Follow hunting and ethical rules and treat non-hunters with courtesy

Two hunters with snowshoe hares and with a U.P. black bear

All people are bound by the laws of man to live by a code of ethics, but sportsmen have additional values to be considered if we are to be judged by what we believe are ethical actions.

Hunter ethics are more far reaching than many believe. They include a feeling and a deep appreciation for the animals and birds we hunt, the outdoor environment we and wildlife need and share, and the deep inner stimulation we feel when pursuing our pastime in an ethical, legal and well regulated manner.

This personal ethics policy hinges on those deeply-seated feelings sportsmen must have for the well being and continued health, welfare and habitat improvement of game animals and birds, as well as non-game animals and birds. Hunters must care deeply about what happens to all wildlife, and not just those species for which there is an open or closed hunting season.

Everything in nature serves at least two masters

The habitat that the small Kirtland’s warblers call home is every bit as important to everyone as that used by ducks, geese, pheasants, ruffed grouse, wild turkeys and woodcock.

But hunting ethics go far beyond this simple, yet personal, concept that govern our actions. Michigan laws place additional ethical demands on hunters, making our special-interest outdoor group the most regulated in the state.

Young, beginning hunters no longer can pick up a firearm and head for the woods, fields or marshes without lengthy and well supervised Hunter Education training and parental or other adult supervision. The same rules apply to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1960. Any first-time hunter born on or after that date must possess a hunter education certificate to purchase their first hunting license.

They must take a certified Hunter Safety Program, pass a rigorous examination and satisfy qualified instructors on their capability to practice hunting safely without endangering others, themselves and the property of landowners. They must understand the laws that govern their conduct while hunting, and people should be signing up for such classes as soon as they become available prior to next fall. The DNR can provide information on classes.

These training classes teach students how to handle bows and firearms safely, give explanations of wildlife management, teach game laws, and make certain that students understand the laws of safe hunting. These rules are common-sense thoughts that can help keep everyone safe.
All are necessary to obtain an in-depth knowledge of hunter safety, but ethics -- personal ethics -- are almost spiritual inner feelings, something that must come from deep within each individual. They are as much a part of hunting as carrying a firearm or hunting from a tree stand with a bow.

Hunting, and the freedom to hunt, is a part of our American heritage that should be as rich and deep as love of our family and this great country. The American Constitution guarantees us the right to keep and bear arms, but those arms must be used in a civilized and lawful manner.

This constitutional guarantee obligates sportsmen to abide by local, state and federal fish and game laws, and to have respect for themselves, the lives and property of others, and obviously, for the wildlife they pursue.

Recreational hunting is a sound game management policy designed to keep wildlife around in desirable numbers for the enjoyment of future generations of hunters and those who have no desire to hunt but enjoy the recreational value of viewing deer, elk and other game.

No longer is there room for slob hunters and deadbeats in our woods

Hunting satisfies a deep personal need for many people, and it can be a deeply moving experience. But it is as individual as our fingerprints. Each of us who hunts has a different viewpoint on how we should view our days afield.

Ethics, and the feelings hunters have for their sport and the wildlife we hunt, is an emotional package so deeply seated and meaningful that it's difficult to put into words so non-hunters or anti-hunters would understand.

We, as hunters, must develop our own personal code of ethics which goes beyond those laws and rules established by any sporting agency or group. Our sport will be judged by its personal and collective ethics, and the public actions of its many individuals.

Hunting actions and needs require a code of personal ethics to survive ... not only now but well into the future. How hunters behave now will determine whether we will have hunting in the not-so-distant future.

The public acceptance of  hunting and hunters by the public at large is critical  to continuation of our legal hunting pursuits. Act like a slob around non-hunters, and you may find yourself facing rules that shouldn’t be necessary. Idiots don’t deserve the right to hunt or to ruin others chances to spend time outdoors in a legal environment.

Your favorite outdoor pastime

I'm an outdoor writer, and if we base that on the large number of writing and photography awards on my walls, a decent one at that. I enjoy writing about all types of fishing and hunting but I always could use a little bit of help from my readers.

Send me an email at <dave@daverichey.com> and tell me what you most like to read. Is it bear hunting, and some of the hair-raising pieces I've written about my personal bear-hunting experiences over the past 40 years?

