Can't Hold my tounge any more

[irishevox]

Please I ask people to please be ethical.  I was over in Coupeville hunting.... and a guy in a small duck boat posts up about 50 yards from where I was set up in my lay down with about 2 dz decoys out plus a wind mojo... All morning long I had birds working  before daylight, one even bumped my blind screaming in to my spread.  So shooting light comes and I shoot a drake teal no big deal right... well I had no idea this guy was there at first.... A. I didn't see him and B. he had no decoys, and I see a huge flock kind of high working in.... actually committed cupped and started circling getting lower and lower... still way out of range this guy points straight up in the middle of my calling and shoots 3 times!  I let the first one go... but after that any bird that flew by no matter how high or far he was shooting.... I finally had enough sat up and said " Why are you shooting at that! All you are doing is flaring the birds!  You won't hit anything like that"  After that he continues, I yelled at him every time after that.  I am guessing he ran out of shells and realized he couldn't hit anything and left at like 0930, but it didn't matter the birds weren't coming back close to me.  The point is if you see someone set up regardless if it is your normal "go-to" spot etc... go somewhere else. Find another location.  I mean you can even ask if someone is hunting alone if you can hunt with them, if they say no then go away don't be rude or anything....  But lets please learn a little freaking ethics.  Sorry for the rant.... 

[boneaddict]

If he didn't have any decoys it sounds like he did that on purpose?

[irishevox]

Yeah he had no decoys!   And I agree! 

[Ice Cap]

I'm confused.
You state that you didn't know he was there only 50 yards away.
Is it possible that you set up on top of him?

[h20hunter]

He says in the beginning....he was hunting and the shooter came in and posted up on him. Sounds like he was clearly there first and possible the other "hunter" set up to take advantage of his spread.

[ghosthunter]

Wow another one of these threads.

It seems that what happen to you is standard operation. There is a new breed of hunter out there, they are lazier,disrespectful,self absorbed,competative and willing to do what ever they can to get game.

And in waterfowl it is the worst. No decoys no problem. Just sleep in late go out find some guy who got is butt up early and has decoys out. Then park down wind of him and skybust every flock.

You are not alone.

The only solution I have seen that works was years ago I hunted with a guy who was a nice guy. But he was a hot head and if we were set up and other hunters moved into our flight pattern he would stand up and hike right towards them screaming as he went. Most scurried away.
What I do is I just stand up pour a cup chocolate, pull out a bumper and whistle and start doing water drills with my dog.
Any flock comes close I get on my whistle. These types of guys are lazy, they wont last long before they go bother some one else. 

[irishevox]

No b/c I walked the area prior picking up trash before day light..... and there was no one around.  There was some stuff left behind by other people like drink cans etc...

[Badhabit]

So, if the guy set up 50 yds from you without decoys you already knew it was going to be a bad day. The guy was alone, why instead of yelling at him didn't you go over and ask him to hunt with you? A perfect opportunity to educate someone on some finer points of waterfowling. You would have been able to call the shots and control the situation. It could have been a win-win situation.

[irishevox]

the guy had like the lil one man blind boat thing.  those are like 400 bucks I would guess before you buy one you would know what you are doing.  I could have walked over to the guy,  maybe it could have been a win-win, but it was the fact of the matter the guy, had zero ethics and I would rather not hunt with someone like that.  I mean I could play the what if game, but I could tell you there was probably no talking to this cat....

[Ice Cap]

A perfect situation for the ACME Mini Torpedo!

[irishevox]

I do agree to some extent.... that I could change the situation, but walking up to someone that has a loaded shotgun could potentially put my life in danger

[boneaddict]

I wonder if there is any chance this was an anti hunter.  Pretty sound tactic to save some ducks.   

[Kuduman]

Irishevox
 This is what happens on public land.
When I first moved to Washington I guy invites me out for a morning duck shoot. We go to public property and he sets up 35 yards from another blind. To say we were too close is an understatement. Hell we could hear their conversations in their blind. As a matter of respect I insisted we hold off shooting until their limits were reached. Even though we had decoys out you could tell the birds were working their spread. We didn't realize we were that close until the first shot rang out and then it was either leave or Waite it out. Even though we tried to be ethical we never should have set up so close. I don't hunt with that guy or that public land anymore.

[NumaJohn]

Irishevox,

When I was in college, I "thought" I knew what I was doing as a duck hunter, but then one day I set up on a public land dyke near a river and shot a duck or two from a couple flocks that were flying right by me and my few decoys. It wasn't until the hunter down the dyke walked up to me and calmly talked to me about "stream ethics" that I got educated. He had been you, basically, and I was the dumb-arse down the way. To this day, I really appreciate the way that guy approached me: not screaming, not swearing, just making a calm plea to wake up. So, maybe it wouldn't have turned out this way had you taken a different approach with your situation, but you never know until you try. Guess I'm just echoing others' comments about the potential for a win-win.

John

[ghosthunter]

Ya know I am a nice guy and give most folks benefit of the doubt.

But my experience is most these guys just don't give a ?%$#@.

The only thing which has helped some, is after I get to a spot I put out a blinker.
That way the ethical guys see where I am and move away. The guys who set up close well then you know their true colors.

I had a guy show up at the Feel free to Hunt sign one am at 3:20 am. I was there at 3:15 am. I walk over to talk to him and he starts chewing on me that I was there too early.  Really???
Since I was alone I invited him to hunt with me. No ducks but had a nice visit.

If you get your butt out of bed and beat them out there , than you are too early. If you come 5 minutes behind them you are too late.

[JohnVH]

must have been an obama voter, entitled to your ducks!

[Special T]

Kind of why i `perfer mid week hunting or private land. Getting "Corked" bothers me more than a slow day of hunting.

