Chasing down cripples, the law now is crap.

[Dean Schellinger]

Our group did really well on the Mississippi this week. Friday my brother and I shot 5 drake mallards before having to pick up before class at 8:30.

Sunday we managed 11 mallards, all big drakes cept 2 hens, and 2 buffleheads. We saw many loners, that kept coming in, not many flocks. But then %^&& really hit the fan.

After knocking down a drake mallard, I volunteered to I had to get into the boat and chase it down because it was just wing shot. I asked my hunting partner for a shell and headed after the bird. Because it was diving and swimming towards the weeds I kept my gun out and loaded as I was chasing it around. Well a C.O happened to be sitting there watching me.

I finally shot the bird and brought it back to the blind where he was waiting for me. It turns out the shell my hunting partner gave me was a lead, I am going to kill my parnter, and the C.O. continued to issue me tickets for transporting an uncased gun, and transporting a loaded gun, and the lead violation--He found the empty shell cartridge.

Personally I think it is bogus you cannot have a gun in your boat as you chase down a cripple that is loaded etc. The bull&*%$^$ they have you do now is a joke. The way they want you to approach it is like everytime the bird pops up you have to shut off the motor, uncase your gun, load your gun, and hope the bird is still up/ in range. It is ridiculous.

I believe this just adds to the number of wanton waste/ people that wont chase after crippled birds. I mean now for having the initiative to get my cripple birds I am slapped with $300 dollars worth of fines plus the fine for lead shot because my the fact my stupid @ss friend gave me a lead shot.

It really soured my day of great hunting. What does everyone else think about this subject? Being able to chase cripples with a uncased gun. It just really chaps my @ss.

[Mark Christianson]

Do I agree with the law? Not completely, but the fact is that its very clear what the law is, and you got caught.

You can't expect to get caught, and then place blame on the laws you don't agree with.

I am not intending to sound harsh on this, but you have to abide by the laws regardless of whether you like them or not.

[Roosterslayer05]

If they let you chase cripples in your boat with a loaded gun people would drive around and shoot ducks out of there boat and when the Co stops them they could say they were just chasing a cripple. It would be near impossible to enforce that law and if My buddy gave me a lead shot i would make him pay for the fine.

[Sartell Angler]

Couldn't agree with you more bro...Eric is a moron for mixing pheasant loads with his steel, and the law for uncased guns in a boat should not apply to a responsible hunter trying to dispatch a cripple. I strongly believe that the worst publicity our sport can receive is from non-hunters who don't want to see crippled ducks swimming around helplessly, only to die a slow, miserable death as the swamps/ marshes freeze at the start of winter and these birds die because of starvation and the harsh elements. The guns should be cased / unloaded while being transported to/from your hunting destination, but when running down a cripple the only effective way to get it is to have a shell in the chamber and your gun on your lap. The DNR should revamp this law for the interest of the ducks and the future of duckhunting. Flowage Tamer- overall a solid mallard hunt but it was soured by bad luck when the CO spotted you runnin' down the crippled greenhead.

Sartell Angler aka woodduckwizard

[Guest]

Laws are there for reasons. Do I agree, no, not really, but the law is there to stop people from running around and shooting at non-crippled ducks. Someone could tell the CO "Oh, was just chasing a cripple" when in fact they were not. It does not take that long to shut the motor off, uncase your gun and throw a shell in the chamber. I always pull right up on the bird getting up wind so I drift well and then do what needs to be done. I have not lost many over the years. I can do that in less than 5 seconds. Plenty of time. It also helps to have a padded float case style case instead of a zip-up one. Just undo the velcro and pull the gun out.

As for the lead shot....

Diddnt the CO go over and check your buddy? I can't believe he wouldnt after you told him where you got the shell.

Tough lessons to learn, but the laws the law.

