So a NFL Safety's Dad fesses up to shooting a Bald Eagle. Question for you hunting enthusiasts.

[Cantdoitsal]

Bald Eagles are just buzzards with a better PR team.

- Benjamin Franklin
[/QUOTE

Not totally true.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

the North American model of wildlife conservation is what has led to the rebound of these animals. When they were hunted for utilitarian purposes only, they almost went extinct. Sit down before you read this next part…trophy hunting has caused animal populations to grow at sustainable levels.
Want to know something else? Kill a few large boars in an area, and animal populations in that area, including bears will greatly increase.

I hate wild pigs. They should all die and be eaten.

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

Stupid. Just egotistical stupidity. His narcissism level must be off the charts.


I won't touch the other species but I don't want to hunt anything that can kill and/or eat me.

Interesting story about the grizzlies out west. They have been federally protected for so long that they have lost their natural fear of humans and the damn things are everywhere. If you make a trip into the backcountry you will probably see them almost every day. Extreme caution is required for camping. In elk season the sound of a rifle shot signals the dinner bell to the grizzlies. They come toward the shots knowing that there will be a gut pile and if they are lucky a quarter to steal. While one person cuts up the elk others stand guard with bear spray and a 300 win mag. It can get real serious real quick. Since the bears are federally protected you better be bleeding if you shoot one. Efforts to remove them from the protected list are always rebuffed by some suit in Washington that has probably never even been in grizzly country. Every year hunters are mauled or killed in Wyoming and Montana. There were two in Wyoming last year. One lived and one died. Two more were mauled while out hunting shed antlers in the Spring. I think 2018 was the worst year as 7 different hunters were attacked in Wyoming. A guide was actually killed on a mountain that I had previously hunted. I don’t have any interest in shooting a grizzly but there lack of fear and a population that is out of control warrants serious consideration for future removal from the endangered species list and the establishment of hunting permits based on sound management practices, same as all other species.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

Interesting story about the grizzlies out west. They have been federally protected for so long that they have lost their natural fear of humans and the damn things are everywhere. If you make a trip into the backcountry you will probably see them almost every day. Extreme caution is required for camping. In elk season the sound of a rifle shot signals the dinner bell to the grizzlies. They come toward the shots knowing that there will be a gut pile and if they are lucky a quarter to steal. While one person cuts up the elk others stand guard with bear spray and a 300 win mag. It can get real serious real quick. Since the bears are federally protected you better be bleeding if you shoot one. Efforts to remove them from the protected list are always rebuffed by some suit in Washington that has probably never even been in grizzly country. Every year hunters are mauled or killed in Wyoming and Montana. There were two in Wyoming last year. One lived and one died. Two more were mauled while out hunting shed antlers in the Spring. I think 2018 was the worst year as 7 different hunters were attacked in Wyoming. A guide was actually killed on a mountain that I had previously hunted. I don’t have any interest in shooting a grizzly but there lack of fear and a population that is out of control warrants serious consideration for future removal from the endangered species list and the establishment of hunting permits based on sound management practices, same as all other species.

People dying from bears is overplayed. Just stupid liberals who don't believe in packing.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Never been a hunter but always loved fishing and eating my catches. I respect deer, dove and duck hunters who harvest their kills. But what possesses someone to kill just for the sake of killing? Why would you kill a Bald 17ing Eagle especially on American Soil? Why do people kill bears and mountain lions? Why would anybody jerk off to killing lions, elephants and rinos?

Colts safety's father identified as man who allegedly killed bald eagle with rifle

The father of Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney Thomas II has been identified as the man who allegedly gunned down a bald eagle with a rifle in May.

www.foxnews.com

Didn't read the story, but hitting an eagle with a rifle is impressive.

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

People dying from bears is overplayed. Just stupid liberals who don't believe in packing.

The hunter that died in Wyoming last year was a bow hunter and carried his handgun while packing out his elk. He shot the bear several times and the bear eventually backed off but the guy bled to death before they could get him airlifted to a hospital. Most hand guns just piss off an 800 pound grizzly. Bear spray is your best weapon. Most guides require you to have it. Also, most guides carry big magnum rifles. My favorite old guide carries a .338 Lapua for protection. If the elk has to stay overnight they take several people and horses to pack it out. The bear may stay and fight 1 or 2 guys for the elk but if a bunch of guys and horses show up they will back off. Messing with grizzlies is serious business. We always sleep with bear spray and a big magnum beside the sleeping bag. Wish I was there right now. Great adventure!

 

[Pookieray]

I respect your opinion and as a believer I totally agree we have dominion. But damn dude, do you realize how much we've wiped these predators out? Do you really think these hunters have their livelihoods in mind these days or just doing so to sasify their knuckle dragging caveman instincts?

