Show some class!!

[BLACKJACK]

When you're out pheasant hunting, show some class! Treat other hunters like you would like to be treated.

Last week I had been watching the last of the corn go out next to a 80 acre WPA, so the next day I got off a little early, hustled home, changed clothes, grabbed my gun and dogs and hustled back to the WPA. Good, no one else there! I had exactly one hour before sundown. The picked corn field was on the north side of the WPA, I parked on the south side of the WPA and headed east, some more corn was being picked there plus I didn't want to hit the edge of the corn too early. Rousted a couple of hens, turned north at the eastern border, started hunting along a cattail slough that butted up to the picked corn on the north. Imagine my surprise to look up and see another hunter hustling along the edge of the picked corn! At first I thought that he didn't have a dog, but then I see it about 6 feet in front of him. As I rounded the cattail slough by the picked corn, he then angled across and cut me off from the edge of the cattail slough that I was going around!!! At this point we were only separated by about 50 yards and I was starting to cover the ground that he had already covered. To my surprise my dogs then got up a rooster that his dog had missed, I shot it and my dogs retrieved it out of the cattails.

Even after shooting the rooster I was steaming, here I had 12 minutes of daylight left, I had timed the edge of the corn just right, he had cut me off – twice. I worked my way toward my truck, I was wondering here I had arrived with one hour, this guy had arrived later and must have hot footed it across the 80 to beat me to that corn field but then I started giving him the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe he hadn’t seen my truck. As I topped a hill, I could see that he was parked right behind my truck!!! The unclassy guy had arrived after I did, rushed across that 80 just to beat me to that picked cornfield!! His lack of class ruined the hunt for both of us. He hurried to cut me off at the edge of the corn, got there too soon and didn’t get any shooting, and my hunt got hosed because of him. And of course he hustled back to his little beater car and got the heck out of there before I could give him a piece of my mind.

The really sad part is that there were plenty of other public hunting areas around there. RIGHT ACROSS THE ROAD where we parked was a 400+ acre WPA. Down the road ¼ mile was another 200 acre WPA, he could have had a nice hunt in either one – but instead he had to rush to the edge of the picked cornfield.

Show some class when you hunt. Pheasant hunting is not all about the birds in the bag, its also about enjoying the hunt, enjoying good dog work, enjoying the hunt. His actions made an unpleasant hunt for both of us!! My only satisfaction was that I got a bird that his dog missed.

Show some class, Please.

[Note from admin: Edited. Please read forum policy before posting again. Thank you.]

[walleyemkr]

Amen brother!!! This cannot be stressed enough, in my opinion. I've had essentially the same thing happen to me at least twice this season (in nearby Pope Co.) and it it frustrating beyond belief. Personally, I won't even hunt a "large" WMA / WPA when there is another vehicle or hunter obvious, taking the extra 5 minutes or so to drive around the section to look at all possible entrance points / parking spots.

[Roosterslayer05]

Im not suprised, I have seen this many time's. Some hunter's just dont "get it". Sorry to hear your hunt was ruined, but you shouldent be suprised. This same scenario has happened to myself while pheasant hunting, but more than not I have had inconsiderate hunters walk within 50 yards of me while duck hunting at least a half dozen times this year.( Im talking pheasant hunter's) Dont get me wrong I dont mind if guys pheasant hunt while im duck hunting but do not come within 80 yards of me( I do have a dog and garanteed he scared up every pheasant in that area while I walked down to my spot, thats what he does, hes a dog) Decoying ducks is not possible when guys are near walking around in blaze orange near the decoys. On a lighter note I have had some very considerate pheasant hunters who walked the area I was hunting, did not come close to me, and actaully got down when they saw ducks working the decoys( These guys deserve a handshake, very considerate) Im just trying to spread the word to uninformed pheasant hunter's who think its "ok" to walk near a duck hunter because you are pursuing different quarry( Its not ok) but thats life when you hunt public land. That's my anti-pheasant hunter rant for the day haha, now its time for me to join the ranks since the duck season is over. Be considerate of others guys and enjoy the rest of the season.

