# Richard Petty Hunts Cannonball



## dosch

NASCAR's Richard Petty takes to North Dakota fields for pheasants
Associated Press
Published Monday, October 16, 2006

REGENT, N.D. (AP) - NASCAR great Richard Petty didn't mind driving a dusty old sport utility vehicle while cruising the back roads of southwestern North Dakota's Hettinger County.

Petty, 69, of Randleman, N.C., arrived in Dickinson on a private jet before dawn Sunday, then headed toward Regent, a southwestern town of about 200 that grows each year during pheasant hunting season.

"He got a bird," his guide, Monte Strand, said later. "He's a good shot."

Richard Petty

Petty said he planned a pheasant dinner.

"You sure got a bunch of land out here," he said, referring to North Dakota's open spaces. He said he planned to spend a couple of more days "goofing" around.

"I'm not much of a hunter," he said. "I've been busy doing a bunch of other stuff."

Petty came to Regent as the guest of Brad Johnson, a former Bismarck man who is the president of Central Garden and Pet Co., a California company that works with the Victory Junction Gang, a facility created by the Petty family for critically ill children.

Johnson said his company is proud to be part of the Petty project for youngsters. He said he makes a habit of bringing business clients to North Dakota.

"People are always amazed by the wide open spaces, and sometimes they're amazed by the early winter," Johnson said.

Pat Candrian, the manager of the Cannonball Co., hunting lodge and guide operation, had known for three months that Petty would be a guest for the state's opening weekend of pheasant season, but he was sworn to secrecy, and only told the hunting guides on Friday.

Word got out, and when Petty and his hunting party headed into town for a beer at the Cannonball Saloon, he was surrounded with requests for autographs.

Deb Kudrna, of Dickinson, said she has been a fan of NASCAR for years. Petty's autograph was her first driver's autograph, she said.

"Why not start at the top?" she said.

"I welcomed him to Regent, N.D., and he filled out his paperwork just like anyone else," said Candrian, whose company plans to host a record 2,000-plus hunts this year. "He's here for a good time and to hunt, and he had that kind of day today out in the field."


----------



## Jiffy

uke: uke: uke:


----------



## dosch

Typical ******* can't even shoot a pheasant without a guide. Oh well Regent is a good place for him to be.


----------



## R y a n

dosch said:


> *He said he planned to spend a couple of more days "goofing" around.
> *
> 
> "*I'm not much of a hunter*," he said. "I've been busy doing a bunch of other stuff."
> 
> "I welcomed him to Regent, N.D., and he filled out his paperwork just like anyone else," said Candrian, *whose company plans to host a record 2,000-plus hunts this year. *"He's here for a good time and to hunt, and he had that kind of day today out in the field."


Thanks Pat for exploiting the resource for your own profits... to the detriment of the average North Dakotan...

As someone who has lived/worked down there, I can say I've seen the direct effects of his raping operation.. There are just as many locals who hate what he has done compared to the smaller minority who've profited from it.

uke: uke: uke:


----------



## upland420

Jack Nicklaus and his family have hunted in that area for several years...I dont recall that being an AP story. Id hate to employ the moron who though this was "news". I can see this making the local paper in Regent (if they HAD one) but for this to be a state wide "news" story is pathetic.


----------



## kgpcr

You cant tell me that with 2000 hunts they are not shooting pen birds.


----------



## R y a n

kgpcr said:


> You cant tell me that with 2000 hunts they are not shooting pen birds.


Nope they are not... they have no need to down there. They have more than enough pheasants to support that... I used to live/work down there, I can tell you stories that would amaze...

I once stepped into a CRP field adjacent to a corn field down there ... and the *FIELD* got up. I'm not kidding... there was anywhere from 500-1000 birds in the field that jumped into the air. 

Have you ever heard the noise of a large field of geese getting up? A quick moment of silence followed by a continuous thunder of wings for about 20 seconds?

We were so stunned we didn't move...mouths dropped open... heck the dogs even froze in shock. That lasted a full minute of birds flying every direction... you couldn't even concentrate on one bird. I've never seen that anywhere else ...

It was crazy. Ohh and yeah... we managed to scratch out a limit that day...

