# Question for snow hunters outside of NoDak



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

I'm just curious if people in other states have the same situation as I seem to witness all to often here in Nodak. Do you have a lot of people that just drive around and blast at snows from outside their vehicles? Is there a lot of jump shooting? I'm not trying to talk down on anyone here, I'm not saying decoyers are the only real hunters or anything like that, I'm just curious what it's like in other places. Thanks for any responses.


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## bud69652 (Feb 6, 2006)

same thing here in sodak, ditch pigs are plentiful this year already


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## Zekeland (Oct 6, 2005)

With almost every snow out of Manitoba now....I think....

We do not have the crazy numbers of ditch/jump shooters as you guys, but I have seen more and more of them in the last 3-4 years. It is a mix of oldtimers not having the decoys to set up for snows or just too lazy to get up early in morning. Add in some NR's who regularly jump and the numbers grow....

Ran into a lot of locals this fall doin the jump....they just want to kill, that is all that matters.

I have been on many hunts w/ decoying snows and that hooked me instantly on decoying these birds. Sometimes it works out , sometimes it doesn't.......like this fall :******:

They were tough to hunt the minute they showed up on my doorstep. I can't imagine how you would decoy them in ND with their a**holes puckered up 24/7!!!!


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## Richie (Nov 6, 2007)

Here in PA where i'm at there are some lakes and refuges in 2 different counties that join up and the snow hunting here is pretty tough. I don't hear of many people that actually take the time to go set up and hunt, most just pas shoot. Alot of our farms are not as large as yours so its much much easier to get caught doing that. So i would have to say we might have a little bit of that here but hardly. We only have between the 2 bodies that hold them maybe up to 500,000 snows. We dont have a couple million here like you do also.


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## malspeck (Nov 21, 2005)

From what I remember growing up in La., you can't shoot from a truck and you have to be either 50 ft or 50 yds off a roadway in order to shoot. If NODAK would pass a law like this it would eliminate alot of road hunters.

But you always have your outlaws, who crawl or spook the birds (which is illegal there or was when I was growing up) or shoot from there trucks plus down there freelancing is not a norm and most land is posted or leased. But I know the game wardens keep a close eye on big flocks of geese and farmers down there keep a close eye on their land plus.


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## Phil The Thrill (Oct 21, 2005)

I see very few decoys set in the fall or spring around SD, and a lot of ditch piggers.


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Zekeland said:


> With almost every snow out of Manitoba now....I think....
> 
> We do not have the crazy numbers of ditch/jump shooters as you guys, but I have seen more and more of them in the last 3-4 years. It is a mix of oldtimers not having the decoys to set up for snows or just too lazy to get up early in morning. Add in some NR's who regularly jump and the numbers grow....
> 
> ...


Guys....

Not everyone who shoots from a ditch is a slob, or a pig, or a killer without regard to sportsmanship.

Pass shooting, sneaking and getting ahead of moving birds by getting dropped off in a flight pattern are all long time traditional hunting methods for many.

When I see guys here start trying to compare their method of decoy hunting as being superior to all else, and everyone else being compared to a pig, it gets my hackles up.

For the record... I PREFER to shoot geese laying along a ditch as compared to sitting in decoys. There is nothing wrong with that method, and the shooting to me is much more of a challenge. I _prefer_ tougher overhead crossing shots compared to feet down.

Get used to it North Dakota hunters... with more and more land being tied up by far away non residents, your only shooting access to birds will soon be in the ditches. Just ask any average local South Dakota pheasant hunter what they would do if they coudn't hunt ditches now that all the prime habitat has been purchased by NR's.

My .02

Ryan


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## HonkerExpress (Sep 23, 2005)

From what I have seen so far this year, its alot of that 40 mph sneek crap. Really burns me up. I usually only hunt snows a couple times a year just for the fact the p*ss me off so much when they won't decoy. Usually get one or two good hunts on them when they actually decoy. But from watching that some of the aholes have been doing this year, I am sad to say the birds don't stick around very long.

1. Vehicles racing down prarie trails and then stopping and guys jumping out.
2. Guys sourounding the Roost Sloughs just waiting for them to fly to get a shot.
3. Some Jackoff with a high power rifle last weekend. Heard the shot and then all of a sudden a whole slough lifts off. YES I AM SURE IT WAS A RIFLE.
4. I am done hunting geese this year, not worth my life. 
5. With deer hunting coming up, just to risky being in the decoys to have some ahole pull up and try to wack a snow with the deer rifle.


