# 2006 Opener



## Perry Thorvig

From what I see on the Game and Fish website, it looks like the 2006 pheasant opener will be on Oct. 14. The last several years, the opener has coincided with the Columbus Day weekend. This year, Columbus Day will be on June 9. There seems to be a disconnect this year.

Can anyone confirm this?


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## g/o

Perry, I'm very surprised that you would need to ask this question. Oh, its called tradition we must open pheasant season on the second Saturday. A few years back Gov. Hoeven and Dean Hildebrand wanted to change it so on years such as this we would open on the 7th. Low and behold the boys from here got wind of this and Pheasant Gate was born. They had all kinds of excuses like the birds wouldn't be mature. Let see last year we opened on the 8th. If things would have gone through we would be opening on the 7th this year. When the dust settled the only reason was that Cannonball and bunch of other commercial people such as myself would have made some much needed money. Not to mention how much it would bring into the state especially now with the expanded pheasant range. So this year we open on the 14th, and you are not allowed on most PLOTS for the first week. Lets see Mn deer opener is on the 4th of November this. So you guys have 2 weeks in October to come here. As you can see we are really a friendly towards the non residents just ask these guys they will tell you. They have nothing against non residents. They just like to pay taxes I guess I don't know I haven't figured them out yet.


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## always_outdoors

> When the dust settled the only reason was that Cannonball and bunch of other commercial people such as myself would have made some much needed money.


Show me a financially strapped outfitter.

Come on g/o.
:eyeroll:


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## Dan Bueide

G/O, you're wrong on this one - all around - better reread NDCC 20.1-04-15.


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## griffman

g/o said:


> Perry, I'm very surprised that you would need to ask this question. Oh, its called tradition we must open pheasant season on the second Saturday. A few years back Gov. Hoeven and Dean Hildebrand wanted to change it so on years such as this we would open on the 7th. Low and behold the boys from here got wind of this and Pheasant Gate was born. They had all kinds of excuses like the birds wouldn't be mature. Let see last year we opened on the 8th. If things would have gone through we would be opening on the 7th this year. When the dust settled the only reason was that Cannonball and bunch of other commercial people such as myself would have made some much needed money. Not to mention how much it would bring into the state especially now with the expanded pheasant range. So this year we open on the 14th, and you are not allowed on most PLOTS for the first week. Lets see Mn deer opener is on the 4th of November this. So you guys have 2 weeks in October to come here. As you can see we are really a friendly towards the non residents just ask these guys they will tell you. They have nothing against non residents. They just like to pay taxes I guess I don't know I haven't figured them out yet.


 uke:

Yes g/o, it is called tradition. Many people can't take vacation at the drop of a hat, the second weekend standard is an excellent way to be able to plan a trip far in advance.

The later start is fine with me. Many times it's too hot anyway. Just look at SD about 3 years ago and all the dogs that died from the heat.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather hunt a week into Jan. vs. a week earlier in Oct.

I don't ever remember reading that non residents can't hunt in ND after the 4th of Nov., nor do I ever remember reading they have a two week window to hunt in ND. I've never heard of anyone refusing to hunt in ND because they couldn't hunt the first weekend in Oct.! If people want to hunt here, they will wait til the date/dates set by our governing bodies.

Would you ever cancel a hunting trip due to the season not opening a week early? I wouldn't.

g/o, you are always trying to come off like you are not the average run of the mill, selfish, money grubbing guide. Your comments in this post kinda tell a different story don't they......


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## Perry Thorvig

It was always nice to hunt in North Dakota over the Columbus Day weekend because we public employees got a holiday where we didn't have to take a vacation day to hunt. Now, those of us public employees will have to take a day of vacation like everyone else. I don't think that it will discourage us from hunting the opener. However, I will probably be driving back to Minneapolis on Columbus Day and then turning around and heading for Saskatchewan the next Saturday. All the travel is getting tough on this old guy!!! It was nice to have a week's break in between North Dakota pheasants and SK snow geese the past few years.

Or, now that I am mostly retired, I will just stay in ND for the week and let my SK hunting buddies pick me up on Saturday on the way to the border.


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## KEN W

Right on Perry.I would have rather seen the season open on Oct. 7 also because of having Columbus Day off.But next year will be my last year of teaching.....then like you I will be retired and really won't care when the season opens.


