Road side hunting on public

[Gl4di4torRr]

Sometimes there are some hotspots near the roads on public.

The rules so no hunting within 50 yards of a road with vehicle access.

So I can be 51 yards from the road.. what if you shoot a deer that is inside 50 yards from the road?

 

[antharper]

I’d say just go hunting and be safe !

 

[buckshed]

Yeah...not good thinking I was almost shot by someone at a wma this past year shooting from inside from 50 yards from road...these rules are in place for a reason

 

[Doboy Dawg]

Quite a few years back I was hunting a SE Ga. WMA, I had a climber stand just a little over 50 yards from the road just past a power line. I had seen a bunch of scrapes and tracks on a trail where the deer were crossing the road.

I was probably 30ft. up a large pine and had a clear view of the power line right of way, the road, and the large planted pines.

I watched a huge doe cross the road. I could have shot her in the road or on the power line easement. But I watched and waited until she was more than 50 yards off the road and I shot her DRT.

As soon as I shot a truck came flying up the road toward me and stopped. I figured it was the Game Warden. I heard the door open but I couldn’t see anybody get out. I watched for a minute then I realized it was another hunter and he had jumped out of the truck with his rifle leveled straight toward the ditch in front of me.

He couldn’t see me because I was sitting behind the tree. He kept looking all around and I was like what in the carp is he aiming at?

So I kept looking at the ditch, it was then I saw a monster buck standing in the thicket by the ditch. He obviously chickened out because he knew someone very close had shot and he couldn’t see them. He jumped back in his truck and slammed the door and shouted some curse words.

The big buck had froze, I guessed he saw that buck cross the road. But I didn’t think he saw it in the thicket. When he started his truck back up. The big buck started to walk the same trail the doe I had just shot was laying dead on.

I had the buck in my scope but wasn’t gonna shoot him near the road. Just as the guy started to drive forward the buck spooked and bolted back in the direction he came from. It was then I saw a second buck as big as the first one. That one had obviously froze in the middle of the road.

If that dude hadn’t drove up on me I could have bagged a really nice buck. If I had been more patient and not shot the doe, I could have bagged a nice buck that was obviously trailing the doe.

As far as the 50 yard rule I’ve had that conversation with two different game wardens and both of them told me, “You shoot any game, It better be 50 yards or more from the road.”

In a different WMA I had a game warden make me move my stand more than 50 yards off a logging road. I argued the rules say maintained road. He said, this is a maintained road. I argued with him because I knew the road hadn’t been scraped in over 10 years. He said if you don’t move that stand I’m writing you a ticket. I moved the stand that day. A few weeks later I moved it back to where I had it. Because I’d killed several deer from it.

 

[Gl4di4torRr]

Yeah...not good thinking I was almost shot by someone at a wma this past year shooting from inside from 50 yards from road...these rules are in place for a reason

That sounds terrible. I primarily try to hunt bow only hunts and would only do this during a bow only hunt. I just know there are some hotspots by the road on some WMAs. Its nice to get way back in there and be away from everyone but sometimes near the road can be really good too.

 

[Wood999]

Hunted 52 yards off a WMA road last year. Goggle earthed and paced the distance. Never saw a big one, but had a button head within 7 yards, and a doe further in. The shin size rubs talked me into it. I did not want to tromp past them and shoot back towards the road. I did put up plenty of orange behind me. I am getting fat, old, and lazy so it worked out good for me.

 

[Nimrod71]

There are reasons for hunting rules and regulations. Yes, you may not need them, you are a thoughtful, respectful, safety minded hunter, but let me tell you there are others out there that aren't. On several hunts I have witnessed hunters shooting in the bushes. When I ask what they were shooting at, they replied I saw something move and I thought it was a deer. One of my cousins shot a man many years ago, before the orange reg., at Ft. Stewart. The man had shot a buck and was field dressing him. He had tied a rope around the deer's antlers and throwing the rope over a big oak limb pulled the deer to a standing position. Alex was walking a fire break and with brush between him and the deer, the deer standing under the oak, nibbling acorns from the tree, he fired a shot for his 16 ga. loaded with #1 buck shot. The shot hit the deer, the man was kneeling on the other side of the deer, he jump up hollering he was shot. Alex froze, then ran to the man who was hopping around with 2 shot in him. No cell phone back then and no one around to call for help. Alex got the man in his truck and headed to the post hospital. The man was treated and released. Alex reported the accident to the MP's, they investigated the accident and wrote it up and and accidental shooting. They said two things caused the event, the first was the man hanging the deer up in the tree making it look as if the deer was eating acorns. The second was Alex firing the shot through the bushes without being able to see what was on the other side of the standing deer. Alex never went deer hunting after that.

