The Gaming Den

Ok, so I'm interested in trying hunting. Unfortunately, natural language guides as to the basic info you need to determine whether its a thing you want to do are in short supply.

So I figured I'd turn to forums, and I'd rather have a known quantity for my stupid questions than try a whole new forum.

All questions are for California.

So, stupid question the first, if anyone here happens to know- Is it legal, assuming proper licensing and property owner permission, to hunt small game, like wild turkey, in a residential area? We have a lot of wild turkeys around here, and while buying a bow and some hunting arrows may not necessarily be cheaper than buying a turkey for thanksgiving, it sounds more enjoyable.

Possibly stupid question- I see reference to archery-only seasons, but I can't determine that means "you are only allowed to bow hunt in this specific season, not others" in addition to "you are only allowed to hunt with bows in this season, not other weapons"

I'll probably think of more

I have no experience, but this seems to answer some of those questions.

"The archery-only California spring turkey season is for two weeks after the general turkey season closes (May 1 – 14, 2017). You can also use a bow during the general seasons in the fall and spring."

I'm going to assume that you can't hunt them in residential areas, because that's mainly private property you don't own, and so this applies.

https://legallabrador.org/california-ar ... tions/#FGC § 3004. Reckless or unsafe shooting over public road

here are some nearby places where you might be able to hunt.

https://legallabrador.org/california-tu ... /#Northern California turkey hunting areas, Region 2

edit: why do idiots put spaces in web adresses?

Prak wrote:We have a lot of wild turkeys around here, and while buying a bow and some hunting arrows may not necessarily be cheaper than buying a turkey for thanksgiving, it sounds more enjoyable.

Goddammit...I'm going to be that guy...

Why would it be more enjoyable to go kill turkeys? Would you find it enjoyable to directly cause the pain and suffering of other living things?

Next step is to question eating turkey at all, but one step at a time...

And in between the icky work of getting rid of the feathers, slicing it open, getting rid of the entrails and the head and the feet and other unappetizing bits.

phlapjackage wrote:

Prak wrote:We have a lot of wild turkeys around here, and while buying a bow and some hunting arrows may not necessarily be cheaper than buying a turkey for thanksgiving, it sounds more enjoyable.

Goddammit...I'm going to be that guy...

Why would it be more enjoyable to go kill turkeys? Would you find it enjoyable to directly cause the pain and suffering of other living things?

Next step is to question eating turkey at all, but one step at a time...

I take it you are a vegetarian?

Prak wrote:I take it you are a vegetarian?

Whether I am or not(I'm vegan), do you know why you think it would be more enjoyable to kill the turkeys yourself? What about hunting appeals to you ?

I used to live in rural md and know some hunting laws from that.

You can almost never hunt on private property without express permission of the owner. Imagine if you were sitting on your porch and some guy drives up and shoots some animal on your yard. How did they know you werent raising it? If one happens to come onto your property though? Bow hunt it all day long. If you use a gun and have anyone nearby that will lead to tons of police calls, even if totally legal.

We always found the best method for hunting was to get licenses and what not, but then have someone who owns land let us come hunt there. Just helping a friend eliminate some pests on his property.

Md has sone pretty strickt hunting laws and id imagine ca is stricter.

Vegan - this response is why people make fun of how annoying your group is.

You probably should find someone experienced to hunt with starting out. I know you said that wasn't readily available but there are many pitfalls - safety, logistical, and legal, that you want to avoid, and I dunno if reading online will be adequate preparation.

1. Laws and seasons vary from state to state:

Here's a starting point for my home state of PA: https://www.hunter-ed.com/pennsylvania/
This might be similar for your state
https://www.register-ed.com/programs/ca ... -education

2. Look for hunter's clubs, associations, groups, etc. Try social media and ask around at sporting goods stores. You can probably find some folks willing to show a newbie the ropes.

Hunting stores are good. We have a Cabela's pretty close, and they are always having classes there. There aren't any in California, though, so you'd have to use Google to find something local.

Krusk wrote:Vegan - this response is why people make fun of how annoying your group is.

Fine, *I'm* not a vegan, and I too fail to see the fun in murdering cute fluffy creatures for the lulz (not safe for normal people).

phlapjackage wrote:

Prak wrote:I take it you are a vegetarian?

Whether I am or not(I'm vegan), do you know why you think it would be more enjoyable to kill the turkeys yourself? What about hunting appeals to you ?

Please don't derail my thread, then. I am a meat eater, I enjoy eating meat, and hunting is, at the least, not inherently any less humane than industrial slaughter, and likely more humane, assuming you are doing it ethically. And yes, hunting can be done ethically, and I'm not going to entertain a debate on that matter here. Start your own thread if you want to debate that.

Krusk wrote:You can almost never hunt on private property without express permission of the owner. Imagine if you were sitting on your porch and some guy drives up and shoots some animal on your yard. How did they know you werent raising it? If one happens to come onto your property though? Bow hunt it all day long. If you use a gun and have anyone nearby that will lead to tons of police calls, even if totally legal.