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## Field Hunter

You public employees have it made n the shade! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Unfortunately one of the issues of why the pheasant gate thing happened was the way the extra week was presented. If I remember right wasn't it the Cannonball club and some others that approaced Gov. Hoeven about opening the season early based solely on the fact that they could get an extra week in and make some more money on the years like this year when the second weekend was later.

The reason it blew up was that many sportsman.....not All from Fargo....but from around the state didn't like the way the Gov was trying to set seasons based on what one group wanted and he didn't thnk that the sportsmen of the state would either care or wouldn't realize what was happening. He backed down on the decision when the State's sportsmen demanded to be incvluded in decision making in the future. (Birth of the NDOs Etree)

Remember all those years when the limits werre two birds daily with 4 or 6 in possession and we waited until the G&F made a decision every year as to when they would recommend when the season opened.....2, 3 or 4th weekends. We're all spoiled now with the mild Winters and the booming populations.

G/O....question? Is this the time to revisit this Issue (2007 legislature).
I along with many Sportsmen in the state would like to see the earlier opener....I was a skeptic in the past on the identification of roosters that early....last year proved me wrong. The season opened Oct 8th and I personally didn't have much trouble seeing the roosters. I was opposed to it in the past because of the way that ONE outfitter appeared to be swaying the Gov to his way of thinking with out consulting the Sportsmen.
Yes...I'll say that that really upset me and I jumped on the band wagon.

If the Freelance Sportsmen in the state got on board with the Outfitters and we helped to get the season opened earlier in those years when it it opened later what would the outfitters do for us? How about opening those leased acres to the locals and Resdient hunter either for free or for a GREATLY reduced cost in the late season when you guys don't have much of a clientel anyway? Some areas that are leased up have way too many rooster going over the Winter and those areas could get along with less.

Is there a compromise here to help each other or are we going to continue to play the same old games or they did that and we're never going to that as they won't play our way.


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## Rick Acker

Asking G/O to respond for all Outfitters is not realistic! But, if you are wondering if G/O would do it...I would bet money he would! I bet if you asked him late in the season to hunt his land and he wasn't busy...He would welcome you. That's how I would judge his character. You're talking about the only guy I know, that sets aside a quarter of prime land for the youth to hunt FREE every year! Now, you can make your accusations on why he does it all you want. The fact is G/O is certainly not against freelance N.D. hunters!


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## Field Hunter

I know G/o is probably the only Outfitter in the state that does that and I commend him for it...but my point is...are there others that might want to get on board with his way of thinking. How many other outfitters have youth only areas? How many would rather snub their noses at all non paying clientel.....I thank Jim for not doing that.

I know he can't speak for the rest of the state but I can't and probably don't speak for the rest of the sportsmen and I'm not trying to do that...I'm just asking if any of the other outfitters that frequent this site have anything to say about getting together on this issue.

If they, the outfitters truely want to have help in opening that season early and making some extra money then let's hear from them. I don't see that happening without the help from the Sportsmen from across the state. But for the sportsmen to help there will have to be some concession, ie opening of the leased acres late season for instance. I've said this before....I'm a resident sportsman and I'd love to travel to Mott to hunt pheasants.....I'm not going to pay to do it however unless there is a reason for me to travel there....I have all the birds I want to hunt in the east and I'm not going to drive 300 miles and pay to hunt. Let's get some of the local folks i nthe small towns to help open lands so the eastern guys travel out there and use the hotels, bars, and restaurants later in the season without the great hassle of finding aplace to hunt for a reasonable amount of money. If they want a precedent for this then look to Canadian resorts and how they reduce rates for off season sportsmen. Why can the pheasant hunting industry in ND do the same thing.....Are all the outfitters in the state that Greedy (some excluded of course)


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## Dan Bueide

Current law already allows for (doesn't require) an opener of 10/7 this year - the first Saturday of October if that day does not coincide with the waterfowl opener (which this year it probably won't, under the tentative season dates).

In '03, the sportspersons gave this point in exchange for resident use of the PLOTS for all species for the first week of pheasant season. It was a COMPROMISE, and a good/reasonable one at that.

"Pheasant-gate" preceeded by a year or two the '03 session. Many sportspersons were reluctant to agree to the '03 compromise as they had just successfully fought off the commercializers attempts to expand the season. As it turns out, the deal struck by sportspersons was a good give-and-take, as many ND sportspersons have positively commented over the last 3 years about how much they enjoyed a more-sane opener.


