To the hunter who peppered us.

[Atroxus]

I have to say I agree with Stilly Bay on this. I have done a little pheasant hunting and a little duck hunting this year. It was my first year doing both, so I am not super experienced but I can at least say I have at least a little perspective from both sides of the fence.

My pheasant hunting was all on release sites. If it was not for those release sites I would not have done any pheasant hunting for several of the reasons Stilly mentioned. Mainly I don't have the time to go over to eastern washington to hunt without stirring up trouble with my wife.

My duck hunting has been a little on private property thanks to Stilly, and some on public with Kola. You could not pay me to go duck hunt on a pheasant release site during pheasant though unless the duck and pheasant areas were clearly separated.

Most of my pheasant trips I found it was pretty hard to tell where the duck hunters were until I was practically on top of them. I consider myself safety conscious, and try to be aware of the hunters around me. I don't shoot in the direction of other hunters...if I can see them. Going out in the middle of a bunch of pheasant hunters all camo'd up though just seems like begging to get peppered if not outright shot. In my mind it's not that different from dressing in all black to go jogging on the road at night, then bitching that drivers can't see you until you are coming through their windshield. 

[NW-GSP]

I have to say I agree with Stilly Bay on this. I have done a little pheasant hunting and a little duck hunting this year. It was my first year doing both, so I am not super experienced but I can at least say I have at least a little perspective from both sides of the fence.

My pheasant hunting was all on release sites. If it was not for those release sites I would not have done any pheasant hunting for several of the reasons Stilly mentioned. Mainly I don't have the time to go over to eastern washington to hunt without stirring up trouble with my wife.

My duck hunting has been a little on private property thanks to Stilly, and some on public with Kola. You could not pay me to go duck hunt on a pheasant release site during pheasant though unless the duck and pheasant areas were clearly separated.

Most of my pheasant trips I found it was pretty hard to tell where the duck hunters were until I was practically on top of them. I consider myself safety conscious, and try to be aware of the hunters around me. I don't shoot in the direction of other hunters...if I can see them. Going out in the middle of a bunch of pheasant hunters all camo'd up though just seems like begging to get peppered if not outright shot. In my mind it's not that different from dressing in all black to go jogging on the road at night, then bitching that drivers can't see you until you are coming through their windshield. 

I shot a limit of ducks last week at a pheasant release site even with pheasant hunters passing by, I did not get mad cause its part of sharing the land. Heck a pheasant hunter even had his dog grab a duck for us so we would not have to walk a long ways to get to the other side of a canal.

[Stilly bay]

In my mind it's not that different from dressing in all black to go jogging on the road at night, then bitching that drivers can't see you until you are coming through their windshield. 

excellent analogy.

I shot a limit of ducks last week at a pheasant release site even with pheasant hunters passing by, I did not get mad cause its part of sharing the land. Heck a pheasant hunter even had his dog grab a duck for us so we would not have to walk a long ways to get to the other side of a canal.

I retrieved a couple cripples for duckers today.
its more than possible to have a great day hunting ducks at the release site if you understand what goes along with duck hunting on the release site and don't sweat the small stuff.

what gets old is duck hunters blaming their lousy day of hunting on the pheasant hunters.

[billythekidrock]

All I can say is be glad it was Kevin that got it and not me. I'd of returned fire reloaded and continued firing til the bast*rd surrendered.......

Yeah, 'cause that is the smart thing to do.
 

[Birdguy]

  Have not experienced one however I cannot say I have ever heard any one say anything good about them either. 

pheasant release sites are wonderful resources for those who enjoy upland hunting but do not have the ability to do so very often. wether its time or money or geography, release site give many people in western washington chances for birds that they might not have ever had.

its a place where older people can still get out and hunt and place where a young kid has a decent chance at his first kill. its a place where puppys can learn to be bird dogs, and old retired dogs can have another blaze of glory before passing on. and its place where hard working guys that never get much time off , can go and do what they love before getting back to their weekend chores, family, and work on monday.

there are strong opinions attached to these threads because pheasant hunters have strong feelings for their release sites.
many of my best memories happened on a release site.

