Sring Snow Goose SOUTH DOKATO

[huntnfish]

Well put, Verg. I have no problem with people jumping birds but when they are jumping roosts that hurts everyone by driving the birds out of the area. If you are really trying to get your limits everytime out you would be better off letting them go out to feed and jumping them in the field because they would be around the area longer. All that anyone wants is a little bit of courtesy to fellow hunters. Everyone is out to have a good time and get a few birds.

[BendnSend]

I got ur back on this one Chip! U hit the nail on the head in each and everyone of ur posts! Kill em all let the wardens seperate em! Whites in case you didnt get it! Everything you said and your whole stand point is that its done ethically and to do what the order was put forth to do "Destroy them before they destroy it"!

[gorrilla]

I hate when us Minnesotans come off sounding like a bunch of selfish clowns...

Contrary to somes viewpoints, there aren't roosts every mile. We've rarely jumped roosts in Dakotas. In the Rainwater Basins in Nebraska it doesn't seem to matter as much since the migration is so concentrated and almost all the water is in such a small area. But in the Dakotas they are able to spread out and if you bump the roost you are usually going to have to travel for the second day's shoot. Often times it is much better to pass shoot from the roost to the field or between two fields or roosts.

Besides, then you have an all day shoot vs. a single volley.

And, if there is any way around screwing up another guys hunt I think it is extremely selfish, childish, and dumb not to. If you've ever put out 1500 decoys after scouting hard to dark the night before you'd understand.

As far as potential decoy hunters, this post should also be a lesson, its usually best to field hunt birds coming off a protected roost(refuge), multiple roosts, or large (unjumpable) water. Otherwise you run the risk of encountering unethical clowns who are very willing to ruin your hard work. Don't think I'm against jumping snows, I do it myself, but hopefully we can be more ethical about it. I know the hunter conflicts have turned numerous people off of the sport and less hunter recruitment is not what this sport needs right now...

[Take 'Em]

No wonder the dakotans love the blue platers, they have so much respect for others and landowners when they cross the border. Don't ruin what you dont have.

[huntnfish]

Gorilla, very good post. I could not have said it better myself. It all comes down to people being selfish.

Take Em, I was thinking the same thing, but in reality it is usually only a select few that make the rest look bad.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

ive been living in south dakota for almost five years now; and been snow goose hunting the last 3 springs. i can tell you first hand that jump shooting may be fun, but all you are doing is educating further the most educated waterfowl on the planet. it may be a practical means of reducing numbers birds, as this is a conservation order, but in the long run, one group dumping a bunch of birds out of a flock on a roost is going to cause less guys to harvest more birds in fields that these birds may now overpass in leiu of finding a new area to feed and feel safe. it doesnt take much effort at all to find a field in the flight line...ya the best ones might be locked up by outfitters, but then again, when isnt the best land in a hunting situation leased, posted, or owned by an outfitter. but some of the best hunting for me personally has come after the great flocks of thousands have moved through and the smaller flocks of 100's are still making their way. these birds are typically younger, decoy better, and usually come when the weather is a little more temperate.

[BendnSend]

Its a conservation order guys! Kill em all! Thats fine if you want to what i consider wasting your time getn up at 2 am to set ur 1000 decoys! To do what try and kill these what ur all claiming as the hardest most difficult bird in the sky to kill! If its so hard to do and there so educated then why waste ur time in even playing there game! If your out there to do what the order was put in place to do, kill white geese, then by no means should you be playing by there game! And plain and simple there game is sittin in that wet muddy field with 20,000 of there whitest friends! Knock em off there rocker and take em by surprise, by whackin em when there the most vulnurable (spelling like 4 yr old) when there sleeping on the water. These small pockets of water that are being jumped are only temporary.. There not gunna be there long maybe a day or 2 and then what there gone!!! So to say that someone ruined ur hunt cuz they went out and did it there way, why does that make them unethical hunters? Im not goin say that everyone who jump shoots white geese knows whats beyond there first white bird they see, but then again I do recall a some dark geese being hammered out of the sky along with whites last year by a group set up with dekes! So dont tell me that it doesnt happen in either sceneiro! All we can do as sportsmen is be sure of our targets and avoid the specks of dark when flock rises up! I mean doesnt everyone have a pretty good idea where what birds are before they even begin there sneak! Thats why every truck you see out there has a pair of binos set on there dash! Im sure im gunna get blasted for this anyways but i do what i want within the law and so can you! I've spent more days than i care to count setting up all my white decoys, for what 1 maybe 10 birds if were lucky! Odds have been 10-1 for numbers compared to jump shoots. I see nothing wrong with any way you care to harvest your birds again within the law, but dont jump on a guy cuz ur jealous when you see his box full of white birds and all you've got to show for your 8 hrs of cold wet and muddy adventure is 5 or 10 birds!

