# What has waterfowl hunting become?



## jhegg (May 29, 2004)

This was posted by G.B. Jack on The Refuge forum. It reminds me of what goose hunting in ND has evolved into.

Jim



> the goosebusters thread really got me thinking, then i read ruffs post and it led me to this conclusion.
> 
> Originally Posted by Ruff
> This whole thread is why I took up Hound hunting for Bear and backed off on geese. Too much screw the other guy going on out there. When the fun starts falling off and it becomes more of a job than a recreation one needs to sit down and rethink the situation.
> ...


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

yep.... you are starting to see what I've been *****ing about since 2003 on here. The way people treat each other these days I will not call them sportsman!! They are gamers not even hunters, they rely on someone else to get something solid going on then swoop in for the scraps then ***** because some one was there first. peace 8)


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

Gun deer hunters are much the same its why I quit waterfowl and gun deer hunting for the most part

anytime the hunt requires a fixed position " its my spot" the problems start


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Yup! :beer:

I really only hunt snows now. I pretty much quit duck hunting after the first resident only week. Its a frickin rat race, and it takes the fun out of it.

Last year, after dealing with four different groups of trespassers (one of which LIED to us-not knowing the landowner was in our party) on OPENING DAY I quit. I sold all my honker dekes and most of my field duck dekes this summer. Its just not worth it anymore.

To many young punks with their "crews" who spend to much time watching avery videos.

Theres just nothing sacred about waterfowling anymore. To many guys with the "screw them before they screw you" attitude.


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## Doogie (Feb 23, 2007)

he took up the wrong thing if hes sick of that kind of stuff, there is alot alot of the same mentality in the hound hunting world. I think grouse hunting may be his thing


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## Sportin' Woodies (Jun 26, 2006)

boohoo. yall are whining about a situation in a state that probably has the least amount of pressure on the most amount of waterfowl.

your bad experiences sound like a relatively "uncrowded" morning in SC


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## deacon (Sep 12, 2003)

Appears I am with the majority have not hunted waterfowl in ND the last 8 years.

Upland game is now my focus. Do more late season to avoid hunters.


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## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

Yep. This pretty much sums it up. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that this "I'm a waterfowler... AND a rock star!" phase fades away with time. It seems twisted to say this, but it might take a stretch of dry years for waterfowling to be fun again.


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## ruger1 (Aug 16, 2006)

diver_sniper said:


> Yep. This pretty much sums it up. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that this "I'm a waterfowler... AND a rock star!" phase fades away with time. It seems twisted to say this, but it might take a stretch of dry years for waterfowling to be fun again.


I've seen all the D-Bags out there just as you guys have. However we've found that private leases, exclusive permission, and a little hard work (which I find fun) eliminate majority of the problems. Most the D-Bags that you guys are referring to have big trucks, big trailers, and a ton of gear (cause Avery said they need it). So we go light and walk far over hills and through swamps. It's a more rewarding experience even if we don't fill out. Mostly because we can enjoy it for what it is and not have a pissing contest in a field at 5 AM.

More importantly I would like to know how these younger "crews" can afford a $6,000 trailer and $2,000 -$3,000 in gear. I know what I make which is a fairly high salary and I don't have that kind of set up.


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## DNovicki (Jan 22, 2003)

Happens everywhere. Just last week at a field about 3 miles from my house that I had my eye on for two days I went out and 2 guys were set up ahead of me. I drove out and asked if they had room for one more guy and they got right in my face about how this was theri field and if I wanted to hunt here I should have been here earlier. All I did was ask a simple question and these two went off on me like a bottle rocket. Needless to say I just left and went to another spot. It just isnt worth it anymore around here. I dont know if its their age or what but was it going to kill them to be decent and just say no we're not interested in hunting with anyone else, end of story. Manners and common courtesy are soley lacking in the younger generation......................