[jaymack10]

Yep that sucks when it does happen. The problem i have here in SD is that people will park there vehicles in a public hunting area but then get in with there buddy's and go somewhere else hoping no one will hunt that since there is a truck there. This weekend i was hunting an area and there was no trucks before i got there. i was making my way to the back of the area when i hear some shooting coming from the front. I then stood on top of a hill so they could see where i was just to make sure no one shoots me. The guy gets about 100 yards away and notices me and begins to turn around. I call to him and he stops so i go up to him. This is a big area with a big slough on the front end and great cover on the back end with cut corn. I go up to him and he says he is sorry. He said he seen my truck but couldnt see anyone hunting. He said he has had the same problem as i have with people parking there vehicles there and then leaving. We both figured that it is big enough for both of us and that we would hunt it together. The next hour we ended up with our limit which is 6 roosters and probably flushed 30 hens and seen about another 20 roosters flush out of range. It ended up being a great hunting experience and both of us limited out. We are planning on hunting it again together this coming weekend. Well the moral of the story is first " if you not hunting an area dont park your vehicle there to try to save it" secondly "give everyone the benefit of the dought" and lastly "communicate with other hunts that are there to find the best solution." That is all i have.

[sparcebag]

Gotta remember its public! I have been asked by pheasant hunters & duck hunters while going into public areas for archery, if I would be bothered if they hunted the same area.Nice guys! my only reply is always go for it its public!

When on public land ya gotta remember there's all kinds of different people in this world,new hunters (unknowing) respectful hunters and then there's always those slob hunters who dont care about anyone else! I dont like em!! But it is public! and I at times have to keep reminding myself its public and theres all kinds of different people who will use the land with me,If I dont like it I'll have to either ignor it or leave.

[Snag]

People usually do that sort of thing on opener. I would have said something to him or asked to hunt together.

I personally haven't seen any other hunters in the last 4 weeks, and I've even hunted on a few Sunday mornings all on public land. Haven't had to drive very far from the cities to see birds this year.

[Tom7227]

I think Sparcebag makes a good point. And Jaymack points out how this sort of thing can end up being a good thing. Parking the truck to block the spot is just wrong. But there's a lot of folks out there who don't know exactly what they're doing and may not be purposefully trying to screw you up. Rather than giving someone a piece of your mind perhaps a quiet conversation could opena few doors, make a new friend, or at least help someone learn what their mistake was. Given the number of hunters and the relative small amount of public land I think we all need to learn how to take a deep breath and work things out.

[Augusta]

Sounds to me more like the guy saw you hunting the other side of the WPA and he went to the other to avoid you. Like the others have said, it's public land. Sounds like someone got to your "honey hole" before you did, and then calling him all those names???? Do the rest of us a favor, when you decide to hunt all your public land, post it here so the rest of us know when to stay home! Just my observation.

[Scott Stein]

i know im fortunate to have about 150-200 acres of private land so i dont have to deal w/ them!!!

[LovenLifeGuy]

I thought it was common practice for people to keep on going to the next public hunting area when a vehicle is parked in the lot or on the road. I found out the hard way that others do not feel the same way. I wont vent but I feel the frustration and don't understand why people do it.

[chub]

Had the same thing happen to me too many times to count.

It's unfortunate, but it's become the world we live in.

Happend to me last year. A guy cut me off and flushed a bunch of birds that happened to fly nearer to where we were hunting. We shot four, walked out and met him on the road. He appologized and said he didn't see us....... . This is a small area, and I could see him from the time he drove in there. Unless the guy was blind, there's no doubt he saw us too. I asked him how many he got. 0

He asked what we got, replied with our limit and walked away.

The joys of public land....

[gonefishin11]

Why would it be common practice to move to the next public hunting area? Are you being facetious?

It was 80 acres... there is room for 2 guys. Maybe you should draw a diagram on your truck of your hunting plan so the other hunters know to stay out of your way. (Now I am being facetious.) Please just relax and be happy that you can get out to hunt for a few hours after work, unlike most of us.

[chub]

Why would it be common practice to move to the next public hunting area? Are you being facetious?

[gonefishin11]

Generally the birds will be concentrated on slough edges, changes in cover, etc...

Figure out where the first guy is hunting and go hunt a different transition area. He doesn't lay claim to the ENTIRE piece of land because he got there first. If I go hunt a 400 acre piece of WMA and get there first, should everyone else drive by? Great! I will get there at 7:00am and sleep in my car for two hours because all 400 acres are mine as long as my truck is there.

As you can see, I mention nothing about cutting a person off or trying to infringe on his/her hunt. I am simply stating you can hunt a different portion of the WPA or WMA. It also depends on the number of hunters in the truck. 1 guy on 80 acres is much different than a group of 4.

[BLACKJACK]

Interesting reponses!!! I figured that I'd get responses from both sides of the spectrum!! Glad to see the majority agree with me, that you should be courteous and move on, give other hunters some space.

Parking your vehicle in a parking area to hold the spot is just wrong.

Those of you that say to be calm are right, maybe it is a rookie hunter that doesn't know better, and a talk pointing out rights and wrongs would go a long way.

The key point I want to repeat is that there were literally hundreds of acres of public hunting within 1/2 mile, there was no need to crowd in.

