Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Vote your preference . . .

If you are spotlighting a cut and you see a guy walking a cut, do you:

1A) immediately turn off your spotlight and drive to the next cut a mile or more down the road

1B) stop spotlighting the cut that the guy is actually walking (but possibly shining the ones on the opposite side of the road)

1C) give the walker a "cushion", of say 100 yards in front on the same cut

I'll give my vote - I always leave the guy the cut he's currently walking (although I sometimes spotlight the part of the cut he's already walked) or if its a really long cut, give him a substantial cushion . . . but don't feel that a walker has the right to stake out an entire hillside for hours at a time, particularly in an area with really limited habitat.

Troy

1A for me
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Regards, Bill McGighan

prolly 1b or 1c, depends on who is walking, how many others are on the road, where the next cut is, and which cut is in question.

I don't think walkers can "claim" a cut either. There are certain places where I will walk and stay in pretty much the same area all night. Shiners have found stuff both in the road and on the cut I'm walking in the past. Such is life. However, I've found stuff in the grass or on top of the cut that anyone in a car would have been hard pressed to find. That's on of the reasons I will walk in addition to being in a certain area.

Aaron was giving us a huge cushion the other night, much larger than he needed to IMO, so much that we altered our run which normally would have been 7 miles instead of 14. It was nice anyway with only three cars in the road. But if you see me walking the 3 mile, I don't expect everyone ignore the area just because I'm there - (they don't anyway).

It's not just for the starship enterprise. It's also for A**hole hunters who feel the need to shine right over my head while walking in Black Gap. It was the first time I really had the urge to do something nasty. Very Nasty.

Tank, I think rocks through windows allow others to get the point. I am not talking about a whole cut here, just the part I am walking on.

.02,

Steven

Joe I only altered my run once to give you guys space. The rest was just coincidence as I was trying to hit both the area where it had rained alot and the area where not as much rain fell.

we had plenty of room, more than we needed

Once I watched an alterna come off the shoulder and crawl across the road. That one took 22 seconds to clear the other shoulder. I've seen them move much faster than that though, and of course seen them come out and just "sit" too.

Forky

there is to many places to hunt, you should go down to the next cut or even further, i have actually about thrown a rock through peoples windows for staying on a cut im on.
if deer hunting, would you climb into the tree right next to the guy allready hunting there? or would you move on?

its no different than driving & spotting, leave that person plenty of space & go down the road, its just common sense & the right thing to do, plus its safer. lol

Kinda ridiculous to get your thong in a wad because of that, dont ya think?

Just does not seem wise to challange a 3000 pound vehicle while on foot?

Maybe a rude gesture and some choice phrases would work better.

There isn't always "plenty" of space to hunt. Take the 6 mile S of Alpine hill - you give me a space cushion of 100 yards or so in the direction I'm travelling, I'm fine. It would be absurd for me to "claim" that cut and expect you to drive west of town just because I was walking it.

To take your deer hunting example, if some was hunting near you, would you throw rocks at him . . . especially in a crowded pulblic hunting situation? Or politely ask him to move on . . .

Troy

Granted that I'm probably behind the curve on TPW regs: Is it now legal to drive/spot? Last I heard it was walk only, or at least "not from a wheeled conveyance" or similar. I don't mean to stir the pot here but I'd like to know. Re the survey: I would give the walker all of a short low cut and give somebody on a larger cut plenty of cushion, ahead or behind him/her.

Bill

But we have made some headway in the way it is enforced. There is an email response from TP&W about the spirit of the law... and so on.

But it is still a murkey grey area and you should know that.

Lance

Troy, possibly A. But not a mile cushion. I'll go to the next cut.
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Steve W.

Troy,
I would say 1b or 1c, but I generally just go find another cut to shine if I see a person or persons walking cuts, I feel its courtesy to do that and there is normally plenty of other areas nearby that offer snakes anyways. But I do agree with your answer as well Troy, collectors should not claim total ownership to a certain cut ALL night long and expect everyone to totally avoid a certain locale. As I am a walker as well, I see both sides to this issue, good topic....John F.

The first year I hunted I did not know or follow any standard form, as I was uneducated. Our 2nd year was a 1 million candle power blazing from both sides and a withdrawel back into the car with the 100 yard buffer front and back. This year was a more tactful approach to find roads less traveled and boy did I ever. I didn't see anyone hunting in Crockett county in May and I will go ahead and give up the cut and defer to the walker. If I am alone and someone is spotting on the opposite side of the road, I continue my side of the cut, but usually will bail as there is soooo much ground to cover. I still like the idea of finding my first alterna where noone is hunting...gives you peace and safety, I walk the cuts hard after a pass with the photon cannons.
Todd Hughes

In Texas, ploiteness may save your life. I've been "poached" on a cut that I've been walking on occasion and it really pi$$es me off. On a long cut, it may take you a while to walk all the way back to your car if someone spots in front of you, cussing all the way (isn't that a christmas song?).
As many of you have seen on these forums, many herpers pack pea-shooters as well. Also as many of you have probably discovered some herpers, "just ain't right". Given these facts and all the other places to hunt, why get greedy? My .02..
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Snakes of Hudspeth County, Texas

"pea shooters"????.......Some of us out of staters have carry permits and pack well tuned 1911's that can make the steel plates sing. That said, I can't imagine a situation where the situation would devolve into gunplay over herping territory. A lot of us out of staters walk the cuts,because we don't want to get hassled about spotlighting from a vehicle. I personally like the thrill of the hunt that one gets from walking a cut at night with a light in your hand. My first Loma Alta grayband would never have been seen from a spotlighting vehicle. He was crawling in that eroded ditch at the bottom of the cut. I guess as a walker, as long as some spotlighter doesn't bag a snake so close to me that I can hear the victory howl, I can't complain.

Jason........good meeting you awhile back while I was walking 277. If you are ever down to Brevard county, Florida, shoot me an e-mail. I'll show you the banks that the all of the illegals cash their checks at on any given Friday afternoon. Perhaps you can make it a "working" holiday............heheheh!

Nice to meet you too. I really would like a florida trip. I may take you up on that. As far as the customers, you can keep them
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Snakes of Hudspeth County, Texas

So Steve,........how's that hurricane treatin ya??? AAHHHHHHH, you will find out shortly! like tomorrow night perhaps??? By the way, nice of you to show up in Daytona on Saturday,...or Sunday for that matter.

Wayne

I would say leave the cut to the walker but the other side of the road is fair game. No reason to skip any other cuts, the next cut is fair game too.
As a frequent walker if I am walking a long cut, like the Observatory cut which is about 4 miles long I personally do not think it would be fair for the walker to claim the whole cut. In that case I would say giving the walker about 50 - 100 yards is fair.

I generally go down the next cut as soon as I figure out somebody is walking. I hesitate to shine the other side because sometimes when I walk I will do a sort of figure eight where I change sides of the road in the middle cut. Strange I know, but I do thinks like that sometimes.

But there is some judgement involved sometimes. Now if it is a really long cut, I might give them a 100 yards or better and shine. Or if there limited area at the locality I might hit the other side.

to summarize,

1) different people have different tolerances
2) it does depend on where you hunt how much space you give
3) a walker doens't have the right to expect to be able to "stake out" a cut all night, particularly in an area of limited habitat

FYI - if you see me walking, so long as you give me a cushion of about 20-30 yards in the direction I'm walking, I'm fine with it. Just don't shine the light right on me LOL. I don't own the cuts, and I've caught snakes on cuts that spotlighters have missed only minutes after they've passed.

Troy