guys standing on the guard rail seemed suspicious. I mean, why have guns at the ready if they were not hunting . . . uh . . . from the road? Just keep them in their trucks which were parked nearby.
Why should hikers dictate how hunters act? Keep guns in their trucks? One can't hunt without a gun. How about hunters tell hikers what to do. Multi-purpose areas are just that. HYOH and Hunt Your Own Hunt.
Tipi Walter
11-03-2019, 15:44
Why should hikers dictate how hunters act? Keep guns in their trucks? One can't hunt without a gun. How about hunters tell hikers what to do. Multi-purpose areas are just that. HYOH and Hunt Your Own Hunt.
You must've missed my earlier complaint about unsupervised hunting dogs stealing my food and clawing up my tent and urinating on my pack etc. Multi-purpose areas are all well and good---until their activities (their dogs) interfere with my use of the woods. Hunt Your Own Hunt is great---just keep tabs on your dogs and stick with them---otherwise they glom onto hikers and backpackers for days (and nights)---as if abandoned.
I've seen dozens of these dogs over the years---maybe a hundred---and this little motard just peed on my pack---on a trip back in 2015.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-2015-Trips-161/Three-Citico-Nuts/i-NfdPmX2/0/1eccec39/XL/TRIP%20170%20147-XL.jpg
One Half
11-03-2019, 19:00
Stray hunting dogs are the bane of my backpacking life in the mountains of TN and NC. If a normal person left their pets in the middle of nowhere for days at a time they'd be cited by authorities. Hunters get away with "abandoning" their dogs---without supervision---all the time. It's the Grand Southern Tradition of bear hunting. These dogs pee on my pack, steal my food, jump into the tent and claw up gear---and claw up the outside of the tent fly. Where are their owners? In their pickup trucks drinking hot coffee.
I just got back from a trip a couple days ago and saw a pitiful sight---bear hunters parked on a road and waiting for their dogs to chase a bear up to them so they could shoot it right off the road---but this is just my opinion as I did not see such a thing actually happen. While I was waiting for my ride out 5 or 6 loud shots went off and they bagged something---as the gunshots were very loud.
Hunting from the road should not be legal. Heck, using dogs to hunt bear should not be legal.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Gear-TheSevenHolyNylons/Bags-Pads-And-Other-Junk/i-kRKSJGM/0/c020e0eb/XL/Trip%20200%20%28251%29-XL.jpg
Hmmmm...
TN: a) It is unlawful to hunt, shoot at, chase, catch, or kill, with or without dogs, any wild animal, wild bird, or wild fowl from a public road right-of-way, or to shoot any firearms across or on any public road.
source: https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/2010/title-70/chapter-4/part-1/70-4-108/
I couldn't find a nice easy source for NC but I have been licensed to hunt in 3 states and this has been the same as TN in every one. In some of the states I have been licensed in, you actually needed to be a certain distance from any road before discharging a firearm while hunting (as well as distanced from houses)
One Half
11-03-2019, 19:01
Hunting from the road is illegal in GA, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is illegal in most states. But I wouldn’t confront a hunter carrying a gun about it.
no, if it's illegal or you are uncertain, the best thing to do is call the local game warden and ask/report the action.
(license plate numbers are helpful in this case)
One Half
11-03-2019, 19:03
It isn't in Georgia.
http://forum.gon.com/threads/hunting-distance-from-public-road.81627/
www.eregulations.com/georgia/hunting/general-w-m-a-regulations/ (http://www.eregulations.com/georgia/hunting/general-w-m-a-regulations/)
Sadly, hunters have long developed a culture of "no snitching" when it comes to illegal activities. Don't count on any other hunter to report these criminals to local authorities.
The hunters I have known would ALL report any and all criminal hunting acts. For the most part, in my experience, hunters are highly ethical and caring people.
Nothing illegal here, unless you can provide more info and absolute facts. Not sure what "glom" means. You're not responsible for dogs that don't belong to you. Hike on and don''t concern yourself with things that just annoy you. I'm a hiker and also a hunting advocate.
NC has no statewide restriction on hunting from a road. It is a local issue. But it is against the law to discharge a firearm within 500 yards of a place of worship.
Tipi Walter
11-03-2019, 21:45
You're not responsible for dogs that don't belong to you.
Right, I'm not responsible for dogs that don't belong to me. So who is???
Hike on and don''t concern yourself with things that just annoy you.
Where does this line of thinking come from? I see it over and over on this board. Someone will post a valid complaint and others will proclaim that the person should just ignore it. Tipi Walter has had free roaming hunting dogs get into his food and urinate on his pack and he should just ignore it???? This sort of "live and let live" mentality is tiresome if not cowardly. What kind of world would we live in if everyone simply turned their backs on problems?
If it had been raccoons peeing on his pack, he would take 50 pictures of his pack, tell us again and again how heavy it is, how long he’s been back squatting and then tell us that the raccoons keep the wild in WILDERNESS
Tipi Walter
11-04-2019, 23:31
If it had been raccoons peeing on his pack, he would take 50 pictures of his pack, tell us again and again how heavy it is, how long he’s been back squatting and then tell us that the raccoons keep the wild in WILDERNESS
You forgot to mention the 5 lbs of peanut butter I always carry.
Stray hunting dogs are the bane of my backpacking life in the mountains of TN and NC. If a normal person left their pets in the middle of nowhere for days at a time they'd be cited by authorities. Hunters get away with "abandoning" their dogs---without supervision---all the time. It's the Grand Southern Tradition of bear hunting. These dogs pee on my pack, steal my food, jump into the tent and claw up gear---and claw up the outside of the tent fly. Where are their owners? In their pickup trucks drinking hot coffee.
I just got back from a trip a couple days ago and saw a pitiful sight---bear hunters parked on a road and waiting for their dogs to chase a bear up to them so they could shoot it right off the road---but this is just my opinion as I did not see such a thing actually happen. While I was waiting for my ride out 5 or 6 loud shots went off and they bagged something---as the gunshots were very loud.
Hunting from the road should not be legal. Heck, using dogs to hunt bear should not be legal.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Gear-TheSevenHolyNylons/Bags-Pads-And-Other-Junk/i-kRKSJGM/0/c020e0eb/XL/Trip%20200%20%28251%29-XL.jpg
A lot of assumptions made in this post. The photo clearly shows two of the three hunters holding GPS handheld units. The hunters will try to remain in contact with their hounds until the bear has treed or bayed, and then hike in on foot to that location. From my experience on the AT I am far more likely to come in contact with a hikers dog off leash than a hunters hound. Hunting with hounds has been practiced for thousands of years. Why do you feel it should be illegal to do so?