I hunted release sites when I started upland hunting because they were close to home, a quick hunt for me and my pup, and I did not know any better. As I got more interested I turned to the east side but finding birds is real tough, I do not mind walking all day to see a bird or two get up to far out so long as the dog is working and we are having fun. This year as my two kids joined me in the upland pursuit I wanted them to get the rush, see the dog work and not have to spend all day for it. I ponied up the money for three westside tags and we went when it worked with the kids schedule. I passed a lot of birds so my kids could shoot at them  . And shoot at them they did, the dog put up 4-7 birds each time we went out and the kids actually got a couple shots each time as well. We did not "push" the field we went slower talking about where other hunters were, where we were headed and to try and be ready. Well all season I shot one bird the dog caught one, and on Thanksgiving morning my daughter who HATES to get up early for ANYTHING shot her first pheasant  . Yes, she shot it over the pond and yes the dog swam back through the pond with it and the pictures of the bird look horrible, but man was I proud of her! She was proud of herself and her little brother even told her good job  . That is what release sites are for. They are not for ideal S. Dakota hunts, they are not for all folks to hunt their own way, but man there are some great memories made there! Yes, we need them, yes they serve a purpose, and while none are perfect, they work for what they are.
    Safety is key in all things these days, my kids wear all the orange I can get on them, they wear the brush pants, they have ear plugs to wear in the field and they ALWAYS have safety glasses on for the possibility of raining shot. The dog has a shock collar on fir his safety, and usually a vest as well as clear cuts are not friendly place for a hunting dog. Protect yourself and do your best to look out for others  .

[wildweeds]

3 oclock in the afternoon is the best time,I live 1 mile from 2 release sites,I went saturday at 3 and found a rooster and I went at 2:45 on sunday and found another rooster.If I would have taken a veteran dog I would have found more but I took 15 month old pups that look good but have absolutely not a clue as to what they are doing and they found birds.

  Have not experienced one however I cannot say I have ever heard any one say anything good about them either. 

pheasant release sites are wonderful resources for those who enjoy upland hunting but do not have the ability to do so very often. wether its time or money or geography, release site give many people in western washington chances for birds that they might not have ever had.

its a place where older people can still get out and hunt and place where a young kid has a decent chance at his first kill. its a place where puppys can learn to be bird dogs, and old retired dogs can have another blaze of glory before passing on. and its place where hard working guys that never get much time off , can go and do what they love before getting back to their weekend chores, family, and work on monday.

there are strong opinions attached to these threads because pheasant hunters have strong feelings for their release sites.
many of my best memories happened on a release site.

I hunted release sites when I started upland hunting because they were close to home, a quick hunt for me and my pup, and I did not know any better. As I got more interested I turned to the east side but finding birds is real tough, I do not mind walking all day to see a bird or two get up to far out so long as the dog is working and we are having fun. This year as my two kids joined me in the upland pursuit I wanted them to get the rush, see the dog work and not have to spend all day for it. I ponied up the money for three westside tags and we went when it worked with the kids schedule. I passed a lot of birds so my kids could shoot at them  . And shoot at them they did, the dog put up 4-7 birds each time we went out and the kids actually got a couple shots each time as well. We did not "push" the field we went slower talking about where other hunters were, where we were headed and to try and be ready. Well all season I shot one bird the dog caught one, and on Thanksgiving morning my daughter who HATES to get up early for ANYTHING shot her first pheasant  . Yes, she shot it over the pond and yes the dog swam back through the pond with it and the pictures of the bird look horrible, but man was I proud of her! She was proud of herself and her little brother even told her good job  . That is what release sites are for. They are not for ideal S. Dakota hunts, they are not for all folks to hunt their own way, but man there are some great memories made there! Yes, we need them, yes they serve a purpose, and while none are perfect, they work for what they are.
    Safety is key in all things these days, my kids wear all the orange I can get on them, they wear the brush pants, they have ear plugs to wear in the field and they ALWAYS have safety glasses on for the possibility of raining shot. The dog has a shock collar on fir his safety, and usually a vest as well as clear cuts are not friendly place for a hunting dog. Protect yourself and do your best to look out for others  .

[Stilly bay]

3 oclock in the afternoon is the best time,I live 1 mile from 2 release sites,I went saturday at 3 and found a rooster and I went at 2:45 on sunday and found another rooster.If I would have taken a veteran dog I would have found more but I took 15 month old pups that look good but have absolutely not a clue as to what they are doing and they found birds.