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## Field Hunter

I agree with you Dan....you are right it was a compromise but wasn't the compromise supposed to be for waterfowl only on the PLOTS by the resident hunters but when the attourney general looked into the wording of the law they had to say it was for ALL hunting and not just waterfowl?

I'm not trying to change the laws here just trying to get together on an issue where there is common ground.....Judging by the response that I've received from the outfitters and guides (zero) I guess there is not a lot of interest anyway.


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## roostman

I think the second weekend in October is plenty early, I have seen alot of very young pheasants on opener and some are very hard to tell if they are hen's or roosters due to the fact that there colors have not come in yet. We also get them extra days in January that we never got in the 70's or 80's or the 90's. Plus we can all hope it's alittle cooler the second weekend of October. Just my two cent's.


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## g/o

FH, I would hate to see you go through life empty handed. I would as you know support changing this as I did last time. Like Dan says the laws do change and the outfitters are not the ones you need on your side. You need to get all the small town mom and pop motel restaurant and bar owners on board. Your first step would be to get all you people to attend the advisory meetings and suggest it. I'll be the guy in the corner with sunglasses on keeping you honest. Now I'm sure Hoeven would be very gun shy about doing this especially that's what he was trying to do last time. Funny how times change. The only reason I advocate this is the money it will bring into the state. Just think how much tax revenue we are tossing away by not opening a week early. As far as the guys who think I'm only in it for myself. The year of the Pheasant Gate I had hunters booked for that week instead of cancelling I put part of my land into a shooting preserve. So we will be shooting roosters in Sept at my place anyway this would not affect me personally in any way.


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## always_outdoors

I know I will get blasted for saying this, but if it went my way I would open pheasants the first weekend of November and run it until the end of January.

I know, I know.....but I love hunting pheasants in the snow and on cold days. I probably wont' feel like that 10 years from now, but the cold weather and snow keeps alot of people inside watching football.

You would be surprised the access you get when it is -10 with a -22 wind chill. Farmers think you are crazy to go hunt in those conditions, but they let you hunt figuring nobody else is that dang crazy.

8)


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## Dick Monson

L2H, I agree. An earlier opener only increases commercialization and trafficing in wildlife. What might be good for us induividaully(better weather-holidays) is not good for the resource if it increases commercialization. That said, g/o is the only guy I know that organized a community match PLOTS and he deserves a hats off. (not a longer season  )


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## Field Hunter

In djleye's rather sarcastic words to me a couple of weeks ago....."Can't we all just get along?"

Obviously it was a rather stupid idea for the outfitters and the sportsman to even kick such an idea around. I withdraw my suggestion and retire to the peanut gallery.

In fact I think I'll just take a break for a while...everyone have fun.


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## Dick Monson

If I was rude to anyone I certainly applogize. Forums like this are to exchange and explain points of view & information-no right or wrong-just opinions. And to defend those opinions. IMO.

Last week I spoke to the head offices of the Montana Wildlife Federation, Idaho Wildlife Federation and South Dakota Wildlife Federation. Our problems are small compared to these three states, all who have more, much more public land. And not just problems from outfitters,..mining, logging, drilling, land grabs, you name it are commercializing every aspect of *our* outdoors. That is public property stolen from *you*. It's going to take shooters out on the court, not bench warmers, the bench has been over crowded way too long.


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## KEN W

roostman said:


> I think the second weekend in October is plenty early, I have seen alot of very young pheasants on opener and some are very hard to tell if they are hen's or roosters due to the fact that there colors have not come in yet. We also get them extra days in January that we never got in the 70's or 80's or the 90's. Plus we can all hope it's alittle cooler the second weekend of October. Just my two cent's.


The day the season closes has nothing to do with when the season opens.The season will close basically the same day in 2006 as 2005,but will be 1 week shorter do the later opener.

There is no law that says when the season has to close.The law only says it opens the second Satyrday of Oct.

We basically are loosing 1 week of pheasant hunting.I agree with G/O.Why not let people hunt that week.Good for the ND economy.