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## JBB (Feb 9, 2005)

Things have changed since the days a kid could take his shotgun to school,get on his bike after school. Pedal and mile or two from town, walk around a couple of potholes. Shoot some ducks and pedal home after dark,all wet and muddy to a mother who was ****** because you got your school clothes dirty.
I think those days were a lot more fun and rewarding then anything we do now. I know I some times hate to think of taking my grandkids with hunting these days. Whether waterfowling with all the guys out there who think the more money you spend the more rights you get. Or upland hunting with the way land owners have become because of the pressure put on them by us as hunters. Luckly I have built enough relationships with land owners over the last 40 years I will have somewhere to take my grandkids.
Sometimes makes me wish for my old Coast to Coast shotgun and my Huffy again. But then I think of my knees, the cold wet ride home and am glad for a good set of wheels and Gortex boots.


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

moved to hot topics


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

ruger1 said:


> However we've found that private leases, exclusive permission, and a little hard work (which I find fun) eliminate majority of the problems.


Congratulations, you are part of the problem.

The sad thing is ND is about as good as it gets for not being a zoo.


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## makin it rain (Apr 2, 2009)

Here might be a wild idea, Make the law state that nobody can trespass on anyother land unless given permission. I think alot of the problems stem from not having to ask permission to be on the land. And then when you get there its an argument because one person showed up earier with out farmer permission and the other got permission showed up late. WHO SHOULD THEN GET THE FIELD. I say hell with this open field first come first serve BS. Give it to the farmers to decide. If they want to throw a sign up on the gravel that says first come first serve then so be it. Hunting in NoDak is like a pack a high school girls< DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA

As for not letting a guy hunt with you, understandable if your out there with 10 guys but a single walks up to two guys, come on man.

I dont know maybe im missing it...


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

> More importantly I would like to know how these younger "crews" can afford a $6,000 trailer and $2,000 -$3,000 in gear. I know what I make which is a fairly high salary and I don't have that kind of set up.


Some of these guys will are losing homes, vehicles, etc.


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## ruger1 (Aug 16, 2006)

USAlx50 said:


> ruger1 said:
> 
> 
> > However we've found that private leases, exclusive permission, and a little hard work (which I find fun) eliminate majority of the problems.
> ...


I would disagree. I really don't enjoy having disagreements over fields and hunting experiences. If everyone could be adult and have a rational conversation, there wouldn't be a need to lock them out of lands. However there are a lot of irrational and immature people out there who trespass and argue whether they are right or wrong.


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

makin it rain said:


> Here might be a wild idea, Make the law state that nobody can trespass on anyother land unless given permission. I think alot of the problems stem from not having to ask permission to be on the land. And then when you get there its an argument because one person showed up earier with out farmer permission and the other got permission showed up late. WHO SHOULD THEN GET THE FIELD. I say hell with this open field first come first serve BS. Give it to the farmers to decide. If they want to throw a sign up on the gravel that says first come first serve then so be it. Hunting in NoDak is like a pack a high school girls< DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA
> 
> As for not letting a guy hunt with you, understandable if your out there with 10 guys but a single walks up to two guys, come on man.
> 
> I dont know maybe im missing it...


I disagree. Even when posted many landowners will just give permission to whoever asks politely for waterfowl. We ran into this problem in MN this weekend, LOTS of fields where multiple groups were granted permission. We knew others planned to hunt certain fields and had gotten permission before us, so we left those fields alone.


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

ruger1 said:


> USAlx50 said:
> 
> 
> > ruger1 said:
> ...


I agree with your reasoning. It just seems like the easy way out and makes access harder for a lot of the good guys out there as well.


