Shooting across land from roads

Qualitymark

Some people who live on the roads off the Featherbeds (leading from above Tallaght to the Wicklow Gap) have told me that these roads have been taken over by criminal elements at night so they daren't drive on them after dark, and that people are shooting from cars across their land, also after dark, to the danger of livestock and humans.
Anyone come across this?

Mike87

Have the Gardai been informed about this?

Qualitymark

Of course.

ssl

What do they mean by criminal elements. Is it just lads lamping

Mike87

Once they have been informed, there isnt a whole lot more you can do.

If you live in the area it might be worth investing in a trail cam and see can you get some car regs/face shots.

Qualitymark

ssl wrote: »

What do they mean by criminal elements. Is it just lads lamping

Surely lads lamping don't shoot from their cars on roads across land where people are living? If a shot goes in a window someone will be killed.

Vegeta

So if this isn't hunters then why post in the Hunting Section?

Qualitymark

Vegeta wrote: »

So if this isn't hunters then why post in the Hunting Section?

They're hunting all right. The way they're hunting is unsafe.

charlie10

any responsible shooter will not fire towards a house and will ensure they have a backstop which i have no doubt every lad on here knows and carries out.lamping from the road is legal but i think if its "criminals" with firearms i doubt its foxs or rabbits they want to be shooting!

Qualitymark

I'm not suggesting that it's anyone on here, of course! What I'm asking is if anyone here - people likely to be using mountain roads at night - have come across this.

Vegeta

I'm still struggling with the OP, haven't had my coffee yet.
Are you saying the criminal element are the guys shooting at night? Or are there drug dealers/gang members also hanging around the area?

Shooting at night using a lamp is not illegal. Doing it from a car certainly is. If people are getting close enough to see these morons shooting from the car they should take the reg number and report them every-time. Chase up the Gardai who takes the complaints and ask what the outcome has been.

It's fools like that which cause trouble for genuine hunters/shooters.

charlie10

well if its being asked here i suspect yes i have seen people lamping from the road at night ...me! but as for irresponsible shootig thats a different matter. it could be possible that they are lamping deer if they are up near a forestry

Vegeta

Qualitymark wrote: »

What I'm asking is if anyone here - people likely to be using mountain roads at night - have come across this.

Depends on the exact thing you're looking for to be honest.

Have I seen people using lamps and shooting at night along remote mountain roads? Yes

Have I seen people shooting from vehicles at night on remote mountain roads? No

Mike87

Qualitymark wrote: »

They're hunting all right. The way they're hunting is unsafe.

Wait a minute, what exactly is happening. In your first post you give the impression its criminals (as in drug gangs etc) out testing their guns in the countryside. And now you are saying its someone out hunting- but hunting in an unsafe manner. WHat exactly is happening? Is there lamps involved? Is it a load of shots going off at once, or one or two every now and then?

If its a hunter, rather then a "criminal" then it shouldnt be too hard (or too dangerous) to catch him. Next time he's out check all the nearby roads in the surronding aread (particularly around gates) and see is there any cars parked up.

Qualitymark

I'm saying that I'm told that

a) the Featherbeds are now under the ownership at night of criminal elements at night, and

b) in certain mountain areas people are shooting from cars at night across land; yes, apparently lamps are being used.

(There isn't any great enthusiasm among local people for going up to the cars from which people are firing off guns and putting on a torch to check the reg. If anyone here wants to do it, I'm sure they're welcome to!)

moby30

Not sure theres anything anyone can do for you here qualitymark-I think your best option is to contact the Gardai and dont go putting yourself in any sort of bother by trying to get reg numbers etc

charlie10

Qualitymark wrote: »

I'm saying that I'm told that

a) the Featherbeds are now under the ownership at night of criminal elements at night, and

b) in certain mountain areas people are shooting from cars at night across land; yes, apparently lamps are being used.

(There isn't any great enthusiasm among local people for going up to the cars from which people are firing off guns and putting on a torch to check the reg. If anyone here wants to do it, I'm sure they're welcome to!)

i think that this is giving us genuine vermin controllers a seriosuly bad name and this thread should be closed as it is really starting to piss me off listening to this garbage

Qualitymark

charlie10 wrote: »

i think that this is giving us genuine vermin controllers a seriosuly bad name and this thread should be closed as it is really starting to piss me off listening to this garbage

Garbage? I'm raising a concern. If your worry is getting a bad name from the bad behaviour of others, rather than being concerned for the safety of people living in the mountains, then close the thread by all means.

