As you head out hunting, remember that some

By Jenny Schlecht Agweek

Afriend wrote a scathing Facebook post recently about how a duck hunter had fired his gun by her house multiple times. She confronted him about being inconsiderate and about the need to pick up the shells he left laying in the road.

The post led to a long string of other people talking about similar run-ins with hunters. Some had experienced having hunters shoot toward their homes. More than one person simply expressed a general dislike for hunting season because of these issues.

So, here’s the deal. Most of us who live in rural areas have no problems with hunters.

Many are hunters themselves. We allow hunters on our land, and we understand the need for population control in some species, most notably deer. Last year’s rough winter meant that our farmyard was constantly crawling with deer enjoying the feed supplies set out for our cattle.

Our communities also are happy to host hunters. I live in — so I’ve been told — a prime waterfowl hunting area. Hunters from in and out of state fill our hotels, eat at our restaurants and bars, frequent our stores. That’s fantastic! It’s a huge piece of the local economy, and we welcome them.

But we also need to remind some that our fields and pastures and roads are not no-holdsbarred playgrounds for their pleasure.

If you’re planning on hunting this year — especially in a rural area where you don’t live or work — these are some simple rules that will make us appreciate your presence a lot more:

1. Ask permission. I grew up in Montana where signs proclaiming, “Ask and the gates may open,” were everywhere. You don’t go on someone else’s land without permission there, by law and by custom. In North Dakota, state law requires landowners to put up signs or register electronically to say their land isn’t open for trespassing. I am of the camp that very much dislikes that law, but it is the law.

However, it doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t still — out of basic human dignity — ask for permission to be on someone else’s property. Last year, I sometimes felt like our house was on a parade route given how many people stopped to ask to hunt. And you know what? I don’t think we turned many down, though we did ask a few to wait a day or two until another group was done or to stay out of areas where we have cattle.

2. Be aware of your surroundings. We live here. We raise children here. We work here. We pasture cattle here. We very much do not want stray bullets flying at us, our loved ones or our valuable assets just because you got excited that a duck flew up or a deer ran by. If you would be bothered by a bullet shot toward your house, make sure you’re not shooting at one of ours.

3. Obey the rules of the road. This should be self-evident. Drive on the right side of the road. Drive at a moderate speed. If you need to pull off the road, pull all the way off the road in a safe spot. This time of year is hunting season, but it’s also harvest season. If your pickup is sitting halfway on the gravel road, there may not be room for a combine or a tractor or other equipment to get by. Plus, it can be hazardous for even those of us just driving by.

4. Be polite. Many of us have had great interactions with