# Legal to leave decoys in field overnight?



## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

We had a group pull this stunt on us this weekend. Pulled into a field at 2:30 and set up. Come about 6:30 another group comes in and goes and sits in their decoys which have been out all night about 300 yards away.

Unposted land.

Is this legal?


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

North Dakota I believe so, however it is illegal in Minnesota.


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## Pikeguy (Oct 16, 2006)

It's funny until the farmer whose land it is comes in and plows your spread under during the night. I can see landowners getting upset about it if the right scenario were to arise :-?


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## mallardhunter (May 15, 2004)

What kind of farmer would plow during the night? I think it is legal to do it here in south dakota, but i wouldn't do it because I am too scared of someone taking them or the wind blowing them away if they are windsocks.


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## water_swater (Sep 19, 2006)

bareback you should have called me I need to start my snow goose spread, I stil have a little space in that trailer


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## Pikeguy (Oct 16, 2006)

mallardhunter said:


> What kind of farmer would plow during the night?


A busy one. Guys do fieldwork at night all the time here in WI :wink:


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

I'd set-up right downwind from their spread...about 50 yards. Then when they showed up I'd ask them to join us...if then didn't, then they could pick up. I've run into sort of the same thing with guys setting up campers next to or on PLOTS and WPAs thinking they had exclusive right to them because they were there all the time.

We had a couple of *^$%$^*'s pullinto and set up in the same field we were in last weekend. One of our trucks got their first and these guys decided they would hunt also. Now I know that in the morning it's sometimes hard to find a place to hunt if someone beats you to the field but these two dumb as%$'s woouldn't take our invite to join up...just wanted to hunt alone about 200 yards away from us.

We could have completely downwinded them and sunk to their level but we didn't.....we shot a bunch of snows, cacklers and mallards and they shot ducks...but there was definitely was problems when every one was shooting.

It worked out ok but I would NEVER set-up n a field someone else had already gotten too......The complete lack of respect for other hunters due to the competition out there is really prevalent ths year with much less areas that are holdng birds.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

I agree.
Ive been beaten to a field several times, but I always have a plan B, and most of the time even a plan C.

I talked to these guys, and they were very cordial and polite, but it seems to me that guys that do this just "lose it" when theres birds around. All the common sense just goes out the window.

I wish I had seen those decoys sitting there, I might have piled em up to teach em a lesson. I dont think I could sleep at night with my decoys sitting out somewhere on open land unattended. Good way to lose a couple grand real fast. I bet they wouldnt do that in Minn, even if it was legal.

We outdecoyed them, we got one (big deal, could have had 20) they never fired a shot.

At least they werent spiteful skybusters.


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## mallard (Mar 27, 2002)

Field Hunter said:


> I'd set-up right downwind from their spread...about 50 yards. Then when they showed up I'd ask them to join us...if then didn't, then they could pick up. I've run into sort of the same thing with guys setting up campers next to or on PLOTS and WPAs thinking they had exclusive right to them because they were there all the time.
> 
> We had a couple of *^$%$^*'s pullinto and set up in the same field we were in last weekend. One of our trucks got their first and these guys decided they would hunt also. Now I know that in the morning it's sometimes hard to find a place to hunt if someone beats you to the field but these two dumb as%$'s woouldn't take our invite to join up...just wanted to hunt alone about 200 yards away from us.
> 
> ...


Hunting ethics has really gone down hill this year.Both times I hunted this weekend some other group shows up a half hour before shooting time and try's to set up right by you.Most of the time this happens neither group has a good hunt.
I talked to a friend that has been hunting west of Devils lake today.He told me that him and one of his farmer buddies were driving around the property he owned looking for geese and ended up chasing 6 groups of hunters off of his fields.All of the fields were posted,and none of the groups seemed to care if it was posted or not.


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

Farmers do field work overnite all the time in N.D. I don't see how anybody would not be worried that somebody is going to steal their spread! With how expensive full bodies are...I don't get it...


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## goosehunter21 (May 18, 2004)

Field Hunter said:


> I'd set-up right downwind from their spread...about 50 yards. Then when they showed up I'd ask them to join us...if then didn't, then they could pick up. I've run into sort of the same thing with guys setting up campers next to or on PLOTS and WPAs thinking they had exclusive right to them because they were there all the time.
> 
> We had a couple of *^$%$^*'s pullinto and set up in the same field we were in last weekend. One of our trucks got their first and these guys decided they would hunt also. Now I know that in the morning it's sometimes hard to find a place to hunt if someone beats you to the field but these two dumb as%$'s woouldn't take our invite to join up...just wanted to hunt alone about 200 yards away from us.
> 
> ...


If someone beats you out to the field you go find a new one it is your own fault for not waking up an hour earlier. I could never set up in the same field as someone else nor would I let someone set up in the same field I got to hours before them.


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## redlabel (Mar 7, 2002)

Rick Acker said:


> Farmers do field work overnite all the time in N.D. I don't see how anybody would not be worried that somebody is going to steal their spread! With how expensive full bodies are...I don't get it...


That might be true during the sugar beet harvest in the RRV, but other than that you'd be hard pressed to find any farmers doing field work all night long.
Not to dispute farmers are not hard working, but they do have common sense.


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## snowbus_cando (May 10, 2005)

In the 80's most people who snow goose hunted were always respectful. This was back in the day when 10% of the land was posted. The rule was - if you were there first, the field was yours, if they got to the field and saw your headlights - they turned around.

Not the case now! Most of em' drive in like a bat-out-of-heck towards you, stop, and claim they asked the landowner from permission. Or, they say they are local. Then, usually they setup in the same field. All three actions are totally disrespectful.

