Stump shooting hassles

[snowplow]

Any of you guys ever get hassled by a game warded for stump shooting? It seems our wardens seem to have an epic reputation for trying to write tickets for anything. So I am a little nervous to head out on my jolly way with a bow and a handful of arrows with small game heads you see.

Do I need to be 'hunting' something to have my gear out there?

I think crows are open year round without a license. Is it as simple as saying I'm hunting those?

I dont want to lie to the officers. I just want to shoot stumps    

You need to check with the state game dept, and/or the wma/public area you are hunting to see their specific rules. As long as you are following the rules, you should be OK!

Bisch

[Rooselk]

I lived in Washington for many years and never once was hassled by a game warden for stump shooting. Leave the broadheads at home and take only arrows with traditional stumping heads like blunts and / or Judos and you'll have nothing to explain.

[Pine]

Here in Michigan you must have a  small game license and wear blaze orange .
Bit something that I think is nit picky is if you lean youy bow against or place it on your vehicle , it must be unstrung or in a case .
Same goes for firearms

[reddogge]

I live in MD and I carry a license and a broadhead and just say I was hunting groundhogs which are legal.

[Michael Arnette]

I've wondered the same, haven't been hassled yet. We have hogs in some areas here so carry broad heads. I'm sure I would be though. I waved at game wardens as they pass me but never been checked. As soon as they see my equipment they pass me up. I guess they assume I'm ok if I've gone to the trouble of using traditional equipment?

[Jim Wright]

Here in Louisiana, you cannot shoot stumps or anything else with a bow on a Wildlife Management Area unless there is a hunting season open. There may well be similar regulations pertaining to other public land such as state forests, national wildlife refuges, etc.. I would know before I went stump shooting on any of them.

[JD Page 1965]

Michigan sure has some stupid rules. But it sounds like they are not alone, guess Indiana is not so bad after all.

[Bladepeek]

Originally posted by Graps:
Here in Michigan you must have a  small game license and wear blaze orange .
Bit something that I think is nit picky is if you lean youy bow against or place it on your vehicle , it must be unstrung or in a case .
Same goes for firearms

Graps, the law says a firearm or bow must be unloaded when carried in or on a vehicle (including when it is moving, stopped or parked).

I've never come across a DNR agent who would call it "carrying" if I lean my bow against the car while getting something (like a bow case?) out of the car. In fact, I think that one would be an easy win in court as the intent of the law is pretty obvious and I don't believe a judge would find that situation to be "carrying".

Guess we'll never know until it goes to court someday.

In Iowa it is not legal to target practice with a firearm on public land.  The local game wardens must not consider bows to be firearms.  One suggested that the round bales would be better for warm up shots than shooting judo points in grass and another had the farmer move a bad bale so it could be used for target practice.  I have heard of cases where wardens do very little about going after obvious thugs that are out to break every rule they can, but love to go after good hunters and stick them with nit picky violations, like spitting spent chewing gum out and getting a littering citation.

[Biathlonman]

Call ahead to the state, ask to talk to a supervisor, make note of who/when you talked.  Can't see them hassling you to awfully much for shooting stumps.

[snowplow]

Good ideas guys.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Originally posted by Biathlonman:
Call ahead to the state, ask to talk to a supervisor, make note of who/when you talked.  Can't see them hassling you to awfully much for shooting stumps.

This is exactly what I think you should do.  Every state is different, some states have different rules for different areas.

Call and make sure its ok, Document who you spoke with and enjoy.  If they say its not OK, I would at least check with another representative to be sure.

[elkken]

In WA you can shoot away at stumps, just be sure your not in any city limits and you are not shooting across any county roads, just like the rules with a rifle. Might be good to get a small game license in case you run into a coyote. Crow season is Sept to March, so don't be shooting any crows … you need at least a small game license to hunt anything when it is in season. I would suggest going and picking up a game laws booklet.

[PeteA]

In southern zone NY I believe you can only be in the woods with a bow during a hunting season and with a valid hunting license.

