To the hunter who peppered us.

[singleshot12]

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.

Rattlesnakes wouldn't make it over here, but WHITETAILS YES! they would take over the west-side like a plague of rabbits. PLEASE plant some over here, Somebody?

[pianoman9701]

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.

Now, that's an idea! I love me some snake meat!

[Da stump]

might have got peppered but at least you didn't get salted

[BK Dave]

So last night "we" are watching one of those Intervention shows, I ask why We must suffer through this mindless crap? She explains to me it gives us a reality check about this world and how good we really got it,  And it makes her feel better about her self.

Oh I have HUNT WA. For that!! Haha

[boneaddict]

So last night "we" are watching one of those Intervention shows, I ask why We must suffer through this mindless crap? She explains to me it gives us a reality check about this world and how good we really got it,  And it makes her feel better about her self.

Oh I have HUNT WA. For that!! Haha

 

[dscubame]

  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.

Good thoughts to think about Stilly Bay.  I can see how the release sites can be appreciated with the input you have given.  Thanks.

[pianoman9701]

All sides of the issue have strong feelings tied to many things, including memories, access near home, access for the elderly or very young, the expense put out to hunt there, etc.

[Stilly bay]

 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.

I don't care how good the sportsman like conduct is -FWIW IMO its been overall pretty dang good- the fact still remains that you have highly visible pheasant hunters roving the fields and almost invisible duck hunters scattered about in unknown and completely random locations. this is a major safety concern.

pheasant hunters have to pay attention to other blaze orange clad pheasant hunters as well as constantly scan for things that may look like duck blinds or a duck hunters white face.

thats a lot to ask of a person to calculate when a pheasant flushes up in his face. I honestly don't know why there aren't more accidents.  I believe this incongruence is a serious chink in the armor of the system.

solutions for this problem.
close the release sites to duck hunters for the six weeks duck and pheasant season over lap. duck hunters still get december and january to hunt release sites. at that point the duck hunting gets better. * duck hunters are still completely free to hunt any public area that is not a pheasant release site.

OR - only allow duck hunting in designated blinds that have been marked for the duration of pheasant season, after that have a free for all.
* duck hunters are still free to hunt any other public land that is not a pheasant release site

restricting duck hunters for the SIX weeks that the two seasons overlap really does not seem like that big of a concession to me. the duck hunters miss out on the first six weeks of the season (which aren't that great) but only on the release sites... there are many more public and private areas for duck hunters to go besides the release sites. it seems like a very small sacrifice to end conflicts and promote safety.

am I really that far off base as to suggest restricting one party that already has more on its table than the other so that a level of safety can be maintained creating an overall better experience for both parties involved?

oh yeah, please spare me the socialist comments. if thats all you got go #%# %#%#% and %R*& and keep your utterly boring political view point out of this. its about safety and common sense not getting your warped perception of rights stepped on.

All sides of the issue have strong feelings tied to many things, including memories, access near home, access for the elderly or very young, the expense put out to hunt there, etc.

then all sides need to come up with a solution and stop acting butt hurt at the thought of having something taken away or reworked.

[pianoman9701]

 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.

I don't care how good the sportsman like conduct is -FWIW IMO its been overall pretty dang good- the fact still remains that you have highly visible pheasant hunters roving the fields and almost invisible duck hunters scattered about in unknown and completely random locations. this is a major safety concern.

pheasant hunters have to pay attention to other blaze orange clad pheasant hunters as well as constantly scan for things that may look like duck blinds or a duck hunters white face.

thats a lot to ask of a person to calculate when a pheasant flushes up in his face. I honestly don't know why there aren't more accidents.  I believe this incongruence is a serious chink in the armor of the system.

solutions for this problem.
close the release sites to duck hunters for the six weeks duck and pheasant season over lap. duck hunters still get december and january to hunt release sites. at that point the duck hunting gets better. * duck hunters are still completely free to hunt any public area that is not a pheasant release site.

OR - only allow duck hunting in designated blinds that have been marked for the duration of pheasant season, after that have a free for all.
* duck hunters are still free to hunt any other public land that is not a pheasant release site

restricting duck hunters for the SIX weeks that the two seasons overlap really does not seem like that big of a concession to me. the duck hunters miss out on the first six weeks of the season (which aren't that great) but only on the release sites... there are many more public and private areas for duck hunters to go besides the release sites. it seems like a very small sacrifice to end conflicts and promote safety.

am I really that far off base as to suggest restricting one party that already has more on its table than the other so that a level of safety can be maintained creating an overall better experience for both parties involved?

oh yeah, please spare me the socialist comments. if thats all you got go #%# %#%#% and %R*& and keep your utterly boring political view point out of this. its about safety and common sense not getting your warped perception of rights stepped on.

All sides of the issue have strong feelings tied to many things, including memories, access near home, access for the elderly or very young, the expense put out to hunt there, etc.

then all sides need to come up with a solution and stop acting butt hurt at the thought of having something taken away or reworked.

So again, there has never been a waterfowl hunter shot by a pheasant hunter. According to the WDFW, there is no safety concern WHATSOEVER. Why make up a safety concern where one doesn't exist? The reason pheasant hunters wear orange, I was told last year, is to keep them from shooting their partners in a sweep.

