doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Shot 6 times killed 4 bats!!!!

Pete M:
I have made many a turn N. at the Mead paper plant when I wanted to take the back roads to Gwinn or Marquette. I know exactly where your place was. There is a great IGA sign hanging on an old general store in one of those towns near Watson - in fact it may be Watson.

Do you ever venture up that way these days? I am headed up late in September to attend Marquette's Ruffed Grouse dinner, visit friends and see if I can locate any birds. I may head up there in a few days for the opener if the cool weather sticks. It was really dry up there this summer and the aspen leaves may go early.

Unfortunately, they don't do nearly as much cutting as they used to. I notice it some in the grouse population, but mainly the woodcock. Around your place and Dickinson County used to be one of the great spots in North America to hunt the little fellers. For the last 7 or 8 years I rarely shoot them because the population is so low. Personally, I think it is a loss of habitat.

Take care.......Chicago Mike

Mike,

I sold the place some years ago. I haven't been up that way in a long time, though I often have fond memories of the time I spent there.

I go up to Wisconsin for my grouse hunting these days. Not really that far from Park Falls in the Nicolet which is well managed for grouse.

Sorry to hear about the lack of cutting. It must be hitting Escanaba the hardest. At it's height the mill was running 7x24.

Pete

Gentlemen: this is not about Jeff, or personalities, or who thinks he's the baddest guy on the BB, it's about a potential Game Law violation. I made 3 calls to the Michigan DNR:
Call #1: "No, you can't shoot bats."
Call #2: "Well, you can shoot some bats if they are not protected."
Call #3: "We're not sure and will let the county agent figure it out."
Error #1: Expecting the main office to know the law.
Turns out it is NOT legal to shoot bats in GA, nor is it in AZ:
"...all bats are protected through Commission Order 14, and cannot be taken alive or dead..."
Jeff did his homework and his actions were apparently legal.
I'm glad the contributors to this Forum want to abide by the game laws (even if we don't agree with them) rather than to enable or encourage violations. And we all learned something-which is a good thing.
BTW: in 2005, there were 1.5M deer-car collisions in the US with 150 deaths, and Michigan was state #2. We don't shoot deer out-of-season to fix that problem however.

Don't ask members of the BATCAVE for "face to face" or they might send "foot soldiers" of PETA after you.
You're up against Batman, Drakula, Haloween,........Some folks in NC luv bats.

Jeff, I think that if you had started your post out with what you said and then went on to say that there is a bat problem here in Michigan and that I looked into it and it is ok to shoot them. Then I think you wouldn't have been bashed so hard. I agree with Jim (Italiansxs) that maybe it did sound like bragging.
I think that getting rabbies by a bat would be far less than getting bit by a rabid raccoon or dog. I would think that the animal would have to be handled for that to happen, or it would have to be in a confined area.
Also someone had put a post about bug zappers killing mosquitoes, 99% of all bugs killed by them are not mosquitoes.

Just a suggestion, but I would take my address down. Too many wierdos out there to post where you live. Just My opinion of course. There was that guy about a month ago (I think) that drove 1000 miles to burn down some guys house that had insulted him on the internet. I don' think any of our members are this volatile, just giving an example.

As previous posters have noted, many of the comments remind me of late night bar 'beer muscles'. Threats of 'ratting'(not'batting'!)someone out? Man ,some of you fellas are really judgemental,and it seems quite possible you take yourselves WAY too seriously---I thought we left it to Dems to tell us all how to live our lives....THEIR WAY!!! Lighten up guys....as a much more qualified person then me once said "Judge not for ye shall be judged".

Just my opinion. Fire away.
Rick

So Rick,
If someone posts on this list that he has been out potting geese for the hell of it - in July - You would just surf on by right?

As someone much more qualified that me once said "stand up and be counted", or "take some responsibility", or any of a dozen other tidy phrases.

Frankly, I have my doubts about how much Jeff "researched" his little bat-blasting adventure's legalities. I have lots of doubts. But that's all they are. Nonetheless, bat blasting, esp, pitched the way he did is hardly condusive to holding hunters in good standing with the general public as well.