[BrianLucky13]

I can remember countless times setting up decoys in a field next to the roost and and shotting hundreds of the same birds for days and days at a time without scaring them away. Then some idiots sneak up on them in the morning and scare them all away. Half the time they dont even get a shot in and the geese are gone and never come back!!

The geese feel safe in water and wont leave until some jerk scares them off. I think everyone knows by now that you can shot 10 times more in the decoys then jumping them. It took me a couple of years to figure it out, not to mention getting my butt chewed by hunters cuz I shot up a roost that were close to their decoys. I will never do it again now!! People spend way to much time and money for you to ruin there hunt!!! There is plenty of geese around that are not next to decoy spreads for you jumpers to find and not ruin someones hunt!!! There could be a 7 year old kid in the decoys for the first time and being all excited to see gesse and one you guys could scare them all away!!! Thats not fair!!!

[huntnfish]

Brian, I agree with you 100 percent, but some people couldn't care less about the next guy as long as they get theirs. That is the way that hunting is going these days, there is no respect for what the next guy is doing. I have laid in the decoys many days after some genius jumped a roost and scared the birds out of the country.

[BendnSend]

Again wasted time layin in decoys not shooting when a guy could be out cutting them flocks down! But i guess im the genuis cuz im out getting birds well you sit there thumbin ur bum waiting hopefully for your shot in the dekes! Hunting is hunting and when the birds aint coming to you, you gotta go get them. Do some of you ppl realize that the #1 goal of these birds is to get as far north as they possibly can as soon as they can! There not gunna be in one area or the other for very long, so I think you might as well rape it for what its worth while you can! But then again what do I know?

[poutpro]

I sure hope people don't think that all MNers have the mentality that you do. Why do you think that ppl in decoys aren't shooting birds? Who says that they won't shoot more than people jump shooting? Why does the light season only have to be about shooting a pile of birds? Can't a person go out and enjoy having birds come into decoys, and getting in your face shooting?

[gorrilla]

BendnSend, your the kind of "man" that makes us hunters look bad. Don't kid yourself either, conservation order or not, it is still called HUNTING...

Plenty of posts on these types of websites are made annually hiding behind the conservation goal of shooting lots of birds. YES we are trying to knock the population down with the liberated seasons, but I don't think the true sportsmen use their choice in methods of harvest to ruin anothers hunt. Fall hunt or spring there still needs to be some ethics. Period...

Slob hunting shags bird off of hot fields and ruins attitudes amongst hunters and causes numerous guys to hang it up at a time when we need to stick together and not let the anti's outnumber us by more.

Notice I didn't say jumping is the problem, just ethics. Each situation can be hunted in many ways, but if my hunt is going to ruin someone elses who had lots of time and work invested in it, than its not worth it.

There's enough birds out there you don't need to be a jackwad to others and cut them off. And if your only averaging 1 to 10 birds out of the dekes then your doing something wrong. I've had hunts where we did nothing but pass shoot and jump fields and came home early because we didn't have any more space in the pickups for more geese. And guess what, we never cut one spread off, jumped one single roost, or killed one non target bird. Do it right, and everybody will feel better, including yourself.

[Fish'n guy]

Bendnsend, Have you ever actually "hunted" in dekes? Maybe you should think before belittleing people for hunting over decoys. I see how you like pass shooting and jumping because it seems easier, but a majority of the "snowgoose massacres" 100+ bird days have been over decoys and they are so much fun!! I am glad that a majority of Spring goose hunters don't have the same mentality as you!!

[verg]

Bendsend,

you are digging yourself a bit of a hole. As others have said..attitudes like yours is one of the reason locals have negative attitudes toward your state.

Fish n guy is right...most big kills happen over decoys not jumps. As i have said before, it is ok to jump birds. Just not off a roost where birds are staying for a longer period. Late last fall, many many thousands of birds stayed for about 2 weeks in my area. They came off the same large slough and fed in several different areas. Many hunters inluding myself had success with these birds for at least a week. Many field hunted and some pass shot, but all respected each others efforts. No one blew them off--if they had they would never have stayed that long. I prefer to decoy hunt them because i enjoyed the work and love seeing them locked up. But i do pass shoot now and then. Hunting isn't always about the "slaughter." Enjoy the resource, it may not last forever..especially if too many hunters with your ideals come here.

[tealitup]

I really do not know if you can equate hunting with "shooting them while they sleep on the water"

Shooting waterfowl on their roost while they are sleeping is not hunting.

Second point, during the spring hunt the geese do want to get north as fast as they can - get the best nesting spot etc...

In the fall, the geese will not want to get south as fast as possible and they will stay around as long as they can.

To be fair; if I saw a flock of 20,000 birds on the water - (Contact Us Please) I would be tempted to put the hammer down (and I probably would), but then again I would not set up my hunt for this type of hunt.

[gorrilla]

Verg, I do agree with lots of your post but also detected a bit of "out of stater" attitude, which I do understand. I'm sure if I was from Webster I'd have the same blueplater mentality. I think we need to identify the clowns and call them out for what they are not where they are from. Granted I'm sure you've had plenty of guys ruin your outdoor activities from MN.

