rizzodun wrote: »

So how does it work, is there certain lands you can only hunt on,

Two types of lands.

1. Coilte/leased lands - Where you pay to "rent" the lands owned by Coilte and can only shoot during specified hours on those lands.
2. Private lands - Lands you acquire through asking local land owners and farmers for permission to shoot on their lands. In this case the NPWS will check the lands for suitability and depending on the amount of people claiming they have permission on those lands, the sustainability of having "X" amount of people stalking deer on them.

a quota that you can't go over?

No.

However at the end of each year/season each deer hunter must provide the numbers, species and location of all animals shot by them. This way if the NPWS deem that too many have been shot on certain lands they may refuse to issue future licenses the following year.

It's all about deer management and conservation.

What about certain ages or types of deer?

Each season runs from September to the end of February the following year (6 months in total). Within each season there are time restraints on what gender can be shot in each month, and within that again (for males) whether they have antlers or not.

There is a complete ban on shooting Red deer in county Kerry. All year, every year. Also all deer may only be shot one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. NO night shooting (except under special license, and under special circumstances).

Lastly some invasive species such as the Muntjac have a year long season in an attempt to stop it getting a foothold in the country. However the normal deer stalking rules apply. They are a deer legal rifle, only during daylight hours,, etc.

Should I watch out for ye fellas if I'm biking through the forests?

I'll take that as a joke, otherwise it'd offend pretty much every hunter out there.

As firearm owners, and hunters by association, we are scrutinised, and checked up the backside. These include, but are not limited to:

• Name
• Address
• Surrender of medical records
• Full disclosure of any previous convictions/charges (relating to any offence)
• Previous addresses
• Previous names
• That we have met minimum standards in home security
• Full background checks on us
• Have competency certificates to prove we can safely handle firearms
• Home visitations/inspections

The point is we are not some bunch of "gun nuts" out trying to kill Bambi with no regard for public safety or the animals welfare. Even a baseless report of a hunter brandishing a firearm (not even firing it) can result in the hunter loosing his/her firearms for a long period of time or indefinitely. And not just the one s/he has in his/her possession, but all of them. Most times with no hope to ever owning one again.

It is for this reason we are, and act, above and beyond the normal "standard" that every other person may be held to.

Lastly if you are cycling/walking or hiking through a national forest then there are protocols in place (by Coilte) that hunters must place signs that culling is in effect. Also every hunter is acutely aware of their surroundings and will never take a shot if there is even the slightest risk of them not knowing exactly where the bullet will end up.

If you are on private forestry or a forestry that crosses private land, well the same applies, but unlike national forestry or public lands you run the risk of trespassing. All the land owners who have given me permission are extremely protective of their lands and allow no others on them regardless of the purpose, and as such have instructed me to ring them and/or An Gardaí if i catch anyone on the lands other than myself.

I hope this explains all you are looking for.

rizzodun wrote: »

The point about watching out for hunters was a bit tongue in cheek, but not meant to offend,

Absolutely, and no offence taken.

As firearm owners, and moreso hunters we are subject to insult, ridicule and harrassment by those that do not:

1. Understand what we do
2. Agree with what we do
3. Care either way and simply are opposed to it as it's the "popular" ethos

Without derailing the thread completely with some long winded, soapbox speech, we (the collective hunting community) :

• Provide a service free of charge
• Cull animal populations that have no natural predators
• Strengthen and improve the gene pool
• Undertake (at our own cost) conservation, re-introduction and breeding programs
• Contribute tens of millions to our local communities and the exchequer each year
• Continue a way of life & sport (fieldsport) that stretches back further than any other sport in this country including GAA.

Of course I also believe that you would never take a shot if you didn't know what you were aiming at,

Not only what we are aiming at, but where the bullet will stop, what's behind our target, and in that split second we decide to take the shot or not. If there is anything unknown or even slightly "risky" the shot won't be taken. It's better to loose a shot than take a risky one.

some organisations like Coillte are hard enough to deal with without differing groups of people wanting to get access to their lands causing hassle for each other,

I'm by no means trying to do "oneupmanship" here, but any hunter/stalker on Coilte land has bidded for and paid (at times) large amounts of money to hunt on those lands, and that does not include the courses and tests they must pass prior to being allowed to shoot (if they fail these tests they loose the money they paid as it's payment up front). No other sport is required to do this. I mean could you imagine a toll booth at every entry/exit point on our national forests? How many would continue to use it, and as has been the case in the past, how many others pursuing other sporting activities would puff out their chest and demand that their "right" to access be acknowledged if they had to pay even a small percentage of what people hunting deer have to?

thanks for the info all the same, it's interesting to find out about this, as I never heard of it before, good luck with the season in that case.

Glad to help and glad you looked in.

Thanks.

rizzodun wrote: »

Just on this, I'm not sure how much hunters must pay, and I would say it is probably more than most everyone else,

I don't shoot Coilte lands, but from what i've seen and been told over the years it can range from hundreds (€600+) to thousands (€3,000+) per lease.

those clubs in question do a lot to maintain their access including leaving no trace of activity, apart from the trails that may have been built, even if this includes cleaning up after others.

If a hunter is worth his/her salt you'll never know they were even there.

I know you weren't. I was just joking.

Still no word. Might shoot off an e-mail just to make sure things are okay.

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Two licenses (Father and i) arrived this morning. Cutting it close, but it arrived none the less.

Any fear that some lads won't have their license by the time the season starts?