I give up

[nwracer78]

So today I offically give up on duck hunting! I'm tired of all the stupid inconsiderate a-holes out there. Friday I went out and had a group set up 40yards south of me and another group set up 50 yards east of me. (we were the first ones there these guys didnt even show up till after shooting hours!) Then today i went down to the flats off of Hwy 2 and was shot at from 40 yards away! a few pellets actually hit me! I'm fed up with it! I can't afford to hunt clubs or make trips to eastern wa where theres less people! So I'm just gonna hang up my waders and call it quits!

[Buckshot Bill]

Don't give up something you love to do just cause of some idiots.  It gets pretty crowded out in the flats and even over by snohomish/stocker fields.  I would suggest going up north sometime and checking out the slagit area or get with a group of buds and you all throw in some money and make a trip east of the hills.  Might make the trip less expensive if you all combine your funds and go in 1 vehicle.   

[shoot-em-dead]

Sorry to hear that. I hope you can find another area.

[alanger]

sorry you called it. hope you can overcome it.

[carpsniperg2]

its a bummer that there are people out there that ruin it sometimes but the good times always overcomes the bad times is my hope you don't give up a great sport

[chester]

your more then welcome to come down south and hit the salt with me....   other peoples actions shouldnt make you quit something you love.

[AKBowman]

Don't give up something you love to do just cause of some idiots.  It gets pretty crowded out in the flats and even over by snohomish/stocker fields.  I would suggest going up north sometime and checking out the slagit area or get with a group of buds and you all throw in some money and make a trip east of the hills.  Might make the trip less expensive if you all combine your funds and go in 1 vehicle.   

If you meant "Skagit" which I'm sure you did than I would recommend not trying that either...unless you have a boat you are going to be faced with the same situation (people set up on top of people). I saw a group skybust a snow goose that ended up crippling down through about 3 different setups. All groups were hitting the bird back but no one killed it...eventually it fell out of the sky then 3 of the different groups tried to claim it, trying to tear the bird out of one of the groups dogs mouth.

You want to come to the Skagit area you better have a boat if you want to get away from the chaos. ANYWHERE you can walk in on public its chaos on the weekends.

[AKBowman]

So today I offically give up on duck hunting! I'm tired of all the stupid inconsiderate a-holes out there. Friday I went out and had a group set up 40yards south of me and another group set up 50 yards east of me. (we were the first ones there these guys didnt even show up till after shooting hours!) Then today i went down to the flats off of Hwy 2 and was shot at from 40 yards away! a few pellets actually hit me! I'm fed up with it! I can't afford to hunt clubs or make trips to eastern wa where theres less people! So I'm just gonna hang up my waders and call it quits!

I'm with you...if things dont change quickly there wil be no more wlak in access allowed. I am saving my gas $ the rest of the year and putting it towards a beefier boat that can handle the bays.

[Shootmoore]

You have greater fortitude than I.  I gave it up my first season over here on the wet side.  Been 4 years now and I still miss it.

Shootmoore

[KwackWacker]

Please do give up!! i would be overjoyed to hear that you quit....mo dux fo me

[270Shooter]

kwackwacker is one of those skybusters

[danceswitharrows]

 

[GEARHEAD]

so what kinda guns ya got     on fir island last week, the ducks werent flying where i was, at had an area to myself, and i watched as in the distance i saw all the snows right infront of the slaughter hole/dyke, just a 50 yard strip to shoot from. figured what the heck i'll go join the party for the fly over. ended up way out at the low tide, when the geese flew over i let the first batch get over me so the guys on the dyke could crack at 'em too, got rained on awful, lol, just held my hand out like it was raining to get some laughs, then got to watch an insane shouting match between a skagit water fowler club member and a guy retrieving a cripple a hundred 50 yards out beyond the low tide mark, just laughed at that too.  so many stupids out there these days, what can ya do? i blame all the hunting shows. they are getting people into hunting that might not ever do it. shows don't teach manners.

[Tealer]

Sad thing is this is pretty standard for public land hunting. I see this stuff every day. You have to either hunt a remote area, or work a lot harder then the next guy. I have found that if I huff my gear in a mile or more there are a lot less people to deal with.

