# Field Hunting - Understanding the regulations



## takeem75 (May 30, 2009)

I am a non-resident hunter currently visiting North Dakota for the first time to duck hunt. My group had an encounter today with a land owner or tenant farmer (he wouldn't say which one he was). We thought we understodd the regulations based upon conversations we have had with people that had been up here previously to hunt. It is our understanding that, unless posted, we may hunt a field or pond without requesting permission from the land owner. If we are incorrect, I apologize to everyone and will cease immediately and only hunt the land that we have tracked down the property owner and requested permission. We arriver here Saturday night and spent all of Sunday scouting and getting permission on some places. On Monday afternoon, we spent some windshield time and found a cut corn field that the ducks were hitting later in the evening. There were no farm houses anywere near this, so we decided to hunt it this morning. So, here is what happened.

We set up this morning on a ridge line of the cut corn field. We did drive our vehicle into the field by following a field road and then the semi-tractor trailer trails thru the field until they stopped. From there, we set up or blinds/decoys a few hundred yards away. We did park along a tree line in the field away from where we were hunting. When we finished this morning and were driving out the same way we came in a car was waiting for us so we stopped to talk to the person. This person asked us who gave us permission to hunt this field and drive out into it. We told him of our understanding of the regulation and did not think we were in violation. I asked him if he was the land owner and he would not answer me, only to say it didn't matter. I apologized to him if we were imposing on him. I said if you did not like us hunting this field we would not do it again and he said he would prefer if we did not.

my question to anyone that can help is, were we in violation or did we do anything wrong? We read up on the regulations and talked to various people that we know have been up here. We have a few more days to hunt and want to make sure we avoid any type of conflict like this during the rest of our stay. Any help/advice is appreciated. I am not trying to start any fires with the resident/non-resident issue. Just want to make sure we follow the regulations correctly. Thanks.


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## goosegrinder (Mar 4, 2005)

guy probably had scouted it too and just lost a hot field. However, to my understanding and being a non-resident myself, non posted land can be hunted but driving the vehicles in without permission is where I could see conflict.

Alex


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## takeem75 (May 30, 2009)

I can see the conflict with driving out in the field without permission. We discussed it before we did it, but thought if we followed the previous tracks, used a field entrace road and did not rut up the field there shouldn't be an issue.

The person we spoke to did not appear to be someone that was scouting or hunting. Could be wrong, but did not see any camo, calls, shells, or anything in his Oldsmobile sedan.


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## matt29 (Feb 13, 2009)

I dont see that you did anything illegal but as stated before some land owners are kinda particular about driving on their property. Kinda sounds like you maybe just ran into a jerk too. He obviously wasnt the land owner or he would have said he was. Best way to stay out of that situation is to ask permission even if not posted. On the flipside i have had guys look at me like i was an idiot for asking to hunt something that wasnt posted.


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## fowlclucker (Aug 26, 2011)

Its legal to hunt a field that is not posted you cant get a citation for trespassing, but the landowner can legally kick you off of their property. So if he was the landowner he would have said it.


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## templey_41 (Jul 19, 2008)

I'd tell him to show me his drivers license. If he won't then call the landowner and tell him that someone is policing his land. and ask him if he is aware of this. I'd say you did nothing wrong. You were considerate to drive on previous tracks. I'd hunt it again, in a heart beat until this guy proves to you that he is the landowner. I've had guys lay claim to non posted harvested land as well. saying they had "Written Permission" It didn't fly with me as we had just talked to the farmer and he said go and hunt any of his land and even wanted us to deer hunt it as well.


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

I am just guessing here, but as a farmer I am betting he was not too happy with someone driving around in a giant tinder box with a vehicle. Think about the conditions guys. If those stalks catch fire, and its not too far fetched to say it could happen, the only thing that is gonna stop it is a lack of material to burn. If there was a standing cornfield downwind somewhere, it would be toast in a few minutes.

Hunters, especially those from urban or non-ag settings, need to stop and try to see things through a farmers eyes in a year like this. Most years it's not a big deal, but this year is a little more risky to be driving out, especially in untilled cornfields. I don't say this to single anyone out, but guys who have been around farming are probably more likely to have the extreme dry conditions cross their minds before driving out.


