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Bowhunting and OC

Interceptor_Knight

Regular Member
Joined
May 18, 2007
Messages
2,851
Location
Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
When I am bow hunting, the hunting rules apply. When I am carrying a firearm (or whatever) (for security and defense), Article 1, Sec 25 applies.

Another possible conflict exists if a hunter has a loaded firearm within the 50 ft of the center line of the road. If the hunter is hunting, then the action is illegal. If the person is not hunting, just walking along the road or even just standing along the road, the warden would have to prove that the hunter was actually hunting, i.e taking a shot at an animal. .
You do not have to be taking a shot to be "hunting". If you are part of an active deer "drive", you are hunting. If you are walking from one stand to another or from your cabin, home, etc to your stand or back, you are not "hunting".
 

Interceptor_Knight

Regular Member
Joined
May 18, 2007
Messages
2,851
Location
Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
The presumption is that if you have an arrow nocked on your bow, you are hunting. I have been so advised by different conservation wardens. Any of you want to go through being the test case on that, feel free.
I don't know of anyone who walks around with an arow nocked unless they are stalking a deer but simply walking back to your car with an arrow nocked would not be enough evidence to convict. There is no administrative code to support it. The wardens can cite all they want. The loaded firearm example is in their FAQ. There is no difference between a loaded firearm and a "loaded" bow.
 
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
232
Location
Green Bay
i always walk with an arrow nocked in case I spook a deer while walking. you never know. I'd feel really stupid if i wasn't prepared.
 

phred

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2010
Messages
768
Location
North Central Wisconsin, ,
i always walk with an arrow nocked in case I spook a deer while walking. you never know. I'd feel really stupid if i wasn't prepared.

I think you'd feel real stupid if you trip and fell on your broadhead. Walking with a nocked arrow is dangerous - akin to walking around with the safety off. I would think most hunter safety instructors would advise against walking around with a nocked arrow.
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location
Green Bay
Its not as dangerous as you make it, for one, the arrow when knocked is actually held a good distance from your body. Second, IF you where to fall on it, you'd be falling on it flat, and considering I wear 2 or 3 layers while hunting, you'll just get scratched. Besides, no pain, no gain. Remember, those instructors are overly cautious, just like their unload your weapon when you go over or under something, or haul your firearm with a rope to your stand, which put its in danger of falling, or banging around. I've carried in the military under all those conditions, just use common sense, be careful, and you are fine.
 

phred

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2010
Messages
768
Location
North Central Wisconsin, ,
Its not as dangerous as you make it,....Besides, no pain, no gain. Remember, those instructors are overly cautious, just like their unload your weapon when you go over or under something, or haul your firearm with a rope to your stand, which put its in danger of falling, or banging around. I've carried in the military under all those conditions, just use common sense, be careful, and you are fine.

It is not called Hunter SAFETY for nothing. Tell the no pain no gain thing to this hunter's family. The 2009 deer hunting season had one (& only one) fatality when a hunter in Rock Co. was raising a loaded 12 ga. semi-auto shotgun into his tree stand. Entrance of the slug was to lower abdomen with exit out back side of left shoulder. I bet he thought he was an expert on common sense.

Hunter Safety teaches and promotes SAFE procedures. You may choose to ignore them, if you want to. There are also legal consequences if someone else is killed or injured.
 

Brass Magnet

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2009
Messages
2,818
Location
Right Behind You!, Wisconsin, USA
I agree, walking around (while hunting) without an arrow knocked is like walking around with an unloaded gun. What's the point? The comparison with a gun safety is apples to oranges; a bow has a great big safety, you have to pull it back. As always, the safety is in between your ears. If you don't feel comfortable walking around with knocked arrow; or a bullet in the chamber, don't do it.

ETA: Raising a weapon to a tree stand is an entirely different proposition. You are not hunting at the time and there is no reason the firearm should be loaded or the bow be knocked. Personally, I unload my weapon and sling it over my back because I don't want it to be knocked around. I suppose it's possible that I could end up with a gun shaped bruise on my back if I fell. Of course, I might be in worse shape than that with no fault to the gun or bow.
 
Last edited:

phred

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2010
Messages
768
Location
North Central Wisconsin, ,
Personally, I unload my weapon and sling it over my back because I don't want it to be knocked around. I suppose it's possible that I could end up with a gun shaped bruise on my back if I fell. Of course, I might be in worse shape than that with no fault to the gun or bow.


