# Ranting



## dpgunsmith (May 17, 2010)

Ok, I know its happened to most of us, but here's another tale and maybe some can commiserate with me.

A buddy of mine called me last night, said that a good friend of his from Minnesota was visiting and had his 17 year old son with him. Long story short, the kid loves to hunt, but hasn't had much opportunity to do so. he's shot some ducks, mostly woodies, and never gotten a goose. So my buddy asks if he and the kid can come out with me in the morning.

I said sure.

So anyway, I have been watching this field for the past few days. Lots of Canada's coming in, both morning and evening. Last night there were about 250 or so sitting there, their roost was a small lake about 2 miles south of the field. Its prime and we made plans to set up in the morning.

Morning rolls around, we make the drive, and get the dekes set up. Blinds are in, slight wind, clouds.. not perfect conditions but livable. I can tell the kid is pumped, I am hoping he has a hell of a day. Sunrise rolls around and I hear a loner to the south. Start calling, flag a bit.. loner comes right in and drops his feet. Kid misses on 3 shots and I drop the goose. (I am supremely confident there will be many more geese and I tell him so)

At about 7:30am... maybe 15-20 minutes before I figure the geese will start rolling off the water to the south, I hear what sounds like a battle scene from a movie, I'd guess at least 15 shots. I get out of the blind and put up my binocs. Sure enough, the entire roost is flying in every direction.

We stuck it out for another few hours, but didn't see another damn thing flying.

Thank You Roost Busters... whoever you are.


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## NDhunter08 (Aug 28, 2010)

Number 1 reason I didnt go out this week because of OUT OF STATE opener.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

NDhunter08 said:


> Number 1 reason I didnt go out this week because of OUT OF STATE opener.


 :withstupid:

That and farming, but yes, its a bad weekend to go out.


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## Acemallard (Sep 30, 2003)

That sucks. Someone busted the roost down by where we duck hunt also. If they woulda set up in the field we were in they could shot ducks for a couple days but instead they got 1 morning out of the water. But guess we cant stop it if they are doing it all leagal thats there right just ticks a guy off. :beer:


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## joebobhunter4 (Jul 19, 2005)

same thing happened to us. set up in a field that had a few hundred birds using it for a few days and the roost was about 2 miles away from us where there was over 1,000 geese sitting on the night before. 6:45 rolls around a little before legal shooting light even all hell broke loose on the roost and everything was gone. Drove by after picking up and sure enough there were 3 blue plater trucks next to the roost and a boat driving around in the pond. I just don't understand how stupid some people can be.


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## hwdeuce (Apr 6, 2010)

Tough to call people stupid when there just hunting 
I don't when Dakota plates take my fish


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## hardcoredecs (Apr 22, 2011)

hwdeuce said:


> Tough to call people stupid when there just hunting
> I don't when Dakota plates take my fish


I can see where this is going already... :roll: :sniper:


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

hwdeuce said:


> Tough to call people stupid when there just hunting
> I don't when Dakota plates take my fish


 You can't scare fish out of the water though. oke:


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## NDhunter08 (Aug 28, 2010)

blhunter3 said:


> hwdeuce said:
> 
> 
> > Tough to call people stupid when there just hunting
> ...


Exactly, well the bright side of not hunting this weekend. I ended up catching a 8 lb. walleye!


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## BirdJ (Aug 24, 2011)

hwdeuce said:


> Tough to call people stupid when there just hunting
> I don't when Dakota plates take my fish


Sorry about your loss!!!  You want to see plates!!! Enough said!!! Was somebody fishing on YOUR private pond?


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## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

BirdJ said:


> hwdeuce said:
> 
> 
> > Tough to call people stupid when there just hunting
> ...


Were the geese you shot raised on YOUR property or canada's? Ducks and geese aren't owned by north dakota. Fish on the other hand is a different story. Either way shouldn't be busting roosts...unless it is blhunters roost.


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## 6162rk (Dec 5, 2004)

the question is which came first the water or the field? it's not worth arguing over. good luck this season.


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## dpgunsmith (May 17, 2010)

thing is, it wasn't me I was worried about, it was a young kid who had never hunted fields or geese.

As for taking fish... ill just keep on casting in Devils Lake


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## water_swater (Sep 19, 2006)

They are everyone's ducks and geese, however, at this time they are in ND. We do get to choose when and who can hunt hunt them.


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## tgoldade (Jul 28, 2004)

None-the-less, roost busting is lame, its a courtesy thing, If theres over 20 geese on a slough I wont decoy it for ducks for that reason alone, not to mention it will more than likely push the geese out of the area entirely.


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## Sd snow goose killer (Jan 20, 2007)

Damn Roostbusters, Quit Busting my Roosts!


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## Wetland Warriors (Feb 22, 2011)

The thing about busting the roost is the birds will leave the area when instead you can hunt FIELDS like real, smart (nd) hunters and keep them around for more hunts.


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## the professor (Oct 13, 2006)

Wetland Warriors said:


> The thing about busting the roost is the birds will leave the area when instead you can hunt FIELDS like real, smart (nd) hunters and keep them around for more hunts.


So I am dumb and not a real hunter if I hunt over water?


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Actually there is no such thing as roost busting.It is just a different way to hunt.I once asked our GNF about having more state managed rest areas.I tried to get the GNF and/or national wildlife people to make more rest areas.I was told there are enough places in ND to give waterfowl a rest and no more were needed.Obviously they still feel that way,since I have yet to see anymore added over the years.

I am always very leery about field hunting unless there is a protected rest area....be it by the state,federal or farmers not allowing any hunting there.

Besides if I were a diver hunter.....it is the best and basically the only place to hunt.Many kids grew up in ND jumping potholes.There are alot of people who don't know how to hunt any other way.Doesn't make them guilty of doing anything wrong,just because someone with hundreds of field decoys doesn't like it.

I leave it to the GNF to decide if more rest areas are needed.


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## prairie hunter (Mar 13, 2002)

Agree with Ken and agree with the G&F.

One issue with rest areas closed to hunting are the G/Os that try to lease up the entire area encompassing the rest area. :eyeroll:


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

Repititive but it is 'waterfowl' hunting,not 'fieldfowl' hunting.Someones water spot may well be someone else's roost.Common sense needed but I will never give up my good water spots just because they are holding birds-thats why they are good and I hunt them.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

In case no one noticed, rest areas slowly began to disappear as the posting of land increased.I suspect that the G&F realized that this would limit pressure on the birds and began to reduce the number of rest areas to eliminate some costs and manpower to manage them.

I would remind some that the popularity of field hunting is relativly new to the waterfowl scene. Particularly for ducks. Till probably 25-20 years ago the "majority" of waterfowl hunters hunted over water. In many areas of the country they still do.

My opinion after 35 years of waterfowling experience is that you will only push birds out of an area if they are already getting ready to leave.


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