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

Blue plate special here, haven't hunted ND for the past 8 years but as the law is written and how you described it, you were well within the rules. Our group hunted ND for 7 seasons ( befor heading north of the border) one thing we learned was to never hunt a field or pond that wasn't posted, that we didn't get WRITTEN permission to hunt. Sounds like you ran into a resident "thug" that figures he has life long permission on all un posted property within his area. If you feel the need and have the time to waste a mornings hunt call him out, find out who the real owner is explain what happened and hunt the field again, most land owners don't take kindly to anyone monitoring there land for them.. A perfect example of why we decided to go a bit farther north...


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

If that was what he was truly concerned about and there was indeed a fire danger I really wonder why he didn't express that to these guys or answer their question about owning it. If he lived a quarter mile away and thought his house was in danger because these guys from an urban/non ag setting were being ignorant, why wouldn't he just tell them?
I wonder if the locals from ag settings will be driving in these tinder boxes once the pheasant season opens. On that note nd deer season should be cancelled in the interest of public safety.


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## templey_41 (Jul 19, 2008)

FLOYD said:


> I am just guessing here, but as a farmer I am betting he was not too happy with someone driving around in a giant tinder box with a vehicle. Think about the conditions guys. If those stalks catch fire, and its not too far fetched to say it could happen, the only thing that is gonna stop it is a lack of material to burn. If there was a standing cornfield downwind somewhere, it would be toast in a few minutes.
> 
> Hunters, especially those from urban or non-ag settings, need to stop and try to see things through a farmers eyes in a year like this. Most years it's not a big deal, but this year is a little more risky to be driving out, especially in untilled cornfields. I don't say this to single anyone out, but guys who have been around farming are probably more likely to have the extreme dry conditions cross their minds before driving out.


Good point about rutting up fields, but.....

Wait, where in this post does it talk about dry conditions? he quoted about not rutting up the fields which tells me it may be a lil moist. 1.5 inches of rain in North central nodak last week if this is where he was hunting


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

Good point, I don't know where he was. I just know that in my area driving around in untilled stalks is not wise right now.

Hopefully people will keep it in mind.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

It's called common sense. If you would not appreciate someone lighting your field on fire or plowing ruts in it - don't go in!!!!!!!!


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## ValleyHunter (Jun 19, 2012)

I have never heard of a field being set fire before. And doubt thats what the reason was. But im willing to also bet that he wasnt the landowner. Im guessing he was a hunter, or he had scouted it and wanted to hunt it a different day/night.

Had this happen early season opening morning. We were almost set up and a guy plowed through the field telling us we couldn't hunt it because it was his cousins and they were going to hunt it. He went and parked his vehicle and waited for us, thinking we were going to leave, calling his bluff. He left with an hour to go before shooting time, and never heard from him again.


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## H2OfowlND (Feb 10, 2003)

As a ND resident and long time field hunter, going off of what you wrote, you did nothing wrong. The guy you encountered was probably butt hurt you were in the field instead of him. He probably saw you hunting it and wanted in on the action, so he stepped up to take the fun away.

Also, if the field is PLOTS, you have to have written permission from the land owner with you. If the field isn't posted, you can drive into a HARVESTED field to hunt. The shortest distance in and out.

Another thing, don't worry about setting a field on fire. Unless there are fire warnings out, which will be posted in the town you are hunting out of, you don't have to worry about it. If you are worried about starting a field on fire, dump your gear and drive out.

YOU DID NOTHING WRONG, going off of your description of the situation. 
Just don't go driving around a harvested field "scouting" what's over the hill, big NO-NO. You can only drive into a field to hunt or retrieve game, not for scouting.

Just keep on doing what your doing and have fun! If you have questions about the legality of something, don't hesitate to call the ND G&F Dept.

H2OfowlND
Mike


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

With a few of the 'attitudes' expressed here,no wonder 'posting' increases and eventually the law will change.AND,guess which group of people will cry the loudest when it happens?
God I'd love to drive on some of your lawns.I'd be careful of course though.