ssl

Qualitymark wrote: »

a) the Featherbeds are now under the ownership at night of criminal elements at night

Again, what do you mean by criminal elements? Please explain exactly what this phrase means to you as it means different things to different people

Qualitymark

ssl wrote: »

Again, what do you mean by criminal elements? Please explain exactly what this phrase means to you as it means different things to different people

For instance, people who ram others' cars from behind, who race on the roads...

charlie10

i am concerned ..for the name of hunters and i think its just people lamping foxs as for the shooting off the road u are only getting second hand info which could be blowing things out of all proportion.i just dont like the way the "criminal activities" was put in the same post as hunters.every hunter that has a firearm goes through a screening process and they are not just given out to criminals

charlie10

Qualitymark wrote: »

For instance, people who ram others' cars from behind, who race on the roads...

take that the motoring thread!!!

Qualitymark

charlie10 wrote: »

i am concerned ..for the name of hunters and i think its just people lamping foxs as for the shooting off the road u are only getting second hand info which could be blowing things out of all proportion.i just dont like the way the "criminal activities" was put in the same post as hunters.every hunter that has a firearm goes through a screening process and they are not just given out to criminals

charlie10, I'm asking people here if they have come across criminal elements on the Featherbed roads after dark, and if they have come across people shooting from cars.

Really, there's no need to be so sensitive. I am not suggesting, obviously, that anyone here is involved in crime!

Analogy: same thing as if I asked people who frequent, say, Stephen's Green if they had noticed bad boys hanging around and stealing bicycles.

doyle61

Qualitymark wrote: »

ssl wrote: »

Again, what do you mean by criminal elements? Please explain exactly what this phrase means to you as it means different things to different people

For instance, people who ram others' cars from behind, who race on the roads...

If the people who are firing from cars like you say and they are then ramming other cars from behind well I think your posting in the wrong section. This is the hunting forum and I personally don't know any hunters who partake in ramming cars. I suggest you go to the legal forum

charlie10

why dont u ask local people so ,i cant see what posting it up here can do,

garv123

You're making it sound like your life is in danger if you get into the car and drive on the road..

Next time you see a car with someone firing shots from it ring the guards or drive past them and you'll see the make, model and the number plate very easily. you dont have to stop and get out with a flash light at all.

They aren't going to point a gun in your direction..

Vegeta

Folks we shouldn't jump down Qualitymark's throat, if there are people with firearms licenses up to no good then it is in our interest to self-police these tools and help the OP out.

If one of these cowboys causes an accident then we may all suffer as a result.

Qualitymark wrote: »

(There isn't any great enthusiasm among local people for going up to the cars from which people are firing off guns and putting on a torch to check the reg. If anyone here wants to do it, I'm sure they're welcome to!)

The above bit of text would concern me though, how do they know they are firing from vehicles unless they can see them clearly? If you're close enough to see a gun out a car window, you're close enough to write down the reg. Otherwise there is an assumption that the shots are being fired from vehicles.

Qualitymark

Vegeta wrote: »

Folks we shouldn't jump down Qualitymark's throat, if there are people with firearms licenses up to no good then it is in our interest to self-police these tools and help the OP out.

If one of these cowboys causes an accident then we may all suffer as a result.



The above bit of text would concern me though, how do they know they are firing from vehicles unless they can see them clearly? If you're close enough to see a gun out a car window, you're close enough to write down the reg. Otherwise there is an assumption that the shots are being fired from vehicles.

They can see cars from their mountain houses. They're not going to go up and knock on the window and say "Excuse me, boys, d'you mind if I just take your reg there? Eh? Why are you pointing your gun at me?"

All I know about it is that when I visit friends in the Featherbeds-to-Enniskerry area, if I'm going home at night they warn me under no circumstances to take the Featherbeds road because it is unsafe due to dangerous criminals driving on it; they also say that people are driving along their roads and firing at animals they hope to be deer down on their land below the roads.

Why don't I take this to the legal or motoring forum? Because I thought it more sensible to ask people who are out around the mountains themselves, and therefore are likely to have seen and experienced what I'm talking about.

But if this is offending people, I'll forget about asking here. Thanks for your help.

Vegeta

Qualitymark wrote: »

They can see cars from their mountain houses. They're not going to go up and knock on the window and say "Excuse me, boys, d'you mind if I just take your reg there? Eh? Why are you pointing your gun at me?"

I don't understand the facetious nature of these comments. You can read a reg without knocking on a window or even stopping as you pass them by. I suspect you know this and are trying to defend the logic.
If you see a car, which is too far away to even see the registration, and hear a shot then the shot must have been from inside car? I think that's a poor assumption.

