Most courts/judges will convict without a shot being taken, law says "hunting or discharging"..
Ok .. so he is walking out to his truck. At what point did he consider his hunt over? Just because I am toting a loaded gun doesnt mean I am engaged In a hunt anymore. I walked through the woods yesterday to retrieve a stand, and I toted a loaded rifle. Would you have wrote me up? Probably. Why did I tote it? To shoot armadillos and coyotes. I dont think him simply walking down the track, especially toward his truck indicates an active hunt.
first, you don't know me or anything about me so please refrain from assuming what I would of done. Second, I'm retired....
The courts will usually decide that if you are toting a loaded gun in the woods you are hunting something.
What is it you think you would of gotten a ticket for???
troy
Well it is funny at how touchy we can get! Fred .. I have read and know you are retired .. and yeah I dont personally know you. Good observations. Now, my "HYPOTHETICAL" question was .. would you have wrote me a ticket. As far as what for .. well I dont know. We have two other cases on the forums at the moment that came down to a judgement call. I agree you load a gun to go hunting, but at some point we all stop hunting and choose to return to our vehicle. And unfortunately, most of us choose to unload back at the truck rather than in the woods. I was watching Wild Justice, the show on California GWs. The last show had the really intense guy watching two or more guys possibly poaching bears. He didnt rush in just because they were in the woods with guns and dogs. And It appeared that they were obviously poaching. But, rather than rush in.. he was waiting for the actual offense to take place. The actual shooting of an illegal bear. I think that is what is sometimes what is lacking .. the common sense to study the situation and see if the intent is really there for the said offense. Do you really believe this guy was hunting from the railway? Do you really believe the Other guy was trying to hide his kill in multiple records? I think all most of us would like to see is the GWs use some better investigative skills and common sense to determine the true intent, AND to realize we as hunters can and will be ignorant and sometimes teaching us would go a lot farther than just throwing a ticket at us.