Ryan


----------



## rowdie

I'm with you jiffy uke: :******:


----------



## ryanps18

All of you guys sound like a buch of whining liberals. There are plenty of birds out there for everyone. I think you guys need to take an economic course and maybe then you will realize the impact that guys like him have on the economy when they fly in on there big jets.

I think I hear some jelousy in some of your comments...
The only one rapping anyone is you guys thinking that all of the birds are for you.


----------



## Horsager

Ryan, I'd be curious to see what that economics course you recommended says about declining hunter numbers due to lack of access. I suspect there are two answers to the problem.

Solution #1. Grab all the money you can right now, and keep your company as verticle as possible, provide everything and charge as much as you can for it. Lodging, food, land access, bird cleaning, bird packaging, shipping of game, shipping guns, shipping whatever else is needed, loaner guns for a fee, transportation, ammunition, alcohol if the liscence isn't too expensive. Do whatever it takes to keep them at your place so they can't learn they can do this on their own, and you don't have to split their $$$ with anyone in town either, you can stock up on supplies at Super Wal-Mart in Dickinson or Bismarck.

Solution #2. Expand programs like PLOTS, Block Management, etc and create places for everyone to hunt. Residents, non-residents alike. Now everyone gets a piece of the pie. Camp grounds, hotels, restaurants, gas stations, not just in pheasent country but everywhere in between as well, local hardware/convenience stores sell a few boxes of shells, gloves, maybe a hat or sweatshirt.

What keeps the small towns alive, one individual company keeping the guests near, but essentially away from town, or a program desigend to increase traffic for everyone?


----------



## crna

well said horsager, that is the exact truth. if the town of mott was gone tomorrow, cannonball and the others wouldn't miss a beat. access and plots, etc. are the key if you want to maximize the economic impact of hunting. i believe that areas like the southwest would be better off from an economic standpoint without the outfitters. more access = more hunters = more $$$.


----------



## always_outdoors

great post Horsager!

Ryansp18: What if Cannonball wasn't there and all the land they have tied up was open to everyone? Wouldn't that be great for both R's and NR's? I bet that would bring more of an economic impact than Cannonball does to that area.


----------



## duckslayer

ryanps18 said:


> All of you guys sound like a buch of whining liberals. There are plenty of birds out there for everyone.


I guess your right, there are plenty of birds. If and when you can find somewhere to hunt down there that is. I will never pay to hunt, ever. Last time we were down that way we were told $100/gun to shoot 3 birds. No way in hell.


----------



## ryanps18

Sorry when I was working towards my economics degree I did not really buy into Karl Marx and the like.

Thier are plenty of places to hunt if one wants to go do it by himself. Might have to knock on some doors but it can be done.

There are many people that want everything taken care of for them. And more than likely would not have come with out that service. They saw that need and provide the service and are making all kinds of money doing so. You tell me how thats wrong that.

You are underestimating the econimic impact, not talking only Mott but all of SW ND.

Wall-mart does not employ people form ND
The airports are owned by cannonball.


----------



## ryanps18

I guess your right, there are plenty of birds. If and when you can find somewhere to hunt down there that is. I will never pay to hunt, ever. Last time we were down that way we were told $100/gun to shoot 3 birds. No way in hell.[/quote]

I am comming back to my hometown of Dickinson this weekend and I think it is just wrong that I have to pay $100 dollars a night for a hotel room. I think it would be much better if they used the land that the hotel was built on for more houses and then I can just stay with one of you guys for free.

No way and hell am I paying that much to sleep,I hope you have a soft pillow. And by the way what time is breakfast served at your place. I like my eggs scrambled.


----------



## Horsager

Ryanps18, I'm saying the freelance hunter spreads his dollars around much more than someone coming in and hunting a preserve or full-service outfitter who never leaves the outfitter's facilities. The freelance hunter stays in a local owned hotel, eats at local owned restaurants, buys local groceries, drinks at the local owned bar, camps at the local owned campground, buys gas from locally owned gas stations going to and from his/her hunting destination, and their dollars turn more times right here in ND.

Buying supplies at Wal-Mart might supply someone with a job in Bismarck or Dickinson, but after wages, taxes, etc are paid, the profit goes to corporate heaquarters in Arkansas.