All I know about it is that when I visit friends in the Featherbeds-to-Enniskerry area, if I'm going home at night they warn me under no circumstances to take the Featherbeds road because it is unsafe due to dangerous criminals driving on it; they also say that people are driving along their roads and firing at animals they hope to be deer down on their land below the roads.

As others have said above, lamping foxes and rabbits at night is perfectly legal as long as shots are not take from vehicles or on the road. The fact that you cannot confirm shots are being taken from vehicles means you are accusing people of braking the law, who may in fact be carrying out a perfectly legal activity. I can understand the hostility in some of the posts. I'm sure you understand that a potentially untrue accusation could cause a lot of damage to the sport.

Lamping deer, unless under specific permission on section 42, is illegal. So if they are at this then they deserve the full weight of the law down on them and I hope they get caught.

Why don't I take this to the legal or motoring forum? Because I thought it more sensible to ask people who are out around the mountains themselves, and therefore are likely to have seen and experienced what I'm talking about.

The criminal activity stuff has no place here, it has nothing to do with hunting (unless you are suggesting otherwise) and the regional forums may get you more help on that one.

In terms of how to solve the other problem:
A) Determine is any law even being broken, at present it appears unclear.
Take note of vehicle description, if license plate is not viable, report to Gardai and follow it up. Trail cams may get better evidence for the Gardai to work with.

Qualitymark

Vegeta wrote: »

The criminal activity stuff has no place here, it has nothing to do with hunting (unless you are suggesting otherwise) and the regional forums may get you more help on that one.

I have repeatedly said that my reason for asking is that people who hunt around the Dublin Mountains and the Wicklow Hills are more likely to have observed this than others.

But since people are reacting, quite obviously, without actually reading my posts, I'll leave this discussion now.

doyle61

Well from a personal point of view your not offending me. If it's a hunter lamping and firing from a car well fair enough they should be pulled up on it and if fairness they should know better esp with houses in the vicinity. However you said these people were criminals: well just to point out, firearms owners go through probably the most stringent security checks in the country so criminals we definitely ate not. However if they are in fact criminals (as in jailbirds, drug dealers etc like the word implies) and go around ramming cars like you stated well then I think your kind of out of order because your implying that because a scoby can get their hands of guns then by definition all legal firearms holders are to be classed as criminals aswell. This would be offensive if it's what your getting at.
Now if there lamps shining i'ld tend to believe it's not the former as not even the dumbest of criminals is going to openly ( test) fire any firearm in such a public location so I'm tending to think it's someone out lamping so I think the word criminal in the thread is being used WAY out of context. If you know for a fact the guns are being fired from a car contact GS and let them go up to them and do their job but just to let you know that if the guns are being fired form within the field boundary then they ate doing nothing wrong at all ( provided they're not shooting deer)


Ps words spelt wrong = bloody predictive text

Vegeta

Qualitymark wrote: »

I have repeatedly said that my reason for asking is that people who hunt around the Dublin Mountains and the Wicklow Hills are more likely to have observed this than others.

But since people are reacting, quite obviously, without actually reading my posts, I'll leave this discussion now.

And I've told you that this is the Hunting forum, all topics have to have some relevance to Hunting to be here. One of your topics does and the other doesn't. I've read your posts, your explanation is lacking. That's not a good enough reason to discuss criminal activity in here.

I'm on your side OP, if there are people with firearms licenses breaking the law, then I'd rather see them brought to justice and lose their license than ruin it for the rest of us.

You've been given decent advice on how to tackle the problem. All the best.

Jonty

I have heard about criminal elements in this area. I think the OP is a bit mixed up. I heard there is a lot of joy riding that goes on up there, and guys that pretend to be broke down on the side of the road, that car jack the person that stops to see whats wrong.

I have also heard its a lamping hotspot.

moby30

I know plenty of hotspots where people go lamping around the mountains but it's a different type of lamping:DJust goes to show there's you should get your facts straight first or you could end up in trouble.

dodderangler

I live in tallaght and I have never seen this or ever heard of it
And once again is hunters are gettin the blame on a poxy rumor
I ain't believing it but there is plenty of lamping going on up there and I mean that in a certain way as moby pointed out lol

Vegeta

Hey folks, the OP has indicated he wont be returning. There's been no posts for over an hour and he has gotten a bunch of advice on how to deal with any potential illegal poaching. I think this has run it's course and further posts may only drag us in a negative direction. Thread closed.

PM me if you wish to continue discussion.