nightime moose visit, back to basics

[forestgnome]

No more trying to speak moose language! I was out to photograph Jupiter among the stars of Sagitarius and the Milky Way under the dark skies of the Sandwich Range in a meadow. There's always a nice layer of fog developing over the meadows after sunset in autumn. I heard a couple moose approaching, crunching through the wildflowers. Lately, I've had mixed results saying "urt, urt" to the moose. Tonight I went back to talking human to them..."hi honey...hi pretty girl" etc. The bull stayed back and the cow slowly came to about 10' and everything was nice, with no fainting

She was dimly lit with a headlamp, filtered with a hat...

happy autumn

 

[Mattl]

Just amazing, shows you just how many moose are in the Whites, funny since so many compain they dont see them since they hike during the afternoon on popular mountain trails..hmm. I really enjoy moose territory as well, but things have been busy lately and I havent been able to get back into it. Keep em coming forest. -Mattl

 

[Puck]

what is mind blowing is you got the moose, Jupiter and the constellation of Sagittarius all in one photo. What are you going to do next? Go to Disneyland?

 

[--M.]

You forgot to tell us what you shot it with, but since it's obvious, I'll save you the trouble: it was done with a hand-held 1977 Kodak 110, right? With 400-speed film and no flash ('cause you had the headlamp). Right? Right?

Very nice.

 

[TrishandAlex]

As always, phenomenal.

Ever thought about trying to sell collections of your photos? I'd buy them.

 

[Peakbagr]

Forestgnome, one of VFTT's Natural Resources.
When I think you've topped-off my capacity to be amazed, another surprise.

 

[Quietman]

Could you PLEASE start offering moose tours, limited to members only? I'm sure that you would have a few interested people, including ME!

You could blindfold us on the way in and out so your secret areas would be safe!

Your pictures are amazing!

 

[forestgnome]

Wow! Thanks for such nice comments! It was definately a wonderful night last night. The shot is taken with at 24mm lens at f/2.8 for 10", ISO1600, WB on "cloudy". She stayed still for at least 10 seconds! The Milky Way showed up like steam coming out of the teapot.

I'm glad I remained conscious to enjoy it all.

 

[forestgnome]

It has been brought to my attention that it is illegal to illuminate wildlife in NH, with a few exeptions. I thought it was illegal after 9:00pm, but I had never read the law, which is stated under hunting restrictions. It appears that it was illegal to shine even my filtered headlamp on the moose.

I happen to have a meeting with Brian Abrams, of F@G, on business today so I'll ask him about both the letter of the law and the intent of the law.

I'll report back. I hope it's ok to use a flashlight to at least see what might be heading your way in the dark

 

[TrishandAlex]

It has been brought to my attention that it is illegal to illuminate wildlife in NH, with a few exeptions. I thought it was illegal after 9:00pm, but I had never read the law, which is stated under hunting restrictions. It appears that it was illegal to shine even my filtered headlamp on the moose.

You rebel, you.

 

[--M.]

"Deer Jacking"

You take a little bit of tin or (if you can find it) aluminum, and make a little box out of it, with one end open for a candle. Mount the box/candle-holder on the end of a broom stick, and secure the candle within. Bring it, along with your deer rifle and other gear (especially an Adirondack boat or canoe) on your night hunt.

Shine the light on the banks of the shore until you see a deer. The deer will be attracted to the light and will stand still long enough for you to get a shot at it.

In this case, your 30.06 turned out to be a Kodak Instamatic. Less recoil, I hear.

I read about this process in a book I found at the new "Wild Center" museum of natural history in Tupper Lake (Guides of the Adirondacks: A History, by Charles Brumley; http://www.amazon.com/Guides-Adiron...r_1_29?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222430346&sr=1-29). The museum was cool (they built a glass-sided "stream" stocked with BIG FAT brownies, brookies & rainbows!).

So-called deer-jacking was apparently effective enough to become denigrated by Adirondack hunters in the 19th century, and it became illegal sometime around 1900. I would assume that it is this practice which you have encountered in your "hunting."

 

[Rob S]

Forestgnome, one of VFTT's Natural Resources.
When I think you've topped-off my capacity to be amazed, another surprise.

Ditto that. Amazing!! You'd make a mint if you ever created a book showing off your photos.

 

[nartreb]

Yep, it's a misdemeanor to shine lights on wild animals while in possession of a hunting weapon, and it's a violation (think parking ticket) to illuminate wildlife in the fall, whether you have a weapon or not.

Guess I better turn off my headlights next time I'm in New Hampshire in the fall.

Strangely, I didn't find any F&G regulations dealing with this statute.