I'm not against large corporations, or small ones, or making money, or doing what you want to with your own land. I'm just saying that the dollars brought in by freelance hunters are spread over a wider section of the population. That might mean that no one gets rich, but it might mean than many more towns, businesses, etc stay afloat.


----------



## ryanps18

So your telling me that if cannonball did not exsist there would be far more free lance hunters, enough to turn the economy around and fund the cost for the government two buy all the land form current landowners and make it free for all free lance hunters. I don't think so, This will cost some big money and payable buy taxpayers. Why don't you guys chip in on some land pay for it and all the costs associated with kepping in going and let everyone hunt it for free. Sounds like a good idea to me when can I come and hunt?

Now cannonball has its own gas station and keeps all of thier guests under lock and key so they don't escape to the local bar. C'mon man!

Try getting a hotel room the first few weeks of phaesant season, almost imposible.


----------



## always_outdoors

> So your telling me that if cannonball did not exsist there would be far more free lance hunters, enough to turn the economy around


I completely agree with this one statement, not the later part of your statement, but until this point, yep.

Many of us used to go to Mott or Hettinger and used to make many more trips out there as well. Not just a one time stay.

I will make 4-6 trips to Southern ND this fall and probably another half dozen between January and September in 07. How many of those using guides will make trips like that in the off season?


----------



## KEN W

Do the motel and restuarant in dickinson make money by selling a publicly owned resource??

Cannonball does.....well maybe the blondes in the Dickinson motel pool are publicly owned???


----------



## ryanps18

KEN W said:


> Do the motel and restuarant in dickinson make money by selling a publicly owned resource??
> 
> Cannonball does.....well maybe the blondes in the Dickinson motel pool are publicly owned???


Not public if its on private land...

Just like water,oil,coal,ect...

You guys are better than this!!


----------



## Dick Monson

> They saw that need and provide the service and are making all kinds of money doing so. You tell me how thats wrong that.


How you are wrong:
I hunted Mott when CRP first started in '86. It was virtually unposted. Miles between "no hunting" signs. The motel was booked solid, lucky to get the basement room with the pickels. The hotel uptown was the same. The Curve Steakhouse had a waiting line as did the cafe in town. All BF Cannonball. Cannonball and the other commercializers created the "need" for the service by locking the fence with leases to make it an exclusive experiance for people willing to buy North Dakota wildlife on a per bird basis. Period. Direct violation of the law. But they are connected to the governor and he hunts there too. :beer: And gets the contributions to his re-election fund.  Pat Candrain-the Cannonball manager-has publicly told NDGF to keep PLOTS east of the river! Outfitters are baiting birds off the PLOTS right now. Adams County is 54% owned by NR. Hettinger had the most miles of newly closed public section lines of any county in ND. And then they have the unmitigated gall to complain about a lack of hunters. They don't want restrictions on hunters licenses, but restrict the number of hunters themselves. They don't want Caps, but cap the number hunters themselves. You'd think they'd puke from embarassment but they have no conscience. The commercializers have been selling the public trust for a decade and a half. Sounds like you have your finger in the pie.


----------



## KEN W

ryanps18 said:


> KEN W said:
> 
> 
> 
> Do the motel and restuarant in dickinson make money by selling a publicly owned resource??
> 
> Cannonball does.....well maybe the blondes in the Dickinson motel pool are publicly owned???
> 
> 
> 
> Not public if its on private land...
> 
> Just like water,oil,coal,ect...
> 
> You guys are better than this!!
Click to expand...

This isn't Texas.....all the citizens of ND own ALL the wildlife.....not the farmers.They claim they are selling access......then why won't anyone pay to hunt summerfallow????


----------



## ryanps18

Now I understand, its another right wing conspricy.

Wow did they bait the birds? did they give offer them sweet corn or maybe they had a good looking hen strut her stuff on the other side.

No I don't have a peice of the that huge pie. I have got to know some people that let me hunt thier land, it was really hard I had to knock on a few doors my kuckle still hurts.

Thanks for the tip on the plots though I might hit them up this weekend when they flush them all over from cannonball.