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## DNovicki (Jan 22, 2003)

Yea thats what I thought too. Maybe Im too old school for these new guys cuz I still lay in the decoys ( dont have a ground blind and never will) still use my Long Honker Goose call ( has worked for years) shoot an old school Mag-10 ( killed plenty of birds with it). Seems like more guys are into "buying stuff" and displaying their spread than actually killing geese, but thats not me. All they had to say was no but for crying out loud you dont have to be a pri#k about it. Whatever happened to people being civilized with one another? I know if I had room in my spread for someone I wouldnt have a problem with it. Sportsmanship means many things and the first rule of sportmanship should be treat everyone with respect. JMO


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

> Sportsmanship means many things and the first rule of sportmanship should be treat everyone with respect. JMO


The people in question have no respect for the birds,the enviroment or the amazing migration that takes place in the west so how can we expect them to respect us when they can't respect themselves.

I edited this. Keep it clean.

MSG Rude


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## omegax (Oct 25, 2006)

ruger1 said:


> More importantly I would like to know how these younger "crews" can afford a $6,000 trailer and $2,000 -$3,000 in gear. I know what I make which is a fairly high salary and I don't have that kind of set up.


I highly doubt they have kids, or fund an IRA, like grown-ups do. They're probably also in debt up to their eyeballs... Anybody can look like a high-roller for a while.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I started waterfowl hunting about 32 years ago. At that time very little land was posted and it was not unusual to see 25-50 hunters in a day in a 100 sq mile area. Yet there was very little competiton for hunting spots. Of course most duck hunters hunted water back then and a lot of that was jump shooting. Any slough you picked to hunt generally had another dozen hunters in the vicinity but not necessarily on that body of water. If somebody was on your spot (rare dispite all the pressure) you just moved to the next one. The amazing thing was everybody got birds, guys rarely got their shorts in a knot if they didn't get a limit and the birds didn't bale out due to pressure. You want to talk pressure... when I started 95% of the hunters were residents who almost always had a gun in their vehicle and many of whom hunted before and after work/school every chance they got the whole season. Yes now we have non residents that come and hunt a week or two straight but in my day we had twice that many residents pounding birds on a daily basis. I'm telling anybody under about 30 that as bad as it seems this is probably the best you're gonna see it. Most of you guys don't know what "bad" is. I wonder how many guys on here would continue to hunt with a 3 duck (2 malards) , 3 goose and 2 canada limit like when I started.



> More importantly I would like to know how these younger "crews" can afford a $6,000 trailer and $2,000 -$3,000 in gear.


Credit cards. Most are up to their ears in debt but don't care. They just enjoy it untill it is taken away.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Is a batch of piglets fighting for the best tit a good comparison? :lol:


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

> More importantly I would like to know how these younger "crews" can afford a $6,000 trailer and $2,000 -$3,000 in gear. I know what I make which is a fairly high salary and I don't have that kind of set up.


I see this time and time again. Folks with these types of outfits seem to be 18-25 yrs old. It blows my mind, it must be a lot of mommy and daddy money!


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## HARRY2 (Jul 26, 2004)

Why are the classifieds nothing but decoys? Why do you guys sell so many decoys? I dont do waterfoul so i am just wondering.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

> I see this time and time again. Folks with these types of outfits seem to be 18-25 yrs old. It blows my mind, it must be a lot of mommy and daddy money!


Here is how it works for many people.

September...buy decoy spread 
December ...sell decoy spread buy snowmobile
April... sell snowmobile buy motorcycle or boat
September.... sell motorcycle or boat and start the cycle over again

Never have any money in the bank and always loaded with credit card debt. Can't live my life that way.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

That is probably how it plays out, but it doesn't account for the $35-50,000 pickup/trailer combo, the high dollar camo/shotguns/boots/ect.

Do they get all the stickers for free, or do they have to pay for those too? They play with stickers more than my grade school neices.


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## fishhook (Aug 29, 2002)

so it's not only me.


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## DNovicki (Jan 22, 2003)

I remember the days when I would go to the sports store to buy my license and would see a guy buying decoys, shells, gun, calls etc etc. always asked him where he was going to be in the morning cuz I figured I'd want to be as far away from him as possible..................


