Gettin shot at tonight

[trailertrash]

What I am getting at, or trying to is what if they had a newborn, a death in the family or a person there on hospice that was finally having a peaceful night of sleep. All of it is gone if the generator or lights wake them up. What if it's a mother or father that is working 3 part-time jobs because they lost their real job to support a family on 2 hours of sleep. You never know. Show some respect is all I am saying. You wouldn't want to get woke up by someone if you were in their position.

[CAMO SNOB]

Yes. Stay the fuck out of someones cove in the middle of the night with a generator and lights before your dumb ass gets shot.

stay the fuck out of the mans cove. if theys two many houses to pin point where the shots came from then maybe it was more than one person.

What the fuck? were you doing bowfishing with your boyfriend on valentines day?

[ceddy]

The thing about it was that we weren't even close to the houses. We were about 75 yrds. from the closest dock and another 75 to the house. I don't have a problem with people asking us to move on, or motioning to from the deck, it has happened and we move on respectively, one guy just wanted to know what we were doing. The reflection shines back off the water, but where we were that wasn't even a problem because it is so steep. I know about respect so don't accuse me of not knowing. The cops had never seen anything like this before so they had us crank it up for them. They even said that it wasn't that loud.

[tradorion]

LEt me be one more to throw the bullshit flag on some of your thought processes-- the guy running a generator is doing nobody any more harm at 1am than the duck hunter blamming away at very first light... either way it's bothering somebody's sleep BUT YOU KNOW WHAT???

It is that hunters' right/privelege to do so- most of the duckers would defend to the death the right to a First Light Barrage and then want to throw the fisherman under the bus- that is a crock.

However, the guy who would interfere with the legal act of hunting or fishing can tote a very serious note for his interference.

T

[Swamp Rat]

My thoughts...

I have a house on Murray, and have had MANY a bowfisher run my bank with their lights, generator, etc. running... passing within 20 feet of my dock (and, thus, within 100 feet of my house) in most cases. They usually wake me up, and I just wait until they pass and go back to bed. I recognize it as their legal right to do so... Usually, it's well before 1 AM or so, although sometimes it's later. My brother, however, thinks it's rude, etc. Well, rude or not, it's legal. I don't find much issue with it. (The fact that I am a daytime bowfisher probably lends me a little bias).

But, the fact is - unless a law is passed regulating it, suck it up. Every one of us that has pulled the trigger on a duck at first legal light close enough to someone's house to wake up the occupants is just as guilty of messing up someone's sleep as these guys. Period.

Now, on the other side... HEARING gunshots and being shot at are two different things. TECHNICALLY, someone going out in their yard and shooting a few rounds into, say, the wood pile, may be just as in their rights as the guys in the boat. Not saying this to give anybody any ideas - just some food for thought. Did you HEAR bullets passing or hitting near you? THAT would be different. If they were trying to scare you without shooting at you, they succeeded. Discretion being the better part of valor, retreating was the wise move, as you don't know what some reactionary idiot would do if you didn't respond the way they wanted you to.

Now, I will say this.

If I am ever on the water, at night, legally bowfishing like that, and someone shoots AT me. And I can tell by bullet impact or the sound of passing bullets that it is directed in my direction. AND I can tell which house it came from. I will, in this order:

• Turn off the generator and lights.
• Refer to my GPS to determine the street that the house is on from which the fire came.
• Crank up my cell phone and call the appropriate local law enforcement agency and have them respond.
• When they arrive (I would talk them in looking for blue lights if I had to) I would meet them at the guys doc and file a complaint. ABWIK might be appropriate, but it would be hard to prove without a bullet in my boat. But, I would push it as hard and as far as I could.

Don't be crazy, don't be stupid in pushing confrontation, but don't back down. Any return fire would be a BAD idea unless you were pinned and had no choice. Sending a bullet back and hitting some infant in a crib would be a life-altering event that nobody would want.

[dixiedeerslaya]

swamp rat... that was great.... i totally agree

[Swamp Rat]

PLEASE don't take my approach on what I would do as the best course of action for you guys - retreating to a safe distance is always the best option.

[ceddy]

That was right on, but regardless of where they were shooting, this is never a good thing at midnight. I would hate for someone else to go out there and not know about it and the guy think it was us coming back again and actually shoot someone. I personally did not notice where the bullets hit, they weren't right there at the boat, someone else was watching that side, I was drawing on a fish up next to the bank on both occasions.

[rp]

When little things like this occur, someone will end up dead right one day. A game warden will be too late.

I believe the people in the boat were legally there but something had to have set that guy off. Get away and settle it out later.

[SCTIMBER]

In a situation like that the best thing to do is leave. The local law won't do much if anything. DNR probably would have if they had been around at that time.

It ain't worth anyone's life over a fish or a little noise

[BigBrother]

Now, on the other side... HEARING gunshots and being shot at are two different things. TECHNICALLY, someone going out in their yard and shooting a few rounds into, say, the wood pile, may be just as in their rights as the guys in the boat. Not saying this to give anybody any ideas - just some food for thought. Did you HEAR bullets passing or hitting near you? THAT would be different. If they were trying to scare you without shooting at you, they succeeded

I have been watching this thread, wondering if someone was going to interject a little thought and rationality into it. Not that someone hasnt, but, not what gave some thought beyond the simple legalities.


