# hunting in swaths



## Scraper (Apr 1, 2002)

I almost hate to ask because i know we beat this dead horse a long time ago...can you hunt swathed crops with permission or is it baiting?


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Scraper said:


> I almost hate to ask because i know we beat this dead horse a long time ago...can you hunt swathed crops with permission or is it baiting?


Yes, but you need permission on swathed fields whether they are posted or not.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Also you cannot disturb the swath or use any of the cut grain to brush up your blind or you run the risk of getting a ticket for baiting! IE manipulation that dislodges grain which is not normal agriculture activity!


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

swathed is unharvested... laws say something about that


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## ducks4u (Sep 16, 2009)

So I am not clear on this. Is hunting in swathed grain considered baiting? I was once told that it is considered a baited field but do see people doing it at times. Can anybody tell me for sure as I have always passed on those fields even though they look so easy to hunt.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Best thing to do is call the Game Warden in the area and ask him how he interprets the law. As he is issuing the tickets.


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## wingaddict (Sep 16, 2009)

Swathing is a normal agricultural practice.. It is considered unharvested and you'll need permission.

From the USFWS baiting regulations:



> Hunters should be aware that normal harvesting practices can be unique to specific parts of the country. For example, swathing wheat crops is a part of the normal harvesting process recommended by the Cooperative Extension Service in some areas of the upper Midwest. During this process, wheat is cut, placed into rows, and left in the field for several days until it dries. Hunting waterfowl over a swathed wheat field during the recommended drying period is legal. It is illegal to hunt waterfowl over swathed wheat that becomes unmarketable or that is left in the field past the recommended drying period because these situations are not normal harvests.


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## tommydailey05 (Sep 25, 2008)

This is all it says in the 2009 Hunting Regulations

It is illegal to hunt in unharvested cereal and oilseed crops, including
sprouted winter wheat, alfalfa, clover and other grasses grown for seed,
without the owner's consent.


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## tommydailey05 (Sep 25, 2008)

Found another posting...hope this helps:

In addition to state regulations, these federal rules apply to the taking and
possession of migratory game birds.

• No one shall take migratory game birds by the aid of baiting, or on or
over any baited area, where a person knows or reasonably should
know that the area is or has been baited. You may hunt migratory
game birds, including waterfowl, on, over or from standing crops or
flooded standing crops; flooded, harvested cropland; lands where
grain has been scattered solely as a result of a normal agricultural
planting, harvest or post-harvest manipulation; or from a blind or place
of concealment camouflaged with vegetation from agricultural crops,
provided that use of such vegetation does not expose, deposit or
scatter grain or other feed.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

This is so simple, but people continue to make it hard.

One! Get permission to hunt the field, it is required by law.

Two! Do not disturb the swathed grain beyond normal activity of retrieving game or moving in and out of the field. Do not use the non thrashed grain to brush up the blind.

Three!!!! Enjoy the hunt and pick up your trash!


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## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

Ron Gilmore said:


> This is so simple, but people continue to make it hard.
> 
> One! Get permission to hunt the field, it is required by law.
> 
> ...


Also DO NOT DRIVE ACROSS SWATHS...... Thats the number 1 NO-NO. Do that and you will see a very angry landowner :******:


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## wingaddict (Sep 16, 2009)

Good post Ron.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

So can a person use the wheat to stubble their blinds from the dessication tracks?


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

blhunter3 said:


> So can a person use the wheat to stubble their blinds from the dessication tracks?


Whatever, just leave the swaths alone as much as possible and you'll be fine.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Chris Hustad said:


> blhunter3 said:
> 
> 
> > So can a person use the wheat to stubble their blinds from the dessication tracks?
> ...


But they aren't swath's they are just tire tracks, from the sprayer.


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## wingaddict (Sep 16, 2009)

:eyeroll:

Re-read Ron Gilmores post


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

wingaddict said:


> :eyeroll:
> 
> Re-read Ron Gilmores post


I didn't see his question addressed in any of the posts on this thread, including Ron's.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

blhunter3 said:


> So can a person use the wheat to stubble their blinds from the dessication tracks?


No!!!!! You may not have any issue with the state wardens, but you will with the Feds. Any material on your blind that has grain in it, be it run down small grains, or bean plants with pods or corn cobs with corn still attached to it will most likely get you a ticket!!!!!!!!!!

It does not matter if the field is harvested or not. The Feds look at it, just like you where casting grain onto the ground!!!!!!! Volume does not matter in the least!!!!!!!!!


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## wingaddict (Sep 16, 2009)

USAlx50 said:


> wingaddict said:
> 
> 
> > :eyeroll:
> ...





> Do not use the non thrashed grain to brush up the blind.


 :wink:


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Thanks for that :lol:

Seriously though guys.. Who hasn't used wheat to stuff their blinds that just happened to have some heads still intact?


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

wingaddict said:


> :eyeroll:
> 
> Re-read Ron Gilmores post


I did and nothing pertained to dessication tracks. A guy almost needs to be a lawyer to understand these laws.


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## wingaddict (Sep 16, 2009)

blhunter3 said:


> wingaddict said:
> 
> 
> > :eyeroll:
> ...





> Do not use the non thrashed grain to brush up the blind.


blhunter, you might want to look into strictly hunting over water. :lol:


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

wingaddict said:


> blhunter3 said:
> 
> 
> > wingaddict said:
> ...


There too the laws are confusing. 

Its hard because it mentions a "normal agriculture practice" and some of the normal practices are legal to hunt and some are not.

I have emailed and talked to both the MN and ND, DNR and Game and Fish and both haven't given me clear, cut answers.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

blhunter3
This is taken directly from the USFWS website!
Pay attention to the things I will make bold!!!!!

"What Is Baiting?

You cannot hunt waterfowl by the aid of baiting or on or over any baited area where you know or reasonably should know that the area is or has been baited.

*Baiting is the direct or indirect placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of salt, grain, or other feed that could lure or attract waterfowl to, on, or over any areas where hunters are attempting to take them.*
A baited area is any area on which salt, grain, or other feed has been placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered, if that salt, grain, or feed could serve as a lure or attraction for waterfowl.

The 10-Day Rule

A baited area remains off limits to hunting for 10 days after all salt, grain, or other feed has been completely removed. This rule recognizes that waterfowl will still be attracted to the same area even after the bait is gone.

Waterfowl Hunting on Agricultural Lands

Agricultural lands offer prime waterfowl hunting opportunities. You can hunt waterfowl in fields of unharvested standing crops. You can also hunt over standing crops that have been flooded. You can flood fields after crops are harvested and use these areas for waterfowl hunting.

*The presence of seed or grain in an agricultural area rules out waterfowl hunting unless the seed or grain is scattered solely as the result of a normal agricultural planting, normal agricultural harvesting, normal agricultural post-harvest manipulation, or normal soil stabilization practice.*These activities must be conducted in accordance with recommendations of the State Extension Specialists of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Cooperative Extension Service)."

So you grabbing a handful of knocked down grain, stuffing it into the blind could and will dislodge the grain from the head. This is not normal Ag practice, it is scattering of grain that is not of normal Ag practice no matter how you attempt to explain it.


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