Re: Sunday Hunting Amendment

Marcia Watson-Whitmyre (mww@UDel.Edu)
Mon, 29 Mar 1999 15:38:47 -0500


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To Ellen and others concerned about bow hunting:  I suspect this is an issue
to which each person will have their own reaction, based upon past
experience.  Personally, I feel comfortable with allowing Sunday bow hunting
because my son is involved in target archery, and through him I have learned
a bit about bow hunting and bowhunters (inevitable when you spend your
Saturdays hanging around an archery range, and when bow shooting magazines
grace your coffee table).  Bow hunters, in general, take great pride in
their skill and place a high priority on safety and on responsible hunting.
They stress not taking pot shots, and prefer to shoot at distances below 40
yards and preferably 20 yards, in order to minimize the incidence of
non-fatal wounds.  Most bow hunting of deer takes place from tree stands and
involves advance preparation to place the stand and scout the area, so bow
hunters are more likely to be aware of boundaries.  Because of the angles
when shooting from a stand, if the shot is missed, the arrow usually goes
into the ground.  Since they are working from a fixed tree stand, bowhunters
measure the distance around the stand to develop an eye for the distances,
thereby minimizing bad shots.  Arrows are expensive ($40/dozen and up), and
they have to be custom-cut and fletched to fit each compound bow, so
bowhunters have some financial motivation not to waste arrows on bad shots.
I know there are exceptions and that there are some irresponsible bowhunters
and accidents can always happen, but truly, the general approach to the
sport is quite impressive in terms of safety and responsibility.  As I said
at the beginning of this message, I understand that not everyone will agree
with me - this is just to explain my own feelings.  As an MOS member, I will
certainly support whatever position MOS chooses to take.
Marcia W-W

Ellen Paul wrote:

> Marcia -
>
> It's certainly better, but I'm still concerned about private lands that
> are adjacent to public lands.  Arrows can travel some distance, and
> don't read "posted no hunting" signs.  I can't imagine that some hunter
> in the woods is going to refrain from shooting at a deer because the
> arrow might cross over onto public lands, even assuming that he knows
> where the boundaries are.  Also, if you are birding on private land that
> is adjacent to other piece of private land where hunting is going on....
>
> Ellen
>
> Marcia Watson-Whitmyre wrote:
> >
> > Leslie Fisher called on Saturday to say that there was some
> > action in the Legislature on the Sunday hunting bill.  I
> > checked the MD General Assembly website at
> > http://mlis.state.md.us/ and I think (still learning this
> > legislative stuff) what happened is that the House approved
> > HB 906 on a second reading, with amendments.  The amended
> > bill allows Sunday hunting for DEER ONLY, and only during
> > November and December with bow and arrow.  The provision
> > allowing for Sunday hunting of forest game birds and mammals
> > was removed.  Furthermore, in its current state, the house
> > bill restricts Sunday hunting to private lands, with written
> > permission of the owner.  The original bill had some wording
> > about requiring DNR to study whether Sunday hunting on
> > PUBLIC land would be inconsistent with prior use;  all of
> > the wording pertaining to public land has been removed in
> > the amended bill.
> >
> > My personal opinion is that the amendments (if I have
> > interpreted them correctly) meet my safety concerns.  The
> > bill as amended would not interfere with Sunday birding on
> > any public land.   I would appreciate it if someone else
> > with more legislative knowledge would take a look at the
> > amended bill (see
> > http://mlis.state.md.us/1999rs/billfile/hb0906.htm)and give
> > their opinion.
> >
> > There apparently has been no action in the Senate on the
> > companion bill (SB 566).
> > Marcia Watson-Whitmyre
>
> --
> Ellen Paul
> Executive Director
> The Ornithological Council
> Mailto:epaul@dclink.com
> Ornithological Council Website:  http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET
> "Providing Scientific Information about Birds"

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