Well, yeah. Like I said, assuming proper licensing and property owner permission. Mostly I'm planning on bow hunting, since I have more experience with a bow than a gun (school year of Archery vs going shooting at a range one time with a friend). So, that shouldn't be as much of an issue.

erik wrote:You probably should find someone experienced to hunt with starting out. I know you said that wasn't readily available but there are many pitfalls - safety, logistical, and legal, that you want to avoid, and I dunno if reading online will be adequate preparation.

Yeah, at the very least, I think I'm going to go to the Bass Pro Shop nearish to me when they're not very busy and inflict my weird dumb newbie questions on an employee there.

Starmaker wrote:

Krusk wrote:Vegan - this response is why people make fun of how annoying your group is.

Fine, *I'm* not a vegan, and I too fail to see the fun in murdering cute fluffy creatures for the lulz (not safe for normal people).

Er... Turkeys are not cute, nor fluffy. Also, if you ever saw a pack of wild turkeys, you would know that "pack" truly is the most appropriate collective noun for them, not "flock" as is supposedly the right term.

Also, turkey is delicious.

The lack of large predators through a big chunk of America will cause overpopulation which leads to starvation, disease, and death. By allowing limited cullings certain times a year we can offset this (generally this is more palateable than re-introducing large predators in suburban areas despite that also solving the childhood obesity epidemic).

Your feelings might be hurt by the idea, but the suffering and death of a few prevents untold death and suffering for millions. Personally, when I see a vegan I think it's awesome that humans can adapt to literally any type of diet from vegan to 100% carnivorous and still survive, but this shaming of others? Not too cool. Especially the shaming of people who are doing a job you won't soil your hands with.

Prak wrote:So, stupid question the first, if anyone here happens to know- Is it legal, assuming proper licensing and property owner permission, to hunt small game, like wild turkey, in a residential area?

Pretty much assume no on this. Even if from some fluke that it is, it's really damn stupid. Both from accidentally killing the wrong thing*, or accidentally damaging property, and people reacting to you running around the neighborhood with a weapon.

I live in rural PA, which has so many hunters, the first day of hunting season (the monday after thanksgiving), schools are closed. Because half the students and staff would be 'sick' if they weren't.

*I also live on a farm surrounded by woodlands. We bring the cows in off the back pasture that weekend, and make sure the dogs don't wander far from the house the next couple weeks. Because despite the property being posted, a large chunk of the hunter population (including our neighbors) is severely stupid and/or drunk. We've had shot rattle off the barn roofs in the past.

Mind you, I'm more familiar with deer season than various bird seasons. The only thing around here people would want to kill bird wise would be turkey vultures, and no one actually wants to eat those fucking things.
Plus, unlike PennDoT, they actually clean up all the road kill we get.

Possibly stupid question- I see reference to archery-only seasons, but I can't determine that means "you are only allowed to bow hunt in this specific season, not others" in addition to "you are only allowed to hunt with bows in this season, not other weapons"

Typically, bow season is longer than gun season and overlaps it. The license you acquire should be very specific about dates.

Depending on the specific animal and the population that year, there may or may not be strict limits on the number of animals you're allowed to kill. And types of animals- killing young breeding mothers is usually frowned upon, officially or not. Make sure you can identify what's what, and if they have young.

Krusk wrote:Vegan - this response is why people make fun of how annoying your group is.

*sigh* yes, I can see how it's annoying to be reminded that enjoying killing other creatures might not be a good idea. And how my veganism never really came into it until it was asked about.

Prak wrote:Please don't derail my thread, then.

You asked, I responded. That's not a derail.

My original response was asking why you considered hunting to be a possibly enjoyable exercise, which I think is a legitimate question even regardless of ethical/moral views. You don't seem to know the first thing about hunting and what's involved. Stahlseele even brought up the messiness of it, cutting open another creature and dealing with blood and viscera and all that - do you think that would be enjoyable to you? Legit question, no morals involved.

I grew up with family that owned multiple acres in the suburbs of Sacramento, and raised chickens, rabbits, pigs, and a turkey.

I am also a culinary arts graduate.

I have been involved in pretty much every step of the consumption of animals except for the procurement of the corpse, and that was only left out of my experience on the suburban mini-farm because I was young and we weren't an actual farm.

I have butchered chickens before. It was part of my college education. I have plucked chickens before, it was part of the labor my middle class family deemed appropriate for an elementary school aged child to help with.

I am not squeamish about the concept of death, and I am interested in holding myself to the full criteria of my stance on eating meat.

Voss wrote:

Prak wrote:So, stupid question the first, if anyone here happens to know- Is it legal, assuming proper licensing and property owner permission, to hunt small game, like wild turkey, in a residential area?

Pretty much assume no on this. Even if from some fluke that it is, it's really damn stupid. Both from accidentally killing the wrong thing*, or accidentally damaging property, and people reacting to you running around the neighborhood with a weapon.

I live in rural PA, which has so many hunters, the first day of hunting season (the monday after thanksgiving), schools are closed. Because half the students and staff would be 'sick' if they weren't.

Counterpoint from here in urban PA:

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh ... id=1339399

(10 years old, so laws may have changed:)

TiaC wrote:edit: why do idiots put spaces in web adresses?

There are encodings for characters that would cause trouble in a URL, like spaces or slashes. Spaces in particular are %20, so you could write the second URL like this and it will link correctly:

https://legallabrador.org/california-tu ... Region%202