Confused: and ranting a little

[Wild Bill Bucks]

This morning I was at the local hardware store, and was listening to a guy complain about the hogs on his property. He was telling the store owner how bad the hogs were, and that he couldn't even bale his hay for all of the rutted up places in his pasture.

I know the store owner pretty well, and he knows I have a pretty good reputation for being good on my word, and that I would never do anything to hurt another man's property. I told the guy that I would be more than happy to help him get rid of his hog problem, and would be very careful around his property, and would not let anyone else know he had given me permission to hunt the hogs on his place.

He told me " I don't hunt or trap, and don't allow anyone else to"

I did not argue the point with him, but honestly, how do guys like this think?

Do they think by making a safe haven for the hogs, that somehow, they will just magically disappear on their own?

I fully understand why land owners don't want people on their land that they don't know (being a land owner myself), but let's face it guys, are you going to let the hogs ruin your property before you do something about it.

[deanadell]

Yeah...that sux. You'd expect a farmer to have a bit of a better understanding than a suburbanite......

Maybe he thinks the Government should come out and give all the piggies Birth Control pills.........

[ZeSpectre]

Heh, the area I -used- to live in had homeowners go up in arms to ban all hunting in the vicinity because the homeowners all loved the cute little "bambi" deer and only a monster would want to shoot something so pretty.

by the next year the deer population went up quite a bit and the local animal control and PD started getting all sorts of calls about the deer eating up all of the landscaping and destroying tens of thousands of dollars of shrubbery at these McMansions.

Well animal control and PD said they could start "removing" the deer but when the homeowners discovered that "remove" really meant kill then they went up in arms again (though not quite as loudly) and demanded that some other method be found to make the deer "go away". I won't bore you with all of the STUPID methods that were tried.

The next year the deer population had EXPLODED. Formerly manicured lawns were in ruins, cars destroyed from deer/car collisions, lyme disease started showing up, ticks and other related vermin were showing up way more than previously...on and on and on.

So the homeowners (now angry and scared) demanded that something be done and the area (get this) HIRED PROFESSIONAL COYOTE HUNTERS to come and "thin the herds".

When it was pointed out in the local newspaper's editorial column that the homeowners group had cost themselves and the city an astounding amount of money by making their choice to ban hunting...well you can imagine the nasty response to that article

[johnwilliamson062]

I am having one heck of a problem getting permission to hunt Coyotes or deer somewhere around me. I have crop insurance clients come in all the time and complain about both animals. No luck on getting someone to let me help them out.

[lt dan]

wild bill, i have often encountered this reaction from people. the first time these animals show up they are considered cute or loveable. the next year or two they need to be delt with and then finaly hunting is alowed after much problems and damage.

johnwilliamson62, i see you are in insurance the same as me. we have the same problem over here in s-africa. pests like wart-hogs destroying crops and then of course the customer wants to claim for the damages.

i have a customer that is not fond of hunting , he is not a bunny hugger he simply doesnt like hunting. he has been breeding bonsmara cattle on his farm his whole life. since last year he has been spotting wart-hogs on his farm for the first time. he thouhgt they were too cute. how ever he soon realised he had a problem , when he started harvesting and there was nothing to harvest.

since January 2008 to the end of March he shot 83 wart-hogs. he saw the first one in 06. he now says he should have started shooting in 2006

[Scorch]

Strange how the same people want lots of cute animals, no hunters, low crop insurance rates, low taxes, and government help getting rid of the problem animals. Sounds mutually exclusive to me.

Funny, I'm in insurance too. How come we have all these insurance agents on line? Why aren't you out selling policies?

Wild Bill- just make sure you keep in touch with the landowner you spoke to. Approaching folks at the store will get you exposure, but you have to work at it to get onto their land. About the 4th or 5th time they see you and recognize you, you can ask to hunt and get permission.

[Pahoo]

Unfortunately some landowners are afraid to open the door and lose control of what happens on their property. "Initially" , I informed them that they set all the rules of conduct. Sometimes it takes years to establish trust. Eventually I work into bringing one of my Grandsons or buddies with the understanding that this is a one occasion deal with no future surprises. I make known that I understand he has something I want and I have nothing he needs. Last season I phoned the owner of my Deer/Coyote grounds and he said; "you don't have to call, just come on out and we know where you park and what are you driving this year?"


You did your best in your own best ways, to make him feel comfortable with you and the worst he can say, is NO !!


Be Safe !!!!!

[guntotin_fool]

Its like the people from the City who buy a 5 in a 40 and think that they are really in "the country".

They hate gun fire, but weekends they run the chain saw from 7 am till late, then wonder why the Country does not feel so close anymore, or they go out , buy three or four four wheelers or sleds, and then get upset when the farmer bills them for the 20 acre bean field they destroyed, or the fences they cut, (why do farmers put up so many fences? they just get in the way of the sleds and four wheeler) They love the deer, but let their dogs run wild, they plant strawberry and blueberry bushes, and then wonder why they get skunks, they plant grass, and wonder why the skunks love the grubs that grow under the sod.

