# MN Duck Opener



## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

One of the VERY FEW huntng articles this year in the Forum this morning. Short story on ND and MN openers. Found part of the MN story interesting. "We don't feel it will have an adverse effect on our Duck population" (talking about the 9:00am opener vs the old 12:00 opening time) "said Ed Boggess, DNR F&W Division Policy Chief". "But we will evaluate the impacts, including harvest success and the effects on the local waterfowl populations." "The purpose is to PROTECT the state's breeding population of ducks, to try to disperse and extend the harvest and to REDUCE PRESSURE ON WATERFOWL TO LEAVE THE STATE."

Where have I heard that before? Sounds a lot like this guy might buy into the Hunter Pressure Concept (HPC). Disperse and extend the harvest....is that what were trying to do with the current zone system?


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## jbaincfl (Feb 5, 2003)

I have hunted in MN for 15 years and it won't matter if they open the season at n oon or 9. The best hunting is fom sunup to 8 and then 6-sundown.


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## Dave K. (Aug 28, 2003)

9 to noon. Either way it's just a bunch of BS.

It would be nice to actually get a good mornings shoot on the opening for once! :eyeroll:


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## Shu (Oct 21, 2003)

This will be the first opener I have missed in 20 years (annual inventory at work). 

No matter how many ducks we shoot it's always fun the first time out. I think Monday I will be overtaken by a mysterious illness and miss a couple of days of work.


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## jbaincfl (Feb 5, 2003)

:withstupid: You got it Dave. Might as well not let us hunt until Sunday.


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

I agree with you guys on the oepning times...I hunted my father-in-laws land for years in MN ande could never figure the 12:00 opener. The main point of the post was to point out the apparent knowledge of Division chief in the mn DNR that pressure on the resource can and does force the waterfowl from the state earlier than normal.


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## Shu (Oct 21, 2003)

What affect 3 hours will have is anybody's guess, but with 120,000 people blazing away I'd say it moves birds big time. By noon on Saturday the birds won't even look at a decoy on the water. It'll be a teal shoot the rest of the weekend.

They claim the late opener is to protect the hen mallards. Personally I think they should treat the opener as any other hunting day - 1/2 hour before sunrise and limit the bag to 1 hen mallard. I don't know why they went to 2 hen mallards anyways.


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## jd mn/nd (Apr 8, 2004)

Two years ago a MN DNR official was on the radio stating that the reason the opener did not occur until noon was for hunter saftey so that the hunters could familiarize themselfs with boats decoys and guns waders etc... during day light hours and not in the dark they figured that it cut down drowings by a certain percent. The MN DNR is starting to sound like senator Kerry flip flop back and forth between reasons for the late start opener day. And as far as not pushing the birds out of the state and not over harvesting the birds that's a crock of crap we only have 2 dozen mallards in the entire state anyway!! I personally do not even hunt ducks in MN any longer I quite about 3years ago, since there is not enough to shoot anyway!! Geese now that's a different story. Like a previous post stated you can spend all day in a MN blind and never pull the trigger, that's not fun.


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## jd mn/nd (Apr 8, 2004)

Two years ago a MN DNR official was on the radio stating that the reason the opener did not occur until noon was for hunter saftey so that the hunters could familiarize themselfs with boats decoys and guns waders etc... during day light hours and not in the dark they figured that it cut down drowings by a certain percent. The MN DNR is starting to sound like senator Kerry flip flop back and forth between reasons for the late start opener day. And as far as not pushing the birds out of the state and not over harvesting the birds that's a crock of crap we only have 2 dozen mallards in the entire state anyway!! I personally do not even hunt ducks in MN any longer I quite about 3years ago, since there is not enough to shoot anyway!! Geese now that's a different story. Like a previous post stated you can spend all day in a MN blind and never pull the trigger, that's not fun.


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

i usually end up getting things ready on saturday and doing some scouting for sunday morning. it doesn't even feel like its the opener when it starts after sun up.


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## deacon (Sep 12, 2003)

MN is a joke compared to ND, That's a fact Jack! I would be going to ND if they hadn't changed the rules. :******:

I don't know why I even go out, usually is a disappointment. Duck hunting at noon, that is like golfing at night, it just doesn't work.