[galadriel]

I live in MN in the twin cities area. Last year I made the mistake of taking my bow to a certain wooded area in the surrounding metro where I had been many times to shoot stumps.  Apparently someone must have thought I was a terrorist. I hadn't even nocked an arrow when a police officer approached from behind and ordered me to "drop my weapon".  At first I didn't know who he was talking to. when I turned around a split second passed and I realized 'oh, he's talking to ME!' and he had his pistol drawn on me..
I spent an hour in the back of his squad car in cuffs while him and another officer searched the wooded area for an arrow identical to mine that didn't exist.  He even had me step out of the vehicle twice to interrogate me into admitting that not only had I shot an arrow but I was also poaching too.. None of which were true.  I had 3 judos with me that day, which I explained to him what they are used for.  I was as calm as ever through the entire process because I had the truth behind me.  He even had the local co officer from the dnr come out.  I was lucky that I wasn't shot and they didn't take my bow. I was not aware that a bow was considered a firearm in this particular city/township. I think the officer drawing his gun on someone with a recurve bow was a bit out of place.. As for his thinking, perhaps he thought my arrows would beat speeding bullets if he thought I was going to retaliate and shoot at him.. p.o.c. vs hollow point 9mm.  It's this incident that confirms my beliefs in there being too many police officers who lack the ability to interpret a situation before deciding whether to draw their weapon. And incidentally since this officer decided to draw his weapon, shouldn't he have requested back up first?  I am a white female, 5'1" which I later heard him refer me as 'some chick out in the woods with her bow' on the scanner to one of his mates.
 I had a $100 fine which I paid and today this incident has been expunged as it has passed the year date.
  today I go stump shooting well outside of the cities where I know it's okay to do that.  Thanks for reading..

There is a difference between country cops and city cops.  I shoot in my backyard every day. One night I was fed up with the rabbits destroying my garden, at two A.M. a county deputy stopped and told me to get a gun because he was afraid I would clip a tomato plant with my judo. I told him that I didn't want to wake the neighbors, he told me to use a 22.  Another time a town cop told me to use a .410 on a skunk and if anyone called about the noise they would explain it was for a skunk that may have been rabid.  They got that skunk the next day and it was rabid.
I think that this terrorist hype and bully attitude has more to it than what most think.  It is a bit over done when there are so many rules for things as simple as a stick and string or a slingshot and a handy rock.  Just remember we are criminals until proven guilty.

[ronp]

In NY, you may be considered hunting if you're out stumping.  Our hunting regulations defines hunting as:

"To hunt - means to pursue, shoot, kill or capture (other than trap) wildlife and includes all lesser acts that disturb or worry wildlife whether or not they result in taking."

I'm concerned about the part of it that says all lesser acts that disturb or worry wildlife.  If you're just out for a walk or hike or scouting in your hunting area you might be disturbing wildlife. Actually, you probably are.  I disturb or worry that woodchuck in my backyard when I open the back door.

Fortunately, there are a few species in NY that are not protected and may be hunted anytime (porcupine, red squirrel, woodchuck, English sparrow, starling, rock pigeon, and monk parakeet).  So I carry my small game license when out stumping and I guess I'll tell the CO I am hunting sparrows and monk parakeets if I get questioned.  Along with plenty of yes sirs and no sirs.

[mahantango]

Galadriel, that is mind-boggling and truly disturbing.

[Bladepeek]

galadriel, that incident is indeed disturbing. I would certainly question the officers judgment and his ability to perform his duties properly.

As for the fine, I've been on both sides of the badge. I was a cop in Detroit for a few years before being invited to join the Army (drafted in 1973). There were times when I had to enforce a law I disagreed with because there was a complaint.

One of my neighbors (moved away thank god!) called the police on me for shooting my bow within the city limits. We live on a lake on an acre of land, but it is within the city limits and there is a city ordinance against discharging just about anything within the city limits. The responding officers apologized for having to come to my house. I told them not to apologize for doing their job. They told me they thought the neighbor was being pretty petty (not their words    ) and didn't write me a ticket, but asked me to stop doing it. I hate the neighbor's guts for calling the police on me when he could just as easily come to the house and told me he had a problem with me shooting my bow, but technically he was right and I was wrong.

I don't like the ordinance, but I understand the reason for its existence and know the history of why it was enacted. Now that the neighbor has moved, I get along great with all my neighbors and have started shooting again with no fears that someone will call the police again.

Michigan has a law against target shooting on public land except at approved target ranges. As pointed out above, there is always some thing that is legal to hunt all year round, so as long as I have a small game license, am outside the city limits and claim to be hunting one of those creatures, I'm pretty safe from getting any tickets. If I were to admit I'm target shooting (and that would include stumping I'm sure) I'd be violating the law. Why put the officer in the position of having to ignore the law if he wants to give me a break when I can avoid breaking it just as easily.