# Roost Bustin



## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

*Have you ever burned a roost?*​
Yes5864.44%No3235.56%


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

With all the discussion of shooting roosts, I thought this poll would be proper.

Everyone learns from experience, and I as a teenager jumped sloughs. I didnt know any better, and I was able to get ducks and it was fun. This was the way I was taught to hunt, and thus we did. I am now in the opposite side, teaching the elders in my family how to field hunt, use decoys, scout, etc etc etc.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Like you I jumped sloughs, but had elders that wised me up. They always said, you never shoot ducks where they sleep!


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

i too have jumped a roost when i was younger and dumber.


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## 870 XPRS (Mar 12, 2003)

ditto, once upon a time i didn't even own a decoy


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

I am guessing I may have. If I have I don't anymore.


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## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

I would have to say that jumping sloughs is not the same as busting a roost. Decoying/hunting on transition sloughs is no different and no more harmful for the roost than field hunting. I don't own a laydown blind, don't have enough room in the SUV for laydown blinds, and find the cover around sloughs to be quite adequate for hiding. You don't have to get set up quite as early either. For the few days I hunt waterfowl instead of God's Birds, this makes the most sense for me. Not all water hunting is roost hunting by any means.


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## ADN (Sep 27, 2005)

I learned waterfowling on my own. In the early days it was jumping ponds and a private lake. Every day after school we would go down to a lake and try to sneak up on birds. Eventually birds left and for several years weren't around in the same numbers.

I got older, obtained more decoys, and realized what jumping the little lake was doing to area geese. The lake is virtually untouched throughout the season now. The odd person might venture down there but they aren't harassed like they used to be. The past several years the birds start piling up in September and stay there through November and into December if it doesn't freeze. By Labor Day there were well over 1,000 geese on the lake and the numbers continue to grow. Two weeks ago some migrants, including cacklers, doubled the number. They really hold in the area now.


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## Goosepride (Sep 29, 2003)

I have before when I was younger. Wouldn't do it again though.


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## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

i come from minnesota where if you can find a pond holding more than a dozen ducks your doing pretty good, so when i first hunted nd i had no idea about the roost thing. i understood all of it except for the fact that they dont come back when you shoot them. luckily for the people cursing us out as drove out to the fields, we didnt get enough shooting to burn up anything(it was a biiig lake, birds stayed in the middle). it only happend once before i found this site and read up on the rights and wrongs of roost shooting.


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## Kooshnitz (Apr 7, 2004)

hey yo!
yes I hunt a roost, I have hunting a roost like everyweek sicne opener all pretty much of all last year just so you'll know. If theres birds there im not going to hunt some field cause I dotn like hunting fields. I am a diver hunter so yes I am going to continue hunting roost. I only shoot drakes and typically divers so thats what We do. I mean it wasnt bad hunting, it took us 3 about 20 minuntes to get our limit so we still had time to get back and have breakfast ya know. But hey seriously, thats how hunting is, its not like its illegal there pleantly of ducks out there ya. I am not trying to start **** or anything im just saying what i do, its where the birds are. Does this mena all potholes are off limits cause birds feed on them? ok thanks for listening.
~WingMaster


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Kooshinitz reminded me of something I have overlooked. Many out of state hunters concentrate primarily on divers in their own state. Since most NRs appear to be opportunistic duck hunters shooting whatever is available some are going to be drawn to the "big water" for divers where they will find little or no competition from the locals and for which they are equiped for. You won't find divers on little potholes and transition sloughs so hunting big water is their only choice. Unfortunately the roosting puddlers may get caught in the middle.

If you don't like guys hunting the roosts mabe you need to contact the landowners and ask them to post them.


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## Goosepride (Sep 29, 2003)

I'm thinking that people who hunt roosts must not fully understand hunting or being a true outdoorsmen.

I think the problem comes in defining the word "roost". It means different things to different people. If there are 200 or more birds of one species or another, then that's pretty much a roost you should leave alone. It's not wrong to hunt them...just stupid.


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## deacon (Sep 12, 2003)

dakotashooter2 said:


> Kooshinitz reminded me of something I have overlooked. Many out of state hunters concentrate primarily on divers in their own state. Since most NRs .


Shooter2, what does the NR have to do with Kooshinitz hunting water, Kooshinits is from Grand Forks a Res last I checked. Does that make everyone in Fargo a NR?

Simply put some guys like to hunt water some guys like to hunt fields, I respect both. If you guys do not want anyone hunting the roost change the regulations or do some educating of the hunter.


