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Hunting in a Residential Area?

By Aaron, on December 4th, 2008

Two days ago, my family was walking our dog down this relatively vacant stretch of the bay, which is a few blocks away from the house. While we were walking, we overheard what was apparently some gunshots fired in the distance. A woman, also walking her dog, mentioned to us how appalled she was to discover that people were hunting duck around the neighborhood. Adding insult to injury, just under a mile away is a bird sanctuary (Morro Bay Estuary) that sits next to the residential area.

This morning, I woke to more gunshots fired and it suddenly jogged my memory. Two years ago, around the same time, I found some bullet casings in the empty lot next to my house. I looked at them carefully, wondering where they were coming from and how they ended up there. Now I know.

The woman we spoke to the other day said they have filed petitions against the duck hunts and sent them to the California Department of Fish and Game only for them to reject the petitions and say the hunting was perfectly legal. Perfectly legal? Since when is shooting a gun in a residential area perfectly legal? I can come up with all sorts of hypotheticals that are reasonably possible. There are people walking their dogs, children are playing, there’s traffic going up and down the street — and if a bullet strikes someone, what’s the department going to say then? “Sorry, stray bullet. It’s legal.”

Maybe it’s one of those things where they only take action if something actually happens. That reminds me of all these laws passed in government that were based on tragedies that could have been prevented if those kinds of laws were enacted before the tragedy.

I was born and raised in the Los Angeles area for 12 years and hearing gunshots there wasn’t uncommon, but here in this small community full of families who are within firing distance? It’s very unsettling. One of the reasons I moved away from the area was to avoid being shot — and this is what I wake up to in the morning?

Also, we live in the middle what is supposed to be a protected habitat for wildlife. To say that people are allowed to hunt ducks just a few inches away from a bird sanctuary is picking and choosing. What’s to stop hunters from “accidentally” shooting an egret or a blue heron? Where is the enforcement that approaches hunters with fines and handcuffs for being so negligent of their neighbors? I believe we ought to have answers.

I urge concerned individuals to call the Central Region of the California Department of Fish & Game at (559) 243-4005 regarding this problem. The person to speak with would be Regional Manager Bill Loudermilk.

I will be calling them today and will post an addendum to this blog tomorrow around the same time with the results of this conversation. I will be going through the necessary channels before petitioning for a California voter initiative.

The Razor
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  • Steven

    Aaron, you need to get your facts straight…

    Bird hunters do not use bullets, they use shotgun shells. The effective range of a shotgun is around 50 yards. The closest to shore hunting is allowed is 200 yards from the high tide line. That is well out of the range of any residential area or dog walkers.

    If there are hunter outside of that area, by all means, prosecute them under existing laws… no need to ban a legal activity to stop people from committing illegal acts. That would be like banning shopping to stop shoplifting, or banning driving to stop speeding.

    Secondly… The Morro Bay estuary is not a bird sanctuary… the city of Morro Bay is. Hunting has always been allowed in the estuary and continues to be. Some time ago, a few people (the Morro Bay City Council) decided to make Morro Bay a bird sanctuary. All the power to them, but they hardly had the jurisdiction to stop hunting in the estuary. Why so many people have a hard time grasping the differences of these two things is beyond me.

    Finally, you say “people are allowed to hunt ducks just a few inches away from a bird sanctuary is picking and choosing”… I say creating a bird sanctuary adjacent to an established hunting ground is just silly.

  • Steven

    Aaron, you need to get your facts straight…Bird hunters do not use bullets, they use shotgun shells. The effective range of a shotgun is around 50 yards. The closest to shore hunting is allowed is 200 yards from the high tide line. That is well out of the range of any residential area or dog walkers.If there are hunter outside of that area, by all means, prosecute them under existing laws… no need to ban a legal activity to stop people from committing illegal acts. That would be like banning shopping to stop shoplifting, or banning driving to stop speeding.Secondly… The Morro Bay estuary is not a bird sanctuary… the city of Morro Bay is. Hunting has always been allowed in the estuary and continues to be. Some time ago, a few people (the Morro Bay City Council) decided to make Morro Bay a bird sanctuary. All the power to them, but they hardly had the jurisdiction to stop hunting in the estuary. Why so many people have a hard time grasping the differences of these two things is beyond me.Finally, you say “people are allowed to hunt ducks just a few inches away from a bird sanctuary is picking and choosing”… I say creating a bird sanctuary adjacent to an established hunting ground is just silly.