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## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

As mentioned true pass shooting is a good way to shoot Snows as they head from their roost to a feed field. But many think they have 6 gauge guns, as they are shooting at them 100+ yds up :roll: And too there are often slobs that will down wind a decoy set up and screw the hunters over. Some guys throw away all courtesy and common sense out the window and would screw their mother just to shoot at a Snow. :eyeroll:

Then of course there are the guys racing up to the field roads and jump out and start blasting away at feeding flocks. These guys do it non stop to the geese and as mentioned the Snows ******** are so puckered up that the sight of a vehicle 1 mile away and up they get up. These are the worst pigs there are as they do not give a crap how others view their actions, they will break the laws and think nothing of it. All they care about is themselves and do not give a rip what the non hunters and ethical hunters think of them. They are not hunters, they are classless slobs is what the whole lot of them are. uke:


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

> Get used to it North Dakota hunters... with more and more land being tied up by far away non residents, your only shooting access to birds will soon be in the ditches


Ryan...
You are incorrect. 
In North Dakota, the ditch is controlled by the adjacent landowner. Posted means no shooting from the ditch either....
After the crap I've witnessed in the last couple seasons, it almost makes the trespass law seem appealing ..


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

dblkluk said:


> > Get used to it North Dakota hunters... with more and more land being tied up by far away non residents, your only shooting access to birds will soon be in the ditches
> 
> 
> Ryan...
> ...


I guess I should have stated more clearly earlier... With more and more land being tied up, it will be harder for guys to all have fields to decoy hunt in...there simply won't be enough options. Guys will have to become increasingly mobile with all the pressure to get a field locked up with permission, other guys beating them to a field etc.. and even other guys just starting to get frustrated and shooting the roosts, harassing geese all over etc etc... This will necessitate using tactics to hunt mobile geese that are only around for a few hours in a given field. Guys will need to hunt ditches surrounding the fields the birds are temporarily feeding in, and they will have to get used to spot and improvise on the fly....

You are correct Erik.. fields posted on both sides of a section line are also posted from hunting... I didn't mean to imply otherwise.

Thanks for catching that... my bad.

R


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

> I guess I should have stated more clearly earlier... With more and more land being tied up, it will be harder for guys to all have fields to decoy hunt in...there simply won't be enough options. Guys will have to become increasingly mobile with all the pressure to get a field locked up with permission, other guys beating them to a field etc.. and even other guys just starting to get frustrated and shooting the roosts, harassing geese all over etc etc... This will necessitate using tactics to hunt mobile geese that are only around for a few hours in a given field. Guys will need to hunt ditches surrounding the fields the birds are temporarily feeding in, and they will have to get used to spot and improvise on the fly....


I will somewhat disagree with you Ryan. I think if the picture you paint comes true, I think it will weed out many of the "warriors". Leaving mostly true hunters and those with a true passion and respect for the sport. (or just those with the most money..so who knows??)

Now don't get me wrong. Overall, wide spread leasing will not be good for hunting or for our state, And I don't want to see it happen at all. 
But, I do think alot of the harrassing and unethical behavior comes about because it is so easy to do so. If a field is not posted, many of these guys consider this the "green light".


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Honestly if you guys are seeing people shoot from their vehicles please make the call. They won't stop till they get busted and I guess some won't even stop them but these pigs need to live in fear and know that there are people out there that give a pluck about their rule breaking. Plus it may put some gas tank $$$ in your pocket.


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## takem1 (Feb 20, 2007)

OK back to the main subject. My waterfowl hunting is done in Missouri and over the past 5 years there are more and more jumpshooters. These people are normally the ones that will go out into the field without permission and piss off the farmer to where no one can hunt the land. Also we are having more out of state people coming to strictly chase geese. This is not a very ethical way to hunt these birds. For those of you that think walking down a ditch takes talent :lol:


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

I guess I saw a guy doing that this year. "Pass" shooting I mean. Wife and I drove up by Salyer refuge one Wed. afternoon, as she wanted to see a big flock of snows and blues.

We found some on the refuge and hung around till they started to leave to feed. We then followed and drove down the road that they were crossing over to get into their field. We sat there and watched them come over, then wiffle down into a swirling mass before landing in the field. There were a lot of them and the wife was quite impressed...until she heard the gunfire behind us!

