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Curious if Coon Hunting will now be illegal in NM??? Bad deal for the coonhunters

The new rule on huning hours only pertains to bears and lions. you can still coon hunt at night.

an alberta perspective:

“hunt” means, subject to subsection (6), with reference to a subject animal,

(i) shoot at, harass or worry,

(ii) chase, pursue, follow after or on the trail of, search for, flush, stalk or lie in wait for,

(iii) capture or wilfully injure or kill,

(iv) attempt to capture, injure or kill, or

(v) assist another person to hunt in a manner specified in subclause (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) while that other person is so hunting;

the act of searching for tracks with the intent of hunting the animal or passing the information on to another who intends to hunt the animal, is considered hunting. with respect to the fact that the person doing the searching must be licensed for that species. having buddys or co workers who run the roads frequently as part of their job, then pass information on the whereabouts of a "track" is considered hunting and requires that the person locating tracks be licensed. i would hope that this is enforced to the letter, as a level playing field is a must. compare the success of an outfitter with many eyes searching for tracks to a individual hunter. fair? i think knot !

having said that, a licensed hunter looking for tracks for his own purposes might not have hunted an animal until actually setting out on the track of,searching for(game not tracks), with weapon( intent),,,,after finding the track! just my opinion.

This really isn't any of my business, but I'm a know-it-all and thought I'd tell you what I thought.


I do not know about any other state's laws, but here in Montana we have a law preventing the use of "two-way communication" to assist in hunting of big game. This means that you can not call your buddy to come run a track with you on your cell phone. The guys that have a "posse" out cutting for tracks are breaking the law, plain and simple.

I was one of the guys that always tried to beat you to a track by getting up before you. I now would rather get up at a reasonable time and walk up a coulee with the dogs and know that no one else is up there. Another thing that helps me avoid a lot of other hunters is go when the conditions suck. I like to see a lion in the tree as much as the next guy, but I'd still rather watch the dogs work their asses of on a bad track and not catch it than have them ride around in a dog box all day looking for a smoking hot track to pop up.

Scott

NAIT HADYA,
COINCIDENCE THAT YOU POSTED, I AGREE, AS TODAY IS MY THIRD DAY BEING OUT AFTER OUR 2ND GOOD SNOW. BEEN OUT CUTTING TRACK, YET TO FIND THAT SOMEONE, "THE POSSIES" HAVE BEAT ME TO THE DECENT CATCHABLE CATS. AS I'M DRIVING AROUND ALL I COULD THINK??????? IS HOW MANY OF THESE GUYS OUT HERE IN THE WOODS ARE REALLY LICENSED?????? I WITNESSED SEVERAL TRUCKS WITHOUT DOG BOXES, BUT DEFINTELY HUNTERS, WITH "HUNTER DECALS AND ALL THE ANTENNAS FOR THERE HAM RADIOS" CRUISING AROUND. NOW ITS ONLY COMMON SENSE THAT THESE BOYS ARE OUT WORKING FOR SOMEONE????? I DO LIKE YOUR ALBERTA PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEFINITIONS YOU POSTED. AS FOR ME, MY MIND IS HUNTING 24/7-365 DAYS A YEAR EVEN IF IM NOT IN THE FEILD, SO THE QUESTION IS, WAIT FOR IT......... AM I REALLY HUNTING????????MAYBE MENTALLY, BUT NOT PHYSICALY?????? BUT YOUR RIGHT, ITS NOT FAIR TO THE LICENSED INDIVIDUAL SEEKING THERE INTENDED GAME. THANKS FOR POSTING

I get a kick out of some of the comments on here. Some are good and some are not. It does suck to get beat to the prime hunting spots but thats just part of the game.. As much as I don't like the idea of a truck setting on a track waiting for daylight to turn out, at least they have their dogs with them and are waiting until leagal hours to turn out. The notion that a guy can find a track, claim it, leave with the intention of comming back later and expecting that any other hunter that stumbles on it is a "POS" bothers me worse. I have read on another post where a guy suggested that he should be able to flag the track, this would be his way of letting other hunters know he intended to retutrn and run it. Why does he not just p$ss on the brush next to it? That would claim it too. Or better yet, bring your dogs with you and you would not have this problem. I would never knowingly turn in on or in front of another hunter, but if I find a track that someome has stopped, looked at and left, its fair game.... Imagine if you went elk hunting, spotted a large bull on a hillside then left to go home and get your rifle. Would you be upset if another hunter poped your prize while you were gone? If you are hunting you should have your dogs with you, If you do not then I would have to asume you are one of these guys that get paid a couple hundred bucks by the local guide to run roads for him.

You can use "two way communication" up to the point you cut dogs loose. Its in the regs

Two-way Communications
It is unlawful to use two‑way communications to: 1) hunt big
game animals as defined in MCA 87‑2‑101(8). “Hunt” means to
“pursue, shoot, wound, kill, chase, lure, possess or capture”; or 2)
avoid game checking stations, FWP enforcement personnel, or to
facilitate unlawful activity. When hunting mountain lions or bobcats
with dogs, this rule applies when hounds are placed on tracks in
a district open to mountain lion or bobcat harvest. The rule shall
not be interpreted to prohibit the possession or use of two‑way
radios for safety or other legitimate purposes, nor does it prohibit
the use of radio tracking equipment to locate hounds when hunting
mountain lions or bobcats.