  • Aaron

    “Bird hunters do not use bullets, they use shotgun shells. The effective range of a shotgun is around 50 yards. The closest to shore hunting is allowed is 200 yards from the high tide line. That is well out of the range of any residential area or dog walkers.”

    Here’s why I mentioned bullets:

    I spoke to a couple of residents by phone, e-mail and in person who have found bullet casings in the area, not shotgun shells. There is a woman, who lives down my street, who told me that she found dead ducks near her residence that were shot by bullets, not shotgun shells.

    I never stated that bird/duck hunters used regular guns, but what’s to stop a “hunter,” not abiding by the law, to use some other weapon beside a shotgun?

    “If there are hunter outside of that area, by all means, prosecute them under existing laws… no need to ban a legal activity to stop people from committing illegal acts. That would be like banning shopping to stop shoplifting, or banning driving to stop speeding.”

    I never said I wanted to ban hunting. I said that people shouldn’t be shooting so close (or in) a residential area where someone could get hurt.

    “Secondly… The Morro Bay estuary is not a bird sanctuary… the city of Morro Bay is. Hunting has always been allowed in the estuary and continues to be. Some time ago, a few people (the Morro Bay City Council) decided to make Morro Bay a bird sanctuary. All the power to them, but they hardly had the jurisdiction to stop hunting in the estuary. Why so many people have a hard time grasping the differences of these two things is beyond me.”

    Dan Berman, Program Director of Morro Bay National Estuary Program, has said that the Morro Bay Estuary is, in fact, a bird sanctuary. On the Morro Bay Estuary Program web site, it reads, “Morro Bay is an important stop-over on the Pacific Flyway and a critical winter home to numerous bird species.”

    I don’t know about the city of Morro Bay, itself, being a bird sanctuary. More power to them.

    “I say creating a bird sanctuary adjacent to an established hunting ground is just silly.”

    It really doesn’t matter who was there first. It’s all about respecting each other’s space. Hunters ought to leave the birds, who live in the Estuary, alone and hunt on their own designated hunting grounds. It’s that simple.

  • Aaron

    “Bird hunters do not use bullets, they use shotgun shells. The effective range of a shotgun is around 50 yards. The closest to shore hunting is allowed is 200 yards from the high tide line. That is well out of the range of any residential area or dog walkers.”Here’s why I mentioned bullets:I spoke to a couple of residents by phone, e-mail and in person who have found bullet casings in the area, not shotgun shells. There is a woman, who lives down my street, who told me that she found dead ducks near her residence that were shot by bullets, not shotgun shells.I never stated that bird/duck hunters used regular guns, but what’s to stop a “hunter,” not abiding by the law, to use some other weapon beside a shotgun?“If there are hunter outside of that area, by all means, prosecute them under existing laws… no need to ban a legal activity to stop people from committing illegal acts. That would be like banning shopping to stop shoplifting, or banning driving to stop speeding.”I never said I wanted to ban hunting. I said that people shouldn’t be shooting so close (or in) a residential area where someone could get hurt.“Secondly… The Morro Bay estuary is not a bird sanctuary… the city of Morro Bay is. Hunting has always been allowed in the estuary and continues to be. Some time ago, a few people (the Morro Bay City Council) decided to make Morro Bay a bird sanctuary. All the power to them, but they hardly had the jurisdiction to stop hunting in the estuary. Why so many people have a hard time grasping the differences of these two things is beyond me.”Dan Berman, Program Director of Morro Bay National Estuary Program, has said that the Morro Bay Estuary is, in fact, a bird sanctuary. On the Morro Bay Estuary Program web site, it reads, “Morro Bay is an important stop-over on the Pacific Flyway and a critical winter home to numerous bird species.”I don’t know about the city of Morro Bay, itself, being a bird sanctuary. More power to them.“I say creating a bird sanctuary adjacent to an established hunting ground is just silly.”It really doesn’t matter who was there first. It’s all about respecting each other’s space. Hunters ought to leave the birds, who live in the Estuary, alone and hunt on their own designated hunting grounds. It’s that simple.