I like the blinker idea, but have had some one post up 50 years away despite my flaching my flash light at them.

[go4steelhd]

Sorry to hear this. I Had this happen in WA a few times. Once in Idaho I had  4 doz. Goose decoys set up and had Two guys sit in the brush on the side that the geese were coming from and let lose on about three strings that were coming into to me. They were set up less than 100 yards from my decoys and I did not know they were there until they started shooting.
 
 

[coachcw]

he must have drove off the plateau ! dushe bag ! I have guys do that to me out in Snohomish once then rain me with shot . you can be we had words  ... the one guy said well there's two of us and one of you so I told that's gonna be pretty embarrassing and they better have a good dentist they moved on .

[JJD]

Stupid and no respect at all.
We are headed rapidly toward the way people are in the movie "Ideocracy".  If you've never seen it, go rent it, it's a classic.   

[jasnt]

Fyi Tongue is how you spell tongue, not tounge lol.

[irishevox]

Jasnt people got the idea your comment wasn't needed from the Grammer police

[jasnt]

Jasnt people got the idea your comment wasn't needed from the Grammer police

I wasn't trying to be rude,didn't even read the thread, tongue is my last name so I've just become habituated to people spelling it wrong my whole life. I always correct that mistake!

[Hawgdawg]

must have been an obama voter, entitled to your ducks!

   Exactly why I gave up waterfowl and Elk hunting in this state. And still wouldn't vote yur Mommaa!!

[KFhunter]

This is the new duck hunting dog sheesh get with the times



















GO GET EM BOY!!

[lokidog]

must have been an obama voter, entitled to your ducks!

   Exactly why I gave up waterfowl and Elk hunting in this state. And still wouldn't vote yur Mommaa!!

I too quit duck hunting for a long time because of the large number of butt heads out there (WI) who would set up downwind ten minutes after shooting time and rain bb's with every skyblasting shot.     Since then, I have run into many good hearted, helpful, and cooperative duck hunters.  Now, rifle elk and deer hunters... don't get me started......      I also rarely hunt public land with the crowds, so it is much more pleasant. 

[h2ofowlr]

Loki,

Does anyone else waterfowl hunt on your island?  I do have to ask, have you ever witnessed someone watching you and start crying because your killing such beautiful creatures.  Only had to ask, because I had a similar situation with an islander from your neck of the woods.   

[lokidog]

Loki,

Does anyone else waterfowl hunt on your island?  I do have to ask, have you ever witnessed someone watching you and start crying because your killing such beautiful creatures.  Only had to ask, because I had a similar situation with an islander from your neck of the woods.   

Nope, noone else out here does.  There used to be a lady, she passed away a couple of years ago, that loved the ducks in the private pond behind her house.  She would tease me and tell me I'd better not be shooting "her" ducks.  I've never hunted the beach on her side of the island out of respect to her, and her husband who still lives here (this is where about 40 widgeon hang out most of the winter).  However, at one island potluck I served curried duck legs and I saw her heading in for seconds so I had to tease her about eating the ducks.  Her response was that they tasted good, and "they weren't 'her' ducks".   

[Widgeondeke]

I wonder if there is any chance this was an anti hunter.  Pretty sound tactic to save some ducks.   

      my thoughts exactly.  maybe shooting blanks, no shot   

[patton1]

Was this at Crockett?

[irishevox]

why yes it was!

[BiggLuke]

Sorry Irishevox....
Yeah man it sucks.
But, as an ethical hunter yourself, you have to know this crap happens.
It get's better.
But, for the most part, you'll be dealing with idiots in the field the rest of your life.

The best thing to do is just get accustomed to it.
If we get guys trying to set up on us, the only really good thing you can do, is run over to them BEFORE they set up, and just ask super politely if they move a ways away.
The worst is trying to ask some yahoos to move... AFTER they've already set up. You always get the lazy response of , "Oh well, we already set up, we wont be a problem"  but they always are a problem.
Another good trick is to take youth hunters with you. Idiot hunters are usually a lot cooler if you say something like, "Hey I've got a 12 year old with me, could you please relocate further away. I don't my son/brother/nephew to get shot accidently by you."

That works great.
lol

But yeah, other than that, the best thing to do, is treat everybody how you'd want to be treated.
As in, be nice to them, ask if they want to hunt with you, not against you.

Last, and worst case, is simply pick up and move yourself.
I know.... it sucks.
But really??  it's best for you.
You have a better chance at bagging birds if you move away from the yahoo that wont stop skybusting.     

 

or... it may help to be 6' 10" and 320 lbs. (like me) and come walking up on guys in the dark and being all like, "Hey, I'm already set up 25 yards away. Please move."   lol

[irishevox]

If I was 6'10 then maybe lol  I am 5'4 I am funsized and I will tell you it drives me crazy.  Like the other i went it was great no issues, but after we set up like 5 guys came over and tried to set up next to me and a buddy, I took advice and politely told them to please set up a little farther down  that we have been here for a while and have 5 dz decoys out.  At first they wanted to argue that it was public etc... but after about 25 min and then me personally walking them to my secondary spot and helping them with their decoy

[nickhunter9]

These public stories are nothing new. Iv had way worse encounters with the local pubs and coastys throughout my hunting life. From gun fights to fist fights nothing suprises me anymore on public lands. People these days will shoot you over a duck I have several leases and my own private pond now but I still hunt and scout public lands as well. 

[irishevox]

can I pay you to hunt your private area? lol just easier I guess even if you are 4 hours away

[nickhunter9]

Shure can 

[csaaphill]

I wonder if there is any chance this was an anti hunter.  Pretty sound tactic to save some ducks.   

wonderd that too.

[irishevox]

might be.... dunno