Most hunting season dates are no more than 30 days in the early Fall.

In Colorado, hunting season last August 27-December 31:

http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/Sea ... dFees.aspx

Around where I live (one of the biggest hunting destinations in the US) you have to be cautious for over 1/3 of the year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer wrote a little song years ago and I still can't get the lyrics out of my head 50 years later. It was called the hunting song and here are the lines:

"I always will remember,
’twas a year ago november,
I went out to hunt some deer
On a mornin’ bright and clear.
I went and shot the maximum the game laws would allow,
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow.

I was in no mood to trifle,
I took down my trusty rifle
And went out to stalk my prey.
What a haul I made that day.
I tied them to my fender, and I drove them home somehow,
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow.

The law was very firm, it
Took away my permit,
The worst punishment I ever endured.
It turned out there was a reason,
Cows were out of season,
And one of the hunters wasn’t insured.

People ask me how I do it,
And I say, there’s nothin’ to it,
You just stand there lookin’ cute,
And when something moves, you shoot!
And there’s ten stuffed heads in my trophy room right now,
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a pure-bred guernsey cow."
----------------------------------------------------------
I feel as many others do, this was a terrible and stupid act on the part of the hunter. I used to hunt and understand the hunting aspect but there is no excuse for what happened in this case.
I now wear a lot of orange during hunting season but still am haunted by the lyrics of the Tom Lehrer song, it is often oh so true. Be aware of where you are and be on the defensive when there are others with high powered rifles in the area you might choose to go hiking in.

MigTigman wrote:

Scott wrote:

Most hunting season dates are no more than 30 days in the early Fall.

In Colorado, hunting season last August 27-December 31:

http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/Sea ... dFees.aspx

Around where I live (one of the biggest hunting destinations in the US) you have to be cautious for over 1/3 of the year.

OK, and?

You still have the other 2/3rds of the year to yourself. Hikers and Climbers do not own the strict access to the Public Lands. We all do. Regardless of affiliation in outdoor enthusiast hobby.

Whether one agrees with hunting or not, the act of sharing needs to be applied. What a concept.

Nothing wrong with sharing, but hikers aren't a threat to the safety of hunters. Our safety shouldn't be threatened by them for 1/3 of the year.

MigTigman wrote:Had the victim taken some time before venturing into the area wearing the proverbial REI uniform that most hikers wear these days (green or tan pants, shirt and hat etc), done some research as to the areas hunting season dates and then planned ahead by wearing some bright colored clothing, I guarantee he would have been alive today. But as most things go these days, many do not consider others when doing their thing in the outdoors. Just themselves.

You guarantee it? Is it your position that no hiker wearing bright clothing has ever been shot by a douchebag out hunting? Ever?

Blaming the hiker is a bit like blaming the driver of a car stopped at a red light for getting killed because he was talking on his cell phone when he was rear ended by a drunk who slammed into him at 60 mph. Maybe the victim could have done something otherwise, but let's but the actual blame where it belongs... on the guy who killed someone else in the wilderness.

MigTigman wrote:

mrchad9 wrote:[ Is it your position that no hiker wearing bright clothing has ever been shot by a douchebag out hunting?

That there lies the problem. Your posts fully indicates your opinion of anyone that hunts. I personally do not hunt nor have I ever.

Well you are absolutely wrong on that. Unlike you, I have hunted, and many members of my family still do. My post has nothing to do with my opinion of people that hunt, but rather my opinion of people that shoot other people. They are douchebags.

When we hunt, we KNOW what we are shooting at, and can see it fully. We don't shoot at something that looks like it might be there. If you are saying you must wear bright colored clothing then you are saying we should expect people to shoot without knowing what they are shooting at- in which case this is not isolated incident but a systemic problem in hunting areas causes by people negligently shooting at things they cannot see.

MigTigman wrote:

mrchad9 wrote:Blaming the hiker is a bit like blaming the driver of a car stopped at a red light for getting killed because he was talking on his cell phone when he was rear ended by a drunk who slammed into him at 60 mph. Maybe the victim could have done something otherwise, but let's but the actual blame where it belongs... on the guy who killed someone else in the wilderness.

No sir. I would compare it to the common day pedestrian talking or texting on his cell phone, not paying attention to his surroundings, then stepping out onto a street without first checking to see if there is any oncoming traffic while continuing his cell phone business, expecting cars to immediately stop as they selfishly venture across the street continuing to not pay any attention what so ever to their very dynamic surroundings.

No. Your analogy would apply if the hiker jumped or walked in between the hunter and a bear, which is not what happened. The car in your scenario was legally driving along the road, whereas the hunter had illegally pulled the trigger while aimed at a human being.

To make your analogy work, the pedestrian steps out onto the street without checking for oncoming traffic while talking on his cell phone. When he is in the street a driver turns on his car that had previously been parked, presses the gas to accelerate, and plows over the pedestrian.

MigTigman wrote:Had the victim taken some time before venturing into the area wearing the proverbial REI uniform that most hikers wear these days (green or tan pants, shirt and hat etc), done some research as to the areas hunting season dates and then planned ahead by wearing some bright colored clothing, I guarantee he would have been alive today. But as most things go these days, many do not consider others when doing their thing in the outdoors. Just themselves.

Yeah like these dumb-ass hunters who shot at something that moved before they knew what they were shooting at.

MigTigman wrote:

Buz Groshong wrote:Nothing wrong with sharing, but hikers aren't a threat to the safety of hunters. Our safety shouldn't be threatened by them for 1/3 of the year.

Then plan accordingly and take precautions when venturing into an area where "others" (hunters) are most likely doing their thing. Just as one should not venture into known Avy areas without first checking the conditions and then taking the proper safety eq, one should do the same in any known hunting area, i.e. USFS and BLM lands.

Simple, Right?

Wrong. Many these days can not even check the weather before heading out and end up getting themselves in a world of hurt expecting someone to come save them from their stupidity. Same deal as venturing into known hunting areas during hunting season. Going into the outdoors with the selfish concept of entitlement, is not an excuse for stupidity.

So if you drive on New Year's Eve, when you know there will be drunks on the road, and get hit by a drunk driver it's your own fault? Bullshit! A hunter on public land has an obligation to see that others who are there are not endangered by his or her actions.

This is not an issue about climbing, it is not about walking across the street. It is about a hunter who violated the most basic of hunter safety rules, always have a clear line of sight and positive identification of your target. Any hunter who violates this rule should have their license taken away.

This is not a condemnation of all hunters, it is a condemnation of hunters who ignore basic safety practices. IMHO the hunter in question should have been charged with negligent homicide at a minimum.

I do agree that other forest users should also take precautions to decrease their chances of being a victim of one of these reckless characters. I do most of my hiking/climbing in nearby Glacier NP during our hunting season. That keeps me out of range of most stray bullets.

I sure do love me some elk steak. Best tasting meat ever...