Roughly two years ago the North Dakota Game and Fish Department fell to corporate greed in lieu of ethical hunting practices.
Artificial light, thermal imaging and night vision are now legal means in which to hunt predators. I’m not sure what is less ethical, shooting animals at night with a scope that displays a computer generated image of a coyote on the screen or the politicians and ND Game and Fish directors who decided a few businesses that sell these scopes can make decisions for all of us. I say “shooting” because there is zero hunting involved.
Cattle ranchers who are suffering from depredation should be the only people allowed to use such a device.
A person can hunt, without permission, on non-posted land at night with a scope that has no depth perception mounted on a centerfire rifle. After working in the industry for nearly a decade, seeing some of the people that purchase this garbage, it doesn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy inside knowing guys are out there shooting across a field in the dark, unsure of what's on the other side. A politician who backed this decision, who I will leave unnamed, said that the proclamation was supposed to include “written permission” as a requirement to hunt at night with thermal/night vision scopes on any land posted or not, but was conveniently left out of the final draft.
The argument was brought up that other states are doing it so we needed to get with the times. Well then let's get our trespassing law passed while we're at it. Maybe the ND G&F can get with the times and other states and abolish our “shoot from the road” law as well. I’m not sure why it's still legal to skid to a stop on the road with your vehicle, get out, lean over the hood and shoot a deer or coyote.
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If you need a thermal scope to hunt a coyote, stay home and play a video game and let the real predator hunters take care of the coyotes.
Justin Uhlir, Thompson, N.D.
Justin Uhlir has been an avid competitive rifle shooter and predator hunter f or 30 years.
