Road hunting? Please clarify

[Flowmini98]

So I've heard the term "road hunting" used quite a few times and would like some clarification about what that means.
Is driving the OHV/ logging/ forest service roads and spotting an animal then jump out and shoot them considered road hunting? I thought you had to be 100yards from the road to legally shoot? Or does that only apply to a paved road?
When I got my deer this past season we were driving from one area to another hunting area and saw my deer right off the highway before he took off and we pulled over and chased him back into the hills. Is what I did considered road hunting?

[MJB]

Spoting game while driving is road hunting.......some people that's all they do

[BillyGoatCrawler]

Road hunting? Please clarify

Any kind of driving and spotting is road hunting. It's actually comical if you're camping during deer season to watch each truck packed full of guys pass a field, slow down, scan it, then drive on. No more than 5 minutes later, another truck will come do the same thing, unaware the field was just checked.

I thought you just can't shoot across roads? No distance away required, but you can't shoot from roads since that'd be shooting across it. Am I wrong?

[JonS]

Thats road hunting. Why does it matter if 5 minutes ago someone just checked that field? Do deers not move? Or your sure they saw everything?

[Rbutler]

Ok this sounds lik epic fun, get a deer taxidermied up all prety like, set it up on a post so when its shot it drops down, get camera and record how many people think they got a kill in said field!

[God Bless America]

It's "road hunting" if they aren't working as hard as I am.

[Flowmini98]

It's "road hunting" if they aren't working as hard as I am.

Funny you say that because that is sorta why I asked. My hunting partner is my cousin and we actually worked, hiking in and around 10-15+miles that weekend when we were hunting and didnt get a chance to shoot anything until of course we were in my truck driving from one location to another to hike some more. Our dads growing up ONLY road hunted(and never got deer or pigs) and we were trying to jokingly prove to them that we put in some work for my deer.

[ElvenSoul]

Ummm Michigan is number 1 for most deer hit by a car

2013 deer met car 49205 times
bambi loves the bumber

[ElvenSoul]

Only 1000 cases of deer crashing into cars in California.

[lewdogg21]

Funny you say that because that is sorta why I asked. My hunting partner is my cousin and we actually worked, hiking in and around 10-15+miles that weekend when we were hunting and didnt get a chance to shoot anything until of course we were in my truck driving from one location to another to hike some more. Our dads growing up ONLY road hunted(and never got deer or pigs) and we were trying to jokingly prove to them that we put in some work for my deer.

yeah it's not unusual. Murphys law or whatever.

Road hunting can actually be a very effective technique to find deer or big game in areas where they aren't heavily pressured from the roads and consequently are deathly afraid of roads come hunting season.

Sometimes it's a matter of just covering enough ground to find the animals vs. put all your eggs in one basket or in this case one drainage. Many times animals will have heavily used trails that parallel our roads. These deer highways can be as little as 50 yards from the human road but are usually hidden from view.

[gurkgurkgurk]

Time and a place. Road hunting works in some places, but if there aren't enough logging roads, good ole hiking is the way to go.

[RandyD]

There are times where my legs are worn out from hunting the day prior, and I'll take a break from hiking and drive the forest roads.

[NickTheGreek]

Road hunting is a joke. With that said, if I was driving into a spot and saw a nice animal in a legal area, I'd get out and blast that ****er without a second thought.

[Huntsprig]

I thought you had to be 100yards from the road to legally shoot? Or does that only apply to a paved road?

I thought you just can't shoot across roads? No distance away required, but you can't shoot from roads since that'd be shooting across it. Am I wrong?

Standish is correct.


California Penal Code

PC374(c)
Every person who shoots any firearm from or upon a public
road or highway is guilty of a misdemeanor.

California Fish and Wildlife Code

California Fish And Game Code 3004.
(a) It is unlawful for any person, other than the owner,
person in possession of the premises, or a person having the express
permission of the owner or person in possession of the premises, to
hunt or to discharge while hunting, any firearm or other deadly
weapon within 150 yards of any occupied dwelling house, residence, or
other building or any barn or other outbuilding used in connection
therewith. The 150-yard area is a "safety zone."
(b) It is unlawful for any person to intentionally discharge any
firearm or release any arrow or crossbow bolt over or across any
public road or way open to the public, in an unsafe manner.

Definition of a road from the Fish and Wildlife regs.

[Bull Elk]

There is an area that my hunting pals and I hunt when we are in C-4. It's pretty thick with trees, shrubs, and most shots are definitely under 100 yards. However, if you find a spot with frequently used trails and are patient, you will usually have a buck pass your way.

HOWEVER.....it has become rather comical with the number of road hunters who can't for the life of themselves pry their butts out of their jeeps, trucks, quads, extended high platform vehicles, etc. I get a big belly laugh when I see three guys in the front and three more in the back seats of trucks road hunting. I always wonder what the guy in the middle is thinking his chances will be to shoot a deer? Will he need for the first two to trip and fall trying to get out of the truck? I'll be in a blind hundreds of yards off a logging road and watch vehicles parade back and forth all day long. It's funny because many of these road hunters are dressed in their camo gear from head to toe. Some even think a little black crap placed under their eyes will conceal them from unexpecting deer that likely already heard them coming 5 minutes earlier.

Look, there are many reasons why people road hunt. If you are older or disabled, etc., I get it and have no problem how you choose to hunt. Actually, it's none of my business how you hunt. But for me, getting out into the woods away from the vehicle and people noise is 95% of the enjoyment of hunting. Your senses are heightened when you are still hunting. You hear and see far more than you ever will driving down a dusty dirt road 15 miles an hour. I've never killed a deer this way and think that shooting a deer from a vehicle really takes away from the whole experience.

There is nothing better than putting on a day pack, placing your rifle over your shoulder and walking in the dark to your blind or slowly still hunting.