Risk from hunting?
 

A perhaps naive question from one about to spend his first Thanksgiving and November weekend at the lake--do I need to worry about errant hunters if we walk in the woods in Tuftonboro/Moultonboro/Wolfeboro?

If walking in the woods during deer/bear/moose seasons, it would be wise to wear as much blaze orange as hunters do and for the same reasons.

Avoid 'bushwhacking' and stick to trails.

Do not move towards gunshots to see what they got. They might have missed and your sound could be mistaken by an anxious person as another target and you might get shot due to mis-directed reflexes.


Enjoy!

Not sure what you mean by "errant". If they are not on posted land and stay the required distance from houses, the fact that the hunters are in the same area as you happen to be enjoying does not make the hunters "errant". That being said, wear some blaze orange and avoid wearing white (color of a deer's tail) and possibly brown.

Walking as has been suggested sticking to trails and wearing orange/avoiding white presents significantly less risk than your drive up here.

Brown it down
 

You guys are all worried about nothing. You could probably get away with wearing a deer suit.

Just make sure it's a doe suit, since it's buck only now .....

When I was a young boy, a college friend of my grandmother's came to visit one autumn. She asked if she could go for a walk in their woods.

My grandfather looked her over and commented on her full length fur coat, "You'd better not. In that outfit someone might think you're a bear and shoot you."

"What if I borrowed your orange hat?"

"They'd probably just think you're a smart bear."

I avoid going out in season. If you do, the blaze orange (top to bottom) is a good idea and make sure your dog (if you have one) does too.

A quick tip that we've used successfully with our dogs for many years now. Buy a cheap blaze orange, knit hat and cut open the top. You now have a nice, warm, and cheap "neck warmer" for the dog. Slip it over their head and it makes them easy to spot.

This looks like a bull rather than a cow but you get the idea. When I am hunting I avoid any areas popular with hikers as well as hiking trails. Too much activity and noise. Attachment 12489

Happy Thanksgiving.

A guy driving down the road saw the animal, and also saw the owner. He stopped and asked the farmer "Why did you paint cow on it when it is obviously a bull? ". The farmer said "I didn't want to confuse them city slicker hunters with details. " .

Back to the subject at hand.

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er·rant
ˈerənt/
adjective
adjective: errant

1.
erring or straying from the proper course or standards.

Many years ago, a group of hunters were resting in the woods behind our house having lunch, when a bear came along. One hunter stood up to shoot the bear, as did another hunter located between him and the bear. The first hunter ended shooting the second one in the head. I would consider this to be errant and what the OP is worried about.

Like I said, not sure what the OP meant by errant. I agree the conduct you describe qualifies. There is no way to eliminate the possibility of encountering the same in the woods but the precautions referred to in this thread are good suggestions.

Thanks!
 

Thanks to all for both the straight responses and humor. We went with minimal walking and a blaze hat. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

No casualties yet!