 

[C.Killmaster]

Sometimes there are some hotspots near the roads on public.

The rules so no hunting within 50 yards of a road with vehicle access.

So I can be 51 yards from the road.. what if you shoot a deer that is inside 50 yards from the road?

If you or the deer you are shooting at are within 50 yards of the open road you would be in violation.

 

[sb1010]

In a different WMA I had a game warden make me move my stand more than 50 yards off a logging road. I argued the rules say maintained road. He said, this is a maintained road. I argued with him because I knew the road hadn’t been scraped in over 10 years. He said if you don’t move that stand I’m writing you a ticket. I moved the stand that day. A few weeks later I moved it back to where I had it. Because I’d killed several deer from it.

Was the logging road blocked by a gate or dirt berm or something?

 

[twoheartedale]

Probably not a good idea to be shooting a rifle towards a public roadway at any distance, I could be wrong.

 

[bfriendly]

If you or the deer you are shooting at are within 50 yards of the open road you would be in violation.

This^^^^ I love parking alongside main roads and walking bottoms or ridges. Game e are hardly afraid of the sound of traffic. And 50 yards ain’t very far.....it’s just a wedge

 

[Rich M]

It is tough to deal with safety issues when you have a ton of folks doing stupid things, and who are willing to rat you out if they can.

I'd go hunt and have fun. Don't overly worry about it but also don't do anything real stupid either.

The story above about the monster buck and road hunting - I got nothing against a guy shooting a buck like that. I got nothing against the author of that story shooting the/a buck near the road either. But plenty of folks will call LEO and gladly ruin yer day, just for kicks.

If I'm hunting near a road it is cause the sign/deer are there. Most of the time you can't force the deer to walk where they don't want to so you gotta hunt where they are at. But that's just me. I'm not gonna shoot some dude walking/biking/driving down the/a road, but a deer had better watch out.

Agree that 50 yards aint much. Excepting archery season.

 

[across the river]

If you or the deer you are shooting at are within 50 yards of the open road you would be in violation.

So the WMA regs say “hunting” within 50 yards and the general regs say “discharge firearm” within 50 yards. The differences are understandable public verses private, but there could be a little more clarification. If you are 50 yards on private and one walks out at 40 you can shoot. If you are on a WMA, you have to be 50 yards off and shoot away from the road. Makes sense, but isn’t entirely clear, based on wording.

 

[cowhornedspike]

So the WMA regs say “hunting” within 50 yards and the general regs say “discharge firearm” within 50 yards. The differences are understandable public verses private, but there could be a little more clarification. If you are 50 yards on private and one walks out at 40 you can shoot. If you are on a WMA, you have to be 50 yards off and shoot away from the road. Makes sense, but isn’t entirely clear, based on wording.

Rules (laws) need to be specific and not open to interpretation. Period.

 

[C.Killmaster]

So the WMA regs say “hunting” within 50 yards and the general regs say “discharge fire” within 50 yards. The differences are understandable public verses private, but there could be a little more clarification. If you are 50 yards on private and one walks out at 40 you can shoot. If you are on a WMA, you have to be 50 yards off and shoot away from the road. Makes sense, but isn’t entirely clear, based on wording.

I get it, but those are two distinct state laws and that's how they are worded. This has come up several times in the last couple of years on the forum. I actually just made a note to recommend that they devise a consistent rule if I get the opportunity.

 

[C.Killmaster]

Rules (laws) need to be specific and not open to interpretation. Period.

They are specific and not open to interpretation. One law says you cannot hunt within 50 yards of a public road on a WMA and another law says you cannot discharge a firearm within 50 yards of a public road on private land. The only thing that's confusing is that there are 2 laws rather than one, not that they aren't clear.

 

[Jester896]

you can't shoot across the road or across water either if I'm not mistaken.

 

[rosewood]

Rules (laws) need to be specific and not open to interpretation. Period.

Good luck with that. Politicans like them being vague so they can pick and choose what they enforce and so they can break them themselves.

I also think many times, the laws are written by different people at different times and they do not always research the other related laws and make sure they do not conflict.

Rosewood

 

[rosewood]

you can't shoot across the road or across water either if I'm not mistaken.

That begs the question, what is defined as water? Any creek or stream? Ponds or lakes? What if it is a dry creek bed?

Rosewood

 

[C.Killmaster]

That begs the question, what is defined as water? Any creek or stream? Ponds or lakes? What if it is a dry creek bed?

Rosewood

It's specific to deer:

"It shall be unlawful to take any deer by any means while the deer is in any lake, stream, or pond."

A dry creek bed is not a lake, stream, or pond.