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## Drakekiller

Everyone seems to forget that the traditional opener in ND was the third week in Oct. SD is still the third week. I am not sure how long ago we switched to second weekend in Oct. Now it has changed again as Dan said. I like the later season, cooler and get another weekend of duck hunting in first. Since when do we set season openers so the commercial interests can make more money?


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## KEN W

Seasons are set to give sportsman the most opportunities.Opening on Oct. 7 would give us another week.


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## Dan Bueide

Monte,

Maybe I've misunderstood your question, but there just isn't any further legislative work that needs to be done to allow for an opener on the 7th (or any other day that is the first Saturday in October). That concession was made in '03, with the kicker that it can't occur on the same date as the waterfowl opener (since traditionally they are seperate openers and I think most still prefer seperate openers). One of the purposes of the '03 legislation (for some) was to give the Governor the political cover to accelerate the opener, from the more-traditional 2nd Saturday, in roughly half the years (the years the waterfowl opener occurs in September).

So why is this year's tentative pheasant opener on the 14th (rather than the 7th) when the tentative waterfowl opener is 9/30? Don't know, except that maybe they're not overly confident on the Fed waterfowl package and therefore the opening duck date?

On the PLOTS side of the '03 legislation, the purpose was to provide residents (the 50,000 or so resident pheasant hunters) a little spiff - elbow room - for the first week of pheasants, a period that represents a big chunk of overall season use by residents as a whole. The NR preclusion was not limited to one species or another because traffic is traffic - the pheasants get pushed around/out no matter the species of use, and think about the enforcement problems. Don't know who came up with the interpretation in the Fall of '03 that it precluded only NR pheasant hunting. The legislation was very clear and consistent with the intent of those who worked it - no mistakes - as later confirmed by the AG.

G/O,



> The only reason I advocate this is the money it will bring into the state.


Well, there are still some of us that don't feel the primary function of ND wildlife is to pad coffers (private of public). It is indeed "funny how times change."

Ken,



> Seasons are set to give sportsman the most opportunities.Opening on Oct. 7 would give us another week.


Seasons are set on many factors, including conflicts with other seasons and other species openers, biological factors, landowner tolerance, etc. If "most opportunities" was the driving factor, seasons would never close. Assuming an opener of 10/14 and a close of the first Sunday in January, is there any state with a longer pheasant season? Plenty of season, either way.


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## KEN W

Dan Bueide said:


> Monte,
> 
> Maybe I've misunderstood your question, but there just isn't any further legislative work that needs to be done to allow for an opener on the 7th (or any other day that is the first Saturday in October). That concession was made in '03, with the kicker that it can't occur on the same date as the waterfowl opener (since traditionally they are seperate openers and I think most still prefer seperate openers). One of the purposes of the '03 legislation (for some) was to give the Governor the political cover to accelerate the opener, from the more-traditional 2nd Saturday, in roughly half the years (the years the waterfowl opener occurs in September).
> 
> So why is this year's tentative pheasant opener on the 14th (rather than the 7th) when the tentative waterfowl opener is 9/30? Don't know, except that maybe they're not overly confident on the Fed waterfowl package and therefore the opening duck date?
> 
> On the PLOTS side of the '03 legislation, the purpose was to provide residents (the 50,000 or so resident pheasant hunters) a little spiff - elbow room - for the first week of pheasants, a period that represents a big chunk of overall season use by residents as a whole. The NR preclusion was not limited to one species or another because traffic is traffic - the pheasants get pushed around/out no matter the species of use, and think about the enforcement problems. Don't know who came up with the interpretation in the Fall of '03 that it precluded only NR pheasant hunting. The legislation was very clear and consistent with the intent of those who worked it - no mistakes - as later confirmed by the AG.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The only reason I advocate this is the money it will bring into the state.
> 
> 
> 
> Well, there are still some of us that don't feel the primary function of ND wildlife is to pad coffers (private of public). It is indeed "funny how times change."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Seasons are set to give sportsman the most opportunities.Opening on Oct. 7 would give us another week.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Seasons are set on many factors, including conflicts with other seasons and other species openers, biological factors, landowner tolerance, etc. If they were set to provide the most opportunities, seasons would never close. Assuming an opener of 10/14 and a close of the first Sunday in January, is there any state with a longer pheasant season? Plenty of season, either way.
Click to expand...