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

10 years as a volunteer fireman and I have yet to see a corn field burn.H20fowlND gave you the correct information.These guys did nothing wrong.The guy giving them crap was not the landowner or renter , if he were he would have said so.
duckup show me the bad attitudes posted in this post.


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## matt29 (Feb 13, 2009)

Im guessing the bad attitudes he is referring to is the sense of entitlement some people have about hunting/tresspassing on another persons land. Just cause you are legally OK to do somethimg doesnt mean you wont cause an altercation with a landowner. Its always best to tread lightly and be respectful when entering another persons property for any reason.


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## coyotebuster (Oct 8, 2007)

Duckp, how does driving on someone's lawn have anything to do with this conversation?

You guys did nothing wrong.


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## pigeon123 (Sep 25, 2012)

Yes I mean if there isn't a warning posted by the nearest city for fires go right ahead and start one for me. I mean as a farmer if I knew that your decisions made on my property were based on weather it is legal and the local city warnings I would be very disappointed. This is the difference between the two groups of hunters. One group thinks they are entitled and the others think they are lucky to hunt on OTHER PEOPLES property. Just like other issues in life I guess. The fire thing might of been off track a litlle, but it is a good reminder to all hunters especially with pheasant hunting coming up.


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## pigeon123 (Sep 25, 2012)

coyote buster you should think about it for a while. Do the math!!!


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

ValleyHunter said:


> I have never heard of a field being set fire before.


It is rare but when it does happen it could cost the person who started it even if it was accidental alot of money and it would be a horrible way to find out how much your insurance covered. When the corn is running as good as it is this year and with $6.64 corn it could get ugly fast.

Lets do some simple math

Say you burn down a section total all with standing corn.
http://www.gavilon.com/location/gavilon ... stown-west

640x130(bushels just a number lower number that I have been hearing)x6.64=$552448

And that doesn't factor in the burned up shelter belts, loss of organic material if the farmer is no-till, the cost of the fire department or the farmers that went ahead and dug fire breaks.

Moral of the story is, be smart.


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

The moral of the story is this d-bag didn't own a sq ft of the land he told them to stay off or he has zero balls if i he did own it but wouldn't answer their ?
Based on this guys account they hunted a legal field (not to be confused with a roost) and were courteous by following the roads in and out that the grain trucks and combines had made. It doesn't sound like they rutted it up or started it on fire. 
ND laws say you can access harvested fields that are unposted so I wouldn't say this is a trespassing/sense of entitlement issue like someone stated below. 
Another Moral of this is that this thread wouldn't have 3 replies if these guys were from ND.


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## 9manfan (Oct 22, 2008)

Old Hunter said:


> duckup show me the bad attitudes posted in this post.


X2


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## pigeon123 (Sep 25, 2012)

This did get blown up a little. The guy asked about regulations, but to most hunting is more than what the regulations are. (He didn't do anything wrong, but should not return to the field without doing some home work). It is about what is right and what is wrong. This keeps going on in all the threads. There are some guys that will do anything they can to kill a bird and that is the thing that makes people mad. Be proactive and give a farmer a reason to want strangers to hunt his property. What would you do if it was your land?? How would you want to be treated?? What can I do to make the farmer happy to see us hunting??? That could be a local that was at the field and if he whines to the farmer maybe it will all be posted next time???? It is hard to be 5 hours from home and start calling bs on people when you don't know who's land you are even on. Just a thought


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## shiawassee_kid (Oct 28, 2005)

thats ironic. i had almost identical situation happen this past week. I hunted a cut/standing corn field for 3 days straight. on the 4th day a guy sets up in the field and puts a posted sign down in the driveway in his tracks. no name or phone number. it was a local trying to claim the field without the land owners knowledge. This kinda stuff happening more than people think. local trying to be clever thinking he can get away with it as most non-residents won't pitch a stink about it. Thing is now its getting around what the guy is doing and he's gonna get shunned by his town.

its a monstrous corn field, know the farmer and his posting policy so i went to setup in the opposite side of it downwind...sure enuf he came tooling over on his 4wheeler. lol. aint my first merry-go-round. just cuz we're out of state doesn't mean we are idiots.