Or, might it be bow hunting for whitetail deer? It's my favorite passion, but I also want things to be appealing to you. I realize that it's impossible to satisfy everyone, but with 55 years of hunting and some 250 or more deer under my belt, I can write all day about whitetail hunting techniques.

I want to hear your thoughts.

How about salmon fishing? It's still the big deal on the Great Lakes these days, but all isn't peachy across the state. The Lake Huron salmon fishery isn't quite as good as it once was , and this year the action has been good on Lake Michigan. Will it hold up or not? Let's hope so.

Walleyes have ripped the top off the container holding the biggest angling attraction in the state, and snatched it away from salmon 12-15 years ago. Walleyes are easier to catch, taste wonderful on the table, and they match the moods of those people who don't care to bounce around on the larger Great Lakes.

Where does duck and goose hunting stand on your list of things to do? Do panfish (bluegills, crappies and sunfish) rate high marks, and how about stream fishing for steelhead?

It seems that steelhead fishing (and catching) has slowed a bit from its manic pace of 15 years ago. Do you still thrill to the cold water tightening your wader-clad legs in the spring and fall, and do you enjoy the frosty nip of steelhead in mid-winter below power dams?

Fall salmon fishing in the rivers can be a hoot, and these tackle-busting fish can stir up a bunch of fun for anglers who learn how to catch them with bait, fly, plug or spinner. Hook a 20-pounder in heavy, fast water, and you are in for a long-distance fight that could cover a quarter-mile of river.

Is it salmon or steelhead fishing in our Great Lakes tributaries?

How about hare, rabbit and squirrel hunting? These game animals are what most hunters grew up chasing after. They still rank high marks among hunters.

Let's face it: I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy wing-shooting for ruffed grouse and woodcock. It's easy to factor ringneck pheasants into that equation too, and to a lesser extent, quail during an open season.

This state needs a mourning dove season again, and even with a season, the nay-sayers would still have plenty of doves cooing during the day, spattering decks with their droppings, and scaring smaller song birds from the feeders. Other states have dove seasons, and their bird populations have not declined nor disappeared, and it's time for Michigan hunters to take some of the birds that we raise.

For a money-strapped DNR, a dove season could help. Studies prove that hunting really doesn't affect bird numbers in this state, and most states south of Michigan have a season. The idea was soundly trounced in recent years, but perhaps it's time for the state to study the matter again.

Most of you know I love muskie fishing, and I enjoy writing about this type of fishing -- one man, one fish, who will win? In most cases, the muskie almost always wins. It's those occasional days when the Muskie Gods smile, and grant us a good battle with a big fish, and that really turns me on. I have never kept a muskie, and don't plan to start now.

Do you enjoy my occasional rantings about how the Traverse City area is growing too fast? It is expanding in all directions except due north, and one wonders when and where it will stop. Perhaps when Cadillac, Honor, Kalkaska, Northport and other small cities become Traverse City's suburbs.

Ethics and poaching problems are major issues for me. How about you?

How about my occasional pieces on the ethics of fishing and hunting? We, as anglers and hunters, must impose our personal code of ethics on our outings. We can't be winking at the fish and game laws, and continue to feel these laws are made for everyone but us. People must study their own brand of ethics, and see if it fits in with those of society.

I spent many years writing outdoor magazine articles, 25 books on fishing and hunting, and 23 years were spent writing about fishing and hunting for a major daily newspaper. Few people would write to the editors and tell them what they wanted. Now, the only boss I have is you folks, and many of you do write. I still would like a sense of direction or I'll continue to do as I've done for nearly seven years with this daily weblog.

Which is to write about what I think you would like to read. I try to keep my daily topics timely, but some input is certainly welcome. Which of you is willing to take five minutes to write a note with your thoughts?

And, don't forget: I have over 600 books for sale and more than 800 outdoor magazines dating from the early 1920s, Looking for a birthday, Christmas or Father's Day gift, outdoor books and magazines make a great gift.

Bring 'em on, and don't be bashful. I wouldn't ask if I didn’t want to hear your opinions.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Outdoor Ethics

My mother was a great believer in cod liver oil. It was good for what ailed us, we were told, and a dose of the stuff every spring was thought to cure all ills. Oddly enough, I don't remember my parents ever gulping the nasty stuff down.

