Who has the right to hunt

[TRICER]

So I heard this debate recently and thought it would be good for the site. Public lands are open to all hunters we can all agree on that. But some seasons overlap. So the question I have for you is during deer season does someone have in your opinion the right to be out blasting rabbits with his 12ga? If not by what grounds do you base your opinion because technically according the law he has the same right as you to be on that public land and his game is in season to.
Now just so I am clear I would never hunt rabbit in an area where deer are being hunted. I am overly cautious when I hunt and fish I am known to drive a few more miles if I see a car parked at the trailhead I want to hunt. I never crowd when I fish and I keep as safe of a distance as possible when I bird hunt. I consider deer a way bigger trophy then rabbit and I will never go out shooting anything in the hills during deer season. I would think this was common knowledge but that is just my opinion not the law. I am not a confrontational person and nothing gets me more angry then when someone crowds me on a dove hunt after I have been saving a spot for hours or when I catch fish and people start to work into my area. There are unwritten laws in hunting but that is all they are. I never really put much thought to it until I heard this debate. Where do you stand and who are we to stop some guy from taking his kid out to get some cottontail?

 

[brad nsw]

Probability is pretty low how far back I hunt for deer...never seen another person in 4 years.

But assuming it happened, I'd go introduce myself, thank them for trying to drive deer in my direction, then ask if they would consider hunting "the other side of the mountain".

My guess is if approached politely, any man who was taking his son out to experience nature and hunting, would set a good example for his kid and work his way back to his car and try another area.

If not, I'd have to relocate for the day. Good chance I'd never see them for the rest of the season. It's a big world out there.

 

[Kellendv]

This is a debate about respect, not about rights. Your hunting privileges are clearly outlined by state and federal laws. If you have a license/tag, and are hunting your game in season via an approved method of take, on public land or private land with permission, then legally you are within your "rights" (privileges).

Now, respect of fellow sportsmen is another issue entirely. If you are in a hunting location first, you have priority. I don't care if you're hunting squirrels or deer or elk. You don't get to bounce someone out of a spot because you're hunting deer and they're hunting rabbit. Should have been there earlier if you wanted that spot. Unfortunately this kind of behavior is relatively common. I've had spots that I was no doubt at first get walked all over by other hunters, often knowingly. I learned to hike further quickly.

Also, deer, rabbit, quail, and turkey all have overlapping habitat and seasons. Who is to say which species has priority?

 

[TonyS]

Although deer and bird season overlap, and I'm sure Kellen would agree, I never put my dog down when it is deer season. Too many idiots out there. I can just hear someone telling me when I confront them about shooting my white setter, "Oh, I thought it was a coyote".

I steer clear of areas that anyone else is hunting. Just too dangerous to be a 'coyote'. And I mean people shooting people.