I did not know cannonball had such a monoply on pheasants. Maybe they spend alot of money on maintaining habitat. I heard the Govener himself brought over a strain of the bird flu that affects all pheasants not on cannonball property.


----------



## crna

i find it hypocritical that cannonball and the others were complaining about the lack of hunters in the sw. are you kidding me, where should i go to hunt down there. The NO HUNTING signs are painted in neon pink and posted every 100 yards. the same thing happened in the devils lake area when they complained about the lack of hunters. where are we suppose to hunt.

p.s. ryan, when your trying to get out of hole, you should stop digging.
your argument has no validity and your giving us republicans a bad name.


----------



## ryanps18

KEN W said:


> ryanps18 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> KEN W said:
> 
> 
> 
> Do the motel and restuarant in dickinson make money by selling a publicly owned resource??
> 
> Cannonball does.....well maybe the blondes in the Dickinson motel pool are publicly owned???
> 
> 
> 
> Not public if its on private land...
> 
> Just like water,oil,coal,ect...
> 
> You guys are better than this!!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> This isn't Texas.....all the citizens of ND own ALL the wildlife.....not the farmers.They claim they are selling access......then why won't anyone pay to hunt summerfallow????
Click to expand...

You may own it but if its on posted private land you best not be shooting it.

But i think you should try to prove your theory, go out and shoot some birds on posted private land and see what the Game and Fish have to say.

I think we should throw away this free market economy and that you guys hate so much. I think its crazy that farmers think that just because they own the land and pay taxes on it think they can do anythink they want with it. I think it should all be owned by the Government... Who's with me???? Never mind all of you are.


----------



## KEN W

Geez Ryan.....I didn't say anyone should shoot on posted land w/o asking.And I didn't say that the farmer doesn't have the right to post his land and keep off whomever he wants.

I said we as ND citizens own the wildlife,not the farmer.It's not a theory.And I don't have to prove anything to know it.

Sorry if I hurt your feelings.By all means praise Cannonball if you want.....but they as "market hunters" don't own the birds either.


----------



## Jiffy

Serious question here: ryanps18, how old are you and where do you currently reside?? I'm just curious...thanks.


----------



## Horsager

Ryanps18, my initial question still stands. What does your economics degree tell you? If you live in SW ND and are trying to stimulate the economy do you promote guiding/full service outfitters for the few who can/will afford them, or do you promote a larger number of freelance hunters through the expansion of programs like PLOTS or Block management? Do you take all you can now and future hunter numbers be damned, or do you create/promote a place for everyone to hunt and split their dollars among the masses?

I think the debate would be similar to profit margin vs. volume. Does your degree lead you to believe that things are just fine the way they are, do they need a little tweaking, or is a complete overhaul in order? While you consider this do it from a Macro prospective. You have a place to hunt, good for you. What about someone who moves in from out of state and want to take up hunting, they have to look at this situation totally from the outside. If you had to start over from scratch with no current contacts and wished to freelance hunt would you be satisfied with the current state of things?


----------



## Ref

Ryanps18,

Most of your latest posts are using alot of sarcasm which is typical when you start losing ground in your argument.


----------



## ryanps18

Horsager,

There isalready over 700,000 acres of public land already. Could they use more? sure. But this costs money to aquire and maintain either buy raising taxes or more likely increasing the fee for a pheasant stamp.. Out of state residents already pay $100 for a 14 day stamp.

I am not an advocate for cannanball but more an advocate for free enterprise. Most of these farmers are not getting rich, or even making ends meet in some cases, from farming so can you blame them for leasing or selling their land to cannonball?

I also don't see a huge infulx of out of state people moving to SW ND so that is irrelavant.

There are no such thing as a free lunch so if a farmer want's to charge to hunt his land then so be it. I do not see anything wrong with that.

If you owned some land would you let people hunt it?

South Dakota is mostly pay hunting and they seem to attract plenty of hunters to thier state.

So to do it your way and do it right, game and fish would have to spend millions of dollars to buy out farmers at a fair price and that is no small feat. Then what would they have to charge? $200 for a stamp? Either way you look at it someone has to pick up the tab. I am not sure that the number of freelance hunters are going to increase that much to offset the costs.

