# Relatives Weekend?



## Feathers (Oct 27, 2011)

Just got back from a few days in the great state of North Dakota. We hunted a different area in the SE portion of the state this trip. We used to go to Minnewauken but it has got a little too posted and pressured for our liking. Well I'd have to say we found just as many, if not more, posted signs in this area. They were not locked up by guides or outfitters, just the farmer posting the land. We found several fields getting used by thousands of mallards and asked on probably a dozen and got turned down on all but one throughout a three day period. Everyone we talked to said their relatives were coming up this weekend to hunt. A couple people seemed sincere but a few just seemed to use it as an excuse. We went to some of the fields that the relatives were supposedly going to hunt and they were still chucked full so it made me wonder if it was really getting hunted or if they just wanted to keep us off their land.

We talked to several other hunters in town who said they were running into the same thing. I certainly don't expect anyone to allow us to hunt their property, especially as a stranger and I understand it is a priveledge not a right. It just makes it kind of tough to avoid hunting water when you can't get on any fields getting used.

I am just wondering if last weekend is a time when a lot of relatives typically come up or do you think that it may have been an excuse?


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## slough (Oct 12, 2003)

Very common thing to run into. I wouldn't say last weekend would have been a more common time for relatives to hunt than any other weekend. I'd just take it to mean "we have family that hunts and we save it for them." Often the stuff gets hunted once or twice a year if at all. Definitely frustrating but nothing you can do.


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## AdamFisk (Jan 30, 2005)

Too much pressure, people are sick of it, right from the horses (landowners) mouths. Land is being closed to both R and NR. I ran into it a lot last weekend too....Simple as that.


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

I agree with Adam but have no solution.About 18 miles from me there's a family that used to allow most anyone-usually only every other day.This year Grampa turned over the 'hunting thing' to a son.With an early but very busy harvest he was often deluged with requests.Often calls came in as late as 9-10PM.I guess on one day he was stopped 6 times while combining.Found out yesterday they have had it.Their land is now closed except 'for family'.I was told that decision is final and they want the word to get around.Sad but.....


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## Daniels (Jan 26, 2012)

duckp said:


> I agree with Adam but have no solution.About 18 miles from me there's a family that used to allow most anyone-usually only every other day.This year Grampa turned over the 'hunting thing' to a son.With an early but very busy harvest he was often deluged with requests.Often calls came in as late as 9-10PM.I guess on one day he was stopped 6 times while combining.Found out yesterday they have had it.Their land is now closed except 'for family'.I was told that decision is final and they want the word to get around.Sad but.....


Why would you stop a farmer when he is combining? Complete stupidity in my mind. Come back at dinner or supper time and try to catch him/her at the house. Sad deal


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Daniels said:


> duckp said:
> 
> 
> > I agree with Adam but have no solution.About 18 miles from me there's a family that used to allow most anyone-usually only every other day.This year Grampa turned over the 'hunting thing' to a son.With an early but very busy harvest he was often deluged with requests.Often calls came in as late as 9-10PM.I guess on one day he was stopped 6 times while combining.Found out yesterday they have had it.Their land is now closed except 'for family'.I was told that decision is final and they want the word to get around.Sad but.....
> ...


Too many people don't understand anything about farming.


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## tilley (Jul 28, 2011)

Well it seems to me that we need to get more people into hunting..lets have more youth seasons,early seasons etc as it evident that not many people hunt anymore and we need to save our heritage. Kids are our future,lets get more people involved . yeah that it !


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

> Well it seems to me that we need to get more people into hunting..lets have more youth seasons,early seasons etc as it evident that not many people hunt anymore and we need to save our heritage. Kids are our future,lets get more people involved . yeah that it !


And if we don't get thousands and thousands more who is going to stand up to the anti's?
I had a guy sitting next to me at a Delta banquet in August and when they were doing the youth raffles he was saying how there aren't any hunters left to carry on the tradition, etc..etc..
then he started talking about how if Obama gets reelected were going to have to have to go down to the police station and check out our guns each time we hunt. Is this true?


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## NDhunter08 (Aug 28, 2010)

Actually I heard in a hunting magazine that as a hunter, we would rather want obama in office then Mitt but I could be wrong. I also have a hard time with believing hunter numbers are down, becuase each night I go scout seems like I run into 10+ trucks. It seems like it keeps raising each year.


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## HugeBurrito2k6 (Oct 25, 2011)

This whole thing is just getting blown out of proportion with the land access. First off i realize that it is an owners choice to post land. They farm it they pay taxes on it they have complete hear say when it comes to that land. However most farmers i know have 2000 plus acres of land. When you have that much land tied to one owner of coarse when they post it they are going to have many people asking for permission for many different locations on the land they own.

In a perfect world: If farmers and hunters could reach a mutual understanding about land access there would be much more land available to hunt. If farmers would post there land as public access with the different terms hunters would have to abide by on the sign such as no driving vehicles onto property and picking up shell casings and leaving the land the same way you left it before the hunt and everyone followed the landowners rules i think one would see more land open up to hunters.

