# Day Twelve



## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Well it all started yesterday. Stoeger and I were out scouting. Could see from a distance flock after flock after flock pouring into this field. We go over there and it is posted every 100 feet. We look the land owners name up in the book and its not listed. So we start knocking on doors. Finally get pointed in the right direction. The farmer was in his 80s and could barely hear. So I am there yelling and screaming asking for permission. I really felt bad because he really looked to be in great health. He just could not hear. Finally we break the communication barrier and he says those birds have been there for weeks. Get them the hell out of here. HUH????? Pinch me am I dreaming??? So we ask if he would like some birds and he says don't you have to get them first?? haha So he says he would love to have some.

We show up this morning. About all set up and here comes a truck. Drives back and fourth. We notice some one had ripped down two of the posted signs. Finally this truck drives across the field. I start walking to meet him half way. I say can I help ya. He says is this land posted. I say yep. He says well Ralph said it was. Then the kid with him says are there posters out there. I say there every 100 feet how can you miss them. The kid then says well Ralph said there was. So I am thinking if Ralph told you all of this why are you out here?? So I was an inch from inviting them to hunt with us. Heck there was enough birds for 15 guys no sense being a jerk. But then the dude starts talking about Ralph I finally have to say Ralph does not own this place and he is not the person that gives permision. Are you going to hunt here then he asks?????? :withstupid: Yes cause we have permission. Okay by he goes. Then they drive out of the field and start looking for posted signs again and finally drive off and set up in a field about a mile away.

Birds start coming. First ones land on the other end of the field. So we start thinking we are hosed. But the first big flock comes in and stoeger gets a triple and I get two. I could barely talk as somehow the butt of my 10ga ended up on my adams apple. That hurt!!! Next flock comes in and I drop 3. Next a pair comes in and stoeger gets them. It was over way too fast. We continued to have birds come in and look us over as we took pictures and picked up the spread. Went to the farmer's house and gave him birds. What a super nice guy. You could tell he was really lonely and appreciated having someone to talk too.

I don't go back to work till Wed but I think this will be my last hunt of the early season. Will probably try for some doves in the morning and get in some way over due family time. We saw plenty of birds on the way home. Get out there and get some! Should have the pictures posted tonight. Good luck to all!! Thanks stoeger!


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## Nodak Duke (Oct 14, 2003)

Sounds liuke a great hunt!! Thanks for sharing, Pork Chop.  :beer:


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## stoeger (Aug 20, 2003)

PorkChop your life is like the movie the Sixth Sense. Instead of seeing dead people all you see is geese. I will be done hunting now till the regular season, for I have some farm work to finish up. We'll have to try it again in a couple of weeks. Once again thanks PorkChop.


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## FACE (Mar 10, 2003)

All he sees are DEAD geese!! :beer:


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## Labsroc01 (Mar 23, 2004)

I had a great three days of hunting! Went out on Friday morning and harvested 11 geese. Did some scouting Friday night, set-up again Saturday morning and shot 8 geese. We then pursued grouse and partarige for the remainder of the day on Saturday and havested 9 grouse and 4 partarige.

Finally this morning I made the decision to hunt the HONKERS roost! The wind was KICK %SS out of the south today and the geese bombed right in. We ended up taking 23 between 9:30am and 11:30am this morning. I could not have asked for a better way to end this years early season goose hunt!

The pooch retrieved over 80 birds this early season and will be laid-off temporarily, until we can chase grouse and partarige next Sat.

NOTE: Out of all the HONKERS we harvested this early season there was no BLING-BLING! I guess I can't be too greedy!

Their will be plenty of Goose Jerky and Goose Chedder Brats by the end of next week!

I have not had time to play around with putting pictures on this website, but I hope to have them posted by the end of this week. Good luck to all you lucky folks who get to continue on with the early goose season!


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## SOUTHERNBIRD (Mar 13, 2003)

Congrats on the good early season and ending it with a bang. Yall are lucky to be able to live in the paradise you live in.. I would love to live there. We freelanced nodak last year (AWESOME)  and all the early season success has gotten me excited about our duck season whic does not open until you might as well say the first of December.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Finally got some pictures posted. Stoeger its a good thing you wear a face mask!!!


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## FACE (Mar 10, 2003)

Is it just me or doesn't Chopper look very happy to be in ND stacken up the geese in his pics?!!!   Keep up the enthusiasm and stop showing up everyone and come on now leave some of those geese alone so others can have a crack at them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   :beer: :thumb:


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Excellent :bowdown: PorkChop....way to go man!!


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

We can't forget Stoeger. He honestly busted his butt doing some hard core scouting as well. I give him a hard time in my posts but he truely is a great dude!!

You know when I first posted I was coming to Minot AFB. Only two guys from the Minot area replied and helped my move here go smoothly. Stoeger and dblkluk. Them two answered each and every question I or my wife had. They are both TOPS in my book! Thanks again guys!! :beer:

FACE man this place is way too great not to smile!!! Its the Top of the World!! :beer: Now all I need is some of your band getting luck!! Congrats!!


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

:bowdown: dblkluk....stoeger.....excellent.....way to go men. Great job helping porkchop too....


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## deacon (Sep 12, 2003)

Funny ND boy hunting the roost and not a big deal?


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

It's the depradation season and the idea is to kill and push the birds away from unharvested crops. Thats why no problem blowing a roost on the last weekend.