As bad as I hate pullin "all nighters", "the early bird gets the worm" it's all part of the game. whoever puts in more work is gona run more game. as long as your not turnin out till leagal hours then tear it up! most of the time it's a two hour or more drive to where I start cutting and to be first out I had better be there by three. oh well, that's life. should I wine that the locals up there get two more hours of sleep than me? most of the time I hunt alone, but sometimes I take 30 people with me. If I run into an ontorage like that out huntin I just head somewhere else instead of whining that those guys have more freinds than me and it's not fair. bottom line, life aint fair and houndin aint for sissies, so get up early and go catch a lion as long as you are within the bounds of the law.

oh and by the way it's 100 a.m. and I'm just about ready to head out.

HOUNDEM,
I LIKE YOUR POST, I SPENT ALOT OF MY TIME GROWING UP AND LIVING WITH MY GRANDPARENTS. MY GRANDMOTHER RELIGOUSLY WOULD TELL ME THAT THE EARLY BIRD ALWAYS GET THE WORM! THIS IS A STANDARD I BELEIVE IN. YOUR ONLY GONNA GET OUT OF IT WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT. ANOTHER PROBLEM I THINK WE HAVE HERE IS THAT PEOPLE POUND THE CRAP OUT OF CERTAIN AREAS AND THEN CLAIM TO HARVEST THEM IN THE LARGER QUOTA ZONES? DONT KNOW FOR SURE, JUST WHAT IVE HEARD THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE. RADIO COMMNICATION IS GREAT BY THE WAY

Doogie wrote:You can use "two way communication" up to the point you cut dogs loose. Its in the regs

Two-way Communications
It is unlawful to use two‑way communications to: 1) hunt big
game animals as defined in MCA 87‑2‑101(8). “Hunt” means to
“pursue, shoot, wound, kill, chase, lure, possess or capture”; or 2)
avoid game checking stations, FWP enforcement personnel, or to
facilitate unlawful activity. When hunting mountain lions or bobcats
with dogs, this rule applies when hounds are placed on tracks in
a district open to mountain lion or bobcat harvest. The rule shall
not be interpreted to prohibit the possession or use of two‑way
radios for safety or other legitimate purposes, nor does it prohibit
the use of radio tracking equipment to locate hounds when hunting
mountain lions or bobcats.

Doogie, thank you. The local game warden explained it differently. I like it a lot when people actually tell the truth instead of being a "know-it-all" like I was being(and the game warden). Crow tastes like shit though.

Scott

007pennpal wrote:First of all, starting off as a coon hunter I think its a dumb law. But, it is the law in some states so stay on the right side. Second, the early bird gets the worm. Stop crying. At least the guys were waiting until legal light and not turning loose on all the game while you are trying to be legal. Its tough to compete with a herd of pickups. I'd fire up the sled and go where trucks can't. I dislike seeing other hunters in the woods. I always try to find my solo spot. Maybe I should move to Northern Canada.
Sean

Don't worry Sean, you'll find the same problems up here too. lol. It is a grey area here to cut tracks in the dark. The regs say it is illegal to hunt at night. They define illegal as such" to pursue, to track, to quary or in chase of". We are not aloud to turn dogs loose before legal hunting light and I know of a couple guys who have been given warnings for cutting tracks at night with thier dogs and rifle in the truck for it shows the intention to hunt.I think no matter where you hunt you'll always find people running the roads in the dark looking for tracks trying to get that early tree.

honestly, I think it would be a mess if you could not cut track at night here. If you had to wait for first light, guys would be lined up looking for tracks, and you might just have a fist fight or two. You know you have to get up before the next guy so you do what you have to do, or you find a private place of your own and show up when ever you get up. its all about how bad you wan't it.

Im not sure what this is all about but it sounds like pure jealousy to me. If some of you guys who have a problem with guys out looking for tracks at night then just stay home because the guys who really want to catch cats are already going to have all the country covered. Maybe if you just spend your time on the computer instead of in your truck or on your sled doing your ground work maybe your luck will improve. Id just stay here complaining. Oh yeah all you Montana boys my pickup will be leaving the house at about 9:00 p.m and wont be returning until friday. ( Catch me if you can, pussy's)

Same deal in AZ. If your out after 10:00 you will be driving on someone elses tire tracks. The popular areas gett hit hard starting around 9 or so. Alot of the guys hit an area and leave to a new spot. Its part of the game here if you hunt the snow its all about who has more trucks running. A lion can cross a road at any given time so it doesnt always help to be there at 10 cuz still alot of hours left for one to cross. If you dont like it dont hunt the snow or just get up earlier and put more time into it. WE ALL HATE IT WHEN SOMEONE CUTS A TRACK IN FRONT OF US BUT THE FACT IS YOU ARE THAT GUY EVERY TIME YOU CUT A TRACK FIRST.
If anyone from AZ is reading this, the next couple days we will have the best snow we have seen in a while so try not to kill a female. Trust me you will have just as good or better feeling when you walk away with her still in the tree than you would packing her out dead. Good luck.

Man i thought ca was bad. we cant hunt cats yet, but we can hunt bobs, fox, and coon at night. Why are people worried about finding tracks? If you have a broke dog, either put it on the hood and wait for a strike, or road it. I can see if your trying to make a dog and you want to avoid running trash, or your hunting varmant and want to make sure its not a bear, otherwise not really sure why you would look for tracks. i like to listen to the dogs and guess what animals at the tree. makes it that much more exciting for me. can someone explain if im missing something?