Your'e right about a combination of factors.....BUT,every thing I've heard and read from our GNF,they have said....we want to give our sportsman the MOST opportunities possible while still protecting the resource.There is no reason to NOT open the season on Oct. 7 except for the law saying it opens the second saturday of Oct.

I still say we are losing a week of hunting because of that law,good or bad.....thus our opportunities are not maximized.I asked our GNF if they would have opened the seaon on Oct. 7 if not for that law,and they said yes.....there is no other reason not to.


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## Drakekiller

ND Cent. code 20.1-04-15 Pheasant season- opening
The open or lawful season on pheasant and the open or lawful season on duck may not commence on the same weekend. The open or lawful season on pheasant may not open earilier than one-half hour before sunrise and the season may not commence earlier than the first Saturday of October of any given year.
Ken this is current law. Why do you keep saying it can not open until second weekend?


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## Dan Bueide

Schzeese, I must be having a hard time making my point, or at least one of them...

The "law" (current - *no further changes needed*) - allows the Gov to set the opener *on* or after the *first *Saturday of October, so long as that date is not also the weekend of the duck opener. There is *no *law (nor was there ever one to my knowledge) - just tradition - that proscribes the second Saturday of October. Here is the statute:

NDCC 20.1-04-15: The open or lawful season on pheasant and the open or lawful season on duck may not commence on the same weekend..and the season may not commence earlier than the *first* Saturday of October of any given year (emphasis added).

So, there is *no *legal prohibition to a pheasant opener of 10/7 this year, if that is *not *also the weekend that becomes the general duck opener when the waterfowl seasons are set. I can only speculate - as per my earlier post - as to why G&F is showing a tentative date of 10/14 instead.

I guess I prefer the 14th, for many reasons, but it's no big deal either way (I can't hardly complain about it now, after having helped shape the law 3 years ago).


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## roostman

KEN W said:


> Seasons are set to give sportsman the most opportunities.Opening on Oct. 7 would give us another week.


 Ken if that was the case they would open the season the same time Grouse opens, most people don't even get out after the middle of Dec. any way. I agree with Live2hunt, open it the first of November and run it thru January. 8)


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## jhegg

Ken,

I hope you are not confusing the "benefit to the resident hunter" with the "benefit to the g/o pocket books". Put another way, I can easily give up a weekend of hunting if it helps de-commercialize the sport.

Jim


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## g/o

Schzeese?? Dan?, With the season opening on the 14th and will probably close on the 8th of January. We will be losing days, no big deal we already have a long season. If we were to open on the 7th we would actually have one extra day than last year. I know some of you such as yourself value things differently than I do. I know more people are going to hunt in the early part of the season than during the end. For the business person in small town ND its a big deal. Not to mention the tax revenue collected, just look at the gasoline alone. Every time you and I and those nonresidents fill those gas guzzling pick ups and SUV's up the state receives 23 cents a gallon. Whats wrong with that ? Its just a difference in opinion. I like seeing my hometown and others busy and hunters make it that way. I will straighten you out when I have more time to busy right now. :wink:


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## KEN W

roostman said:


> KEN W said:
> 
> 
> 
> Seasons are set to give sportsman the most opportunities.Opening on Oct. 7 would give us another week.
> 
> 
> 
> Ken if that was the case they would open the season the same time Grouse opens, most people don't even get out after the middle of Dec. any way. I agree with Live2hunt, open it the first of November and run it thru January. 8)
Click to expand...

Not so....the 10-12 of Sept the roosters aren't colored.Sharps makes no difference.


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## always_outdoors

roostman: Let's get a petition started for a Nov. 1st pheasant opener and run it until the end of January!!! It will be like a tough man competition.

:beer: :beer:

Just kidding with you all.


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## roostman

KEN W said:


> roostman said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> KEN W said:
> 
> 
> 
> Seasons are set to give sportsman the most opportunities.Opening on Oct. 7 would give us another week.
> 
> 
> 
> Ken if that was the case they would open the season the same time Grouse opens, most people don't even get out after the middle of Dec. any way. I agree with Live2hunt, open it the first of November and run it thru January. 8)
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Not so....the 10-12 of Sept the roosters aren't colored.Sharps makes no difference.
Click to expand...