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

Matt 29 and Pidgeon123 nailed it.
The 'me-me'(entitlement numbnuts)are slowly killing landowner relationships that will impact future generations adversely forever.
If you can't see it,or read the writing on the wall,you are part of the problem and will reap what you sow.It's the same crowd that *****es about all the 'posting' going on.Ha,it's only starting and soon there will be very little land open to hunters.I could care less about the existing me-me'rs,it's the next generation that will suffer their stupidity and that I feel sorry for. :eyeroll: 
Say/argue what you want but ask yourself,is more land posted each year?More leased each year?More bought by hunters or hunting groups each year?The 'attitudes' I reference are a joke that has and will continue to eradicate hunting for the average person.Laugh all you want,push the 'law' in landowner faces all you want,but prepare for the consequences.
Again,I could care less for myself,I own land,I have hunting privileges on others' lands in many States,and this stupidity won't impact me personally but if I was young and wanted to hunt in the future and/or was concerned about the future of hunting,I'd be very concerned.In fact,I'd be surprised,very surprised,if NoDaks 'posting' law doesn't change in the next 5 years.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Ok....in this thread or the story... Who is the me-me'er person that people are referring too?

Because the way I see it the guy who started the link doesn't think he is entitled to anything. He just followed the law and then when confronted (by someone who wasn't the land owner we all are speculating) and then walked and didn't hunt again. So in my mind the Me-Me person is the person who confronted them and tried to "own" the land.

Because people are slanting this to sound like it is the person who posted the story....and they are slanting it to a R vs NR situation.


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## matt29 (Feb 13, 2009)

its a monstrous corn field, know the farmer and his posting policy so i went to setup in the opposite side of it downwind...sure enuf he came tooling over on his 4wheeler. lol. aint my first merry-go-round. just cuz we're out of state doesn't mean we are idiots.[/quote]

I would never even consider setting up in the same field because someone beat me to it. Often times more than one person has permission to hunt a field. Then it is a first come basis. It ussually doesnt work good for either group. Unless you had exclusive rights to hunt you shouldve went to another spot or gotten up earlier. Nothing is worse than having someone come into the same field you are set up in


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

I'm not slanting it at the poster at all.His actions if anything are admirable and clearly he's trying to do the right thing.Read and thinking a bit might help.It's the guys that are saying they have the 'right' to do this or that that are the problem.Rights vs decency,respect and common sense is the issue.Pushing your 'rights' is working well isn't it?Ha,keep on pushing and 'posting' will accelerate and push back.Who do these types think will 'win' in this contest?Guarantee it will be landowners.
Only certain types could miss that obvious fact IMO.


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## goosegrinder (Mar 4, 2005)

> I have never heard of a field being set fire before. And doubt thats what the reason was


 Here in Nebraska, one of the north central counties has have landowners sign an agreement(voluntarily) to not allow any hunters to drive onto their land this year with the drought being so bad. One of the volunteer fire departments normally sees around 3 fires in a summer, this year they have responded to nearly 30. Not sure how dry ND is but it is a real concern.

Alex


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Duckp....got it.

I think it also has a lot to do with the US against Them attitude (R vs NR) that people have. A couple of stories that have happened to me in ND....one pheasant hunting and one was when I was there for an early goose opener. I could share more but this shows the point.

The pheasant story..... My dad and I asked permission to hunt this guys land. He said go ahead. Like he did for the past 5 years when we have asked permission. We go and set up the pheasant push. I was a stander/poster. Anyway the push started. Then two pick ups show up and one guy comes right to me and starts quizzing me and getting combative on if I have permission on this land. I tell him yes I do. He says nobody ever gets permission on this guys land except him. Well I pointed at the home and gave him the name of the guy we talked with. He gets all puffy with me and gives some snide remarks about NR's and drives off. When the push gets done I grab my dad and I go back as ask the land owner if it was ok if we hunted that ground and told him what just happened. He asked the description of the pick up and the the guy in it. He stated that guy thinks he runs all the land in the area and he doesn't have permission to be on his land at all. And if I see him on his land to call the game and fish.