Someone had parked near a small woodlot and was attempting to pass shoot the geese as they came over. They had a pretty good tail wind and were up there pretty high when they reached the woodlot and road, but still this fella blazed away.

This hunter sorta reminded me of me when my old man first let me take a gun hunting when I went with him. It was a Fox 20 gauge double and I thought it was a 105 howitzer. I shot at ducks and geese that were so high, that I don't even think they knew I was shooting at them. The old man nearly busted a gut laughing at me.

Now I know what some wise guys are gonna say. He should have taught me the proper range to shoot at waterfowl and how to ID the birds before shooting. This was years before youth hunts were ever thought of, and a long time before steel shot came into existence, so pop was doing what he thought was right, not to mention entertaining, for me. In essence, he did teach me the proper range at which to shoot at birds too. I think all that shooting with no results fostered my need to get decoys, learn to call, and how to get the birds in close. Without doing it wrong, how do you ever know, or learn, how to do it right?

Maybe, some of these fellas who complain about young and old people trying to jump these geese should take these hunters under their wing and let them go along. Let them help set decoys, hide, call and shoot at decoying snow geese, just maybe those uninformed, poor, hunters may change their tune a bit and want to do it the right way. Perhaps teaching some of these youngsters the proper range of a shotgun, and showing them that steel shot will, infact, kill geese if used properly, would cut down on a lot of the crippling that goes on.

Someone on this site has a quote that says "Small strokes have fell great oaks," or something like that. I take that to mean that a lot of little changes can, and often does, result in a great change. That holds true for everything and this subject is no different. Show enough of these jump shooters the other side and perhaps a fire might be lit in a few of them. Nothing fans the flames like a duck or goose bowed up and coming to the decoys.

Sorry for being so long winded.
Good hunting,
Dan


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## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

As for the post refering to hunting during deer season and hunters shooting into the deeks, I just made a blaze orange flag. It will be chilling in the blind with me for the rest of the season, someone drives by it will be waving! Black on one side orange on the other!


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## honkerslayr (Dec 14, 2006)

hunt4P&Y,
i totally agree with you i know i will totally be having a flag with me i will be really weary with what happened to that guy from the avery pro staff who got shot while decoying. i'm going to wave it as soon as i see someone close enough to shoot the dekes. is anyone else as worried as i may be or is it just us. with all the rifle hunters out and about i'm taking no chances.


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

In a couple more days I will start wearing blaze orange to and from the decoys and start keeping a blaze orange hat out for waving at passerbys. I got rifle-scoped by a hunter when I was hunting with my then girlfriend, and I actually had the orange with me, he moved along not soon after but I was a little more than ticked.


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

You gotta be kidding! These deer "hunters" sometimes shoot through decoys with their deer rifles? I can't believe anyone with a license to carry a centerfire rifle does stuff like that. Don't these doof's know that hunting season for waterfowl is still in and that fellow hunters may well be in the field, in decoys and blinds and such? I should get an orange vest for Bill the Chessy. 
Good hunting and keep your heads down.
Dan


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

> You gotta be kidding! These deer "hunters" sometimes shoot through decoys with their deer rifles? I can't believe anyone with a license to carry a centerfire rifle does stuff like that. Don't these doof's know that hunting season for waterfowl is still in and that fellow hunters may well be in the field, in decoys and blinds and such?


You bet they do... deer season brings out every ******* with a finger long enough to reach the trigger.
I hate deer season. :-?


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## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

dblkluk said:


> I hate deer season. :-?


Could not agree more!!!


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## nebgoosehunter (Aug 18, 2005)

I too agree! Also brings out all the posers that say they are hunters.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Goose hunting during rifle season has always made me leery. I always carry an orange handkerchief in my pocket, to wave at those pickups that slow way down on the road.

But the last five years the best snow hunting has been in the middle of deer season.


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## SWIOWAHUNTER (Feb 16, 2007)

I live in southwest corner of Iowa. Have been hunting waterfowl for 30years here. Jump shooting has gotten so bad that snows don't stop very long. But my boys and I still are in the feild every weekend. Have 5boys that live for decoying birds . They all started very young .There ages 24\23\19\17 and woops 4. The youngest has two seasons under his belt already . Has his own laydown and duck and snow calls. Which he practices all the time . Wife loves it. Sunday we all laying in decoys talking when 4 year old said dad goose we looked upand had blue 150 yards above. One of his brothers told the youngest to call and he started calling. We where all kind of laughing. till my oldest pulled up at 40yards and dropped him to the ground . Nice eagle head blue going on the wall. With the youngest name under it first goose called in. Im glad though I was able to teach them the way I think is the only way to hunt waterfowl. We all have great time even when it is as slow as it is right know.