I'm unsure about the bear population but I suspect there is still a very healthy population of bears especially black bears. As far as the mountain lions go, I'm less certain about there population. In most cases limited hunting helps keep a healthy population. In west texas I've heard that they have an over population of mt lions.

 

[BELdog]

I hate wild pigs. They should all die and be eaten.

17 eating them, but they should definitely all die.

 

[60sdog]

I'd never shoot an eagle because I was raised better but there is no telling how many birds fell to my Daisy and my Winchester 22 back in my youth. Didn't eat a one. It was simpler times. You rode your bike, fished, or shot ****. That was about all the entertainment we had.

Yeah, and back then, every kid shot every hawk they saw on every phone wire they passed, and we rarely saw a hawk. Now hawks are protected and I can’t believe how many I see in Mississippi. They are terrible on little turkey poults.

 

[woozman]

I know several subdivision developers who would shoot a bald eagle on sight. If you know, you know.

Sounds like your developer friends are about as smart as my developer friends. Too easy to get caught nowadays and the penalties are federal (local law enforcement buddy won’t be able to help) and expensive.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

People dying from bears is overplayed. Just stupid liberals who don't believe in packing.

I know we don’t usually require knowledge of the subject to be a prerequisite for posting about any topic on here, but I highly recommend you learn more about this subject. You’re marching to the beat of the stupid liberals you mention.

 

[Coast_Dawg]

How did you say "****"?

Shlt…it’s not an “i”

 

[Mobile Bay]

You can’t develop around a bald eagle nest.

Yep. On Lake Martin near me is a bridge to nowhere. They were going to develop an island. And got as far as building a bridge to it, when a bald eagle moved in and shut the whole thing down. Cost somebody a few million dollars.

 

[Mobile Bay]

Here’s a classic example.want to go deer hunting in Wyoming? Here are all the non resident units. There specific buck and doe licenses allocated for each unit. Some units you may be able to draw a license in 2 years and some units may take you over 10 years to draw. You buy license preference points every year to move you up in the pecking order. Then you enter a drawing. Licenses are reduced for 2023 due to the heavy winter kill suffered last winter. I have been accumulating preference points for a mule deer hunt in a specific area for 7 years now. I hope to actually be able to draw in a couple more years. Every species is like this. Most all Western States have something similar. Back to the original comment, someone that would shoot a bald eagle is Not a hunter. They are a criminal. Hunters do more to support and protect wildlife than any other group. They do not shoot eagles. I am a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. I invite you to google their organization and look at the fine work they do. Y’all forgive me but I take this stuff seriously and when I see incorrect assumptions being spread it hits my hot button. Mississippi and other Southern States are light years behind the Western States in proper game management.

But do we really need to make it that complex? The regs we have down here have do a pretty good job. Hell, we are so covered up in deer in Alabama that there are places with more of them than people.

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

But do we really need to make it that complex? The regs we have down here have do a pretty good job. Hell, we are so covered up in deer in Alabama that there are places with more of them than

No we don’t need to make it as complicated as the Western States but we could learn a lot from them and definitely improve what we have, which is certainly already pretty good. Turkey populations would be a great place to start. Parts of our state have lots of birds and other areas have very few. Hatch survival and predator issues also vary. Populations vary greatly from area to area but our seasons and bag limits are pretty much one size fits all.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

But do we really need to make it that complex? The regs we have down here have do a pretty good job. Hell, we are so covered up in deer in Alabama that there are places with more of them than people.

The supply of western big game vs demand of people wanting to hunt in the West is vastly different from supple of whitetail and whitetail hunters in our area. In some areas out West, people wait 20+ years to hunt on some areas of public land.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been out west, but it’s worth a trip, even if you are just sightseeing. It’s is so different than around here. I have not been much, but I can’t wait to go back more.

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

The supply of western big game vs demand of people wanting to hunt in the West is vastly different from supple of whitetail and whitetail hunters in our area. In some areas out West, people wait 20+ years to hunt on some areas of public land.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been out west, but it’s worth a trip, even if you are just sightseeing. It’s is so different than around here. I have not been much, but I can’t wait to go back more.

All 100 percent true. On top of that they have yearly winter kill issues to assess and respond too. To your point, I have been waiting for 7 years for a specific mule deer area license and probably have at least 2 more years to wait. Moose and big horn sheep licenses take around 25 years to draw now. Depending on the area, elk licenses are from a minimum of 4 years to over 20. This is for non residents. Residents have it a little better on deer, antelope, and elk, but are not always guaranteed a tag either. We typically go to Wyoming once a year and sometimes twice. Hunting , trout fishing, or just enjoying the scenery. All of the people that we have met out there are down to earth super nice folks. Every time I go out there I regret not moving out there when I finished at State in 1976. Wyoming is my favorite, Montana second , but all of those Rocky Mountain Western States are really neat. Magnificent, powerful country that will take your breath away. I do want to spend more time exploring Idaho and hope to meet up with PooPop out there one of these days.