 You are right but then I've seen Roosters that were not colored out on opener, which is usually the second weekend in Oct. So the second weekend falls on the 14th, like I said before most hunters are done by the middle of Dec. any way. It's alot like deer hunting, this year we get Thanksgiving weekend, but that only happens about twice a decade, no big deal but it sure would be nice if we could get it every year.


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## roostman

Kens quote:
The day the season closes has nothing to do with when the season opens.The season will close basically the same day in 2006 as 2005,but will be 1 week shorter do the later opener.

There is no law that says when the season has to close.The law only says it opens the second Satyrday of Oct.

We basically are loosing 1 week of pheasant hunting.I agree with G/O.Why not let people hunt that week.Good for the ND economy.[/quote]
Ken the only way you would lose one week of hunting is only if you hunted everyday, if you do not hunt every day you are not losing any thing.Most hunters I know don't hunt every day. Live2hunt I would truly love a later hunting season, the weather's cooler, the softies are home on the couch. The Vikings never play in January anyway. 8)


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## KEN W

Not losing anything?????

I have off work Monday Oct. 9 because of Columbus Day.That means I could have hunted Oct 7,8 9.....sounds like 3 days of lost opportunity to me.


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## roostman

KEN W said:


> Not losing anything?????
> 
> I have off work Monday Oct. 9 because of Columbus Day.That means I could have hunted Oct 7,8 9.....sounds like 3 days of lost opportunity to me.


Wow, are you telling me the N.D. Game & fish did not get with you to find out when you had off work before they set the season? How do they get away with that Ken? Do you know how childish that sounds, we have names for people like you, there called whiners Ken. Sorry to say the pheasant or any other openers don't revolve around "your" work schedule or mine. Life's not always fair Ken, take and enjoy what you get and don't whine about the piddley stuff, life's to short. 8)


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## HUNTNFISHND

Ken wrote:


> Not losing anything?????
> 
> I have off work Monday Oct. 9 because of Columbus Day.That means I could have hunted Oct 7,8 9.....sounds like 3 days of lost opportunity to me.


Wow Ken, I wish I had your problems! :eyeroll:

You public employees need another day off like ND needs another G/O! uke:


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## KEN W

roostman.....I'm not going to reciprocate in the name calling.

As for the GNF....they always ask for any sporstman's opinion.....didn't you know that????Besides mine or your opinion makes no difference on this one.....STATE LAW SAYS WHEN THE SEASON OPENS.....NOT THE GNF.

HUNTNFISHND....not asking for another day off....I already have Columbus Day off.....


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## g/o

HUNTNFISHND said:


> You public employees need another day off like ND needs another G/O! uke:


Welcome Ken to the low life club of ND :beer:


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## Dan Bueide

> STATE LAW SAYS WHEN THE SEASON OPENS.....NOT THE GNF


Still not accurate. State law really just says when the opener *CAN'T BE *- it can't be before the first Saturday in October and it can't be on the same weekend as the general duck opener. G&F (tecnically, the Governor), can set it any date it/he wants around those general parameters.


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## woodpecker

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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## roostman

KEN W said:


> roostman.....I'm not going to reciprocate in the name calling.
> 
> As for the GNF....they always ask for any sporstman's opinion.....didn't you know that????Besides mine or your opinion makes no difference on this one.....STATE LAW SAYS WHEN THE SEASON OPENS.....NOT THE GNF.
> 
> This seems like it is your issue, not mine. I still say if you don't hunt every day you are not losing any thing. The name calling? If you are not whining what do you call it? B!!!ching?


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## Field Hunter

g/o, I thought you were busy? LOL Hows the water and upland look in that area? Hope to get some guys over to your place this Fall for business.


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## KEN W

roostman said:


> KEN W said:
> 
> 
> 
> roostman.....I'm not going to reciprocate in the name calling.
> 
> As for the GNF....they always ask for any sporstman's opinion.....didn't you know that????Besides mine or your opinion makes no difference on this one.....STATE LAW SAYS WHEN THE SEASON OPENS.....NOT THE GNF.
> 
> This seems like it is your issue, not mine. I still say if you don't hunt every day you are not losing any thing. The name calling? If you are not whining what do you call it? B!!!ching?
Click to expand...

I call it having a different opinion than you do.It is not an issue that can be changed other than by the legislature.But I can still have an opinion without calling it whining.To bad you can only see one side.I can understand yours.