Thanks Rat.

I seldom bowfish. I enjoy it, just dont dont have the wallet to get rigged up like some of you boys and still enjoy my other addictions. That said, I try to stay away from homes as a common courtesy.

[quackaddict]

trailertrash, have you ever seen keowee? there aren't very many places on that lake without a house right close to it. NORMALLY people on keowee have lots of money, and they are NORMALLY ass holes. they don't want people hunting, bowfishing at night, etc. etc.

regardless of what lake it is, that is a public lake, and that is really all that matters. it's just as much ceddy's lake as it is mine as it is the guys who "shot" at those guys

[Sportin' Woodies]

What I am getting at, or trying to is what if they had a newborn, a death in the family or a person there on hospice that was finally having a peaceful night of sleep. All of it is gone if the generator or lights wake them up. What if it's a mother or father that is working 3 part-time jobs because they lost their real job to support a family on 2 hours of sleep. You never know. Show some respect is all I am saying. You wouldn't want to get woke up by someone if you were in their position.

DEMOCRAT

[BigBuck57]

First off unless you are in a life or death situation you can never say it is okay to shoot at someone even if it is just to scare them. Bullets land somewhere and just shooting in the opposite direction can still put people in danger. TT keeps talking about respect, regardless of how it all went down you don't shoot at someone. If what ceddy said is true then they were 150yds from the guys house. So for the bull shit sob story about the new born and multiple job scenario cry me a river. You weren't forced to live on the lake. With that said as sportsmen we should do our best to respect everyone. If you think you might be to close to the house then you probably are so move. It might be your right to fish there but is it worth losing you life.

[Swamp Rat]

Two thoughts that may help mitigate disturbing folks...

1) Make sure your lights are angled and directed in a manner that will (to the extent possible) lessen how much is directed upwards (towards, for instance windows). Maybe look at some form of shade or such...

2) If you can afford it (and I know many cannot) - go with a Honda or similar "quiet" generator.

BB57 - I didn't mean to imply that shooting, for example, into the "wood pile" to scare someone was acceptable behavior. I was just offering a discourse on legal issues.

Another factor that cannot be underestimated - many folks just have mental issues. You never know if your lights and noise will irritate someone with anger management issues, paranoia, etc. Just sayin'.... it's like anything else you do and anywhere else you go. What would not bother 99% of the population might set off someone with issues. And you cannot predict how they would respond.

[Tater]

its not their cove.
living beside public water doenst give you any more right to it.
if they dont like your legal enjoyment of a resource (your tax money pays for just as much as theirs), they have the freedom to live elsewhere.
im assuming keowee is corps owned.

Duke owns the lake and all lands up to the 804' contour line, but it's public nonetheless.

[Palmetto Duck]

I posted on here a couple of years ago about an idiot shooting AT or damn near us based on muzzle blast while duck hunting. IT SUCKS! It still pisses me off to think what could have happened when considering my daughters. He got a ticket from the game warden, as he should have. But what I want to know is why aren't these assholes charged with assault with a deadly weapon? A $400 or something dollar ticket that he probably got dropped in magistrates court is a fucking joke. If you're running your power saw or radio or whatever in your yard at night, and I come out, say something or not, and then start firing away, even outside city limits, I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut my ass would be going to jail! There should not be a double standard for hunters and fisherman who get treated like this. I applaud the GW's who write tickets to these assholes, but that's hardly scratching the surface of what needs to be done. Just telling the police I pointed a weapon at you can get my ass in hot water anywhere, anytime. But put that situation, where one of the parties is hunting or fishing and law enforcement suddenly " don't know what to do", or the GW hopefully writes a ticket. WTF?? Local law enforcement beyond the GW's need to step up. I once had a G'ville Co. sheriff tell me he'd come back and arrest everyone on the field if we didn't stop the hunt b'c a Democrat was saying our shot was falling on his house. No damage to the house. Just a crazy one raising hell, and we get shut down. Homeowners fire with impunity and mostly only get a ticket from the GW. It will go south bad one day if law enforcement and DNR don't get together on this.

[falcon40]

order of jack ass!

[Tater]

order of jack ass!

If this is directed at the trigger man then it's not a very timely op. If it's intended at the above, please explain further.

[Swamp Rat]

The reason why it may not be chargeable as ABWIK is being able to prove it. Like it or not, unless you, can prove that the shots were directed AT you, I think a LEO would be hard pressed to charge on it. It's a case of he-said-he-said. Unless you have other indications of who is telling the truth, how do you take it to court? Physical evidence is huge, but obviously would be difficult to obtain. Bullet holes in the boat with projectiles within that a lab can identify back to the firearm that the suspect has would be the bomb - I hope to hell it never comes to a boat (or person, worse) actually getting hit.

There are other "related" charges - again, if you have the witnesses and/or proof. Pointing and presenting comes to mind.

As for the case of the guy shutting down the dove shoot due to pellets falling on his house, I wonder if Trad would pipe up on whether THAT guy could be charged with interfering with a lawful hunt?