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## Colt (Oct 25, 2007)

I sense some NR bashing here. Every NR to ND is a taxpayer boys. Taxpayers generate money for CRP. Without CRP, you "locals" wouldn't have the game to hunt that you have. Also, most of these NR hunters that you guys hate so much, usually are members with various conservation groups which improves your hunting opportunities. Not to mention the money that is brought into the state's economy.

You guys complain about NR being slob hunters; well, look in the mirror. NoDaks don't know how to hunt deer without a pickup. Heck, you're talking about not feeling safe in your decoy spread. When I had my farm in ND, I routinely had problems with LOCALS ground pounding pheasants in the ditches and guys shooting deer out of the truck on my land, and hunting geese in the ditches as well as sky bustng and everything else you complain about with the NR.

You think you have it bad in ND, trust me, you don't. Stop your *****ing, it's embarrassing.


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## jumper (Mar 20, 2005)

One shot one goose no matter how you hunt. If your your trying for more than that then your most likely useing slob tactics. I have seen many examples of bad tactics from sky busting to 6 guys in decoys shooting at everthing that comes in and letting the cripples walk away.


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## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

MAK said:


> I sense some NR bashing here. Every NR to ND is a taxpayer boys. Taxpayers generate money for CRP. Without CRP, you "locals" wouldn't have the game to hunt that you have. Also, most of these NR hunters that you guys hate so much, usually are members with various conservation groups which improves your hunting opportunities. Not to mention the money that is brought into the state's economy.
> 
> You guys complain about NR being slob hunters; well, look in the mirror. NoDaks don't know how to hunt deer without a pickup. Heck, you're talking about not feeling safe in your decoy spread. When I had my farm in ND, I routinely had problems with LOCALS ground pounding pheasants in the ditches and guys shooting deer out of the truck on my land, and hunting geese in the ditches as well as sky bustng and everything else you complain about with the NR.
> 
> You think you have it bad in ND, trust me, you don't. Stop your b*tching, it's embarrassing.


Here we go again. Your profound wisdom is awe-inspiring. It seems more that you want to turn it into a NR issue. If you read all of the posts there are enugh comments about residents and deer hunting from Residents! Give me a break...Your same argument has be re-hashed hundreds of times on here. Your post has just about nothing to do with the direction of thread other than slamming resident hunters.

Back on topic...I don't see many snows in Western Oklahoma, but access is much harder here which makes jump shooting difficult. It's hard to find landowners and by the time you do most birds would be gone.


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

I took you guys' advice and been wearing and putting an orange stocking cap on. Then I take it off when I hear or see geese headed my way. I then prey that one of the aforementioned "********" isn't lurking around while I try to work the birds.

I find that I'm kinda nervous when lying there with no orange on!

Thanks for the advice,
Dan


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## calisnowhunter (Jun 7, 2006)

WOW i thought we had it bad here in cali. people shooting in to the decoys with rifles? hoy crap. well i can tell you from experience that if you have a trespassing law you will loose out on most of your hunting spots. only the rich will be able to hunt and the middle and poor will have to go to hunt the refuges. we dont have any ditch hunters and no jump shooters because you cant get on land to do it. be careful what you wish for.


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## blazedillon (Feb 7, 2007)

THATS ALL I DO IS JUMP AND ME AND MY COUSIN SHOOT 80 TO 100 IN A DAY.


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## Original Goosebuster (Jan 12, 2006)

do you guys have htese feelings bout people who put in the time to sneek a flock with a cowboard to hunt them? Do u believe that this is jump shooting or actual hunting? Just curious on everyones opinions


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

Anyone see those things that you hold up infront of you as you sneak a flock. I don't know what they are or what they are called, but they look really good and must be very light. Maybe they are like a mirror and reflect the ground infront of them. 
The video I watched was a Scheel's in Bismarck and they looked like they worked pretty good. Course that was a video. 
Just curious if anyone has seen, heard of, or otherwise knows what they are?
Thanks, 
Dan


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## markb (Sep 4, 2005)

> THATS ALL I DO IS JUMP AND ME AND MY COUSIN SHOOT 80 TO 100 IN A DAY


Must give you a warm fuzzy feeling thinking you are a skilled hunter. You are a shooter, nothing more.


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