In the world we live in: People litter, people drive into a wet field and leave ruts and do donuts and vandalise the land. There is a reason we have lost most of the hunting ground due to ignorant people doing things that ruined it for the rest of us. It is such a shame because it is a great sport but when i am seeing as much land as i have been seeing being posted up i fear this sport is going to die sooner than you think.


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## NDhunter08 (Aug 28, 2010)

Feathers said:


> Just got back from a few days in the great state of North Dakota. We hunted a different area in the SE portion of the state this trip. We used to go to Minnewauken but it has got a little too posted and pressured for our liking. Well I'd have to say we found just as many, if not more, posted signs in this area. They were not locked up by guides or outfitters, just the farmer posting the land. We found several fields getting used by thousands of mallards and asked on probably a dozen and got turned down on all but one throughout a three day period. Everyone we talked to said their relatives were coming up this weekend to hunt. A couple people seemed sincere but a few just seemed to use it as an excuse. We went to some of the fields that the relatives were supposedly going to hunt and they were still chucked full so it made me wonder if it was really getting hunted or if they just wanted to keep us off their land.
> 
> We talked to several other hunters in town who said they were running into the same thing. I certainly don't expect anyone to allow us to hunt their property, especially as a stranger and I understand it is a priveledge not a right. It just makes it kind of tough to avoid hunting water when you can't get on any fields getting used.
> 
> I am just wondering if last weekend is a time when a lot of relatives typically come up or do you think that it may have been an excuse?


I agree with everything you said. In my area I am lucky enough to know most of the farmers and they let me hunt their posted fields without asking. One of the main reasons they say they dont let others hunt is because they leave stuff behind. I know I hunted twice this year and we found two stakes (for decoys) bent in a field. Those field stakes can puncture their tires and really piss them off. It all starts with hunters picking up after themselves and commit to the old saying "leave the place better than you got there".


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

duckp said:


> I agree with Adam but have no solution.About 18 miles from me there's a family that used to allow most anyone-usually only every other day.This year Grampa turned over the 'hunting thing' to a son.With an early but very busy harvest he was often deluged with requests.Often calls came in as late as 9-10PM.I guess on one day he was stopped 6 times while combining. Found out yesterday they have had it.Their land is now closed except 'for family'.I was told that decision is final and they want the word to get around.Sad but.....


For farmers that don't want to be bothered the solution to this is simple.... don't post it or post it open to hunting. The G&F will even provide you signs. I know someone who does this and has never had a problem.

Sadly I think the wholesale posting of property has made the whole situation worse instead of better. I miss the days of no posted land. You rarely heard of any problems and with everything open there was no fighting over fields and evenly spread pressure on the game.


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## water_swater (Sep 19, 2006)

It's the future of hunting, ND does their best to advertise it too. I am from Devils Lake, you could actually see this problem. There were guys all over thursday pouring into town. Until oh schmitt there's no available land to hunt here. The motels were empty by Sat I saw one truck I knew was hunting between four hotels on the east side of town. Everybody had to leave it was pointless, sad thing is its making the hunting alot better for those that have access. All the roost sloughs now are essentially posted and the birds we have managed, not hunted every day ect.


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## nodak1978 (Oct 31, 2012)

Beginning Sept 1 through Dec 31... every 1st and 3rd weekend of the month in NDak is designated as "Relative's Weekend". the 2nd and 4th weekend of every month is "Friend's" weekend. If there happens to be a month that has a 5th weekend, you might get on then. Unless you have a Buck tag or live near Mott.


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## Feathers (Oct 27, 2011)

nodak1978 said:


> Beginning Sept 1 through Dec 31... every 1st and 3rd weekend of the month in NDak is designated as "Relative's Weekend". the 2nd and 4th weekend of every month is "Friend's" weekend. If there happens to be a month that has a 5th weekend, you might get on then. Unless you have a Buck tag or live near Mott.


= busted roost every weekend except the 5th weekend. The roosts, for the most part, were easy to access. I even saw a resident launching his boat on one through a plot.

The res say hunt them in the field and you can shoot them all season long and they will stay unless you bust the roost. So why do they save the fields for a relative that hunts it once a season?

ND isn't the way it was 5-10 years ago. It's certainly not easy for a freelancer anymore if you want to hunt fields. This will definitely affect the amount of hunters coming back but it seems that is what the landowners want. I am not sure the motels, restaraunts, gas stations etc would agree.

I think I will be off to SD or SK next year after hunting ND for a good ten years straight. Sad to see.


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## Rooster14 (Oct 31, 2012)

or pay an outfitter when im totally capable myself i will be busting every roost i can until i can hunt the way they want me too. i guess they will show me


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

> by Rooster14 » Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:54 pm
> 
> or pay an outfitter when im totally capable myself i will be busting every roost i can until i can hunt the way they want me too. i guess they will show me


X2. I'll sign the outfitter roost busting pledge. Man would it suck to be sitting next to a group of guys you are charging $600-1200 a day and watch the roost lift 10 min before shooting. No tip for you.


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