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

This is a great thread! Bashin waterfowlers. Fast becoming one of my favorite pastimes! :lol: :lol: :lol:

You aint "dedicated" unless you have a "crew" with a combined total of at least $50,000 in gear and no less than 43 bands on your lanyard per "crewmember".

Oh yeah, and you gotta have a cool gang sign or something for the photo shoot, like the "shocker".


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

barebackjack said:


> Oh yeah, and you gotta have a cool gang sign or something for the photo shoot, like the "shocker".


Awwww come on, the shocker pics are hilarious. :beer:


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## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

The only thing you forgot was the skull cap when it is 80 out.


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## ruger1 (Aug 16, 2006)

Chris Hustad said:


> barebackjack said:
> 
> 
> > Oh yeah, and you gotta have a cool gang sign or something for the photo shoot, like the "shocker".
> ...


No no............. I'm a fan of the "pointers".


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## DNovicki (Jan 22, 2003)

I do not believe its even remotely possible to kill geese without: 12 dozen Dave Smith Decoys, a Super Black Eagle 2, hevi shot 3.5",six different goose calls over a hundred dollars a piece, a ground blind of some type preferably the most expensive one out there, a Chevy/Dodge/or Ford 1 ton diesel truck, an 18 foot trailer, a goatee and a baseball cap that never comes off your head. Cant be done............


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## tumblebuck (Feb 17, 2004)

Don't forget your trailer stickers


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

Best.Thread.Ever.

Notice how many of the usual suspects that partake in this behavior have not posted yet...

This thread needs to be put back in the goose hunting forum for a week, then move it to the duck forum the next...

IMNSHO


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## Dave K. (Aug 28, 2003)

It's not about hanging out with guys or getting out in the country for a while anymore. Don't you guys know you NEED to kill a limit of birds or your not a real hunter?
:roll:

Family and work don't allow me much free time to hunt anymore. Last fall I didn't get out once. This spring I was lucky enough to tag along on a snowgoose hunt. This fall doesn't look promising for getting out either, but that's OK I'll survive.

What's hard for me to stomach is I talk to guys who get out, shoot some birds, have a good hunt, but aren't satisfied because there isn't a limit of birds to take a picture of and post all over the internet. Or hear someone say there not going out in the morning because the field they found isn't loaded up enough and won't be "Worth it". Pulling the trigger use to mean everything to me, but I'm glad I'm passed that point in my life.

I've had a lot of good hunts and a lot of bad ones too, but I would not take back one second I spent on any of them. It was always "Worth it" in my opinion.

For the guys who think you need to kill everything that moves just remember this, hunting is not a contest and treasure the time you get to spend in the outdoors because you never know....one day you might be missing hunting a whole lot more than actually doing it.


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## goodkarmarising (Feb 8, 2008)

x


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## Goldy's Pal (Jan 6, 2004)

Don't forget the new Drake "old school" pattern back out on the racks now. Guess that went around full circle huh? Mossy oak shadow grass, obsession, duckblind, flyway, max 1, max 4, realtree, realtree, hardwoods, advantage, advantage timber, advantage timber green, brown, brown camo again. cripes I remember when you went to the army surplus store for hunting clothes and you got army green or plain green and you felt decked out like a warrior of the outdoors and your buddy dressed in blue jeans with a red and black checkered flannel still shot the bigger deer that night after school out of a croch of a tree he climbed in maybe 6 feet high. :lol: Classic.


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## JBB (Feb 9, 2005)

A good day of hunting is like a pay check just gotta have it. Getting birds is the bonus check nice to have but I will live without it.


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

dakotashooter2 said:


> I wonder how many guys on here would continue to hunt with a 3 duck (2 malards) , 3 goose and 2 canada limit like when I started.


*Raises hand*

:beer:


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## deacon (Sep 12, 2003)

R y a n said:


> Best.Thread.Ever.
> 
> Notice how many of the usual suspects that partake in this behavior have not posted yet...
> 
> ...


