Hunting: Goals and techniques vary considerably from one region to the other

The customs of hunting vary, sometimes considerably, over our great country.

In some cases, this is a result of local conditions: long-range hunting and hunting optics will never be very popular in northern Maine forests. In others, it's simply a convention or a local tradition. Some pursuit methods or favorite species seem weird, but people from outside could look at us strangely too.

For example, I have never seen anyone hunt deer from inside a closed structure before traveling south of the Mason-Dixon line. For decades, and probably centuries, the most popular deer hunting method in the northern forests was still to hunt: she slipped silently in the hope of spying on a suspicious ponytail before you to spy. A less common but even more rampant tactic is to track down a big dollar in the snow. People do not do it in the Midwest because there is not enough blanket to hide the hunter or in the south because there is no snow. In addition, outside of New England, you simply do not cross the boundaries of the property.

The treetops, which are now the most popular hunting method everywhere, have not really been noticed here before the advent of modern archery. Erecting one consisted of carrying a load of two by four into the local woodlot. The permanent and often rickety stands were finally supplanted by padlocks, ladders and climbing stands, as well as by the closed shooting house. I find it somewhat ironic that firing houses are much more popular in the warmer climates of Alabama and Texas, while northerners still prefer to face the elements.

Speaking of Texas, the most popular deer hunting method would be considered odious in the Northeast. Not only do most hunters hunt in a shooting house, but these fully enclosed structures are, most often, strategically located at a firing distance from a maize feeder. For many, this may seem to confer an unfair advantage on the hunter. Still, Texas manages to maintain a population of about 4 million deer, while the deer harvest in some counties exceeds that of most New England states. I do not think the resource is going to be exhausted anytime soon, that's the only thing that should be of concern to us from a conservation perspective.

Waterfowl seem to follow somewhat similar patterns. When building a duck blind, the goal of every New Englander I've ever known was to make it as small and invisible as possible, while leaving enough room for maneuver, with comfort that is not hardly taken into account. In the bays and sounds of North Carolina, they hunt in large open-box blinds, built high enough on stilts for you to need a ladder – or, in the best versions, of any kind. a staircase – to access it. And while we, the Yankees, glide in our swamps by kayak and canoe, the hunters of the Great Salt Lake reach their honey holes by hydrofoil.

Sometimes it's not the way they hunt, but what they hunt is so strange and so different. One of the most glaring examples is something that most Mainers, even hunters, have probably never considered. Let's see if you can guess what the # 1 game bird is in North America.

A typical reaction could be the wild turkey. The interest and participation in the hunt for this most cautious opponent has skyrocketed over the past three decades, at the time of population recovery and the establishment and extension of hunting seasons. If that's your opinion, you'll be wrong.

The ruffed grouse, or partridge, could be a popular guess of someone from Maine, Minnesota or Wisconsin. They are certainly very popular in the predominantly forest-dominated northern states, but the numbers of birds and their followers are decreasing rapidly as you head south into the fields and lawns of the forest. most of the country.

The fields of the farm evoke images of a screaming rooster pheasant springing from a thin strip of fallow fallow land between fields of corn, right in front of a pair of stoic passers. Although very popular in some western and central-western states, hunting for this transplant from Mongolia is largely a matter of going back and forth to the east of Mississippi.

The # 1 game bird in North America is … drum roll, please …. the dove of mourning. According to the most recent figures available from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, about 840,000 hunters spend about 2.4 million days a year harvesting 13.8 million turtle doves. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, the population of doves is estimated at 274 million and is increasing. In some predominantly agricultural areas, they are even a costly nuisance. Yet Rhode Island is the only state in New England to experience a dove season. Cross New York, New Jersey and Michigan, and the rest of the country will join the party.

I guess it's human nature for us to consider something alien as weird or suspicious. The first time I was invited to sit on the roof of an all-terrain vehicle with a loaded rifle, I was more shy than me while we were walking on a Texas ranch. But that's how they hunt in the arid southwest. Crossbows have been decried for centuries for the devastating effects they would have on game. There are now more states with crossbow seasons than without, and game populations in all these states have increased. Climate, weather, traditions and personal preferences all play a role in defining local hunting customs. Some may seem strange and strange to people outside the neighborhood, but they all have some things in common, including protecting the future health of wildlife populations and the current safety of those who pursue them.

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer, Maine registered guide and certified wildlife biologist living in Pownal. It can be reached at:

[email protected]

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