Its happened to me, but I'll also contend that I've had several ditch pirates from SD also leapfrog us on sneaks (where we bothered to ask for permission and they didn't) and idiots lining the ditches around the section as their buddy used the truck to scare the flock off the field while they shot out the window at private property.

So I guess my long winded point is that the (Contact Us Please) are all over the place and we need to do what we can to remove them from our ranks and disassociate them as fellow hunters.

[verg]

gorilla,

i agree with you 100%. I can't deny i do have a bit of blue plater hostility..but-not that much. I was just trying to state that the overall mentality here toward NRs can be ruined by just one bad experience. The average joe here gets burned once by a NR and they are haters for life. I hunt and fish a lot and have been burned before but also know that i'll have other chances cuz i go a lot. Most guys (average)only go out a few times a year so if they get burned--they harbor ill feelings.

I'm trying to be a realist and not negative but we have so much pressure here in my county that I/we see so much negative activity from NRs. I have made money from calling TIPS from "blue platers." I/we see it so often..it is hard to just ignore sometimes. As also said before..maybe the locals are better criminals? As i had said in other posts, i've met many great NRs. I have given some of my hotspots etc. They were no differnt than me. But on occasion you get attitudes like the previous poster and locals attitudes change. You know, the funny thing is that nobody cares if we see nodak plates or nebraska plates. In general it is minn or iowa. We (pals and i) we just talking about that this weekend. We don't know why that is? We guessed it was economic reasons. Different mind sets between the states when it comes to money, resources etc. Is that true?? I'm not trying to start big uproar just inquiring and trying to tell our side.

You are also correct..it would be nice if we could seperate the less respectful outdoorsman (any state)and keep them away.

[verg]

Sorry guys..you can disregard that last post if want. I didn't mean to change it from a snow goose topic to something else.

Continue the snow goose debate.

[BendnSend]

Please read forum policy before posting again!!!

[BrianLucky13]

Do people actually think that you can shot more geese jumping and pass shooting??? I dont agree with that at all. You might pick some up faster and thats about it. There is no way people are shooting 300-400 geese in a day jumping them. At least Ive never heard of that. But I see people doing it and ive done it in the decoys!!!

And I dont even wanna talk about all the wounded birds that die from people flock shooting into large flocks. I can proudly say Ive never lost a bird in the field over decoys!!

I would also say if people respected people more by not jumping the roost or jumping birds in the area of other people with decoys set up, 5 times more birds would be killed a year!!!

One other thing, what about the people shooting out the windows of trucks or jumping out and shooting on the road??? Thats why you cant even get close to a flock while you are driving, they are used to that!!! Thats not the right way to try to decrease the population if you ask me!!!

Hope my post doesnt make anyone mad!!!

[poutpro]

It seems most people are in agreement here that although the purpose of the season is to decrease numbers, it needs to be done in a sportsmanlike manner. There's nothing that makes a person more mad than when one person can ruin experiences and reputation of others. There are a lot of places in ND and SD where it is hard to get permission to get onto land because of comments like those made by BendnSend. It is not the image that MNers want to portray.

[Crappie_ Kid]

Well I wish I didnt even make this post, cuz a bunch of you guys just got my hopes down, We are jump shooting them we get permissin, and make sure now one else is hunting the area. So sorry for wrecking all your guys hunts.

[fishingman93]

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SA/wdw

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Sartell Angler i know where this exactly is my grandma lives like a mile away from here and they sit in this slough every year. as for snowgoose hunting. I just moved away from SD a year and a half ago so i know all the farmers and spots are. i personally like to decoy them in but it's always fun too pass shoot. while decoying i like to use 6 shot steel because they often get close and 4 and 2 ruin them. and you can get 2 or even 3 birds in one shot often. i also like to go to a slough or lake that there sitting at and bring 2 doz canadian honks. scare them up throw them out reel quick and have a ball. you can often shoot at that same flock of 5,000 birds or so for an hour. ( might want to laern to load fast ) sometimes you'll get such a stupid flock that they'll fly right in land and then you can stand up and shoot and they'll often not fly. but it's fun every year weather it's fall or spring ang bring tons of shells maybe see you driven around i'll be out there the whole first week of april. good luck huntin.

[huntnfish]

Crappie kid, there is nothing wrong with jumping birds. People only have a problem when there is no concern with what someone else is doing. I jump birds once or twice a year, but only when they aren't on a roost and it isn't going to ruin someone else's hunt. As long as people have some courtesy for others I don't think anyone really has a problem with how you go about shooting some birds.

[sdstate]

I guess reading this I am on either side of the fence. I have jump shot plenty of birds (legally and ethically) but would much rather decoy em. But some people dont have the $$$$$ for 500-1000 snow decoys. Either way you hunt it is still hunting. Its FUN. Lets not forget that.