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

Thanks for kind words guys! It was a pretty good payoff..answer a few questions to a guy moving to the area and I get to share some hunts with a great guy! Porkchop, Better get some of that family and work time out of the way because in a couple of weeks.... Its all systems go!!! :beer:


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

Blowing a roost is never acceptable in my opinion but people have to make there own decisions.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Oh wow I thought the whole idea of the early season was to reduce the numbers and chase the birds away. It's pretty apparent the concept of the early season has been lost. It is now just an earlier season. 8)

I have never blown a roost either... :evil:


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

The objective of the early season is to kill geese. Kicking them off the roost only moves them some where else and makes them more jumpy. If the objective is to kill them then keeping them in a regular pattern and decoying them is the way to do it. You can do alot of damage field hunting a roost of 200 honkers over a weeks time but you blow the roost and who knows where they will end up. Probably very decoy shy and eating another farmers grain 20 miles down the road.

Just my :2cents:


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Hey man not trying to be an arse but every photo is taken in stubble, obviously the birds were feeding there or you wouldn't set your dekes there. No damage by birds can be done to stubble fields. I still think the idea was to move them down the road not just kill as many as you can. just another killing contest for sporstmen!! :lol:

Hey guys just pullin your tailfeathers...great job


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## smalls (Sep 9, 2003)

buckseye, yes, the birds are shot in the stubble in the fall, but where have they been all summer?

The benefits of the early goose season are not realized until the following year. Reducing the number of local nesting and reproducing birds in the fall is the only pc way of reducing their numbers in the future, as there is no spring season for honkeytonks. And as a participant of this early season, we are doing our duty reducing those numbers. As GG said, please leave the roost alone.

On another note, on my way eastward across the state yesterday, I noticed ALOT of birds west of Bismarck in places and numbers I hadn't seen all summer.

Oh, and congrats on living the dream chopper. You make us all jealous hunting for weeks on end.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

For the record we shot no roosts. All fields!!


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## Nodak Duke (Oct 14, 2003)

I agree. on roost shooting... (Not that I am accusing anyone on here of it.) I am against it though. If you want to reduce numbers of local honky-tonks you have to keep them on a pattern. Sure, pounding a roost may seem like you are helping the cause, but that is only one day's limit where as you can keep shooting the same birds over and over again if you let the roost be and scout out their feeds. Also, shooting a roost often ruins a hunt for someone who has put a lot of time in scoutting out these same birds in a field. Sure, it is legal, but should be avoided whenever possible in my opinion.


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## Labsroc01 (Mar 23, 2004)

I have hunted the same group of locals for the last 6 years. The birds have returned to the same roost for the past 6 springs, where they have consistantly raised their young. In these 6 years I have blown their roost once a year and only one time did I hunt it twice in one season once early and the other one day before it froze over. I have also kept a journal for the past 6 years about this particular roost and their was on average only 2-3 doz birds on the roost 6 years ago. Now, 6 years later there is any were between 150 to 300 birds using this roost. These are all resident Honkers to this area and I know they will be using this roost once again this year and next spring to raise their young. This explosion of Honkers in this area has caused the birds to become scattered using other roosts in the same area. The locals will be the last birds to leave the area as long as their roost does not get pounded throughout the season. They also become the toughest birds to decoy in later in the season. Point is I shoot alot more migrators come October than residents, sometimes I can't even get residents to look! Even with proper scouting its tough to harvest residents late in the season. I have said it may times once they have flowen by the BF's late in the season "must be resident geese."

Remeber Waterfowl are migratory birds, some of the locals I have shot off of this roost have been banded in the states of California and Washington.

When making my decision to hunt their roost I did take into consideration other hunters who maybe hunting in the area. Friday through Sunday not one other goose hunter seen and I asked 3 area farmers about the number of hunters seen ZERO! I would not encourage anyone to hunt the roost, but I did.( I also do 98% of my hunting in the field, including ducks) If one is to hunt the roost they should take into consideration other hunters who maybe hunting that area, and the time of year you are going to be hunting it. I have studied these locals for the past 6 years and I know they will be using this same roost within a couple of weeks. This is the area I hunt and with good repour between the farmers and myself. If I thought this decision would have significantly affected my future goose hunting or any others for the rest of the season I would have never hunted it. These residents have already wised up and are becoming
tougher and tougher to harvest.

By the way I drove by the roost last night after working on the hunting shack and there were about 4 doz Honkers on it.

Roost hunting can be a sore subject, and I respect all others opinions and take into consideration the time spent by other hunters in the field and the population of the birds themselves.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

We shot no roosts and only hunted birds that were in the winrows destroying crops and got all we could handle. It was pretty hard to find the small flocks that were in unharvested fields. But we did and do, and it was great.

I guess we were just trying to help our friends the farmers, this year with the late harvest there are alot of crops that still need to be guarded against all those honks. We may have to shoot a roost or two in the next couple days to move them south or somewhere else anyway.

Man oh man have the ducks been showing up. 8)


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

> We may have to shoot a roost or two in the next couple days to move them south or somewhere else anyway.


Send them my way! We need some more!!! :wink:


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

we could use some more over here too. :beer:


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

OK....here they come


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## stoeger (Aug 20, 2003)

Your welcome, anytime PorkChop.


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