The downside of hunting season

Hunters hate poachers.

They give legitimate sport hunters - those who abide by the law and more importantly the ethics of fair chase - a black eye.

Three incidents recently put those who stalk the deer in a bad light: A Sisters man caught a couple of out-of-town bow "hunters" literally red-handed poaching a deer at the edge of Crossroads before the bow season opened.

A little over a week ago, some yahoo with a bow shot a deer inside the city limits, leaving it to limp off wounded into someone's yard where a sheriff's deputy put it down.

Elsewhere in Oregon, an archer shot somebody's cow.

The Oregon Hunters Association immediately offered a $250 reward in the Sisters poaching case. (An arrest has been made. See http://www.nuggetnews.com). Hunters know that public perceptions of their beloved way of life are threatened by reckless idiots who break the law and threaten the safety of others who live in and enjoy the woods.

Good hunters are the first line of defense against the bad apples - and they must police their own.

It makes residents uneasy to see hunters stalking deer right at the edge of their neighborhood - though people feeding deer means that's where deer increasingly congregate. It's better for everyone if hunters work a little harder, farther out in the woods.

Rifle season opens this weekend. Hunters: if you value your tradition, stay away from neighborhoods, don't road hunt and don't tolerate anyone who breaks the law.

Jim Cornelius, Editor