Happy Hunting…errr Biking

By John Wimberly

Mountain biking in the fall can be both scenic and serene and at the same time it can be both dangerous and nerve racking (even more so than usual).  Last year about this time I wrote a piece about discovering the wonders of moving into the New England Countryside from Southern Ontario.  I embraced the fall mountain biking season with an enthusiasm fueled by rolling hills, changing foliage, scenic stonewalls and endless trails- all of which led to an increased appetite in downhill mountain biking for me. 

This euphoria, however, was abruptly shattered.  Having moved from Ontario where the gun laws are not archaic, I discovered the wonders of New England hunters and their hunting laws that must have been written sometime during the revolutionary war.  I mean seriously…muskets?  Today?  Break out the 2006 minuteman!  Buuuuut what’re you gonna do?  Not bike? Ha.

These guys are fairly normal folk when they don’t have guns in their hands…some even are when they do!  Live and learn. And learn I have.  After nearly being shot last year (no seriously, I was on a bike less than twenty feet from a deer that took multiple shotgun blasts to the head, abdomen and whatever else those drunken hunters hit) I’ve dedicated myself to learning the local hunting laws, seasons and the local unwritten rules.  The last of which seem overthrow all of the above and sometimes even basic common sense.  Well this, in a nutshell is what I’ve learned.  Use it wisely!

• WEAR BLAZE ORANGE!!! Whether are out riding or just walking the mutt…wear blaze orange!

And if you are out walking your dog then have it similarly outfitted in orange.  Even drunken hunters can’t mistake a dog in blaze orange for a deer.

• Starting in September, there is someone hunting, somewhere in New England.  The following is a quick snapshot of New Hampshire’s hunting season.  A quick google search will get you your home states.

September 1^- November 8^th                Black Bear season

September-January                             Waterfowl dates vary by species/zone

September 15-December 15^th                    Deer/Archery

September 15-December 15^th                   Fall Turkey/Archery

September-March                              Small game/ date varies by species/region   

October 1 –December 31                   Pheasant

October 15-23                                    Moose

October 29^th – November 8^th                  Deer/Muzzleloader

November 9^th-December 4^th              Deer/Firearms

• Although signs may be posted “no hunting” all an owner can do is ask you to leave. If you don’t, or he/she catches you again there is rarely even a slap on the wrist by the local law enforcement   The stark truth of it is that often times they know each other anyhow and nothings going to come of it.  Even if a hunter ends up shooting someone, all that probably happens is he loses his license …or so I was told at the local pub. There was a recent (past ten years) case of this referenced, although there was also talk of a drunken hunter who’d been pulled over with a dead horse on his roof. Turns out he thought it was a moose.  These are the things I hear.

• As of 2002 there were over 100,00 firearm hunters and 33,00 bow hunters in Mass alone.  Deer Population? 85,000.  That’s a tough ratio for Bambi. That also means that there’s a bunch of guys with guns out thee in the places we would normally ride.  What does this tell me?   If I do choose to ride this time of year I should ride with caution even in no hunting areas.  Hunters may ignore the signs or not see them at all.  Be safe, and if you have any doubt…my advice is to steer clear of any area where you hunters may be.  Telltale signs are cars (ok pickup trucks) parked at the side of the road in places where you’d normally begin a ride.