208:8 Illegal Night Hunting. –
I. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if the person:
(a) Knowingly takes wild birds or wild animals between 1/2 hour after sunset and 1/2 hour before sunrise.
(b) Knowingly uses an artificial light between 1/2 hour after sunset and 1/2 hour before sunrise to illuminate, locate, or attempt to locate wild birds or wild animals while possessing on the person or in a motor vehicle, OHRV, snowmobile, boat, aircraft, or other craft propelled by mechanical power, a bow and arrow, crossbow and bolt, rifle, pistol, revolver, shotgun, or muzzle-loading firearm with live ammunition to fit the weapon, whether loaded or unloaded.
II. Any person convicted of illegal night hunting shall forfeit such firearms, lights, or any other equipment used or usable in the illegal night hunting at the time of such offense.
III. The knowledge or belief required for paragraph I is presumed in the case of a person who:
(a) Uses or is found in the possession of a bow and arrow, crossbow and bolt, a muzzle-loading firearm with live ammunition components to fit, or a rifle, revolver, or pistol larger than .22 caliber long rifle; or
(b) Uses shotgun shells carrying shot larger than number 4 birdshot.
IV. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit the use of lights for checking traps as permitted in RSA 210:13.

Source. 1935, 124:2. 1941, 29:1. RL 242:6. 1947, 161:1. 1951, 119:1. RSA 208:8. 1955, 62:1. 1959, 25:1. 1983, 449:21. 1987, 277:2. 1989, 33:2, 3. 1993, 237:1. 1994, 51:3, eff. July 1, 1994. 1996, 108:8, 9, eff. July 14, 1996. 2004, 40:3, eff. Jan. 1, 2005. 2005, 210:9, eff. July 1, 2006.

Section 208:8-a
208:8-a Penalty for Illegal Use of Light. –
I. Any person who deliberately uses an artificial light during the period from September 1 through December 31 to illuminate, jack, locate or attempt to locate wild birds or wild animals shall be guilty of a violation.
I-a. The provisions of paragraph I shall not apply to a person using an artificial light to locate or view a moose from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on any day during the period of September 1 through the second Monday of October. In addition, the exception in this paragraph shall be limited to the following roads in Coos county:
(a) Class I, II, and III state highways.
(b) Class IV, V, and VI city or town roads, with the permission of the local governing body.
II. The taking of raccoons pursuant to RSA 210:2 shall be an affirmative defense, as defined in RSA 626:7, I(b), to an alleged violation of this section.
III. The checking of traps pursuant to RSA 210:13 shall be an affirmative defense as defined in RSA 626:7, I(b) to an alleged violation of this section.

Source. 1979, 19:1. 1981, 9:1. 1993, 72:1. 1994, 51:4, eff. July 1, 1994. 2001, 131:1, eff. June 29, 2001. 2005, 6:1, eff. July 2, 2005.

 

[vegematic]

what is mind blowing is you got the moose, Jupiter and the constellation of Sagittarius all in one photo.

...and our Galactic center.

 

[dentonfabrics]

It has been brought to my attention that it is illegal to illuminate wildlife in NH, with a few exeptions. I thought it was illegal after 9:00pm, but I had never read the law, which is stated under hunting restrictions. It appears that it was illegal to shine even my filtered headlamp on the moose.

I happen to have a meeting with Brian Abrams, of F@G, on business today so I'll ask him about both the letter of the law and the intent of the law.

I'll report back. I hope it's ok to use a flashlight to at least see what might be heading your way in the dark

As far as I'm concerned, what happens within VFTT stays within VFTT.

 

[forestgnome]

It is indeed illegal to illuminate any wildlife in NH from September 1st to December 31st, with some execptions in Coos County.

When you click this link, scroll down to "IT IS UNLAWFUL TO:"
http://wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunting_PDFs/Hunting_Digest_2008-09.pdf


The intent of the law is to illiminate a serious advantage to (mainly) deer hunters, who can spot them before dawn and just wait until it's 1/2 hour before sunrise (legal time) and take the shot.

The following are my own thoughts, and not comments by anyone at F&G:

This is an example of the larger public having to live with a law meant to control a small group. It was probably deemed too difficult to enforce the law on hunters and not everyone else.

Knowing the realistic, common-sense attitude of F&G, I wouldn't worry about using a flashlight to check out that loud crunching noise of an approaching animal when you're out there at night, or to keep an eye on that bear that's rumaging through your campsight. And remember, it's only form Sept.1st to Dec. 31st, i.e., the major hunting season. F&G are not wackos, and if this helps them to curb poaching it's fine by me.

The Coos County exeption may haver been the result of lobbying by the moose safari folks, but that's just a guess and this doesn't concerm me enough to investigate. If anyone knows anything about it, please post.

happy trails

 

[forestgnome]

BTW, here's the new boyfreind of the illuminated cow. This was taken about 20 minutes earlier. It was darker than it appears in this picture. All I could really see was a big dark mass and the light part of the antlers. I took a few shots that were 6" long. This is the best one. I had to focus in the dark and hope that he stayed still for 6". No illumination on this one This was at about 200mm lens.

happy autumn