Just what I was thinking, where are the guys with the handles

"killem"
"shootem"
"kill the bastards"
"shoottilltheydrop"
"ifitfliesitdies"

The lack of respect for hunting is ruining the sport.


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## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

deacon said:


> Just what I was thinking, where are the guys with the handles
> 
> "killem"
> "shootem"
> ...


I think the answer to this is obvious. Season is open, they're out there in the field being hardcore kill machines, duh! No days off baby! DIE DIE DIE!


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## NDhunter14 (Oct 17, 2007)

I will agree, waterfowling is getting ridicuolus. Thankfully, I havent met any of these d bags, as you put them, out in the field quite yet. I have maybe 200-300 bucks locked up in wterfowl gear. 2 dozen economy light goose decs, 2 dozen duck floaters, an ameristep hayhouse blind, an a cut up piece of a camo blanket for a field blind fooled the cranes last year, 8 in three trips. plusthe yo sista duck call an a knight an hale goose. Oh, and the dog, cant forget the lil lab goldy mix i got when i was a freshman in high school. maybe be a mut but she out hunts my dads friends wirehair straight from germany anyday of the week, plus she actually gets the birds when their down too. but yea, u guys can go an spend a fortune, making ***** of ureselfs, cause ill be in a field or saloo somewhere having just as much fun, if not more then the rest of u guys. but, i digress, as far as the d bags go, i hve only met em deer hunting, like the guy who *****ed out a 16 year old kid 2 years ago because i shot HIS buck on my dads buds land, that was in plots. Or the guy that bairly missed out truck going 70 down a prairie trail chasing a doe, well that one was kinda good, game warden pulls up about 3 seconds later down the same trail, just in time to see em shoot the deer out his window. 
but hey whatever, hope you guys have a good seasons free of d bags, god bless


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## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

It must be the area I hunt in ND but I've never experience a problem with other hunters. I've coming out to ND for 11 years. It's about the same every year, very few hunters.

You guys want to see hunting pressure, come down to Rochester in early December.

All is not lost, there are still plenty of good guys out there. The D-bag just seem to grab the spot light more.


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

I agree with much of the statements in this thread. There seems to be a lot of hating on people with nice or large quantities of waterfowling gear. If they are the type of people who act like their gear gives them some kind of special status, then by all means bash away. But just because someone is fortunate enough to acquire a lot of gear doesn't mean you need to rip on them.

BTW, I am a college kid who is much more in debt than necessary because of some of my hunting expenses. As I see it, might as well be, because I'm not going to be able to hunt this much for the rest of my life when I'm done this spring.



> Maybe Im too old school for these new guys cuz I still lay in the decoys ( dont have a ground blind and never will)


Your Neck, back, and body temperature would thank you if you reconsidered :wink:


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

> BTW, I am a college kid who is much more in debt than necessary because of some of my hunting expenses. As I see it, might as well be, because I'm not going to be able to hunt this much for the rest of my life when I'm done this spring.


and enjoy it!!! Cuz like you said it just isn't as easy to get out when you have work in the morning. For example Bandman posted up some pic's of their hunt 2 mornings ago. I was asked to join, but couldn't miss work that morning. God it hurt seeing the bling!

I did the same thing back in the day!



> Your Neck, back, and body temperature would thank you if you reconsidered


X2....


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Some people that have alot of gear,may also sit on the classifieds and buy used stuff. None of my stuff is new and I have quite a bit of stuff. Same for a couple other of my friends.


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## gaddy getter (Dec 2, 2003)

My cousin has spent thousands$$$ on wind surfing equipment. My grandma has spent Thousands$$$ on Beanie Babies. I've spent Thousands$$$ on duck and goose hunting.

Big whoopie ding dong deal......You gotta have a passion in life. If waterfowling is your passion, you find a way to buy lots of nice stuff to do it to the best of your ability. I don't see a problem with that.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

I don't think its a problem if a person can handle themselves. But if a person has to declare bankruptcy because they bought to of their hobby then that's a little over board.


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