Bear Hunting in Georgia/North Carolina OCT 24 2019

[steady123]

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]

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.

[FreeGoldRush]

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??

[martinb]

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.

[Mockernut]

FWIW...You can't legally hunt bears with dogs in North Georgia.

[Stikbow]

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...

[JPritch]

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]

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.

[gpburdelljr]

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.

[Tipi Walter]

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.

[One Half]

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)

[GoldenBear]

Hunting from the road should not be legal

It isn't in Georgia.
http://forum.gon.com/threads/hunting...ic-road.81627/
http://www.eregulations.com/georgia/...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.

[One Half]

It isn't in Georgia.
http://forum.gon.com/threads/hunting...ic-road.81627/
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.

[Stikbow]

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.

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]

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.

[Stikbow]

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.

[The Old Chief]

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.

[trailmercury]

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.

[Tipi Walter]

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.

[Traveler]

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.