[Dean Schellinger]

RoosterSlayer-

You can indeed shoot cripples from a boat, the CO even told me that. So that situation you said would never happen. You must just have your gun cased, unloaded, motor off etc. He was just like I understand how hard it is but what can I do, that is the law. I can't count how many times I, my hunting partners, and other people I have watched do exactly what I did to chase down a cripple. I mean its hard enough to get one with a motor. Its a joke.

Also I have already told the moron that gave me the lead he will be paying for my lead fine, and if he refuses I plan on beating roughly 8 kinds of $h%^ out of him. What is a joke is he is a minor and will prolly get off scot free from his lead fines.

[Sartell Angler]

Herman- everyone in the party was checked, and the kid who gave Flowage the shell was nailed for lead too.

Don't know how many bluebills you hunt, but personally I would not get many cripples if I always cased / unloaded my gun when trying to get closer to them after diving. This was one law which I never followed myself, but I guess I will now that one of us has been caught. Most of the time I do this while hunting from a paddle-type boat, but one with a motor requires the unloading / casing. Still think the rule is stupid. The only excuse I would somewhat accept is that it is a law for safety...could be slightly more dangerous if you have to run a motor and operate a loaded gun, but I have done it for years and have never had a problem.

My $.02. PS- think it is hilarious that if I type a word such as @ss, I get a little signature put on my posts saying I am immature/didn't follow the terms of use or something. How old are we in here? Is this pre-school? We're talking duckhunting for crissakes!

WDW / Sartell Angler

[Dean Schellinger]

Tom-

I told him exactly where I got the shell and he check my buddies box and my buddy admitted he gave me the shell and it was identical to all the other ones he had. But he still gave me the ticket and when I said something to my partner, he like got all upset at me and was like you need to check on those things, I for one always check exactly what shell goes into my gun. But the lead shell had the writing worn off and he only could tell it was a lead because of a magnet. The truth infact is I pretty much know the exact FPS of every shell I shoot but cant help it if my friend makes a mistake and gives me a shell, and Im sorry if I dont have a magnet always right there on me. I dont have time to check it with a magnet and a fine toothed comb for lead as the mallard is B-lining for the weeds.

[Mark Christianson]

Hey Flowage Tamer,

Making threats about beating up this minor, in full public view aint the smartest thing on earth. You have trouble already, so cool it before you get yourself in more trouble.

As far as the law goes, if you don't like it, thats too bad.

I'll bet my next paycheck, that it wont be changed or repealed in this century.

You need to make the changes in your hunting habits.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'm not going to say I agree with a lot of them, but laws are laws and that's the way it is. It's our responsability to follow them.

Could the CO have cut you a little slack??? Sure he could have. However, just cuz he could have cut you some slack doesn't mean he should have.

[Dean Schellinger]

Yea well I told the kid straight up I was going to kick his @ss, and I wish the CO would have found the kids POT he had in his pocket too. Pick your hunting partners well, I wont make that mistake again. Your prolly the kind that lets them swim away arent you biglake?

[Guest]

Sorry guys, but the law is the law.

My first year in college I got nailed for having a shell in my cased gun. I'll never do that again and it was a costly lesson to learn.

Sorry if you feel the law is stupid. But ITS THE LAW.

And yea, I hunt A LOT of bills and I do use some, but I follow the law. Seriously, it does not take that long to do what is lawful. You can argue all you want but the fact of the matter is, if you break the law you pay the penalty. Simple as that.

[joshb]

your going to fight this right?............just because you were given citations, does not mean you are guilty.

sounds like you need to leave the pheasant hunter home next time.....

[Dean Schellinger]

I might fight it. Does anyone know the rules on if the CO doesnt show up on the court date what happens??

[Sartell Angler]

Josh- we will be leaving the pheasant hunter at home. Basically my bro Flowage and I were hunting our spot, but allowed a friend of ours and this other kid to hunt with us, since we had ample blind space and the shooting was good. We have been trying to get this kid involved with hunting because he really likes it, rather than just partying and smoking pot all the time....trying to be good influences in his life. Unfortunately he really blew it this time, and it is unlikely that he will be hunting with us again.

