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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    What The Heck Happened???

    I left Kentucky when i was twenty years old and moved to New York City to help manage a relatives construction business. I spent 12 hour days six and seven days a week for 25 years climbing and walking steel and looking out across a big city that faded into a blur in the distance. I worked with people who had never sat on a horse, spent a night camped out in a cave during a thunder storm and never listened to a hound on trail. Twenty five continuous years of concrete and steel under what used to be this small town boys feet had begun to take its toll on me physically and mentally. So i decided a couple months ago i had better to come back home to Kentucky and save what i had left before i got any older.

    First thing i did on my way home was to purchase a canoe so i could put in on some of the local creeks and rivers that i used to fish when i was a teenager. I was aboslutely shocked that everywhere a person could have launched a boat was cabled and posted like crazy. Trees were cut and laid down across dirt roads that led to the rivers and back hoes had ditched out a lot of the access areas. The places i remembered having public access were now loaded with hunting club posted signs and some had plackards informing me that cameras were installed on private properties and boat traffic up and down the river was being monitored with cameras. I noticed there was a sign that read something to the effect of "Please be informed there are posted signs and cameras located at intervals and all license numbers of vehicles parked near the river are subject to be recorded and etc". And it was true when i would stop and look long enough i could see there are cameras in the trees recording who was on the river. The creeks that were home to me as a teenager now have signs out in the middle of them informing me that i will face criminal tresspassing charges if i were to float a boat in them.

    And i noticed the deer are now much larger and more numerous than they were 25 years ago but they are all what appear to be private herds. Ive read hunting club literature stating "Our trophy deer herd this" and "Our trophy deer herd that" where 25 years ago a person would be laughed at or thought to be a fool if he claimed to own a trophy deer herd. Ive talked to guys i went to school with who were some of the most "on-fire" outdoorsmen that would have ever walked the earth and most of them have told me they had sold just about all their guns and they hadnt deer hunted in over ten years. Some of their sons have never hunted simply because there are no places available to hunt.
    On several occasions i have been parked on the side of a public road with my spotting scope set up watching deer where someone would pull up and jump out of a truck and talk to me like a dog and accusing me of being a poacher and some would write down my license plate number.

    And i had thought NYC with all its hustlers, pimps and pushers was bad???

    There was this one preacher in NYC who from time to time i would hear on the radio. His name was Wilkerson i think and he claimed the second coming was near and that people had become so greedy and wicked that there was little hope for most of them. I thought that this man was only going by what he saw in the city where i was sure he didnt know things werent like that in other parts of America. Now im wondering if the man was right because i never dreamed i would be coming home to find a mess like this. Things are really twisted up when a teenager has every opportunity to get drunk, get hooked on cocaine or end up pregnant but that same kid doesnt have the opportunity to spend a day in the woods. To be honest i dont know if ill ever be able to understand it.

    Maybe ill take a short trip up to Alaska and see if things are better up there.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 1969
    Location
    Pendleton County
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    1,170
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    That's a combination of Quality Deer Management,Out of Staters buying up property,and the old timers dying off.It's the same in many places,there are a few places a little more southern hospitable Eastern Ky is still not as bad as the other end of the state,but Elk hunting is slowly changing that,my area of the less populated outer bluegrass is still fairly hospitable,at least you can still knock on doors and get permission to hunt as Leasing hasn't totally taken over here.
    If you can get access,nobody can stop you from floating a creek or river,but you can't touch the ground.I'm afraid over-population has changed things even out west,but they have alot more Govt Land.,yet our Liberal Pals think we should usher in Millions more people to turn our country into a concrete jungle.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    139
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    it all really accelerated 10 years ago with commercialization and expansion of the hunting industry and wealthy hunters leasing up the land. i have lost thousands of acres of private land in west kentucky to the rich leasing it up for 20 to 50 dollars per acre. also a few bad apples that have not respected private property have taken lots of it and put it behind a locked gate. it will never be the same now that money is involved. thats what has happenned in my opinion.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    I talked to a individual the other day that had to post his property because someone drove around his gate after they cut the fence. And the gate wasnt locked it just had the chain wrapped around the gate and the post. He said he wouldnt have minded them opening the gate and closing it behind them but he couldnt risk having anybody that stupid entering his property again. I really cant blame him cause he had to spend a day rounding up some loose cattle.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    lexington/danville/richmond
    Posts
    38
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    i feel your pain. its almost impossible to find a place to hunt anymore. people want you to lease or simply just say NO. im a broke college kid getting ready to be a broke person trying to find a big boy job. i can't afford to lease land. i heard a story about one guy losing permission to hunt a farm. the farmer allowed 2 parties to hunt the land. the other party aparently shot one of the farmer's bulls and killed it. because of this he wouldn't let anybody hunt anymore...period. i simply don't blame him either. as for the hunt clubs with trophy deer herds, some of these places are fenced in. what's the fun in shooting an animal thats caged? if i wanted to do that i'd keep a deer in the backyard. this is just a prime example that hunting is a lot more than just killing an animal.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    Im living in my old home town and the outer city limits include several tracts of old strip mine area that has fallen into city ownership. Ive been shooting and im surprised that im still shooting as good if not better than i did years ago. If i stick to hunting the brush with a 30/30 and open sights im sure i can pull off the one shot one kill method without drawing too much attention to myself. If a proper opportunity doesnt come up thats what ill most likely end up doing.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 1969
    Location
    South AL
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    1,705
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    I can't speak for anyone else but I can tell you why my land is posted. Idiots were shooting high power rifles at a herd of deer that live around the house. It didn't matter to them if we were sitting on the front porch late in the afternoon watching deer graze in the corner of the yard; they were even shooting from vehicles.