I know that its PUBLIC hunting land, open to all but by crowding into an area where other hunters already are hunting, you just degrade the quality of the hunt for all.

For those of you that think its ok to crowd in, you're probably the guys that do it. What is your standard when you're looking for a spot to hunt? What if its only 40 acres and another hunter is already there? How about 20 acres? Will you still get out of your truck and crowd the other hunter? Why?? This is not about "its public hunting and I can do it if I want", its about having a quality hunt, so enlighten me as to why you would crowd other hunters.

Thanks all for your thoughts on this touchy subject.

[gonefishin11]

I don't believe anyone ever said it was ok to crowd in on someone.

In general, responsible hunters will analyze each situation to ensure they are not infrining upon someone elses hunt. Each situation is remarkably different so having a hard, fast rule is impossible. Different groups can coexist on a relatively small piece public land as long as each group is considerate of the other.

Quote:

How about 20 acres? Will you still get out of your truck and crowd the other hunter? Why?? This is not about "its public hunting and I can do it if I want", its about having a quality hunt, so enlighten me as to why you would crowd other hunters.

I would not. I would not hunt on 120 acres if I did not believe there was enough good cover to allow it. Everything is situational.

[fishhawk1750]

We muzzle load this area, most people see are cars and just keep driving. Wish people would stop and push a little more to keep them deer out of the cattails.

[jigging-matt]

I will generally go to the next area if i see someone hunting the area. Now if it is big enough and I can see the hunter(s) and know I can go to another portion of the land and hunt without disturbing their hunt I will do that. But generally I just go to another area. Part is just being polite, part if personal safety. Some people don't play well with others, and take offense to everything, and since they are carrying guns just easier to take the dog and go somewhere else.

[BLACKJACK]

If I go hunt a 400 acre piece of WMA and get there first, should everyone else drive by?

[duckbuster]

I am in the believe that someone else hunting on the same piece of public land is NOT the issue. The issue comes down to courtesy and proper hunting etiquette.

In a case like this more times than not the guy who jumps on to the property AFTER another hunter has nearly a 100% idea of what the other hunter plans on doing. By high tailing it over to the same spot he absolutely knows the original hunter is going to cover is very, very rude. Public area or not that right there lacks of complete and utter hunter etiquette.

Any one of us who acts like that while in the field should be very ashamed of themselves!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all!!

[Superduty]

Perhaps he thought you had already covered the obvious best area near the fresh cut corn. We can speculate all day long. It's public land. Maybe he has an awesome dog and thought it would be neat to pick up your leftovers. Who knows? I think the lesson you should have learned from this experience is to hunt the best area first because it is public land and it would be likely that another hunter (malicious or not) might join you on "your" spot.

[fishhsif]

In a way I think your the guy yourself is talking about? Im not saying its right what you accused him of exactly"one hunter cuting another hunter off"? It happens all day in this business, no one hunts early seasons but then "eyeball" something on the way home from work one day and think its going to be all theirs. Now BlackJack whining is not aloud by hunters/fisherman nor do they want to hear it so instead of geting mad and calling him names think of something more creative to fix the problem between that guy or the next guy you incounter.

[chub]

There you have it Blackjack. Courtesy and consideration are officially dead. You are wrong.

Life is a competition, and whether it be the commute to work, having nicer toys and houses better than our neighboor, catching more and bigger fish than anyone else, shooting more birds than others....it's really become what it's all about.

If your halfway back to the X, and someone younger and faster than you, who happens to be wearing the Nike Super Hunter running shoes, jogs by you and cuts you off, accept your fate.

You lost the competition fair and square. Now quit whining, get on a exercise program, purchase a pair of Adida's Rooster Runner 3000's and get back in the game.

After all, lifes all about getting one up on the other guy.

You don't want to be laughed at ridiculed about being that slow guy back in the parking area do ya?

...some of the responses are nothing more than further evidence of the decay of civilization.

[duckbuster]

Chub, unless what you just wrote is tongue in cheek than you my friend are the "evidence of the decay of civilization"

Courtesy, manners, etiquette, knowing the difference between right and wrong are some of the backbones of a good civilization.

Again, unless this was written with tongue in cheek what you have said, nothing more than "how can I screw someone else" is the problem with todays society and you are a big part of that group.

Please accept my sincere apology if you were writing with sarcasm in mind.

[inspec_brad]

I had a similar experience this year in the early goose season. Both of us had permission to hunt this land. I(we) were all set up and they came in anyway and set up 186 paces from us. They seen my vehicles, since they drove next to them to get back in the field. Just a very uncourteous "hunter, sportsman".