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## Goosepride (Sep 29, 2003)

There's a difference between hunting the roost and hunting over water.


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## mallardhunter (May 15, 2004)

Ryan_Todd said:


> i too have jumped a roost when i was younger and dumber.


me too


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## Hydroman22 (Sep 23, 2005)

Gentlemen,
The migration is a fleeting thing. Remember the length of time any given bird spends at a single location once the migration begins is probably measured in days, not weeks. If someone pushes birds too hard they have just accelerated the inevitable (maybe by a a day or two?). If a front comes in the roost may be empty tomorrow.

It makes sense to let them rest but if your goal is to keep them in the area for as long as possible so you and others can pound them again and again away from the roost, I wonder who's interest your serving, probably not the birds. Although I generally avoid the big roosts I kind of like the idea of roost bustin in western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan especially when I'm in huntin Nodak or MN!

Do your best to educate and understand other hunters and remember theres always somebody downstream waiting for those whistlin wings...


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## Waterspaniel (Oct 10, 2005)

Soooo, what makes it a roost? WATER fowl spend most of their time on the WATER. Is hunting water hunting roosts? How many ducks on a body of water make it a roost?

I find it hard to believe that you can tell peole- dont hunt where there is a high concentration of ducks.

I am a NR and newbie on the site, but I am starting get a sense of the issue. As I see it, somebody has sweet field spot where he can walk out and lay down and shoot a pile of ducks. He doesnt want anyone screwing up HIS spot by messing with birds on the way from water to land. Sooooooooooo, lets call it unethical roost hunting when guys are hunting water in the county.

Ducks migrate because of weather, photoperiod, and the like. If you harass the heck out of ducks in spring or summer do they fly south?????????????????????? no. They find a piece of water nearby. Follow the ducks. That is what confuses me. As NR freelancers we have a ton of water to hunt and fields as well. Between PLOTS, WPA etc and landowner permission, we cant begin to hunt all our spots while we are there over a two week period. We never seem to run out of ducks and we hunt mostly water. So here is what I am getting at. If we have all this land to hunt, tons of water, plenty of ducks- shouldnt the residents have ten times as much opportunity since they know everyone and can scout year round?

The roost is a pretty vague concept. Ive never seen this duck Shangri-la where all the ducks in the county sleep in peace at night before they head to the rest of the county. If I hunt a chunk of water that is a roost for some birds, isnt it a transition area for another group? And a lot of ducks never leave the water, how do I hunt those with out hunting the roost.

I agree that it senseless for one guy to walk up on a group of 500 ducks, jump em, flock shoot, and get two while he blows it for everyone in the field a short distance away. But no one wants to answer this- If you hunt fields and "transitions sloughs"- do ducks NOT get spooked by getting shot at there, only in the roost?

Hunting pressure does not cause migration. It can move birds and increase opprtunities for everyone. Get out and hunt for crying out loud. When we get a definative explanation of exactly what a "roost" is, we all leave it alone. Until then I'm duck hunting.


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## Goosepride (Sep 29, 2003)

"I agree that it senseless for one guy to walk up on a group of 500 ducks, jump em, flock shoot, and get two while he blows it for everyone in the field a short distance away."

Waterspaniel - that's exactly the problem.

Certainly not every body of water is a roost, no question about that. But if birds are holding there, why jump it? In most cases, the roost tends to be a bigger body of water but not always. Again, to me, it's just an ethical thing. Sure, you can hunt over water, nothing wrong with that. Just don't jump a roost!

Most hunters in ND know if they want to hunt birds, leave the roost spots alone. The problem is, when you get guys that don't know about roosts or could care less because they're only hunting in ND for a few days. They come in, jump roosts, and then birds leave and basically wreck hunting for local ND guys...I know both RES and NR's jump roosts, but I think you get the idea.[/quote]


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

no, and I have never ground pounded a rooster either. Well.....maybe!


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## Nolte (Oct 6, 2004)

Spaniel
to quickly answer a few of your questions. Ducks don't blow out of the area nearly as bad when you shoot them off a field or transition slough. Bang their roost and they are gone.

If you leave a roost alone multiple parties can experience good shooting in the sloughs and fields close by. Plus having large amounts of birds attracts more birds to fly around. If you bust up that large concentration of birds you have another vacant pothole(like the thousands of other ones out there), and it's not hard to figure out which ones new birds will be attracted to. The unpressured ones jam packed with ducks.

You asked if you harass them in the spring and summer will they fly south. No, but they will go somewhere else where they are unpressured. So why not just leave them alone on their home turf and wail on them when they leave.