Goose story..... I was at the gas pumps of the town I was hunting by. It was the opening day of the NR season. I we were out scouting. A guy with his kid come out of the store. Ask what are NR doing hunting the early season. I explained that they opened it up to NR hunters but it counts towards the 14 days. He says....great we are getting invaded already and them makes a few more snide remarks. As he is walking away another guy approached us and says in a very loud voice..... NR can now hunt the early season.... GREAT.... I have 320 acres you can go hunt right now. He said this loud enough so that the guy who walked away heard it. Then he showed me on the plat where his land was and told me to shoot all the geese I could legally because of the damage they are doing on the crop.

Needless to say these two land owners i still keep in contact with.

I am sure that R hunters have stories of how NR hunters acted in a poor way as well. But it is the US vs THEM attitude that is going to ruin everything for everyone.


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

goosegrinder said:


> > I have never heard of a field being set fire before. And doubt thats what the reason was
> 
> 
> Here in Nebraska, one of the north central counties has have landowners sign an agreement(voluntarily) to not allow any hunters to drive onto their land this year with the drought being so bad. One of the volunteer fire departments normally sees around 3 fires in a summer, this year they have responded to nearly 30. Not sure how dry ND is but it is a real concern.
> ...


In a year like this, we didn't unnecessarily drive pickups in our own corn fields during harvest because the one time it happens in your life is not worth it when there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in crop standing in your field, not to mention the neighbor's.

But I guess maybe one's perspective changes a bit when they actually have something to lose?

I should say I'm not ragging on the guy who started the thread at all, I can appreciate that he's trying to understand what is acceptable and unacceptable. If more people were that way there would be a lot less conflict IMO.

The reason that I brought it up was to at least make people aware of the risk, however minor some of you may think it is.


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

Chuck,
Good stuff.
For the heck of it I spent the last 45 minutes looking at old plat books and 2 old Delorme NoDak Atlas's that 'mark' the properties my
friends and I have hunted or still do hunt over the last 25 years or so.A few are for waterfowl but most are for sharptails and/or coyotes.It appears we have permission on approx 35-40 square miles of land throughout NoDak.A quick review tells me most was not posted when we started hunting there but I'd guess 80% of it is now.AND,we are still hunting the vast majority of it despite the posting.Why?Certainly not because we 'pushed' our 'rights',but rather because we established relationships with the landowners.Relationships that are ongoing into different generations and,often,result in one landowner 'vouching' for us with other landowners if we ask.
Not only do we try establish contact and a relationship pre-hunting,but mainly because we thanked and did things,albeit little things,AFTER we hunted their lands even though not posted.A simple 'thank you,or a $10-15 gift cert to the local restaurant,a case of beer,or...(plug in anything that fits your style or budget)is not only remembered and appreciated but is just the right and decent thing to do.
As more and more problems arise,more and more posted land will become reality.I know from experience what type of hunter will then be welcome.


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## shiawassee_kid (Oct 28, 2005)

matt29 said:


> I would never even consider setting up in the same field because someone beat me to it. Often times more than one person has permission to hunt a field. Then it is a first come basis. It ussually doesnt work good for either group. Unless you had exclusive rights to hunt you shouldve went to another spot or gotten up earlier. Nothing is worse than having someone come into the same field you are set up in


you missed the point, i did it for a reason, because i knew what he was up to. i never completely setup. I actually hunted a backup field a mile away after i got the confrontation from him. My point is, this guy was posting a field he had no right to post just so he had it to himself. he saw us gunning in there all week and his main objective was to take it over and then "claim" posted...when he was not the person responsible for the field. I'm guessin he drops the posted sign in the entrance to teh field, and pulls it when he leaves or after its clear no one intended to hunt the field. Its a known local/guide in the area, non of the local farmers like the guy and refuse him (but let non-residents hunt) their land. Alot of you guys are so worried about non-residents when the biggest jerks are right there in your own backyard. the farmers are now posting their land to keep HIM off of it. talked to plenty of farmers that let us on only after we made it clear we were not local. sure is weird to hear that being a non-res.