As a Hunter Safety Instructor, I tell my students that when they go up or down using a tree stand, their primary and only concern should be their own safety. A large number of tree stand accidents occur while climbing either up or down. If a person who slings the gun over the shoulder has to reach and re-adjust the gun because it slips (and it usually does), they are not exercising the utmost care concerning their own body. Same for a backpack. Leave it on the ground and haul it up later. Items hanging off your body slip and get caught on things or throw you off balance. Murphy's law is hard at work when using tree stands.

Almost every hunter knows someone who had a tree stand "accident". And those accidents can be prevented.
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location
Green Bay
Phred, maybe I should have clarified, I didn't mean hoist a loaded weapon up to my stand with a rope. I mean I just sling it on my back and climb to my stand. I'm not going to load the weapon by my vehicle, then unload it again at the stand, then load it again. Makes too much noise. If the weapon where for some freak reason to go off while slung on my back, the round will harmlessly go into the dirt as I carry muzzle down, a habit from the Army. There is no danger there, as there is no danger walking with a nocked arrow. I know you feel more qualifed as an instructor, and what you teach is great for inexperienced hunters.
 
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Messages
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Location
Green Bay
If a weapon is slung properly, it will not slip. You'd be amazed the things I've done in the Army alone with a slung weapon, it never slipped. You have to have the proper sling, not just a strap.
 
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
232
Location
Green Bay
It is not called Hunter SAFETY for nothing. Tell the no pain no gain thing to this hunter's family. The 2009 deer hunting season had one (& only one) fatality when a hunter in Rock Co. was raising a loaded 12 ga. semi-auto shotgun into his tree stand. Entrance of the slug was to lower abdomen with exit out back side of left shoulder. I bet he thought he was an expert on common sense.

Hunter Safety teaches and promotes SAFE procedures. You may choose to ignore them, if you want to. There are also legal consequences if someone else is killed or injured.

That man is an idiot. I'll go with what the Army taught me about safe weapon handling, I've carried loaded weapons for days at a time, around dozens of other people do the same thing, all taught by the Army, and not one accident.
 

phred

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2010
Messages
768
Location
North Central Wisconsin, ,
I am not a lawyer. I am not an expert.

But, I do like to increase my odds of survival. I still don't run with a scissors in my hand.

You may be quite adept at what you do, but someone else out there reading this thread may get the wrong idea of what are the safe procedures one should follow.

Oh well, I tried.
 

Nutczak

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
2,165
Location
The Northwoods, lakeland area, Wisconsin, USA
I'm not saying it's illegal to OC for self defense while bow-hunting with a barrel length under the legal minimum, just that you may have to prove that you weren't hunting with it.

.

I think you may have that backwards, since it is the prosecutors burden to prove guilt, not the defendants burden to prove innocence. Sadly many courts seem to ignore that detail and expect the accused to prove innocence.
 
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
232
Location
Green Bay
I am not a lawyer. I am not an expert.

But, I do like to increase my odds of survival. I still don't run with a scissors in my hand.

You may be quite adept at what you do, but someone else out there reading this thread may get the wrong idea of what are the safe procedures one should follow.

Oh well, I tried.
As I tried also
 

Brass Magnet

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2009
Messages
2,818
Location
Right Behind You!, Wisconsin, USA
As a Hunter Safety Instructor, I tell my students that when they go up or down using a tree stand, their primary and only concern should be their own safety. A large number of tree stand accidents occur while climbing either up or down. If a person who slings the gun over the shoulder has to reach and re-adjust the gun because it slips (and it usually does), they are not exercising the utmost care concerning their own body. Same for a backpack. Leave it on the ground and haul it up later. Items hanging off your body slip and get caught on things or throw you off balance. Murphy's law is hard at work when using tree stands.

Almost every hunter knows someone who had a tree stand "accident". And those accidents can be prevented.

I wouldn't crawl up in my stand with a rifle or bow on my shoulder, that would be silly and most definitely would slip, I said slung across my back. No way that's slipping. I agree with springfieldxd that a properly slung weapon is fairly benign; just like a properly holstered pistol.

I can understand your view while teaching but some of us were taught or learned other ways of doing things that we may feel are better for us and may not have learned from HE instructors.
 
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