Ducks need to eat and will find new spots with ample food. There are many places of water that could serve as a roost, so when you find one leave the thing alone, it will only draw more ducks.

I like to shoot ducks and the best way to keep consistent great shooting for puddlers in ND for everybody is to whack em away from the roost. I can't understand why this is so hard for people to grasp.

Most water isn't a roost area, but the select few that are leave them alone and everybody will get good hunting.

If you got your @$$ kicked everytime you came home, what would you do.? You would find another home. If you got it kicked at work, you'd find another job, not another house.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Nolte said:


> If you got your @$$ kicked everytime you came home, what would you do.? You would find another home. If you got it kicked at work, you'd find another job, not another house.


I never thought of that analogy, but it's pretty accurate.


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## jakehono (Oct 5, 2005)

yah-sure-you-betcha!!


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## Waterspaniel (Oct 10, 2005)

Can the roost change? How do I know that the pond I am going to at Oh-dark thirty didnt suddenly become the roost due to pressure at the old roost, or more feed suddenly available near the pothole. I mentioned in a different thread that if we shoot at ducks in a good size lake, they land on the other side. They sure dont blow out of there. We have been doing the trip for seven years and no one has ever said a word about the water we hunt. We hunt some little potholes, but we also hunt some big chunks where birds certainly must roost. We never pound the same spot two days in a row, but we dont shy away from a spot because of high duck numbers. I dont want to ruin someone elses hunt, or tick folks off, but we sure dont think that someone elses hunt should dictate ours. I just dont think anyone can say- "That body of water is a roost." What is the fine line between a good hole and a roost?

In our neck of the Nodak woods none of the locals seem to field hunt. They jump shoot and road hunt. Sorry, but thats the truth. No one has ever gotten in our grill about hunting water, or roosts.

Roost bustin may seem like selfish behavior, but telling me I cant hunt a pond cuz it mess up your field hunt is selfish as well.

I know what ya mean about not wanting to go home..... I'll take getting shot at by a 12 ga over my ex-wife anyday. But ya know what, I found a reeeal nice pond near by where the water is calm and the hens are awful nice. And I didnt fly out of the county to get there !


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## Nolte (Oct 6, 2004)

Spaniel

Did you have that calm water all scouted out before your roost got jumped. jk had to grill you a bit.

There are a couple of things that tip us of if it's a roost. If a big group of geese spend the night there it's usally a roost. Or if you get there at O dark 30 and it's jam packed with puddlers. Like packed to the gills. If you do decide to hunt one of these spots, let them leave and then pick them off as they come back, cause they will.

If it's mainly divers wail on them from the get-go. Most of the time the roost doesn't change in the middle of the night, it usually changes mid day after somebody bangs them at first light.

Nobody is saying to totally avoid water, just shy away from certain water. It shouldn't be too tough, to find a few other spots that are sitll way better than WI. Most times if you just get close you will still get plenty of shooting.


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## Kooshnitz (Apr 7, 2004)

by the way the pothole I hunt is decent size maybe a 1/2 more or so long and maybe another 1/4 -1/2 wise so its decent sieze and there are a bunch of other pothole nearby I am not oging to give away the exact location at all anywhere in the state. Yeah at time there are lots fo ducks there sometimes over 1000 sometimes only a few hundread but the ducks want to be there but thats not the point.I just dont see what the big deal is if i want to hunt ducks and divers, by the way there are lots of divers on potholes and thats what this is trust me. Thank you to the few who actual back me up, i am just stating that it can be ok for people to hunt non-field area are be OK with certain ND residents. but since I am on the border I guess i am a nonres then huh. Yeah I am a student originally from MN but I do have a RESIDENT licence so i think that qualifies me for residency, so ya, but whataver. Hope you all have good luck hunting this weekend, I am looking foreward to hunting some divers and just seeing birds, just because we dont always get our limit and kill every bird we possibly can dosent mean we didnt have a good hunt. PS: Save the Hens, go for drakes. laters
Curt


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## jmar509 (Oct 16, 2005)

being from arkansas and hunting the call shy ducks you guys have been shooting at for a couple of months i take what i can get. i do however love coming up to nd and shooting the sh!t out of the stupid ducks up there. after calling to call shy ducks for years down here i don't have to roost shoot up there i can easily land them in my pocket up there and have a blast.


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## Kooshnitz (Apr 7, 2004)

well do man, too bad i got school...hahaha..let the killings of the roosts continue!!!!!!!


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