What cannonball is doing is bringing different kind of hunter to the area. Go to the dickinson airport on opening weekend and take a look at all the big jets on the ramp. It rivals a big city airport, for example jack Nicalaus flew in a G4 back then the biggest corportate jet in the world. Thats a whole lot of fuel and thats just one case.

I understand where you are comming form there are more posted signs than ever before but we all saw that comming. Gone are the days of free hunting in this country and I would rather pay a place like cannonball than the government. That's just me but you can not tell me that this has not been going of for years. How many people do know that have bought land for private hunting use only?

But there are still many farmers out there that will let a guy hunt his land. You just have to do a liitle work to find one, its part of the hunt.. I hunt for land and let my dogs hunt for the biirds. I deal with it and role with the punches, but please don't blame 30 plus farmers for trying to make a few bucks off their land and rent thier houses out to hunters that are willing to pay to make a few bucks.


----------



## drjongy

One Jack Nicklaus or Petty coming to town and dropping $5000 is no comparison to 200 freelance hunters spending $500. (5000 vs 100,000)


----------



## Horsager

I'm not blaming farmers/landowners for doing whatever they want with their own land. I am suggesting two things.

1. Freelance hunters put money into more peoples hands, and the dollars turn more times within a given community.

2. Without places for everyone to hunt, you can kiss hunting good-bye. Access is a major issue, and while Cannonball and those like them do just fine now, a serious decline in hunter numbers due to lack of access will negatively impact them in the future. This will happen either through a declining number of customers or restrictive legislation able to be passed because of low-hunter numbers/support.

For all of our disagreements hunters will pretty much stick together on anti-hunting issues. If the hunter numbers are allowed to sink to low we may not be able to win those political fights, that will be the end for all of us, access or not.


----------



## ryanps18

There are more than just one, Drive out to the airprot this weekend and see for yourself. There are corperations that will fly in 10-20 guys.

Also they spend more than $5000 just at the airport before they even get their bags of the plane. Parking and filling up a corporate jet is a little more expensive than the family suburban.

There are still a large numbers of freelance hunters, like I siad try to get a hotel room.


----------



## ryanps18

Jiffy said:


> Serious question here: ryanps18, how old are you and where do you currently reside?? I'm just curious...thanks.


I am 28 and now live in minneapolis. Not sure what that has to do with anything but you asked.

Horsager,

I agree that more public land would be great, but I don't think that this is a high priority for your govt.

That is why pheasants forever and other causes are important and need to be funded. I know I give my fare share to PF and DU. Groups like these may be your only chance get what you want.

I understand all your concerns but I think we all got too used to getting something for nothing and now its time to pay the piper.

Come to minneapolis and I will show you what I have to go through to get my two birds here, you guys have it easy.


----------



## Scraper

I hate these arguments, but there is a point that needs to be made that is being missed. There is inconsistency when a subsidized industry turns around and charges access for land that they are being subsidized to own.

Whether you agree or disagree with this point, I waffle on it daily, that is what really makes a lot of people mad.

Every one of us pays to make farming as we know it and CRP happen. Maybe we should take all of the CRP out and spend more money on protecting our troops in Iraq. Seems like a lot more noble cause than subsidizing an industry that charges us to access what we all already paid for.


----------



## Dick Monson

Scraper, you are right. There is a growing discontent with taxpayer funding of farming. The Fargo Forum is running a 2 part series on the very subject right now.


----------



## R y a n

Dick Monson said:


> Scraper, you are right. There is a growing discontent with taxpayer funding of farming. The Fargo Forum is running a 2 part series on the very subject right now.


Scraper

A new thread has also been started this morning by me to discuss that very issue:

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/vie ... hp?t=30578

Please stop over there and provide your thoughts on the issue.

Ryan


----------



## kgpcr

If you are going to pay for a hunt why not stay home and go to a game farm... you cant tell me all those birds on those place are wild. NOPE not for me


----------



## ryanps18

Scraper said:


> I hate these arguments, but there is a point that needs to be made that is being missed. There is inconsistency when a subsidized industry turns around and charges access for land that they are being subsidized to own.
> 
> Whether you agree or disagree with this point, I waffle on it daily, that is what really makes a lot of people mad.
> 
> Every one of us pays to make farming as we know it and CRP happen. Maybe we should take all of the CRP out and spend more money on protecting our troops in Iraq. Seems like a lot more noble cause than subsidizing an industry that charges us to access what we all already paid for.


