In VA it is legal to shoot turkeys with a rifle in the spring. My question is...
Would banning the use of rifles in the spring be a stepping stone for anti-hunting groups to open the door to ban other guns?
Quote from: barry on June 11, 2011, 02:02:05 PM
In VA it is legal to shoot turkeys with a rifle in the spring. My question is...
Would banning the use of rifles in the spring be a stepping stone for anti-hunting groups to open the door to ban other guns?
I don't think so. Making responsible decisions and common sense laws shouldn't work against us. But I'm sure they would try.
i hope it stays legal i hunt with a 700 rem 222 i shoot their heads of at 20 yds or closer thats all i have to hunt with and i live in va
Quote from: saint on February 23, 2011, 09:26:48 PM
I have a stevens single barrel 20 gauge
Why don't you hunt with your stevens single barrel 20 gauge? It should kill them at 20 yards or closer just as good as your 222, plus it would be a lot safer for everyone else!
yes i do have one it don't fire so next time you view my profile do some more checking then you wont look stupid when try to bust someone out :you_rock:
Quote from: guesswho on June 11, 2011, 02:52:33 PM
Quote from: barry on June 11, 2011, 02:02:05 PM
In VA it is legal to shoot turkeys with a rifle in the spring. My question is...
Would banning the use of rifles in the spring be a stepping stone for anti-hunting groups to open the door to ban other guns?
I don't think so. Making responsible decisions and common sense laws shouldn't work against us. But I'm sure they would try.
I agree with Ronnie. I think that banning rifles would make us look more responsible as a group, not less.
Quote from: saint on June 11, 2011, 05:02:58 PM
yes i do have one it don't fire so next time you view my profile do some more checking then you wont look stupid when try to bust someone out :you_rock:
And I'm the one that looks stupid? Alrighty then :icon_thumright:
as long as it is a legal i guess to each there own. would i hunt with a rifle for turkey in the spring?? no. not for me
*** I am personally unbiased on what method hunters use for hunting , my only desire is that they be safe***
Barry ,we had the same dilemma here in Florida -after years of turkey hunters being shot by , slugs, buckshot, and rifle bullets - the end result was shotguns only with size #2 and smaller bird shot were allowed - some of the incidents were so horrific I will refrain from revealing the details
You have to look at the situation in the big picture -Shooting incidents are very damaging for the image of hunting , there is a website that is devoted solely to that , and let me tell you there is way more shootings than people know about - at the very top of the most dangerous hunting sports turkey hunting is there staring us in the face - we all know the drive to the turkey woods is statistically far more dangerous -
The fact remains ,Shooting incidents are being used by are anti hunting crowd to stop what they call "sport hunting"
here is proof.....
http://www.all-creatures.org/cash/accident-center.html
I'm not going to judge someone cause they like to use a 22 mag for turkey hunting , but as a group, the responsible thing is to self govern our selves before the anti's come in here and clean house on us - if there is no incidents in your state I dont see any merit in anyone changing things cause you have some safe fellas in your woods-
If some of you can remember when Pennsylvania had upwards of 40 shooting incidents per year back in the late 80's , they mandated the orange vests...what a mess that was - that's what we need to avoid
Also God forbid the day some fool shoots a non-hunter/hiker/mushroom picker on public land and a Anti- hunter with a good law firm makes a class action suit out of it and all wma's are blocked for hunting usage
thank you again for bring to our attention such a important issue :icon_thumright:
Full camo and rifles = bad things. The people in the county in VA where I go to school are big fans of their AR's for turkey hunting. I know it's been hard on the turkey population with no CO here. Some of these guys stack them up at long range.
Rifles are legal here in WY. I wish they would be outlawed to cut down on the road hunting that's prevalent in the NF. It's turkey shooting not turkey hunting IMO.
Yes, banning rifles is just another ban and more lawyered up ammo from the court decision for anti hunters..I don't turkey hunt with a rifle but I support the 2nd ammendment whole heartedly. Road hunters and outlaws won't change because of new laws.
the road hunters are bad here i know a guy that killed 5 before the season came in and baits to we said something to the law and they did nothing i caught one day before the season came in and they didnt check on it :newmascot:
Quote from: gobbler74 on June 12, 2011, 07:28:59 AM
Yes, banning rifles is just another ban and more lawyered up ammo from the court decision for anti hunters..I don't turkey hunt with a rifle but I support the 2nd ammendment whole heartedly. Road hunters and outlaws won't change because of new laws.
good point Jim. i live 3 miles from the W.VA line. there season comes in real late. so they start killing birds a month early. not just a couple of bad apples doing this. it is common knowledge between turkey killers in this area. they do not stay on there side of the line and most start feeding corn in early Feb and keep the ground yellow way into there season.so i do not think banning rifles will change a thing
thats what the young boys are doing here up above my house and down on another road to :newmascot:
I have seen what a rifle can do to a turkey a few years back while out in South Dakota and I will honestly say that rifles have no business being a firearm of choice for turkey hunting after what I have witnessed. There was a group of hunters sharing the same lodging area where we were and they were using .222 and a .243. These individuals weren't shooting them in the head as they were taking long range shots at these birds on the prairie and they were blowing huge holes in the birds. Some barely had breast left on them and some were missing entire legs. Do I believe that banning rifles will give the anti's a positive step toward arms control? Not one bit at all. Banning the use of rifles for turkey hunters is only outdoorsman policing their own for the betterment of the sport. In fact I honestly believe that if we don't encourage the banning of rifles for turkey hunting that we are actually giving the anti's more ammunition to use against us in the long run.
bird
Quote from: bird on June 12, 2011, 09:01:48 AM
I have seen what a rifle can do to a turkey a few years back while out in South Dakota and I will honestly say that rifles have no business being a firearm of choice for turkey hunting after what I have witnessed. There was a group of hunters sharing the same lodging area where we were and they were using .222 and a .243. These individuals weren't shooting them in the head as they were taking long range shots at these birds on the prairie and they were blowing huge holes in the birds. Some barely had breast left on them and some were missing entire legs. Do I believe that banning rifles will give the anti's a positive step toward arms control? Not one bit at all. Banning the use of rifles for turkey hunters is only outdoorsman policing their own for the betterment of the sport. In fact I honestly believe that if we don't encourage the banning of rifles for turkey hunting that we are actually giving the anti's more ammunition to use against us in the long run.
bird
true Al. and you have posted some very good points on this discussion. i understand completly what you are saying.and do agree that turkey hunting should be shotgun only during spring and fall season.
most would find that it would make them better turkey hunters instead of turkey shooters.