  • Alon Perlman

    AAron ,
    Are you not a resident of Los Osos? You should be aware of the Los Osos Community Advisory Council of which I am a member.
    This representative body has chosen not to revise It’s 1995 vision statement.
    That statement contains the language “No hunting is permitted on the bay.
    LOCAC Vision Statement
    Unfortunately the version posted on the website does not include the signatories. You may want to look at whom came up with a document that “defies revision”. Viewing the signatories gave me pause and was an element in my choice to start walking toward the demographic center of the town, to the chagrin of the clique who decided in this election to put a single “Marketable” (not my word), talking the talk egg, in the basket that they felt they were carrying “for” the citizenry. Back to the Shotgun shells. To my knowledge there is no Pre inspection of hunters gear for the presence of Lead Ammo loads.
    Most Hunters are law abiding and would not even use older ordnance, but it is not unlikely that some Lead containing Shells gets used.
    Shotguns consume the charge less efficiently, so some residue of burned and unburned gunpowder falls into the water. Nitrates?
    Back to the LOCAC Mission Statement . Please read it especially in respect to “WATER”.- Back to the hunt;
    State Marine Reserve- A location where there is no permitted TAKE of animal life, EXCEPT if you are a Brent, and then only by shooting a shotgun (Take by oars is not permitted). The number of hunters staying in Osos Inns is likely much less than those tourists (and residents) who are startled by the shattering of the idealic calm.

  • Alon Perlman

    AAron , Are you not a resident of Los Osos? You should be aware of the Los Osos Community Advisory Council of which I am a member.This representative body has chosen not to revise It’s 1995 vision statement. That statement contains the language “No hunting is permitted on the bay.LOCAC Vision StatementUnfortunately the version posted on the website does not include the signatories. You may want to look at whom came up with a document that “defies revision”. Viewing the signatories gave me pause and was an element in my choice to start walking toward the demographic center of the town, to the chagrin of the clique who decided in this election to put a single “Marketable” (not my word), talking the talk egg, in the basket that they felt they were carrying “for” the citizenry. Back to the Shotgun shells. To my knowledge there is no Pre inspection of hunters gear for the presence of Lead Ammo loads.Most Hunters are law abiding and would not even use older ordnance, but it is not unlikely that some Lead containing Shells gets used.Shotguns consume the charge less efficiently, so some residue of burned and unburned gunpowder falls into the water. Nitrates? Back to the LOCAC Mission Statement . Please read it especially in respect to “WATER”.- Back to the hunt;State Marine Reserve- A location where there is no permitted TAKE of animal life, EXCEPT if you are a Brent, and then only by shooting a shotgun (Take by oars is not permitted). The number of hunters staying in Osos Inns is likely much less than those tourists (and residents) who are startled by the shattering of the idealic calm.

  • Aaron

    Alon,

    I have read the LOCAC Vision Statement prior to posting. I wasn’t aware of the specific history behind the statement revisions because, as you said, there has been no signatories nor are there any revision timelines posted on the site.

    I heard the gunshots again this morning and that leads to my next question. I’m not physicist so I don’t know how to calculate this exactly.

    How far does the sound of a shotgun being fired travel? The reason I ask is that my ears sense that the gunshots are rather close to the Cuesta-by-the-Sea neighborhood.

    Here’s another twist. It takes time in between firing shotgun rounds, but the sound that I hear are gunshots fired in rapid succession. It sounds like firecrackers from a short distance.

  • Aaron

    Alon,I have read the LOCAC Vision Statement prior to posting. I wasn’t aware of the specific history behind the statement revisions because, as you said, there has been no signatories nor are there any revision timelines posted on the site.I heard the gunshots again this morning and that leads to my next question. I’m not physicist so I don’t know how to calculate this exactly.How far does the sound of a shotgun being fired travel? The reason I ask is that my ears sense that the gunshots are rather close to the Cuesta-by-the-Sea neighborhood.Here’s another twist. It takes time in between firing shotgun rounds, but the sound that I hear are gunshots fired in rapid succession. It sounds like firecrackers from a short distance.

  • Alon Perlman

    locac.us/html/vision.html

    My apologies for the bad link in previous post

    LOCAC Vision Statement

  • Alon Perlman

    locac.us/html/vision.htmlMy apologies for the bad link in previous postLOCAC Vision Statement

  • Alon Perlman

    They were Cracks, rather than Booms and had a sense of being fired horizontally. The computer simulations returned “One gentleman with a Remington over and under, blued barrel, and another with an Italian quick fire shotgun with an engraving of a stag on the stock, firing at a flock flying by, or maybe firecrackers”.
    But I am not an Audio Ballistics Expert, I just pretend to be one on Halloween.

  • Alon Perlman

    They were Cracks, rather than Booms and had a sense of being fired horizontally. The computer simulations returned “One gentleman with a Remington over and under, blued barrel, and another with an Italian quick fire shotgun with an engraving of a stag on the stock, firing at a flock flying by, or maybe firecrackers”.But I am not an Audio Ballistics Expert, I just pretend to be one on Halloween.

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