Field Etiquet...

[HONDO]

Wanted to get some thoughts on a situation that I ran into today. A buddy of mine scouted a goose field yesterday. He obtained permission from the landowner and we were set for this morning.

We got to the field at 6:00 a.m. and started putting out our spread. At about 6:15 another truck pulls into the field. Our truck was still running with the headlights on. The other hunters knew we were there. We were setting up where my buddy had seen the geese feeding the afternoon before in the middle of the field. The other hunters decided to go to the far end of the field and set up and hide on the field edge.

This was a problem because once the geese came off the water they would have to fly right over the other hunters to get to our spread. I walked over to where they were setting up and asked what they had in mind. They said they had scouted the field yesterday morning and the geese were dumping into the edge where they were setting up. I told them that we had hunted the field earlier in the week and that once the geese came off the river they would fly directly over them to our spread.

I didn't want to start a confrontation, so I wished them luck and went back to our spread. I guess if it were me and I had been beaten to a field I would have let them have the field and tried hunting the river or something else.

What we thought would happen did. The geese would come off the water and we would flag and call, they would come our way and fly over the other hunters. These guys would take shots that were way out of range and the geese would scatter and head for another field. Also these hunters never even called they let us do all of the work for them. We saw hundreds of geese but they never got a chance to lock up and finish.

I guess what I am asking is how do you handle a situation like this? You don't want it to get the point of having the land owner involved. I guess the thing that really irritates me the most is the other hunters didn't offer to set up anywhere else after I had told them the situation, and to top it off they were taking very unethical shots at geese.

 

[B-Killin]

That's a tough one. I think that most people would get the hint. Maybe you shoulda asked them to join you, that may have helped everyone out. If that didn't work the only thing left to do would be Slash their tires!!!

 

[fowladdict]

This is the perfect example of why I think waterfowlers can be the most selfish and ignorant a-holes. I'm a die hard waterfowler and there is nothing more that I hate when you get to the river two hours before shoot time to secure your spot and then 15 mins before shoot time some idiots set up 60-70 yards from you in the direction of the shooting lane. They do it no matter how much you plead for them to pick up and move. |oo I truly believe that the first group to the general area wins the area. I also hate it when others ruin it for you by shooting 100+ yard shots.

Sorry for the beechin and moanin, but I think those guys certainly showed poor sportsmanship. My 2 cents.

 

[JoseCuervo]

A few years back, a field was loaded with geese every day before the season opened. Must have been 30 guys who asked the landowner permission. Being a nice guy, or tired of hunters, he said yes to everybody.

Needless to say, 10 different set-ups ina 20 acre field provided for lots of colorful language, fighting, sky-busting, and a generally bad time hunting for all involved.

I always guessed the landowner was sitting in his kitchen, looking out the window, and laughing his ass off.....

 

[Moosie]

I'm on the Fence and Can See both sides. Whats the Propper distance not to interfeer with other hunters ?

I know that Gunner and me floated the River a while back with a Bag'o'decoys and set up jsut down from some guys that were hunting and probably had been set up for awhile. We felt we were far enough but a Couple times they called and Ducks flew over them and Came to our spred. I'm guessing every time we shot they were mad. We didn't do any sky blasting and all shots were well within our pocket but I always think the other hunters would be mad.

Other senario. If I was going to a place and had a Place lined up on the Snake, Drove 2 hours to get out there and got there 30 mins before light and a Guy was setting up were I wanted to be, Could I shift over an Island and hunt there ? what if the other option was an Island only 200 yards away ? Or should I jsut go home ? How far would I need to go to be ethical ?!?

Setting up in the Same field is a little different because geese work differeent then ducks so thats a Tough one.

 

[avid_outdoorsman]

I've Been There

On both sides...gotten beat to the field and had others come in later.

When I was 2nd....I moved on. I know how it is to have others ruin a hunt like those "shooters" (won't call them hunters) did for you.

Best that you can do is to ask them to join you which can be tough if you got blinds and the don't. You hope that they will stay still and watch there eyes when you don't call the shots until the geese are in your face. At least this way maybe you could have harvested some geese. Additionally, you can hope (although I wouldn't have high expectations) that some of your "manners" and hunting style might wear off on them and next time they might handle the situation differently.

~ AO

 

[BigBuxMT]

In some cases I've ran into, like duck hunting on a river, different groups of hunters are good to keep the ducks moving. In your case with goose hunting a field that is BS, go staight for the tires. Were they out of staters by chance?

 

[Nut]

On the days I plan to hunt there is always more than one spot for me to go to just because of other people might be there or might come in after. I might get disappointed but not worth getting worked up.

Try dove hunting on public lands in Ohio come opening day and this is nothing.

 

[fowladdict]

Moosie,

When it comes to duck hunting I think 200 yards away is about right. With ducks there flight patterns are less predictable than geese. In fact with ducks I think a hunter 200-300 yards down from you some days will help not only you but the other hunter. With geese it is more predictable and you generally know which direction they are going to fly into your field from. If you are first at the field and you set up (first group being there) facing the direction the birds will come in, it would be rude for another group of hunters to set up on that same field below you in the direction of flight that would be wrong. I agree with others above ask them to leave due to you being there first (which they probably won't) or ask em to join you.

 

[B-Killin]

Well said AO.

 

[BigBuxMT]

I think the tire method would be a lot more effective in that case. They ruined your hunt so I would return the favor.

 

[B-Killin]

hump hump hump

 

[HONDO]

Hey everybody thanks for the replies. Asking them to join us was not an option because they did not have lay out blinds. These guys were local so slashing their tires while tempting would not be the best idea. I can certainly appreciate the difficulties of finding good places to hunt. A little planning on their part and they could have maybe beaten us to the field. And when I approached them and told them the situation they could have offered to set up behind us or to the side and taken geese that flared or scattered when we shot. Anyway thanks for the feedback.

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

Here is what I consider my best "revenge" on this kind of behavior. Down here in NW Louisiana we have an ant called a Fire Ant, when the water level would flood an Island in the Red River about a foot deep these ants would come out of their nest and build a floating colony of pure hell with the eggs in the middle. Now comes the fun part, my buddies and I had put together a pretty large blind on a small flooded Island the Saturday before season opened the next Saturday, when we checked it that Friday, what did we find but another Blind about 50 yards from ours! Well, I took my boat paddle and scooped up several of these floating ant colonies and threw them into the blind built in sight and shooting distance of ours, the next morning here they came...they climbed in and all of a sudden we heard all the cussing and slapping, they were gone by sunrise! Priceless!!!!!!!!!!!! John

 

[IDHunters]

Very first thing is that you should have found out if you had exclusive access to the property or if there were other parties hunting it. If you have exclusive permission, run em off. If not, you could be prepared for just this thing.
Without exclusive access, I would have told them the situation and, knowing that they were going to screw your set up, invited them to join. Even without layout blinds they would have hurt you less being in the spread than where they were. And believe me you can kill lots of geese without blinds.

Second, if they insisted on being there and you saw they were screwing you, I would have moved up to their spot and either joined them or made sure not one bird flew within range of their guns!

 

[B-Killin]

If they did what they did, I would start shooting in the air everytime a goose even thought about going by them, and then slash their tires LOL

 

[Tom]

Never set up in the same field, that's my rule. I guess if it was a huge field and there was no other field, I might, but I've never had to face that. Joining groups is a good option, but in a situation like that, you don't even know the guys, etc. Its hard to do that.

That's a bummer, what happened there.