Hunting Near Populated Areas
Back in the Winter of 2008, I moved to a new home in a neighborhood that borders a section of woods. The neighborhood is on the edge of a populated county, but it is out on the edge of the county. My home border the edge of the woods, and my property actually extends about 30 yards back into the wooded area. It is a nice area with a lot of affluent neighbors.
The woods was a big draw for me when I selected the property to build on. I love the outdoors, and this lot gave me the best of both worlds. My wife is happy since we don't live too far away from civilization, and I'm happy, because I feel like I am in 'the country'. These long wood runs extend for miles. They may only be a few hundred yards wide, since they border neighboring subdivisions. But they are loaded with deer and other wildlife. There is very little hunting pressure in the area, so I have seen some quality bucks frequently. I keep a couple of game cameras back there, and even hung a stand for the last days of this past season.
Once I hung this stand, I did have a big concern with the legality of hunting near a populated area. I posted some questions in some popular hunting forums, and the consensus response I got was "if it is your land, and there are not state or regional laws against hunting on it, then by all means ... hunt it".
I was happy with this response and checked the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife hunting guides. While there may be some local ordinances against discharging firearms in the area, there is nothing that would restrict me from bow hunting the land. Since I am an avid bow hunter, that made me VERY HAPPY.
This past Spring, I learned from a neighbor that the block watch captain in the neighborhood discovered a deer stand in a section of woods near his home. My neighbor knew I was planning on hunting my land, so he brought me this news ASAP. The block watch captain went on the war path. He is apparently against the whole concept of hunting, and called the state capital to complain. I was happy to hear that they told him that if it was bow hunting occurring on the area, and the individuals were hunting on their own land, that there was nothing he could do to stop it. This confirmed the information that I had gathered from my own research, and again I was happy to hear this news.
My only concern now has to do with pissing off my other neighbors. This block watch captain's home is close to mine, and I am concerned that I could still have issues with him if he discovers that I am hunting back there. I will obviously do my best to keep a low profile, and not offend anyone, but I'm still worried about it. My big worry is that this individual will instate a neighborhood ordinance restricting hunting for residents.
This whole situation rubs me the wrong way. What makes a person with an opposing view of hunting think that they can dictate what others do? I have always considered myself to be a respectable hunter, and don't want a conflict situation. But I AM going to hunt my property. Every year, I donate several deer to needy families. It helps to keep the population down, it helps families in need, and it helps me spend more time in the woods hunting, which I enjoy.
I'd be interested in hearing what you think of this situation. Have you ever encountered issues hunting near populated areas?
