Stray Bullets a Fear
Pioneer Valley Hiking Club president Anne Marie Visconti is
absolutely correct about the fear factor during hunting season ("Open Season," January 17, 2008). I appreciate the heritage and enjoyment of hunting. As landowners whose property is almost completely wooded, we allow a hunter who asked permission to hunt our land. He sometimes comes with friends, his father, or his son. Mostly, the only thing he comes out of our woods with are stories of moose sightings and observances of nature.
But not all hunters are as considerate to ask permission or as law-
abiding. We have surprised hunters who think they can sneak in on
Sundays. We also pick up shell casings (and litter) almost every time
we go out, and our hunter friend has had his tree stand stolen.
Instead of hiking our land, during hunting season we rarely venture
out there. Working in my garden or traveling along our dirt road, I
wonder if this might be the time that an errant bullet comes my way.
So what if the Sunday hunting law is from colonial times, safety
statistics can be viewed different ways, or hunters feel their rights
are being trampled? What about our rights to enjoy our property
without fear at least one day a week during hunting season?
Susan Bergeron-West
via email
Hunting Ban Too Broad
Although I am a resident of Connecticut—a state that also bans hunting on Sunday—I felt compelled to comment on your article about repealing the Sunday hunting ban in Massachusetts: my friends and I have always been frustrated by the fact we could not pursue our sport on Sunday. About 20 years ago we began to feel cheated by the state because of the ever-increasing fees for hunting licenses and the anti-hunting sentiments from those who chose to harass us while we legally pursued our sport. We chose to stop hunting in Connecticut altogether and spend weekends hunting in Vermont and New York, both of which allow Sunday hunting. As a result, Connecticut has lost the fees we used to pay, as well as money we spent on food, lodging and other essentials.
Unfortunately, the regulations are too broad, lumping together all forms of hunting, some of which pose little or no risk to non-hunters. Is duck hunting in a boat on the bay in December bothering hikers in the Berkshires? I only hunt ruffed grouse, and don't feel that letting me hunt 12 weekend days out of the year for a fee of $65.50, as opposed to the six weekend days I can now hunt, is asking too much of non-hunters, who can enjoy their outdoor activities 104 weekend days per year for free.
Regardless of what states allow on public land, it seems unfair to ban Sunday hunting on private land, at least in the name of public safety. Is it justifiable to deny a landowner the right to hunt his own land on a Sunday because it might "threaten" someone trespassing on his property?
Robert Schmidt
Westport, Connecticut