I agree with your point but on the other side of the coin without the crp program there would be far less habitat for us to hunt and even less access. But point well taken.


----------



## indsport

I found the discussion, particularly by ryanps18, to be lacking in any published data. Where are the facts for any statements made in this discussion? Show me the data. 
From my perspective, Cannonball and their 2000 planned hunts has the following effects. Since the hunter parties, I would assume, stay at the Cannonball operation, and eat there and sleep there, there should be less economic benefit on local hotels and eating establishments than an equivalent of 2000 hunting parties dependent on the local hotels and eating establishments. Second, although the individual farmers are making money leasing to cannonball corp, I would assume that most of that money stays with that farmer. After all, he is making that money over and above what he is already getting from the government subsidies on the land, which prior to leasing, provided that farmer with a fair living. Otherwise he would have quit farming. Third, Cannonball corp is making money (as is their right) on a publicly held resource (as defined in ND law), but does have the effect of reducing the availability of the resource to the general public. Sad but true. Finally, and more important from my perspective, are the children and youth in those 2000 hunting parties that now do not have the same access to places to hunt that their parents had. If we, as hunters, want to have our beloved activity continued by the next generation, commercializtion of hunting and its attendant corrollary's of leased land and pay to hunt operations are the worst thing that can happen to our future. It is no accident that the number of hunters is declining every year in most states when the cost to hunt and the access to places to hunt is making it more and more to be a rich man's sport.


----------



## Bob Kellam

One thing everyone needs to understand about the Cannonball Company, They do not lease any land. Unless they have recently changed their business practices.

They obtain permission from landowners to hunt on that land and pay the landowner per bird harvested.

Maybe their business model has changed recently but I do not think it has.

Bob


----------



## ryanps18

> *I would assume*, stay at the Cannonball operation, and eat there and sleep there, there should be less economic benefit on local hotels and eating establishments than an equivalent of 2000 hunting parties dependent on the local hotels and eating establishments.





> *I would assume *that most of that money stays with that farmer. After all, he is making that money over and above what he is already getting from the government subsidies on the land, which prior to leasing, provided that farmer with a fair living.


Where is your data? i just see assumptions.

Not saying that this is a good situation but it is what it is. Its an uphill battle and no matter how you slice we are going to have to pay for pheasant hunting. Either buy taxes, Pheasants forever, Higher stamp fee, or pay the farmer. You can't have your cake and eat it too.


----------



## always_outdoors

ryanps18: A friend of mine had his father in law take him out to Cannonball. They stayed there, ate there, paid for their birds there, and he said that while they were there one night one of the guides showed up with a suburban full of beer and booze. He was returning from Bismarck where they purchase large quanities from the larger liquor store there for all their hunters.

That was last fall when they did the hunt. He also said it was a joke and he wouldn't have done it, but his father in law paid for the hunt.

He was invited to go this year as well and told his father in law that isn't hunting to him. He would rather go on his own.


----------



## Dick Monson

> If we, as hunters, want to have our beloved activity continued by the next generation, commercializtion of hunting and its attendant corrollary's of leased land and pay to hunt operations are the worst thing that can happen to our future. It is no accident that the number of hunters is declining every year in most states when the cost to hunt and the access to places to hunt is making it more and more to be a rich man's sport.


 Absolutely true. USFW did a comprehensive survey of why hunters quit hunting. 22,000+ respondants; lack of access was the primary reason.


> Its an uphill battle and no matter how you slice we are going to have to pay for pheasant hunting.


 Not true. When hunters quit, public support for hunting dies. Support for it will be legislated out as in other countries. That model is in place and proven. Successfull industries take care of the consumer base. Commercialized hunting does just the opposite. If high use areas wanted to assure continuation those commercializers would put in as many PLOTS as possible. They are eating the goose that lays the golden eggs.