The buck’s antlers can be faintly seen but it’s past legal shooting time. Don’t shoot!

Hunting ethics, like a double-slug of cod liver oil, is pretty hard for some people to swallow. For many, ethics and especially fishing or hunting ethics, is a word as foreign to them as an ancient language.

Ethics often mean different things to different people, but ethics are always right.

Ethics are tough to explain to someone who has very little concept of such things being right or wrong. Some folks describe ethics as those things you would never do if you knew someone was watching.

But this business of fishing and hunting ethics goes much deeper. It treads on the philosophy that in life, there are laws that must be obeyed. Break those laws, and we face criminal punishment.

Ethics mean different things to different people. They are not laws, but they are generalized rules of proper sporting conduct. They are unspoken and unwritten rules of conduct that sportsmen should follow.

Ethical behavior means believing in and following these unwritten rules. Not because you must, but because common sense and a feeling of ethical action point us toward following them because it just is the decent and right thing to do.

There are a few unspoken ethical things that sportsmen should not do. Shooting a ruffed grouse on the ground while walking a two-track trail is one such thing we don't (or shouldn't) do. It much more sporting to flush the bird, and shoot while it is flying than while it is picking grit.

Shooting ducks or geese on the water is considered unethical for the same reason, especially on the first shot. Mature hunters never do it the easy way; they give game a fair chance to get away. The fairness doctrine is part of the ethics case. Most hunters can see the logic of finishing off a wounded duck or goose before it swims into the cattails.

Think! If you wouldn’t do it in front of someone else, then it is the wrong thing to do.

While being illegal, it also is unethical to shoot a deer with the aid of a light, shoot deer after shooting time has ended, or, as was so commonly done when bears could still be killed during the firearm deer season many years ago, to kill a bear in its den. It is unethical and illegal to shoot a deer in the water.

The law reads that a fish must be hooked in the mouth. A fish hooked off a spawning bed will often swipe at a fly or lure, and be foul-hooked somewhere on the head. Keeping that fish not only is unethical but illegal to boot.

Unethical hunting behavior is a deliberate "winking" at the laws. It is stretching the shooting time before or after it begins or ends, and most people would not do it if they knew someone was watching them.

The only person watching their movements and actions in most cases is themselves. The act of trespassing, and hunting on someone else's land without permission, is not only unethical but also is illegal.

I find it somewhat amazing how many wives have hunting licenses but are never seen out in the field. It's unethical to fill a tag for another person, but it is ethical for me to shoot an antlerless deer, use my tag to tag it, and give that meat to another person. It is illegal to fill your wife's deer tag by killing the deer for her. There is a major difference.

It is unethical and illegal for two or three fishermen to go onto a river, station one or more people downstream from a log jam, and have another person jump up and down on the logs to drive salmon or steelhead downstream to the waiting nets. Slobbish behavior always seems to be a part of unethical behavior on land or water.

I see it every winter when unethical winter anglers catch some tiny bluegills, throw them on the ice, and let the eagles and gulls feed on them. They keep the bigger fish, and kill the smaller fish. So what if it feeds the birds: it is unethical and illegal behavior.

The link between fish and wildlife laws, and ethical considerations, go hand-in-hand.

So much of angling and hunting ethics can be tied directly to fishing or hunting laws and unspoken rules, but ground-swatting a grouse is not illegal. It's just something that right-thinking sportsmen don't do.

Ethical sportsmen develop a habit of thinking about what they will do, and weigh their actions against what they would do if they knew you, me or a conservation officer was watching over them. Their conduct would change dramatically if they knew they were being studied.

I've had countless opportunities to shoot deer a minute or two after legal shooting time has ended. I could try to preserve my dignity by setting my watch back five minutes, but deep down in my heart, I would know that my actions were not ethical, and I would be unable to live with that weight on my shoulders or on my heart.

This business of fishing or hunting ethically is simple to determine. We follow the fish and game laws, think about our actions before we take them, and ask ourselves this question: Is this an ethical act or decision?

If the question cannot be truthfully answered with a "yes," than we've answered this burning question ourselves. What we do next is a matter of ethics and of obeying our fish and game laws.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors