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Regulation Question

mole

mole

Active Member
I called the local DNR officer and have not heard back, so I thought I'd give the IW crew a shot.

Yesterday on my way home from work I noticed a man laying in the ditch next to the fence. This was next door to my farm and I know that no one has permission to hunt it.

I stopped and asked the guy if he had permission to hunt, he replied "I'm waiting for the deer", I again asked do you have permission to hunt here, and again he replied "I'm waiting for the deer" This time I asked him if he had permission to shoot onto the land. He said "no" and I asked him how he was planning on shooting a deer. He said that he would shoot when the deer jumped the fence.

I told him good luck as I drove off and called the local DNR officer. By the time I got to my corner (1/4 mile) I noticed another truck that was parked next to my property. It looked like the second truck was going to sneak in and "drive" the deer to the guy in the ditch. :mad: When I pulled in my drive, both trucks were leaving the area.

So the question is: Can you "legally" sit in the ditch and shoot deer as they cross the fence? I know we used to hunt pheasants that way, but I am unsure about deer. :confused:

mole
 
Not if they are being pushed to him Illegally, by a dumba$$ that is trespassing! Wow, some people just don't get it. They certainly do crawl out of their holes this time of year don't they!
 
Depends if he was north or south of HWY 30. If he was south of hwy 30, he can shoot a shotgun (with slugs) in the ditch. If this was north of HWY 30, nope. But beyond that, I agree with dedgeez. If they are pushing illegally, then it's all illegal.


You cannot shoot any rifle on or over any of the
public highways or waters of the state or any railroad right-of-way. You cannot discharge a shotgun
shooting a slug, pistol or revolver on or over a public roadway (see diagram below).
Additionally, no person shall discharge a rifle, including a muzzleloading rifle or musket, or a handgun
from a highway; or discharge a shotgun shooting slugs
from a highway north of U.S. Highway 30, while deer
hunting.
“Roadway” means the portion of the highway
improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular
travel, including the shoulder.
“Highway” means the entire width between
property lines, from fenceline to fenceline (includes
the ditches)
 
One of the downside of living in the country is dealing with these issues. The past couple of years have been pretty quiet, but for some reason this year we have had a lot more issues. I could write a book filled with all of the excuses we've heard over the years. :grin:

Back to my question, so is it legal if they are sitting in the ditch "unassisted". I know when we had pheasants we would hunt the ditches and were told as long as you don't shoot onto the roadway or across the fence it was legal. But I have been told by others that deer hunting is different.

The regulations I read last night were confusing. :confused:

mole
 
mole said:
One of the downside of living in the country is dealing with these issues. The past couple of years have been pretty quiet, but for some reason this year we have had a lot more issues. I could write a book filled with all of the excuses we've heard over the years. :grin:

Back to my question, so is it legal if they are sitting in the ditch "unassisted". I know when we had pheasants we would hunt the ditches and were told as long as you don't shoot onto the roadway or across the fence it was legal. But I have been told by others that deer hunting is different.

The regulations I read last night were confusing. :confused:

mole
Click to expand...

Read my post above. If you are in the ditch, SOUTH of HWY 30, it is legal.
 
Can't shoot within 200 yards of buildings or livestock or feed lot. I can't picture many places or situations where a slug fired fron a ditch would not either cross the roadway or a fence in the event of a missed shot unless the road was completely straight for 2 or 300 yards. So that in itself should make it illegal to try this with out any permission.
 
Thanks, you posted while I was typing. :D

It would make things a lot easier if the rules were the same across the state. I'm sure the DNR has it's reasons. :confused:

And based on the actions of the people involved I would say they were up to no good.

Thanks for the input guys.

mole
 
The law states that you have to be on the other side of the fence that sitting in the ditch chit is against the law if that was the case we could go sit on lee and tiff fence and shoot there deer it tells you in the hunt reg book the law on road hunting and where you can and cant hunt atleast thats how i read it
 
mole said:
Thanks, you posted while I was typing. :D

It would make things a lot easier if the rules were the same across the state. I'm sure the DNR has it's reasons. :confused:

And based on the actions of the people involved I would say they were up to no good.

Thanks for the input guys.

mole
Click to expand...

Not a problem. I've had to read that section about 10 times to understand it. They really make that a tough one to decipher. I do agree that it should be the same across the state. My only GUESS as to why it is not is due to the terrain difference. HWY 30 is pretty close to slicing right through the middle of the state and, for the most part, the northern half is a LOT flatter than the south half. On much of the North half, the roads and even ditches are elevated above everything else or at least level with it, so a slug shot would have more of a chance to go further???? IDK, just speculation on that rule.
 
Can't shoot within 200 yards of buildings or livestock or feed lot.


If you have the owers permission you can shoot around buildings or livestock or feed lot.
 
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