[h2ofowlr]

This seems to be the new generation of waterfowl hunters.  No ethics involved.  As long as they have a spot to stand, they throw decoys, Blair on the call and shoot the 3-1/2" shells that travel 100+yards at anything that flys near the spread.  Once upon a time, you would shine a flashlight towards the group and they would kindly set up in another area, not no more, you will probably get some explicits telling you to quit shinning your light and you have as its someone that doesn't like to get up early or they tell you that you got up way to early and then they hunt off the edge of your spread.

[Jekemi]

I'm frustrated as well. It's only my second year but I haven't had a single good opportunities for a reasonable shot at a duck. I see more hunters than ducks.

I'm building a flat, lay-out boat this spring. Perhaps this will allow me to get far from the madding crowd. There are a few more days of duck hunting so I'll keep at it. You know what they say, "A bad day hunting is better than a good day at work."

[Dustin07]

doesn't like to get up early or they tell you that you got up way to early and then they hunt off the edge of your spread.

ha! that's my favorite, those that complain about other hunters getting up too early to get their location. As if we're supposed to wait until the sleepy heads call us to let us know they are in their blind with coffee pot going.


The one thing i've noticed here is that there wasn't any good old fashioned confrontation..? there's no harm in walking over to a guy  who's 40 yards away and telling him he is right in the danger zone and too close.

[Stickerbush]

I had my first confrontation the other day. Four of us were hunting a spot on the columbia and about an hour after shooting time these two guys in a boat come down the river looking for a place to set up. They were nice and polite and exchanged hellos and what not, but some of the guys I was with were pissed that these guys were showing up late because it was losing us shooting oppurtunities. The guys ended up in a little slough behind us but we couldnt see exactly where they were. A little later they took ome shots and one of my buddies thought he saw the trees behind us get peppered and was a little too close for comfort. I dont know if the shots were too close but my buddy says " watch your shots!" in a somewhat angry tone. This led to a few angry words bieng thrown back and forth.

Long story short sometimes confrontation just fuels the fire and its all in the tone you say it. Sometimes people get defensive and may not realize what they are doing is wrong and just want to argue about it. I just try to stay polite and make sure to establish communication with other hunting parties before the problem happens.

As for the guy who wants to quit hunting alltogether, Ive never hunted the west side but I can imagine it can be frusterating with all the people and lack of abundant public land. All I can say is you should try to work harder to establish relationships with private landowners this offseason and try to find somne new places to hunt. A lot of the time it can be better to ask permission in the offseason and be polite about it. Or as some other posts have said, get together with some guys and put in a trip over the eastside

[Dustin07]

confrontation doesn't have to be a negative experience, but for some reason it definitely has picked up that reputation.

the act of confronting : the state of being confronted: as a : a face-to-face meeting

but I can relate and understand what you guys are talking about. It does seem like 1/2 the birds that decoy in, (probably 75% of the birds on those 'rough' days) get within about 100 yards and then someone starts blasting their 10ga and flares them.

it happens, but I'll be honest. decoys, and watching the birds are my favorite parts. It's worth it to me to be up early watching the sun rise over my decoys, listening to the geese, and watching stupid swans drop their landing gear in the middle of my snow decoys even if I don't go home with a single bird in hand.

boats, sunrise, birds, decoys, guns, outdoors, good friends. What more could you need?

[Shootmoore]

I'm originally from the East side of the state, moved to the wet side 4.5 years ago for work  .  I remember growing up complaining and hearing the locals complain about the "coastie's" all the time coming over.  After trying to hunt over here for a few years now, I understand why so many go over to the Eastside to hunt.  It's a freaking zoo, contacting landowners for permission is a crapshoot.  A few will give permission, a lot will not and some will become offended that you even ask.  I have even heard 911 calls of landowners complaining that someone dared to ask to hunt the property.  Just a whole nother world over here.

I've now come to understand where some of the "attitude" that gives "coasties" a bad name over on the east side.

Also this post is not ment to offend anyone living on the west side, I have come to see that there are a lot of good ethical hunters, its like anywhere a few bad apples gives a bad impression, there's just a lot more apples in a smaller space over on this side.

Shootmoore