And, in making a suggestion a changing anything to do with regulations, hunting days and hours, alternating days, etc., I was completely rebuffed for the suggestions in a thread that lasted for weeks last year. The reasons given were all tied to the regulations already being to complicated, giving the DFW a reason to raise rates, taking away hunting opportunities (even 1 day a week). We've been through this and hunters here say they don't want change. I was the proponent for change last year. I got the full brunt of the blows from the majority of other hunters. I heard their voices and have joined them.

[ghosthunter]

Honestly I think the put and take Pheasant Program on the westside is on its way out.
They made a release site on some private ground in Skagit county and the neighbors are having a fit. Letters to the editor every week. Some demanding the state pick the birds up and take them away.
I like both upland and waterfowl. But push come to shove I would rather waterfowl because the season is longer and the timing is right. And let us not forget the $90.00 card required to hunt pheasant on the west side.

I don't want to see either go away. But in tough budget times, raising birds so that a very few people can blast them doesn't sit well with the general public.

Not looking for a fight just my observations.

[quadrafire]

I don't duck hunt at all nor Do I pheasant hunt on the west side. Looking at this without that  bias, I think Stillys last post is very reasonable. I have not read through all the posts, but can see where it looks set up for something bad to happen, if not an accident then on purpose with all the heated arguments and opinions here.

My ignorance. How many release sites are there on the west side? How many birds released daily/weekly? I would love to see a pic of all the hunters and dogs waiting in line to "take off" at 8am.

Stilly that point in your avatar is great.

[Curly]

So again, there has never been a waterfowl hunter shot by a pheasant hunter. According to the WDFW, there is no safety concern WHATSOEVER. Why make up a safety concern where one doesn't exist?

KevinP (the original poster in this thread) might disagree.  There are likely several cases like Kevin's but they don't get reported. 

Kevin believes he was shot at intentionally though (if I'm understanding him correctly).  So, if he was shot intentionally, then it really is a different issue......likely a pheasant hunter pissed at the waterfowler.

But whether it was intentional peppering or an accident, I suppose he did get shot.........sort of.  It was far enough away that the shot had lost most of its energy, so maybe it really shouldn't count as a "shooting".

Another idea, besides restricting duck hunter access until December, would be to restrict upland bird hunters entry until say 9:30AM.  That would give waterfowlers from daylight to 9:30 to kill ducks.  Just an idea.

[pianoman9701]

So again, there has never been a waterfowl hunter shot by a pheasant hunter. According to the WDFW, there is no safety concern WHATSOEVER. Why make up a safety concern where one doesn't exist?

KevinP (the original poster in this thread) might disagree.  There are likely several cases like Kevin's but they don't get reported. 

Kevin believes he was shot at intentionally though (if I'm understanding him correctly).  So, if he was shot intentionally, then it really is a different issue......likely a pheasant hunter pissed at the waterfowler.

But whether it was intentional peppering or an accident, I suppose he did get shot.........sort of.  It was far enough away that the shot had lost most of its energy, so maybe it really shouldn't count as a "shooting".

Another idea, besides restricting duck hunter access until December, would be to restrict upland bird hunters entry until say 9:30AM.  That would give waterfowlers from daylight to 9:30 to kill ducks.  Just an idea.

Intentional shooting is a criminal activity, not a safety issue. And again, I was pushing for change on this last year and was rebuffed for it.

[Fishnclifff]

Happened the last time I hunted Shillapoo.
Pheasant hunter turned on the guy pickin up the disk plow in the field.
Blew out the back window of the tractor and hit the guy in the neck.
*censored* ran away like a coward.
This stuff happened at Stanwood all the time.
We duck hunted in a well known blind and pheasant hunters would walk right into our decoys, then turn out into the fields, instead of walking out into the fields directly.
2 duck hunters were shot and injured by pheasant hunters there. Both ran away like cowards. 1 was caught later and charged. He even bragged about bagging one of those *censored* duck hunters.
Everyone thinks they "own" their hunting grounds, even when it is public land.
I don't see this ending soon.
Just too much " it's mine" mentality.

[Curly]

So again, there has never been a waterfowl hunter shot by a pheasant hunter. According to the WDFW, there is no safety concern WHATSOEVER. Why make up a safety concern where one doesn't exist?

KevinP (the original poster in this thread) might disagree.  There are likely several cases like Kevin's but they don't get reported. 

Kevin believes he was shot at intentionally though (if I'm understanding him correctly).  So, if he was shot intentionally, then it really is a different issue......likely a pheasant hunter pissed at the waterfowler.

But whether it was intentional peppering or an accident, I suppose he did get shot.........sort of.  It was far enough away that the shot had lost most of its energy, so maybe it really shouldn't count as a "shooting".

Another idea, besides restricting duck hunter access until December, would be to restrict upland bird hunters entry until say 9:30AM.  That would give waterfowlers from daylight to 9:30 to kill ducks.  Just an idea.

Intentional shooting is a criminal activity, not a safety issue. And again, I was pushing for change on this last year and was rebuffed for it.

Yeah, I know.  It just seems that the OP thinks the pheasant hunter intentionally shot him; if so, then a lot of this discussion is moot re: safety issues.   Then it would be an issue about anger from one user group toward another.