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## takeem75 (May 30, 2009)

Everyone, thank you for the responses and comments. It seems this posting has caused a bit of a stir about various topics. Just to provide a little more information on our hunt: We are hunting in the Anamoose area. The field was dry enough that we were had a little dust coming off of the tires as we drove thru the field at a low enough speed to not damage the truck or trailer (same speed that I would use while field hunting back home in Illinois), so I don't think there would be any rutting issues. I actually never thought about the concern for a field fire in this picked corn field, so thank you for educating me on something that had not occurred to me in the past. I really do not believe this guy was a duck hunter. He acted more of a concerned citizen or friend of the owner looking out for the land owner's field (we always make sure to leave the field we found it by cleaning up all of our spent hulls/trash/soda cans, etc...). Needless to say, we found some water to hunt in the morning as the birds returned from feeding and did fairly well. So we are still enjoying our stay in North Dakota and look forward to coming back next year.


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice post Takeem.Good hunting!


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## mulefarm (Dec 7, 2009)

I hope that water wasn't the roost? Many ND residents don't want you to bust the roost, but don't want you to hunt their fields, what is a guy suppose to do? I know...............stay home.


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

> Needless to say, we found some water to hunt in the morning as the birds *returned* from feeding and did fairly well


Doesn't make any sence to me you can't shoot birds over water in ND, and if you do your a roost buster, but in this case I'm going to create a new name for you guys, being your shooting them on the way back from the feed your " *ROOST BLOCKERS"* . Nice post and shoot em up.........


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

mulefarm said:


> I hope that water wasn't the roost? Many ND residents don't want you to bust the roost, but don't want you to hunt their fields, what is a guy suppose to do? I know...............*stay home*.


One hint my friend " Alittle farther north "


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## matt29 (Feb 13, 2009)

Sorry for the misunderstanding shiawassee kid that is just my biggest pet peeve.


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## mulefarm (Dec 7, 2009)

BROWNDOG said:


> mulefarm said:
> 
> 
> > I hope that water wasn't the roost? Many ND residents don't want you to bust the roost, but don't want you to hunt their fields, what is a guy suppose to do? I know...............*stay home*.
> ...


Unless you mean Canada, 6 miles from our camp to the border, posted right up to the border.


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

What I meant was never stay home just go farther North....... Canada, a few hours more driving is nothing.........


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## shiawassee_kid (Oct 28, 2005)

matt29 said:


> Sorry for the misunderstanding shiawassee kid that is just my biggest pet peeve.


np, i agree with you btw. too much land out there to hunt same field as another party.


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## ValleyHunter (Jun 19, 2012)

I will add to the whole NR vs R theory.... In my time here in ND...I have seen more Residents tearing up fields, leaving shells and garbage in them and hunting roosts then I have any Non Residents. Now you are going to say, well there are more resident hunters then non resident. But again, in my time here in ND. I see more Non Residents then Residents. So to say that Non Residents ruin everything. You are wrong. End of discussion.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I have to agree with the idea that this guy had no legal interest in this property. I've never met a farmer that wouldn't admit it if it was his land. This may have been another hunter or a neighbor who posts his own land and has appointed himself as enforcer for everyone elses land posted or not. I have run into this a couple times. It's even possible the true land owner had told ythis guy he was not allowed on the property so he was going to make sure no one hunted it. A few years back I ran into a guy that was illegally posting land a little ways from his farmstead ( he bowhunted it). I had talked to the owner who told me she had not posted it and gained permission. The guy kept putting notes on my truck and sticking the no trespass signs against my door so I called the sheriff and let him know what was going on and got written permission and posted that in the window of my truck. even that didn't stop him. I finally called him and told him if he didn't quit I would get the sheriff involved.

FWIW as dry as it has been it is nearly impossible to "pack" a field by driving on it.... you need at least a little moisture for soil to pack....... As is it just turns to dust...........


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

Funny how things work sometimes.....I was out scouting last night and came across something interesting.

Yup, you guessed it....a Field fire. It had started in a harvested, unworked cornfield and with the help of the south winds it proceeded to torch all or parts of the next 5 quarters to the north (all corn stalks). Thankfully all the fields were harvested.

When I came along, the fire dept. was just heading back to town.

It can happen.


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

Any confirmation on how it started?


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

I can't be sure, as I arrived after things were pretty well wrapped up. However I doubt the stalks just spontaneously combusted. This fire jumped 2 legitimate gravel roads, one of which is a wider than normal county road.

