How to Stay Out of Legal Trouble While Hunting
Ethical hunting requires you to follow a certain set of laws and other regulations provided both by the state and the landowners. The laws are meant to ensure that you enjoy the hunting process while keeping safety measures that prevent any possible occurrence of accidents.
In addition, following the laws set will ensure that you have stayed legally binding during the hunting mission. Below are different ways of how to stay out of legal trouble while hunting.
Handle guns carefully
Always keep the muzzle of your rifle pointed in a safe direction. If every hunter handled their firearm so carefully that the muzzle never pointed at something they didn’t want to shoot, there would be no cases of accidental killings of animals. Load and unload your rifle only when you are in the field and not in the camps while standing in a group, as this will violate the rules.
Taking Hunter Ed safety education courses will train you on how to handle your firearms and ammunition. The courses are designed with comprehensive instructional content and illustrations to ensure that you get the best knowledge about firearm safety.
Read and understand rules available
Even though you are aware of the existing state laws on hunting, you should read the hunting regulations of the park. Due to geographical differences, the authorities may come with laws restricting hunters from entering some places or prohibiting them from carrying foods into the woodlands and using them when in the camps.
Only water is allowed into the woodlands. It may be so because of the reported incidences of hunters feeding the animals while hunting, that’s highly prohibited. Avoid being caught off guard in the wrong place or feeding the animals.
Wear a watch
To stay legally in the hunting parks while keeping time, carry with yourself a watch. With it, you can easily estimate the time you have taken to travel up to the point you have set the traps and predict how long you will hunt and start leaving the woodlands for the camp.
Legal shooting hours tend to relate to specific times of the day based on the sunrise and sunset. A watch will prevent you from shooting after hunting hours. You won’t have to keep on guessing and giving yourself a false sense of hope that it’s not late.
Plan your hunting mission and hunt your plan
Hunting with guns can result in accidents if you don’t plan well with members of your group. That means that you need to communicate effectively in the areas that each of you will operate from. Now that your hunting group is spread apart, make sure that you clearly remember your hunting plan.
Every time you feel it’s time to make your shot, make sure that everyone in the group knows how much the game is in the bag. Failure to communicate may land you into trouble due to accidents and wanton waste, which is a violation related to over-limits.
Keep trespass law
Hunting can be more interesting at times, and you end up finding yourself running over the small fences that are set in the woodlands as you run to catch the animal you have shot before it vanishes out of your eyes. It is the most frequent complaint that most landowners raise against hunters.
When hunting, keep yourself confined to the tracks you have been allowed to operate from and do not let yourself cross to the other side even if there are a lot of hunting animals over there. Trespassing is not only illegal, but also it can lead to being denied access to hunting in that place again.