I will go out for my son's sake but not excited at all. We will bring lots of treats :spam: , that will make him happy.


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

hope you and your boy get some.


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## maple lake duck slayer (Sep 25, 2003)

Minnesota has a lot better hunting than a lot of people give it credit for. It may not compare to ND, but it is still fun and there are a decent amount of birds to be had. If you like, keep saying the hunting here absolutely sucks. More birds for me and they will be less pressured. Especially after all the ***** waterfowlers hunt the first week or two and then hang it up for the season. uke:


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## goose0613 (Oct 24, 2003)

maple lake duck slayer said:


> Minnesota has a lot better hunting than a lot of people give it credit for. It may not compare to ND, but it is still fun and there are a decent amount of birds to be had. If you like, keep saying the hunting here absolutely sucks. More birds for me and they will be less pressured. Especially after all the p*$$y waterfowlers hunt the first week or two and then hang it up for the season. uke:


  -- This is true. I have had no problem finding plenty of ducks to shoot. In some cases, I have had just as good, if not better duck hunting in MN as in ND. Also, 9:00 opener is leaps and bounds better than 12:00. This way, (if you can pattern some using fields at this time of year) you can get birds coming back from the morning feed instead of just pushing them off the slough and waiting in the heat for them to come back. Although I would have to say that most of my fellow MN hunters (the p*$$y waterfowlers) refuse to put the time and effort into scouting in order to enjoy a good shoot.


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

true.


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## SJB (Jul 2, 2003)

Does Minnesota still allow the hunters to shoot waterfowl until sunset or do they close at 4PM?


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## Shu (Oct 21, 2003)

4pm for the first part of the season.


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2004)

Makes it even more pathetic, I'd rather not waste my valuable time, amke my $40 a day and then go out when it's open from sun up to sundown!!! :lol: :eyeroll: uke:


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## Shu (Oct 21, 2003)

nobody cares how much you make per day


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2004)

And you're jealous rich boy!!!??? :lol: uke:


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## Shu (Oct 21, 2003)

nice edit from 400 a day to 40 a day - whatever. Have a good day #1.


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

:eyeroll:


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## fungalsnowgoose (Sep 11, 2004)

Hmmm. I've given this subject lot's of thought n Mn problems run a lot deeper than tthe time they open the season. IMO Mn should spend less money building stadiums for thugs to play games in and a little more on their Natural Resources..Mn has the capabilities of being just as good as ND for waterfowl but we have a few problems ...We need predator control...Encourage wild rice growth .....and to make more suitable nesting areas.... All the water here could provide excellent hunting oppurtunities but it needs work. I don't doubt that your still finding excellent hunting around Mn it's there but I believe it could be improved upon..Anyhow just my Opinion


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## nipper (Mar 30, 2004)

It didn't really matter. It would have been a great shoot early morning for where I went there was alot of pressure so we opted to go out before sunrise, the ducks were awsome. We began shooting at 9am and ended at 1pm because of the bluebird sky's and lack of birds flying we missed a few but did alright with 5 in hand. :beer:


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2004)

Good for that far north, congrats!!! :beer: Let the big ducks come on down boys, I'm waiting. Crappy I have to wait though, I'll be nailing the locals for a couple more weeks!!! :lol: 8)


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## Live To Hunt (Sep 11, 2004)

Minnesota hunting can be excellent if you can get to the right areas. But, if you live in the cities it can be very difficult and very frustrating. You have to drive several hours in order to find decent hunting and unless you have the time, that might not be an option. Not to mention the other 300,000 hunters you have to compete with. On the other hand.... if you can get to more remote locations in MN, the duck numbers vastly improve. I'm here in Grand Forks for school now and the duck hunting not to far east of EGF has been rather good for us the last couple of years. Good goose numbers as well. ND has superior hunting oppotunities, but MN isn't that bad.

I'm staying in school forever. I will be "the perpetual student", just so i don't have to move back to the cities!! Lots of people go to school for 12 years!!


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