Quote from: VAHUNTER on June 12, 2011, 09:16:40 AM
Quote from: bird on June 12, 2011, 09:01:48 AM
I have seen what a rifle can do to a turkey a few years back while out in South Dakota and I will honestly say that rifles have no business being a firearm of choice for turkey hunting after what I have witnessed. There was a group of hunters sharing the same lodging area where we were and they were using .222 and a .243. These individuals weren't shooting them in the head as they were taking long range shots at these birds on the prairie and they were blowing huge holes in the birds. Some barely had breast left on them and some were missing entire legs. Do I believe that banning rifles will give the anti's a positive step toward arms control? Not one bit at all. Banning the use of rifles for turkey hunters is only outdoorsman policing their own for the betterment of the sport. In fact I honestly believe that if we don't encourage the banning of rifles for turkey hunting that we are actually giving the anti's more ammunition to use against us in the long run.
bird
true Al. and you have posted some very good points on this discussion. i understand completly what you are saying.and do agree that turkey hunting should be shotgun only during spring and fall season. just to say you kill
most would find that it would make them better turkey hunters instead of turkey shooters.
I have to side with these two gentlemen on this. I firmly believe that rifles have no buisness in turkey hunting.
Say you see a turkey walking across a field close to a tree line roughly 100 yards out. You pull up your .223 and take a crack and miss. What if there was a hunter working that bird. You have now put that sportsman in harms way. There is no way a shooter across the field can detect a fully camoed hunter from that distance. Just too dangerous a game to play. Thankfully, NH doesn't allow the use of rifles for either the fall or spring seasons, so for me it's a moot point.
Al also brings up a valid point. Why blow a hole through a turkey with a varmit rifle? You kill them, and cannot use the meat. Why waste such a magnificent game animal just to say you killed something.
Thanks to all for your comments and for NOT letting this get ugly.
Here are a couple points to ponder.
VA allows rifles in spring BUT you must use #2 or smaller shot in a shotgun???
The use of rifles in spring is not governed by the Game Department but by the State of VA.
Quote from: bird on June 12, 2011, 09:01:48 AM
I have seen what a rifle can do to a turkey a few years back while out in South Dakota and I will honestly say that rifles have no business being a firearm of choice for turkey hunting after what I have witnessed. There was a group of hunters sharing the same lodging area where we were and they were using .222 and a .243. These individuals weren't shooting them in the head as they were taking long range shots at these birds on the prairie and they were blowing huge holes in the birds. Some barely had breast left on them and some were missing entire legs. Do I believe that banning rifles will give the anti's a positive step toward arms control? Not one bit at all. Banning the use of rifles for turkey hunters is only outdoorsman policing their own for the betterment of the sport. In fact I honestly believe that if we don't encourage the banning of rifles for turkey hunting that we are actually giving the anti's more ammunition to use against us in the long run.
bird
:agreed:
i couldn't have summarized my own opinion on the matter any better than this.
Unethical hunters will also never change.
what is unethical
:begging: unethical - not conforming to approved standards of social or professional behavior !!! :smiley-char092:
They made that change down here in Florida. Didn't create any stir with the anti's. You should support that change in your state too!
AS far as Im concerned it would be a good thing if rifles got banned during turkey season in all states.
Quote from: Shotgun on June 12, 2011, 07:36:31 PM
AS far as Im concerned it would be a good thing if rifles got banned during turkey season in all states.
I totally agree
Quote from: surehuntsalot on June 13, 2011, 10:50:15 PM
Quote from: Shotgun on June 12, 2011, 07:36:31 PM
AS far as Im concerned it would be a good thing if rifles got banned during turkey season in all states.
I totally agree
:agreed:
I'm OK with banning them for safety reasons ONLY. Otherwise, I wouldn't give two poops what anybody shot 'em with, how far, or how much meat they damage. It's their tag.
Quote from: GOLD HUNTER on June 12, 2011, 04:18:25 PM
:begging: unethical - not conforming to approved standards of social or professional behavior !!! :smiley-char092:
:agreed:
barry
no i don't think it will.
Who made this dumb law for killing spring gobblers in Va. with a rifle and what year did it come into play !!!
Quote from: GOLD HUNTER on June 14, 2011, 12:46:41 PM
barry
no i don't think it will.
Who made this dumb law for killing spring gobblers in Va. with a rifle and what year did it come into play !!!
I've got an email in to the game department now to find out.
I ran into some hunters in SD years ago while turkey hunting. They were really there shooting prairie dogs, but figured while they were there, they'd get turkey tags too. They were set up with a shooting bench in a clearing shooting at gobblers hundreds of yards away in other clearings. This was before the strutting decoy craze, but can you imagine the scenario?
What if it was a gobbler they were shooting at, but someone was there working that bird, and they just dusted it from 400 yards away?
I'm all for the 2nd Amendment, but a key tennant of the constitution is that your expression of those rights should not infringe on the rights of others.