  Have not experienced one however I cannot say I have ever heard any one say anything good about them either. 

pheasant release sites are wonderful resources for those who enjoy upland hunting but do not have the ability to do so very often. wether its time or money or geography, release site give many people in western washington chances for birds that they might not have ever had.

its a place where older people can still get out and hunt and place where a young kid has a decent chance at his first kill. its a place where puppys can learn to be bird dogs, and old retired dogs can have another blaze of glory before passing on. and its place where hard working guys that never get much time off , can go and do what they love before getting back to their weekend chores, family, and work on monday.

there are strong opinions attached to these threads because pheasant hunters have strong feelings for their release sites.
many of my best memories happened on a release site.

I hunted release sites when I started upland hunting because they were close to home, a quick hunt for me and my pup, and I did not know any better. As I got more interested I turned to the east side but finding birds is real tough, I do not mind walking all day to see a bird or two get up to far out so long as the dog is working and we are having fun. This year as my two kids joined me in the upland pursuit I wanted them to get the rush, see the dog work and not have to spend all day for it. I ponied up the money for three westside tags and we went when it worked with the kids schedule. I passed a lot of birds so my kids could shoot at them  . And shoot at them they did, the dog put up 4-7 birds each time we went out and the kids actually got a couple shots each time as well. We did not "push" the field we went slower talking about where other hunters were, where we were headed and to try and be ready. Well all season I shot one bird the dog caught one, and on Thanksgiving morning my daughter who HATES to get up early for ANYTHING shot her first pheasant  . Yes, she shot it over the pond and yes the dog swam back through the pond with it and the pictures of the bird look horrible, but man was I proud of her! She was proud of herself and her little brother even told her good job  . That is what release sites are for. They are not for ideal S. Dakota hunts, they are not for all folks to hunt their own way, but man there are some great memories made there! Yes, we need them, yes they serve a purpose, and while none are perfect, they work for what they are.
    Safety is key in all things these days, my kids wear all the orange I can get on them, they wear the brush pants, they have ear plugs to wear in the field and they ALWAYS have safety glasses on for the possibility of raining shot. The dog has a shock collar on fir his safety, and usually a vest as well as clear cuts are not friendly place for a hunting dog. Protect yourself and do your best to look out for others  .

we were out poaching your release site on sunday, at least the duck hunters there are all in pre existing blinds, not crawling out of the woodwork and lurking near ever puddle... it was actually pretty nice not having to play "where is Elmer Fudd" all day.

[Kola16]

Just an idea...Would it make this predicament better if it was duck hunting from designated blinds only 

[pianoman9701]

PBoy here (thanks for the new nickname, Tingle*censored*). So there are a couple of options, some of which I explored on this site last year and was chastised for even mentioning them. The options would require further confusing regulations from the WDFW and the general response was leave things as they are. The DFW will just screw it up and make hunting harder for all of us.

I had suggested that during pheasant season, weekend days were alternated (for example: Sat for pheasant, Sunday for duck/goose) to avoid conflict between the groups. Generally, the response seemed to be that if all of the hunters were practicing sportsmanlike conduct, there should be no issues. According to the WDFW, there have been no safety-related incidents between pheasant hunters and waterfowl hunters.

Another option that has been suggested is that we have designated blinds. Although I see this as a solution to the problem of how the waterfowl guys are dispersed, I don't get how this solves existing conflicts between pheasant and waterfowl hunters unless those blind areas are made off-limits to the pheasant guys, which would further exacerbate the situation and have one group feeling slighted via their opportunities. And seeing there are no safety issues/incidents regarding accidental shootings, this wouldn't change anything. What it would do is require someone to manage the blinds, giving the DFW cause to charge more for either hunting option when the charges for both are certainly heavy enough, especially with the extra waterfowl charges happening in areas 2A and 2B.

In lieu of safety concerns, increased DFW regulation, and taking away some already very limiting hunting opportunities, it seems clear that the options to solve this situation are quite limited. Were it that all of the hunters on these sites practiced excellent sportsmanship, I feel that none of the problems would be so onerous as to stimulate discussion year after year and we would be able to continue as we have. This is clearly not the case. Would it then be possible to launch a campaign to encourage more tolerance (I know, I hate the word, too) between the specific hunting groups and more sportsmanlike conduct? I have no idea of how this would take form.