I would think most people that have done a lot of field hunting in cornstalks have had to stop and look under heir truck after leaving the field due to their truck smelling "hot".

Whether it was caused by a hunter is irrelevant. I would bet my paycheck it was started by a motorized vehicle of some sort.


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## mulefarm (Dec 7, 2009)

I would venture to guess it was statred by someone burning a ditch and lost control, not a vehicle.


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

> I would venture to guess it was statred by someone burning a ditch and lost control, not a vehicle.


x2


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## templey_41 (Jul 19, 2008)

or burning a dried up cattail bed. The cattails were a blaze last week in DL>


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

Riiiight....lots of farmers doing burns during 30mph winds, gusting to 40.

Also.....not a single cattail was burnt by the fire. Or fence line.


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## mulefarm (Dec 7, 2009)

FLOYD said:


> Riiiight....lots of farmers doing burns during 30mph winds, gusting to 40.
> 
> Also.....not a single cattail was burnt by the fire. Or fence line.


It only takes one.


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

Did you happen to see if the land it started on was posted?


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## pigeon123 (Sep 25, 2012)

Some people on here are real bright??????? We had a fire last night too started in center of corn field. Take it for what its worth. It was not posted BB.

Oh yeah no warnings out form the local town if that helps!!!! Keep driving that wedge in the res vs nonres argument and see how that works for you. At least don't ruin it for the rest of us please!!!!!


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## templey_41 (Jul 19, 2008)

FLOYD said:


> Riiiight....lots of farmers doing burns during 30mph winds, gusting to 40.
> 
> Also.....not a single cattail was burnt by the fire. Or fence line.


I kid you not. The weather channel had high fire danger for DL on the wknd of NR opener and oct. 1st and 2nd you could see cattail slough fires from miles around.


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## pigeon123 (Sep 25, 2012)

What does that have to do with the fact no one would start a fire in any field in a 30-40mph wind???????


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

LOL, I give up. You guys do as you please. Its not like I've been raising corn for 25 yrs or anything.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

There has been on burn ban so it is legal to burn as long as there is no burn ban.


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

So did they ever determine a cause?
The fields were harvested but not turned over so it doesn't sound like it was being farmed at the time?
My guess is hunters


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Don't discount the farmer burning it off and losing control. I burned my garden cornstalks a couple weks ago. I had one heck of a time getting it started but once it took it went pretty fast. One thing I've noticed about field fires started by vehicles is they ususally tend to get the vehicle too.


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## pigeon123 (Sep 25, 2012)

(Chatsworth) -- The Akron Fire Department assisted the Hawarden Fire Department with a cornfield fire that occurred Thursday afternoon at about 3:15 p.m. The fire was near the small community of Chatsworth. Apparently, a corn stalk got caught under a pick up truck that had been traveling across the field. The stalk was touching the engine, which ignited the fire. No word as to how many acres were destroyed in that cornfield fire, but fire officials were on the scene for nearly an hour.

This is from the KLEM radio station news.

I'm not putting this up for confrontation, but just so some kid doesn't read this forum and rule out the possibility of it happening. One of those things that happens rarely, but when it does it can be devistating. Just be aware I guess. Maybe one field will be saved by being aware and that could save all of our hunting relations with the farmers that let us enjoy our past time for free!!!!!!!! :beer:


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

Was that the fire that Floyd saw? I've never heard of Chatworth.
On the scene for nearly an hour...must have not been too bad of a fire floyd.


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

Yeah. It had to be the same fire, right? I mean there's only been one this fall......


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

Floyd, how do you spell gullible?


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## pigeon123 (Sep 25, 2012)

I bet you impressed yourself with that one??? You and your dog are probably still laughing.


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## swattin leroys (Oct 8, 2012)

BB said:


> Any confirmation on how it started?


 I would guess somebody threw a smoke out the window....after visiting a few bars in ND it appears EVERYBODY smokes there.


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## BB (Jan 14, 2004)

It was surely some resident hunter who was running an oldsmobile sedan or something similar. 
I bet his muffler was about 7 inches off the ground when he lit that field up.


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