This year it has been bad. Don't know why.....most the folks hunting fields must be newbies. 3 dz decoys won't cut it'! I hunted by myself two weekends ago and finally got setup after two hours of hauling gear from a car on the road. At 7:00 a rig and trailer show up stating he was going to hunt the field. I let them hunt with me - shouldn't of - one of the guys was wearing blue jeans!

Another thing, back in the 80's most of the other snow goose hunting rigs were from Kentucky, Illinois and some MN. Now it seems like everyone is doing it - which would explain the lack of knowledge or ethics.


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## jb (Feb 8, 2005)

Im not trying to get anyone ticked at me but I have set up the night before heck I did it this year already I hunted all day found a spot for the next day nearby picked up went to the new feild and had at it. I was not too woried about anyone seeing my decoys they where a long ways off the road their was no moon and we where the only ones with the farmers ok so why not do it. I got to sleep in a bit and the blinds looked good the next morning because they had frost on them along with everything else of course so did the decoys lol


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

jb If you do it enough it is just a matter of time until you get ripped off. Blinds and fullbodies are very expensive and even in ND there are thieves. Hope it doesnt happen to you.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

I agree jb, just a matter of time before you get em ripped off.

I also agree with snowbus, seen alot of "newbie" setups. The guys that left their decoys out all night had about 3-4 dozen econo NW's. Out there educating birds.


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## jb (Feb 8, 2005)

I dont do it in a regular basis and I do have a ton of cash sitting out in the feild and yes it dose make me feel a bit uneasy ;however Im not real sure that anyone could have found them if they wanted to they where way off the road heck we had a bit of a time finding them the next morn  . I put them out way past dark I bet we did not get done untill 10:30-11:00 I guess I just dont see what the differance between that and putting them up at 3am I would never leave decoys out where they could be seen from the road even if they where a long ways out but veiwable. I asked the farmer if anyone else had asked and he told me no and that if the did that he would not let anyone else hunt their. The way I see it is no harm could be done. I have gone to a feild before not knowing someone had set up the night before, good for me I happed to set up down wind with a spread that was 50 times larger then they had. I had no ideal they were out their I guess I never even looked untill I seen a truck driving out to the feild about 300yrs away I bet they only had 100 decoys and they only shot one bird and it was one we criped out lol. My point is yea it can suck but like someone said it sure is nice to have a backup plan and if you dont have that at least your not working or sitting arond the house wishing you where hunting. I have no problem inviting people to hunt with me if things like this come up who knows you might make a good friend out of the deal. The moring I had the guys do it to us when I went up to meet the guys the first thing he asked me was if I wanted a "snort" and I am out when it comes to drinking and shooting so I told them good luck and whent on my way. It didnt make it any better that I found the feild the night before and the same guys drove up and asked what we where doing and told them we planed to hunt here in the morning and I was just putting the birds to bed so I could find the best place to setup in the AM so they said ok they acted like they wanted to hunt but didnt say much I asked if they wanted to and they just said oh we dont know what we want to in the morn we just may sleep in little did I know they had a dark plan to beat me to the feild :lol:

P.S. Im not usally that long winded sorry uke:


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

We pride ourselves in getting to the fields first. But we have had people setup in the same fields twice this season and once last season. Last year two different groups with 12-18 decoys setup in our same field. We got there at about 12:30am to secure the spot and set up all night needless to say our spread was much bigger. This year we had groups set up in our fields both times it was older guys. We were hunting a beet field about a week ago and some guys showed up with around two dozen decoys and set up in our field saying that they used to farm it so it was "ok" even though we had exclusive permission to hunt it. They couldn't call at all and weren't getting birds so they went and sat in the tree-row that the birds were coming over to our decoys and pass shot. Went and asked them what the heck they were doing after we picked up and they said, "If you had been hunting as long as I have you'd know that if you aren't shooting birds where you are move to somewhere else," I replied, "Well thanks for screwing us over."

Only time I ever set up the night before is when I am going to sleep there. And I only do that when it is a long ways from home and I don't want to pay for gas.

I know that Tim Grounds Probably won't leave anything in the field anymore.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Were the same way, maybe a little goose-s*#t crazy. We spent the night in a field already this year, only to have a group come in that had left their decoys out overnight about 300 yards away. 
We were in the field at 2am this past week, we had TWO other groups of hunters set up in the same field. Luckily, neither of them were smart enough to downwind us, one group was upwind, the other parallel to us with the wind. We outdecoyed both groups big time, the upwind group never fired a shot, the other group skybusted one flock after we wacked a bunch out of it.
The one group had about a 100 all white rags, the other had 3-4 dozen shells, all white. 
Personaly, id rather have a field to myself, and in the rare occasion we do get beat to a field, we go to plan B, which we always have.


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

I think the only restriction on leaving decoys out over nite is on public land. WMA etc. On private you could leave a spread out all year long if you wanted to. In fact there was decoys out on a slough off 94 by Fergus Falls almost all summer long. uke:


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## Horker23 (Mar 2, 2006)

We had the same problem this year. This pea feild was covered in mallards. The feild next to us had a transition slough in it and they would feed and jump to the slough.we hunted the peas that night. we set up and we were done in half and hour. as we were picking a truck drives into the feild drive and sits the and watches us load the trailer. as were pulling out they leave and speed off. So later that night we decide that were gonna try and hunt the feild again the next morin cause they were still pouring in when were leaving. So when were setting up in the moring that truck pulls into the feild with the slough. They had the first shots of the morin, but that was it, we were downwind and we hammered on them. We could of hunted that feild for a couple more days, but as were leaving the idiots bust the slough and the spot is shot.
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