Brent

I also did some research. I looked up the Georgia DNR on the web, and found a listing there of endangered and/or protected species of mammals in the state. There indeed are three species of bats listed. 1. Rafinesque's Big Eared bat (rare), 2. Gray bat (endangered), and 3. Indiana bat (endangered.) In at least a dozen different references, the bat in the area I live near is identified as the "Little Brown Bat," and is not listed as protected.

Now, that alone I think is enough to settle my end of this, I believe, but I went further. The DNR office covering the area of the state where these bats are located is in Macon, Ga. I called there, told the receptionist what I wanted, and I ended up speaking to three different people there, two at once on one of the calls. The three do not agree as to whether the Little Brown bat is protected, two say yes, one says no, and cited the printout I have of section 391-4-10-.090 Protected Species of Plants and Animals (amended)as his evidence. They also say they really don't have an officer in this area on a regular basis, and any enforcement problems would be handled by the local Chief Law Enforcement Officer, which in this case would be the Sheriff. The sheriff has actually been on this site with my son, the owner, inspecting a layout for a firing range. Just a precaution to be certain the local law knows about a shotgun range on the site. He was very appreciative and said he might join us sometimes. Nice guy.

Now, to wrap all this up, if there is some possibility this Little Brown Bat (which everyone agrees is the species) perhaps might be on some protected list, no problem. As I said in my post earlier, but most of you seem to have overlooked, we can alter what we are doing. Consider it stopped. I certainly am not one to knowingly break the law. There's still considerable doubt here, it seems, as to whether or not I am actually breaking the law. When 2 out of 3 officers of the GA DNR say this species is not protected, that is some distance away from being positive, in my estimation. At any rate, we are through, we will do it no more.

No, to the REAL problem here. The behavior of a number of posters here has been absolutely horrible. The name calling and slanderous remarks have been pretty bad. I would go so far as to point out that our friend the reverend doctor is way over the top in turning the first poster in to the Michigan DNR even after being told it was legal to shoot the bats there, that's gotta' be horrible behavior for this bbs. To further bait me with a threat to do the same is no better. Jeff Hren says he has learned it is legal to shoot bats there. He gets turned in anyway as a law breaker??? That's stupid. I have just told you there is disagreement in the GA DNR whether this species is protected or not. Does that matter to the reverend doctor?? Folks this is ridiculous to the extreme. As the above poster says, lighten up for goodness sakes.

I can find entertainment shooting clays from an electric thrower just as easily, and even invite the local sheriff, who would be the one to arrest me, I guess, according to the DNR, if I were to be caught shooting bats. Ha, it's all ridiculous. Let's put this thread to rest now, you guys are amazing. I have lost an enormous amount of respect for more than one of you because of this post. And it all did not amount to a hill of beans. (pardon me, that's a Southern term some of you may not know.)

Bottom Line: I don't know about Jeff Hren, but I am through shooting the ever so cuddley little bats that you all seem to love so much. All you do gooders who pushed this thread to this point need to get your panties out of a wad and just lighten up. This has got to be one of the most absurd posts I have seen or participated in on this bbs. I am through with it as of now, and nobody has prooved me guilty of anything, and I have the DNR agreeing with me.

Chief, that protected species list at 391-4-10-.090 is not what I suspect you think it is. That's something Georgia has to keep up with to comply with the Federal Endangered Species laws. The listed organisms do have special protection, but the list is not intended to "open the season" on everything else.

Pick up a copy of the current Georgia Hunting Regulations published by the DNR: [http://www.georgiawildlife.com/assets/documents/huntingregulations/web_version.pdf]. Look on page 8 under the heading "Protected Species". For hunting purposes practically all wildlife other than specified game birds or animals in Georgia are "protected" and may not be harmed, captured, held or shot at for target practice. The only unprotected species for those purposes are listed in that section of the regulation guide and include armadillos, coyotes, rats, pigeons, starlings, poison snakes, and stuff like that.

Don't mean to dispute with you on this, but I thought your last post left the wrong impression in this regard. Like you I think its time for this thread to lead in more productive directions...Geo