Sartell Angler / woodduckwizard

[Mark Christianson]

Yeah FT, I am a hack duck hunter. You busted me...

No, I put in the proper legal efforts as to not fall into the wanton waste laws either.

[Dean Schellinger]

I try to follow the laws as well as any other ethical hunter. My grandfather got me into the great sport of waterfowling and I try to do things right. Im sorry if I broke a stupid law, all I am saying is, is this what waterfowling is reduced to. I mean the CO could see clear as day I was just trying to get a crippled bird. I mean we always do things right, and he had just caught us on a bad day, [PoorWordUsage] poor luck. And even worse luck that the downed mallard came after 3 hours of nothing and minutes before the CO arrived.

[Mark Christianson]

I hear ya. Nobody likes to get in trouble.

Your intentions were probably good. I don't disagree.

Oh well, we can all learn from this. It just reinforces for everyone out here, that you never know who might be watching.... So watch what you are doing.

Believe me, I would love to run at a crippled duck out in open water with the gun ready at my side. A lot of cripples would be taken into the daily bag limit at least.

But the way I do it, is if I lose a cripple, I count it as part of my limit for the day.

I am not talking about ducks that you knick, and they fly off over the horizon. I mean ducks that hit the water or weeds nearby. Those get counted in my bag.

[Sartell Angler]

makes sense Biglakebass...good plan to count them in your bag limit. I agree that we should all learn from this and know that someone could be watching at anytime.

Sartell Angler

[Dean Schellinger]

Yeah I count my cripples too. I just wish I would have known about the laws before this. I wasnt to sure on the subject. And your right you never know who is watching. I guess I am just a little upset because I do not have much money now that I am in college and that great hunt was soured by a huge fine you know what I am saying. Oh well, wont happen again at least.

[duckbill]

FlowageTamer, fight what? You broke the law even if it was not on purpose. Just pay the fine and move on. That is like saying I am not going to pay the speeding ticket because I didn't mean to drive that fast. Maybe you didn't mean to but you got caught.

I will agree with you that is a dumb law and it makes it a lot harder to chase down cripples but we have to abide by the law how it stands. If it comes down to your word against his in court you will lose if he saw you do it.

He might have been a little less ticket happy if he hadn't found the lead.

[braves57]

A little story: we were deer hunting a couple years ago and two of us hopped on the tailgate to go across the field, well the kid with me left his case open 1-inch. (not meaning too either, he said he thought he shut it.) But low and behold a CO was up on the hill a few hundred yards away with a spotting scope watching. At least he was leinent and only issued a warning, as no harm was intened. But beware you never know who is watching and from how far away. And I for one believe it is for the good of the sport! There are too many morons that knowingly break the law...

[Sartell Angler]

braves- do you mean he didn't zip it the last 1''? if so that is laughable. the CO we ran into was a nice guy and wasn't being anal-retentive...but the one you're talking about sounds like a grade-A douchebag.

wdw/ SA

ps- I'm not immature because I didn't bash anything and didn't break my agreement not to do such.

[fishkid]

recently me and my friends shot a goose about 60 yards away it fell slowly then came down with a big splash about 80 yards away so me and my buddy got in the canoe he rowed and i shot the wounded goose on the water. i dont think that they should enforce that law so much because if u can get closer then 50 yards to a duck in open water with out it flying away you know ther is something wrong with it so the CO's should know that its injured.

[Guest]

Fishkid,

That's different. You shot from a canoe which is legal, even if the other person is paddling. Same goes for a rowboat.

The key word here is MOTORIZED. Gas or electric, does not matter. If your motor is running weather it be at idle and in nutral or not, you cannot discharge a firearm nor can it be uncased and loaded. If a CO really wanted to follow the letter of the law he can bust you if you do not come to a complete stop after you turn your motor off before you shoot.

P.S.- If you fight it in court and loose, you'll also have to pay the court costs which could be spendy as well.