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## KEN W

g/o said:


> HUNTNFISHND said:
> 
> 
> 
> You public employees need another day off like ND needs another G/O! uke:
> 
> 
> 
> Welcome Ken to the low life club of ND :beer:
Click to expand...

I guess us public employees and you G/O have to stick together. k:


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## g/o

FH, Things are lookin very good for the fall. Crops look fantastic but have a long way to go yet. Getting rain but could always use some more. Seeing big hatches of everything, saw a momma spooner tonight she must have had 15 for you. I've been seeing a number of pheasant chicks, for the last week so Dick Monson should start to see them next week. I know we didn't shoot enough roosters last fall you should hear the racket at sundown Yes I'm busy, so if your not doing anything come for a visit and I'll put you to work :wink:


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## roostman

Ken, it must be a age thing, my dad who retired a couple years ago say's he never whines either, it's not whining it's my opinion. I think once you hit a certain age they call things different, the three day holiday and I won't be able to hunt sounded to me like whining, but considering you said you were about to retire and probably getting up there in age  I'll give you the fact that was your opionion. speaking of my dad I want to wish all you Dad's out there a HAPPY FATHER"S DAY. Without dads or father figures to take kids hunting the hunting tradition would fade away.


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## Dick Monson

The hens have disappeared from the road now so I'm sure chicks are out and about.


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## Dak

Roger that :beer:


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## KEN W

roostman said:


> Ken, it must be a age thing, my dad who retired a couple years ago say's he never whines either, it's not whining it's my opinion. I think once you hit a certain age they call things different, the three day holiday and I won't be able to hunt sounded to me like whining, but considering you said you were about to retire and probably getting up there in age  I'll give you the fact that was your opionion. speaking of my dad I want to wish all you Dad's out there a HAPPY FATHER"S DAY. Without dads or father figures to take kids hunting the hunting tradition would fade away.


It's not that big a deal and the GNF couldn't have it earlier anyway.Starting next year I'm done working and can hunt anytime.Gotta spend the first week on the PLOTS next year.

Hope your dad has a good Father's Day also.


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## Dick Monson

Saw the first brood today and they were 6" tall already. Hatched early.


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## Habitat Hugger

Fieldhunter, I know a couple of outfitters in our area and they mainly guide for pheasants only till the end of the first week or so in November. At that point they willingly opened all their own land and their leased land for any hunter willing to come out and knock on their door and ASK! 
They both told me that they usually have a rare late party for a week or so in Decenber, but unfortunately once word got around that they didn't mind private hunters on their leased land, nobody asked and checked with them, so when their one and only party of paying hunters arrived, about all they saw was stomped ground and bootprints! If anyone had bothered to ask they would have said "I have hunters coming in for 3 days next week so hunt here, but not there, etc." and everybody would have been happy! I myself heard from a different of a group of eighteen (yes 18!) guys that went out and hunted an area of a neighboring outfitter without asking just 1 day before his last hunt of 3 days in December! Ask and be courteous??
But no, as usual, the selfish me first slobs ruined a great thing for everyone else! What else is new? Now both outfitters are pretty reluctant to let anyone in unless they know them well, and promise to always check in and for heaven's sake - don't tell anyone else or bring anyone else without asking!
But I agree with you that it would be great PR for Outfitters to allow resident North Dakotans to hunt late season in their leased lands if no paying hunters are using it. Most of the paying NR pheasant hunters are pretty well done towards the end of November anyway.
Yep, it's too bad everyone can't get together on it and get maximum reasonable use out of the land and wildlife! Far too much distrust on both sides of the coin. And a lot of non resident and G/O hatred out there too, most of which is unecessary. Fighting amoung G/O s and us free lancers usually only results in both parties shooting themselves in the foot! ?feet? No one benefits..........And no one wins either..........


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## Perry Thorvig

Dick Monson said:


> Saw the first brood today and they were 6" tall already. Hatched early.


See, the season could have been opened earlier this year and we would have been able to ID the birds just fine.

I guess I will just have to hunt some ducks on that weekend instead. All the public land will be open.


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## tumblebuck

I saw my first brood on Saturday.

On the shoulder of I-94 heading east just outside Alexandria!


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## djleye

All together now.......Kumbya my lord, kumbya!!!!!!!!


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## prairie hunter

Perry,

Ruffs will be way up this year. Hunt closer to home.