----------



## 1fastskeeter

Its a tough investment, there one bad winter from being out of business. I will not pay to hunt either, I have found when asking permission there is a charge to hunt to ask for the state tax id number for tax purposes. Most do not have one and the tax department would be thrilled for such info. JMHO.


----------



## ryanps18

1fastskeeter said:


> Its a tough investment, there one bad winter from being out of business. I will not pay to hunt either, I have found when asking permission there is a charge to hunt to ask for the state tax id number for tax purposes. Most do not have one and the tax department would be thrilled for such info. JMHO.


I like that idea! We just need to outsmart them.


----------



## indsport

As I wrote in my own post, it was from my perspective and my assumptions and stated so publicly.

I did not make any statements like "I think you guys need to take an economic course and maybe then you will realize the impact that guys like him have on the economy when they fly in on there big jets." 
"You are underestimating the econimic impact, not talking only Mott but all of SW ND. "

"I'm saying the freelance hunter spreads his dollars around much more than someone coming in and hunting a preserve or full-service outfitter who never leaves the outfitter's facilities."

If most posters would indicate it was their opinion or assumption at the start, rather than a statement, that would help.

As to the comment that "we are going to have to pay for pheasant hunting" I will quit pheasant hunting after 48 years of hunting those wily roosters.

I also seem to recall in the Bismarck Tribune's articles about pheasantgate, that Cannonball was quoted that they lease land. However, whether they lease land or obtain permission to hunt on that land and then pay the landowner on a per bird basis, I do not recall ever getting permission to hunt on land where Cannonball had permission. In either case, it reduced the amount of access in the area and I, for one, stopped going to SW North Dakota after Cannonball moved into the area.

As a final comment, NDGF does not "acquire" land, but rather the Plots program leases access to land for the benefit of all hunters. In my opinion, it does not make economic sense for NDGF to purchase (acquire) land but the Plots program does make sense. At the many meetings held around the time of pheasantgate, of which I attended quite a few, most of the hunters attending those meetings were willing to pay an additional license fee for the purposes of increasing the dollars available for access programs like Plots. This, in principle, I support wholeheartedly since it does increase access to all, not just the wealthy few. I would strongly support an "access fee" to increase the amount of money for the Plots program.


----------



## ryanps18

Like I said either way you slice it someone is going to have to pay.

In 2004 non-resident stamp sales where up aprox. 10% form the 2003.


----------



## Sportland Bait

I am a freelance hunter in the Mott area, have been for about 15 years or more. To aquire hunting land one must keep working since arrangements change on a regular basis. Some of the land we hunt is free some we must pay for access. I haven't used the Cannonball's services but I have nothing against what they do for a living or anything against farmers that charge an access fee. It is all primary or supplimentary income. Without that sort of income base the population at some level would begin to dwindle. People involved with Cannonball are making an income. What is wrong with creating a few jobs for the area. An area that can use a few. What I don't understand is the anti fee hunting attitude. Sure it isn't ideal for everyone who freelances, but that is a sign of the times. It has been happening in Minnesota waterfowling since the 1940s. Do the people who are opposed to it actually think that the farmers are going to revert back to letting everyone access their land for nothing. It will not go back to the "good old days". It is called progress. Growth and change is inevitable. We must accept it or go somewhere else. That is just how it works. If you can line up a bunch of free hunting more power to you, but it is not the Cannonball company that has changed the scene of hunting it is society in general.

Jason


----------



## Bubba w/a 45/70

I don't disagree with Cannonball's ablility to charge for a "service" that I grew up doing for free, but it really sucks when I am running into more and more landowners that expect cash from me to hunt pheasants. I live in Elgin, and grew up in New Leipzig, so I do believe that I can speak for where I am coming from.

That is where the rub comes from...the spreading of the "cash is king" concept...especially when there are already multiple gov. programs that farmers and ranchers get paid above and beyond their monies made on their raised products. I know that biting the hands that actually feed me might sound bad...but I am not able to drive around in the vehicles that these poor farmers do. My newest is a 93 Suburban...I know of no farmers/ranchers who have this year of vehicle that is their newest.... and I can't afford to pay out $50, $100, even $20 per time to get out in the field to hunt with my boys...


----------