[MeekAndMild]

He told me " I don't hunt or trap, and don't allow anyone else to"

OK, the county should have a property tax map of the area. I'd look at the map and find the names of his neighbors and if there are 3 or 4 neighbors, chances are there will be one who's interested in somebody taking care of the hogs that are digging up her land. She might be willing to let me hunt for free or for meat shares, might pay me to wipe out the hogs or might charge me a few dollars for the privilege. Who knows, she might even sell me some land right next door to him?

I knew a fellow in school named, well never mind his name, anyway we'll call him Persistent. He walked up to every drop-dead-gorgeous woman he saw and said, "Hi, my name is Persistent, would you go out with me?" He had about ten refusals for every one that went out with him, but we were always amazed just how many absolutely beautiful women he dated.

[bclark1]

Quite frankly, as much as hunting and guns are two interrelated but distinct issues, I'd say it all snowballs to the same thing - people not getting reality. Antis are antis because they don't understand the world around them.

Illinois is rampant with this anti-hunting crap though, and it's a shame, because people miss out.

When I was in Champaign, the campus and newspapers flipped their lids when they opened bowhunting in a University-owned park. The deer population was counted over 700 by helicopter, which gave an estimated 163 deer per square mile. Wildlife officials said it only takes 20 per square mile to detrimentally impact the environment. Nobody I knew frequented this park. And individual bowhunting is about as nondisruptive as it gets. But people still thought it was inhumane and intolerable. Central Illinois, not Chicago. I was dumbfounded.

It's certainly worse in the Chicago 'burbs though. At least hunting goes on with public and private land around Champaign. There's almost nowhere to hunt within an hour of Cook. But they do have plenty of forest preserves. My girlfriend's family sees nicer bucks than I do on their front lawn, a half mile from a (relatively small) forest preserve. There are huge deer, and they line a major road (Cermak) every night. I've never had a problem with deer in less dense areas of Wisconsin and Ohio, but I actually hit one in the Chicago suburbs - because it ran through a strip mall parking lot! So we called the state, but they said they only allow "sharpshooters" every few years to cull the herd. I know Morton Arboretum about 20 miles west of there is the same. It's a damn shame.

In any case, it's a valid rant. Who knows. Like MeekAndMild said, at least someone inadvertantly leaked scouting info if you're interested in perusing a plat map.

[elkman06]

Maybe he thinks the Government should come out and give all the piggies Birth Control pills.........

This reminds me of one of our public info meetings w/ the BLM. Coyote predatation was being discussed and one of the folks there suggested sterilizing the coyotes......to which a grizzled older fella stood up and pointed out the fact that coyotes prefer to eat sheep, not F*&^^cate with them.
LOL
elkman06

[JP Sarte]

We have a similar problem here in my part of Michigan with deer and crop damage. Farmers get "block" permits from the DNR for five and ten deer at a time outside the normal season so they can try and control the damage.

However, farmers rarely wan't anyone on their property and many of the deer that are shot are just left there to rot. Not used at all. What a waste. A few weeks ago I got a local farmer here where I live to agree to let me and a friend come out. We promised to fill all five tags on the first block and use the meat. He seemed happy with that. Sadly, he is the exception and not the rule.

JP

[stevelyn]

I did not argue the point with him, but honestly, how do guys like this think?

They don't.

[Kreyzhorse]

I think he should pay some "sharp shooters" to come in and kill the hogs for him. That should take care of all his problems. I wonder if they would charge him by the hour or by the hog?

[johnwilliamson062]

Funny, I'm in insurance too. How come we have all these insurance agents on line? Why aren't you out selling policies?

I sell insurance b/c I can make a decent living, take almost as much vacation as I want and rationalize almost any hunting/fishing/backpacking trip as business related, even if I can't write them all off. Tonight I am cutting out of work an hour early to target shoot with a client.

Well to anyone who cares the only good defense of livestock we have worked out is mules. They seem to attach to sheep particularly well and their ferocious kick keeps the coyotes far away. Had clients who tried Emu and Dogs and both did a pretty lousy job.

I've never had a problem with deer in less dense areas of Wisconsin and Ohio

There are more deer in Ohio now than ever in the past. I have seen figures indicate 5-10 times as many as before Europeans settled in the area. Millions of dollars in damage yearly due to auto accidents. Who knows about crop damage.

You did your best in your own best ways, to make him feel comfortable with you and the worst he can say, is NO !!

I baby sat one of the guys kids a few times when i was younger. Not much, and I am sure I was not the first choice, but still.

Unfortunately some landowners are afraid to open the door and lose control of what happens on their property.

I think the real problem is people hunting without permission. I don't know a single person who owns land in the country and doesn't find a few tree stands on their property each year. This really aggravate most land owners. I think it is really the trespassing poachers who are causing us this grief.