Last year I hunted grouse just 4 times and spend many days in MN hunting pheasants. I shot 25 birds in MN last year on a 2 per day limit.

Between MN pheasants and ruffs on the rebound, the big decision this year is which bird in MN to hunt.

It will be grand


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## DJRooster

One of these years we are going to get early snow and lots of it and that will put a big damper on the Nov/Dec rooster hunting that we all have learned to enjoy and take for granted because it has been many moons since we had an early tough winter around these parts. When it does happen and it will we will wish we had a little more time to hunt in October and if it happens this year when the opener is the latest it can be we will miss out on some good hunting. In my opinion this is a year when we could have started a week earlier. The hatch was early this year because of the relatively dry spring although I still see a few broods of peepers when I am out and about. Most birds will have pretty good color by the opener which by the way is only 3 months away. Man o man I have a lot of work to do with my young pup before 1/2 hour before sunrise on the opener!!!


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## Benillibrother

Oct 14 is perfect, if you go back and pull out the old proclamations from the 70's and 80's we always had a two week space between waterfowl opener and pheasant opener and the waterfowl would always hit around oct.1 and our partridge and grouse opener would hit around the 14th of Sept. nobody was complaining back then. Don't bring money and taxes into this thing, it just ruins the enjoyment of it.


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## wiskodie1

WOW LOL, so much for getting together for the common good of all. ill just keep watching out for me and mine. good luck to the rest of you. if someone ever pulls this forum together and turns it into a power house for the betterment of pheasant hunting and its hunters, ill jump right on the band wagon. 
untill then, take care, have fun


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## DJRooster

This is my outlook on the season. First of all I think it is going to be another good year. I see the crops(soybeans and corn) coming off about two weeks earlier than normal because of our warm summer. I see the corn acres down and the soybean acres up so this will also correlate into an earlier harvest. I also see a lot of cattail sloughs left over from the last fifteen years of wet that will be burned or be mowed, many of which have already been mowed. This will concentrate the birds in the remaining cover and could be a concern if we have a tougher winter. However, this should make it an easier hunt for those who don't like to put on the miles. Overall is should be another good year but in my opinion the season should have opened a week earlier.


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## lvmylabs

Personally I don't really care when the season opens, it is still my favorite day of the year. I haven't been able to sleep the night before opener ever since my dad and my uncle brought me with that first year. I toss and turn thinking about the past seasons, and anticipating the first rooster busting up with all the colors of a 4th of July fireworks show. The trigger gets pulled and the dog is bringing back one of the most beautiful birds in the world. I carefully place the bid in my vest, pat the dog on the head saying "Thats my girl". And we continue our journey enjoying every step that day. That is my opinion on what the 06 opener should be. It doesn't matter what day it happens to fall on. I hope there are others out thier who persue this worthy opponant that feel the same way. But, to each their own.

Good luck to everyone on opener this weekend. And if you happen to see a guy in the field with a yellow lab working in front of him please wave, I promise to wave back.

Jim and his faithful sidekick Bailey


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## Remmi_&amp;_I

Ahhhh opening weekend 

I too haven't been able to sleep the day before the opener since my first season. Every year it gets better! Our group (my dad, my uncle, and 4-5 other close family friends) gets together at my parents lake cabin friday afternoon (3:00-4:00). We drive the back roads together and stop into 2-3 small town bars and have a couple cold ones together. We head back to have our first meal and campfire of the weekend.

There is NO better time in my life. I live for opening weekend of pheasants!


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## northdakotakid

I have a great conservation plan... open pheasant season year round... that way the sportsman will have the most opportunities to hunt and each year there will be a higher and higher ratio of fully colored pheasants shot.

This is the best scenario right? More hunting days equals more money this year... lets not worry about the future at all... let's just worry about today and make the most out of it. Our kids will figure it out or we could just leave it to a government agency to determine what is best... that always works in asset management, right???(Water levels on the Missouri river system).

*ignorance is bliss but you can't fix stupid*


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## DJRooster

The best thing about the opener is that there are almost three more months to hunt. The pheasant season is one of our longest seasons so for those that live in pheasant country there will be a lot opportunities to enjoy the dogs and the birds. Speaking of the opener, are you starting to condition your dog so that when it is 70+ degrees on the opener that you don't kill your best friend??


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