Tell you what. If you are a hunter in the great State of Merlun, you better be looking around like a tree full of owls once the General Assembly gets under way.
Really, I should have known better.
As the first few days of the much-too-lengthy political shindig in Annapolis wore on and I didn’t see any bills that would stop the bear season or stop trapping or make it illegal for young people to hunt, I got to thinking, “Well, maybe Delegate Barbara Frush isn’t going to put in any bills this year that would prohibit hunting or at least make hunting more difficult.”
Shuh!!
House Bill 1309, which is sponsored by Frush, along with Delegate James Hubbard, would expand the safety zone for hunters from the existing 150 yards to 300 yards.
What does this mean? Well, as of right now, if you are using a shotgun to hunt rabbits or a bow and arrow to hunt deer or a rifle to hunt fall turkeys, you may not discharge that piece of equipment any closer than 150 yards from “a dwelling house, residence, church, or other building or camp occupied by human beings...”
You know, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources is very aware that human safety is of prime importance when it comes to hunting.
That’s why laws are in effect to deal with these kinds of issues. The laws work very well.
Quite frankly, a bullet fired from a centerfire cartridge can travel extreme distances; much farther than 150 yards and even much farther than 300 yards. Even if the safety zone would be changed to three-quarters of a mile, that bullet could still reach farther and do damage.
That is why we instruct new hunters in the safe ways to hunt. Don’t take shots unless there is an immediate earthen backstop. Identify what is behind the game animal at which you plan to shoot.
To me, HB 1309 is one more attempt to stop or hinder the legal avocation of hunting. There are places in Maryland where a 300-yard safety zone would pretty much eliminate hunting, including waterfowl hunting in perfectly safe settings.
And a 300-yard safety zone for bowhunters? After all, a bow and arrow makes up a “deadly weapon.” That’s pure anti-hunting stuff. West Virginia actually has approved bowhunting for deer within some of its cities, such as Wheeling.
That’s how safe bowhunting is.
Delegate Frush is the constant in the annual introduction of anti-hunting bills. From year to year she apparently convinces this delegate or that to join her in a bill or two.
I do appreciate the fact that her last name fits so well in large font in a one-column headline.
The Maryland General Assembly session is a prolonged journey. There is plenty of time for Delegate Frush to reintroduce her annual bill to stop bear hunting or the one that was introduced and then withdrawn a year ago that would keep people younger than 13 from hunting in Maryland.
It’s only February.
Contact Outdoor Editor Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
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