 

[BELdog]

No we don’t need to make it as complicated as the Western States but we could learn a lot from them and definitely improve what we have, which is certainly already pretty good. Turkey populations would be a great place to start. Parts of our state have lots of birds and other areas have very few. Hatch survival and predator issues also vary. Populations vary greatly from area to area but our seasons and bag limits are pretty much one size fits all.

Our turkey population is almost directly linked to wild pig populations. Other predators play a role, but pigs utterly destroy turkey populations. I don’t turkey hunt, but I do my part to reduce the pig population. I hunt them at night with a thermal scope, so it’s not as effective as trapping, but it is infinitely more fun.

 

[Jrobb]

I don't think cattle ranchers are threatened to any significant degree these days by beautiful majestic big cats. We've bout wiped 'em out. Let em be.

Not true. Each adult mountain lion will kill a mule deer per week. Doesn’t take long for a healthy population to decimate a mule deer and elk herd. Throw the wolves in there and now you don’t have a herd worthy of hunting

 

[PBDog]

i’ll just say: imma kill **** till I die

 

[Cantdoitsal]

Not true. Each adult mountain lion will kill a mule deer per week. Doesn’t take long for a healthy population to decimate a mule deer and elk herd. Throw the wolves in there and now you don’t have a herd worthy of hunting

Not buying

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

Me neither. Mountain Lions have very little overall impact. Not that many of them and the territory that they travel is huge. They dont tolerate other lions in their established range, which might be 20 miles. Wolves and Grizzlies on the other hand have a significant impact. Whether that’s good or bad can be debated till the cows come home. Both of them apparently consider baby moose to be fried chicken. The moose population is way lower than it was 30 years ago. The Northern Yellowstone elk herd is less than half of what it was 30 years ago. They were apparently overpopulated for the range and some of the native browse has flourished in recent years. The Buffalo (Bison) are flourishing and are now eating everything. I wish the bears and wolves would eat more of them. For those of you that have not been to Yellowstone and want to see some Bison, take a drive through the Lamar Valley. On a bad day you will still see hundreds. Excellent trout fishing in the Lamar River but it’s hard to safely get from the road to the river because of the Bison.

 

[NWADawg]

Never been a hunter but always loved fishing and eating my catches. I respect deer, dove and duck hunters who harvest their kills. But what possesses someone to kill just for the sake of killing? Why would you kill a Bald 17ing Eagle especially on American Soil? Why do people kill bears and mountain lions? Why would anybody jerk off to killing lions, elephants and rinos?

Colts safety's father identified as man who allegedly killed bald eagle with rifle

The father of Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney Thomas II has been identified as the man who allegedly gunned down a bald eagle with a rifle in May.

www.foxnews.com

So what if, hypothetically, someone I know killed a bobcat that kept running deer out of their hunting land? And yes, they harvest and eat every deer killed.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

So what if, hypothetically, someone I know killed a bobcat that kept running deer out of their hunting land? And yes, they harvest and eat every deer killed.

This seems unusual behavior by a boncat.

So what if, hypothetically, someone I know killed a bobcat that kept running deer out of their hunting land? And yes, they harvest and eat every deer killed.

This seems to be unusual behavior by bobcat. Deer are rarely on a bobcat's menu as they prefer smaller prey.

 

[NWADawg]

This seems unusual behavior by a boncat.

It don't think it was attacking deer, but the two are sorta like me and Batman. You've never seen us in the same room at the same time.

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

Interesting timing. Just read an article about a woman staying in a West Yellowstone camp ground that went for a walk by herself and was killed by a grizzly. This happened just a few days ago.

 

[Jrobb]

Me neither. Mountain Lions have very little overall impact. Not that many of them and the territory that they travel is huge. They dont tolerate other lions in their established range, which might be 20 miles. Wolves and Grizzlies on the other hand have a significant impact. Whether that’s good or bad can be debated till the cows come home. Both of them apparently consider baby moose to be fried chicken. The moose population is way lower than it was 30 years ago. The Northern Yellowstone elk herd is less than half of what it was 30 years ago. They were apparently overpopulated for the range and some of the native browse has flourished in recent years. The Buffalo (Bison) are flourishing and are now eating everything. I wish the bears and wolves would eat more of them. For those of you that have not been to Yellowstone and want to see some Bison, take a drive through the Lamar Valley. On a bad day you will still see hundreds. Excellent trout fishing in the Lamar River but it’s hard to safely get from the road to the river because of the Bison.

You know anybody that hunts or guides in lion territory? Or runs dogs for them? I go to lion country every year and this comes from them