[zimmerstutzen]

From the 1963 PGC Digest
"Bounty Payments
Great Horned Owls - $5.00
Killed within this state by residents only
Entire Body of Great Horned Owl must be shipped or presented to the Commission within 48 hours after killing."

 

[25-OTT6]

How'd they make out. Were doing the same thing now but it's Whitetail Deer you just don't get 5$.

 

[Retiredusne8]

Also a bounty on a Fox.

 

[darkhollowarcher]

Remember them all , collected on them all

Horned owl $5.00
fox $4.00
Rattlesnakes $1.00

 

[rockyDD]

When was that program stopped

 

[savage303]

1966 I think

 

[darkhollowarcher]

believe they took the bounty off rattlers around 1970

 

[dietsch]

this old timer that i know said he use to trap the owls with a foothold on top of a fence post . i was just repairing his barn roof a few weeks ago and he was re telling the story , even pointed out the area where the post was that caught the most . he also said that once they caught a owl he and his friends would tie a rope to it's leg and go crow hunting , said the crows would come from all over . my how times have changed .

 

[gooseguy]

I always wondered what the legal process was behind that as they are protected under the MBTA. Not sure if they were added to the list after '66 or before.

http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/RegulationsPolicies/mbta/taxolst.html

 

[Ron pa]

Yep, they made great Crow Decoys.My late Uncle had one that He hooked up to a Leather strap. He would give my Cousin and me two .22 shells apiece and we were expected to bring Home two Chipmunks to feed the creature. We would also catch Garter Snakes and turn `em loose in the Cage. They didn`t make it to far!! When it kicked off, it was sent in for the $5.00 Bounty. Those were the Days.....

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Had a Great Horned named "Igor" I raised from a chick. Mom said he had to go when he tore up her cat.

 

[Little Bear]

Good one, 25-OTT6

 

[Pine-Creek]

Gentlemen,
I was raised in that era and we shot Owls, Fox and other predators on sight, to keep our small game numbers high, don't let any one tell you it does not work, cause it does.
Trapping helps also, and we need to go back to it, if we ever expect to see a decent growing Grouse pupolation in this state again.
Pine Creek/Dave

 

[Pa-Guy]

Gentlemen,
I was raised in that era and we shot Owls, Fox and other predators on sight, to keep our small game numbers high, don't let any one tell you it does not work, cause it does.
Trapping helps also, and we need to go back to it, if we ever expect to see a decent growing Grouse pupolation in this state again.
Pine Creek/Dave

You're right!
I remember many years ago when you could kill great horned owls.
Putting up a trap on the end of a post, as someone else mentioned, is a real killer.
A brush pile in a field.... 2x4x8 with a trap fastened to one end, stood up in the brush pile, it becomes a perch for the owls to hunt from.
I remember one guy that done it back then and caught a couple great horned owls the first week it was out.
Another article in a magazine back then... after the snow melted from that winter, the writer went to where there was a great horned owl's nest. There on the ground, were the skulls of over 20 rabbits.

Great horned owls, nocturnal.
Rabbits, mostly nocturnal.
Snow on the ground...... rabbits an easy target.

 

[eyefromthesky]

The owls are so thick around here I have to beat them off with a stick just to walk through the woods!

Why people are so filled with hate for the natural world around them just to benefit themselves a little is beyond me. When I see any raptor when I'm out I think it's a pretty neat experience.

There I started the debate. That's what this post was intended for to begin with.

 

[zhuntman]

The owls are so thick around here I have to beat them off with a stick just to walk through the woods!

Why people are so filled with hate for the natural world around them just to benefit themselves a little is beyond me. When I see any raptor when I'm out I think it's a pretty neat experience.

There I started the debate. That's what this post was intended for to begin with.

By that logic hunters that kill groundhogs, porcupines and trappers that trap bobcats do so because they are filled with hate for the natural world around them. (Unless I'm missing something)

 

[R.W.J]

Some of the responses on this thread just goes to show how many dont understand predator/prey relationship. Prey controls the predators population.....

 

[eyefromthesky]

Not really, nobody says that those species take away from their hunting experience, except maybe for the bobcats but I haven't seen it talked about. Well wait I guess they helped to kill all the deer.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

When I find a hawk feasting on one of my ducks, I am tempted to commit a federal felony. I suppose that constitutes a form of hate for the natural world. When a bald eagle tried to snag a new born lamb, I did cheer the momma ewe on when she rammed the heck out of the eagle.

 

[eyefromthesky]

That's not really in line with what I'm talking about.