[boneaddict]

Personally this sounds like a cluster to me. 

Would the westside guys like us to bring some whitetails over for you as well to hunt.  We'll let them out of the cage at 0750 for you to hunt at 0800.   

I guess its hard for me to wrap my mind around this whole topic.  THANK GOD

[singleshot12]

  Have not experienced one however I cannot say I have ever heard any one say anything good about them either. 

pheasant release sites are wonderful resources for those who enjoy upland hunting but do not have the ability to do so very often. wether its time or money or geography, release site give many people in western washington chances for birds that they might not have ever had.

its a place where older people can still get out and hunt and place where a young kid has a decent chance at his first kill. its a place where puppys can learn to be bird dogs, and old retired dogs can have another blaze of glory before passing on. and its place where hard working guys that never get much time off , can go and do what they love before getting back to their weekend chores, family, and work on monday.

there are strong opinions attached to these threads because pheasant hunters have strong feelings for their release sites.
many of my best memories happened on a release site.

I hunted release sites when I started upland hunting because they were close to home, a quick hunt for me and my pup, and I did not know any better. As I got more interested I turned to the east side but finding birds is real tough, I do not mind walking all day to see a bird or two get up to far out so long as the dog is working and we are having fun. This year as my two kids joined me in the upland pursuit I wanted them to get the rush, see the dog work and not have to spend all day for it. I ponied up the money for three westside tags and we went when it worked with the kids schedule. I passed a lot of birds so my kids could shoot at them  . And shoot at them they did, the dog put up 4-7 birds each time we went out and the kids actually got a couple shots each time as well. We did not "push" the field we went slower talking about where other hunters were, where we were headed and to try and be ready. Well all season I shot one bird the dog caught one, and on Thanksgiving morning my daughter who HATES to get up early for ANYTHING shot her first pheasant  . Yes, she shot it over the pond and yes the dog swam back through the pond with it and the pictures of the bird look horrible, but man was I proud of her! She was proud of herself and her little brother even told her good job  . That is what release sites are for. They are not for ideal S. Dakota hunts, they are not for all folks to hunt their own way, but man there are some great memories made there! Yes, we need them, yes they serve a purpose, and while none are perfect, they work for what they are.
    Safety is key in all things these days, my kids wear all the orange I can get on them, they wear the brush pants, they have ear plugs to wear in the field and they ALWAYS have safety glasses on for the possibility of raining shot. The dog has a shock collar on fir his safety, and usually a vest as well as clear cuts are not friendly place for a hunting dog. Protect yourself and do your best to look out for others  .

  enough said!

[pianoman9701]

Personally this sounds like a cluster to me. 

Would the westside guys like us to bring some whitetails over for you as well to hunt.  We'll let them out of the cage at 0750 for you to hunt at 0800.   

I guess its hard for me to wrap my mind around this whole topic.  THANK GOD

Especially hard to understand for an Easterner such as yourself. There are no naturally occurring pheasants (I know, they're all from China, blah, blah, blah) on the wetside. And, the pheasant hunters pay an awful lot for those release site cards to hunt them over here.

[Curly]

Personally this sounds like a cluster to me. 

Would the westside guys like us to bring some whitetails over for you as well to hunt.  We'll let them out of the cage at 0750 for you to hunt at 0800.   

I guess its hard for me to wrap my mind around this whole topic.  THANK GOD

It is a cluster.  At least it keeps the numbers of upland hunters down a little in Eastern WA. 

I think you may be onto something, Bone.  That would keep the numbers of deer hunters down in E WA too...... 

[pianoman9701]

Personally this sounds like a cluster to me. 

Would the westside guys like us to bring some whitetails over for you as well to hunt.  We'll let them out of the cage at 0750 for you to hunt at 0800.   

I guess its hard for me to wrap my mind around this whole topic.  THANK GOD

It is a cluster.  At least it keeps the numbers of upland hunters down a little in Eastern WA. 

I think you may be onto something, Bone.  That would keep the numbers of deer hunters down in E WA too...... 

We don't want no white-tailed rats breeding over here. The blackies have enough pressure on their numbers as it is. And wait until the wolves really get entrenched here. Ouch!

[boneaddict]

you don't like whitetails huh......how about a bag full of rattlesnakes so your canned hunts can have more of a eastern washington feel to them.