    Do you have any idea what it is like to hear bullets flying past you? Besides that, there are houses along a road that runs along my property line and someone living there could have been killed.

    I called the State Game & Fish Officer and asked for help to stop the poachers. He and a county deputy sheriff have helped a lot.

    When I walk or drive over the place, I have a .357 magnum Smith & Wesson strapped to my hip. I had to pull it on a man who decided to run me off my own property. I didn't move one step but when I pointed the gun at his face, I also issued a warning that I would air condition his head if I ever saw him on that land again.
    He left in a hurry and I haven't seen him around anymore. My point is that, most of the time, people force us to take a tough stand to protect what we own. The deer are free to roam when and where they please but they won't be killed on my land.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    lexington/danville/richmond
    Posts
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    i cannot blame you for that either. it's YOUR land and you better bet if i was getting shot at i would do the same thing. and yes i do know what its like to have bullets flying over my head. a farm my father and i used to hunt was notorious for people tresspassing on. one day we went to hunt the backside of an 600+ acre farm, where not too many of the other hunters go to. apparently a guy had slipped over the boundary line and had set up a stand. we were walking through a thick cedar patch when 5 consecutive shots rang out hitting all around us. we stripped off our orange and took cover behind trees. the guy was no more than 150 yards off, and after he emptied his clip, he ran to a brown bronco II sitting on top of the hill, just over the boundary line 500 yds off. i will never forget that as long as i live. the farm was posted when this occured, but that sign doesn't stop that one moron who's willing to shoot at you over an illegally taken deer. that sign also will not stop his bullets. frankly i feel for you, because it is a shame that people lack the common respect for others. as i posted before, i graduate in dec, and if everything goes right i plan on applying with KFW. there is no sense in ruining a pastime that so many love.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    I dont think anyone in their right mind would recomend allowing a complete stranger onto their land so that stranger can do as he pleases.

    If i was a land owner and i had to go as far as to put a gun between someones eyes i would have to make them leave their clothes laying on the ground and then call the cops and tell them there is a naked man out running around the country side.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 1969
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    South AL
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    Quote Originally Posted by IronWorker View Post
    I dont think anyone in their right mind would recomend allowing a complete stranger onto their land so that stranger can do as he pleases.

    If i was a land owner and i had to go as far as to put a gun between someones eyes i would have to make them leave their clothes laying on the ground and then call the cops and tell them there is a naked man out running around the country side.
    I didn't "allow" complete strangers on my land; he came without permission. About 5 years ago my brother was hunting on my property and discovered a new, expensive, tree stand set up ready for some action. He took it down and put it on his ATV and went the nearest house. He showed it to the man and told him that if anyone came by asking what happened to their tree stand to tell him that it now has a new owner.

    The next day a stranger went to my brother's house asking for his tree stand. My brother told him that he passed two "No Hunting and No Tresspassing" signs when he went in with it. Then he said to the guy, "You know, my land is also posted and you're tresspassing again. Maybe you will have learned to read by the time you can afford another tree stand. By the way, my sister said tell you thanks for the nice tree stand and to please leave her a nice gun next time." The guy started crying like a girl and my brother told him he'd better go before he changed his mind and prosecuted him for tresspassing.

  11. #11
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    Oct 2009
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    I wasnt assuming that you "allowed" him to come onto your land due to the fact you made it evident that your land is posted well before my last comment.

    I was only making a general comment that its not a wise thing for someone to allow a complete stranger onto their land.

    Moving on...

    Ill just keep a positive attitude and keep checking around and see what might come up.

    Im sure some opportunity will open up for me sooner or later. I cant believe how much the quality and numbers of the deer have improved over the past 25 years. When i was a teenager i would see a few trophy deer from time to time but now i can sit and look out over a field and im flat out amazed at what im seeing. There are a lot of deer and a lot of trophy deer i never dreamed i would see these kind of deer herds. And i also never dreamed it would be darn near impossible to have an opportunity hunt them.
    Last edited by IronWorker; 10-30-2009 at 03:12 PM.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 1969
    Location
    South AL
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    Re: What The Heck Happened???

    Quote Originally Posted by IronWorker View Post
    I wasnt assuming that you "allowed" him to come onto your land due to the fact you made it evident that your land is posted well before my last comment.

    I was only making a general comment that its not a wise thing for someone to allow a complete stranger onto their land.

    Moving on...

    Ill just keep a positive attitude and keep checking around and see what might come up.

    Im sure some opportunity will open up for me sooner or later. I cant believe how much the quality and numbers of the deer have improved over the past 25 years. When i was a teenager i would see a few trophy deer from time to time but now i can sit and look out over a field and im flat out amazed at what im seeing. There are a lot of deer and a lot of trophy deer i never dreamed i would see these kind of deer herds. And i also never dreamed it would be darn near impossible to have an opportunity hunt them.
    Sorry, I misunderstood what you said.
    I think most of the reason there are so many private hunting clubs is because of the large amount of money that is generated from membership and other fees. I know someone who leased about 2,000 acres of hunting rights from a paper company. He built a four room private clubhouse and charges hefty membership fees. It has one game room for playing poker, billiards, watching TV, and a bar. There are two bedrooms with bunks for overnight guests with a bathroom between them, the other room is the kitchen with a huge dining table. The clubhouse is used in and out of hunting season for various activities. Non-members can buy a one-day or one-week permit for a fee. The land is leased for 25 years at $2.00 per acre per year and is renewable at the end of each term. The club owner is well connected and has a huge number of members which means he is making a ton of money.

    I hope you get to be friends with a generous landowner or can connect with someone in a hunting club who can invite you as his guest.

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