impressions of first time in ND

F

FrenchBrie

New member
I had hunted SD 3 times in the past but thought I would try ND for a week this year. Hunted in the Belfield-Dickinson area. I do individual hunting with a pointing dog, really don't care for 5 or more guys abreast drive hunting. We usually do a lot of road hunting in SD.
Most of the good things you read about ND in this kind of forum are true--less hunting pressure than in SD, less traffic on back roads, birds are plentiful. The only real drawback is that the right of way is generally closed to hunting unless you can hunt legally on adjoining property, I presume that means a Walk In Area (called PLOTS in ND).
However, ND has one big advantage I have never seen before in SD or Kansas--the Walk In Areas actually have birds on them after opening week.
The people have been exceptionally nice to deal with here although they are nice in SD too.
A couple of negatives are that there is a resident opener a week in advance of the nonresident opener and that the grass here tends to be shorter than in SD and that makes it that much tougher to sneak up on roosters who have been shot at for two weeks now. The roosters are very spooky and flush wild. When my dog gets a good point on a bird holding it is almost always a hen.
 
We hunt both sides of the border. As I understand the law, unposted property in North Dakota is open to hunters. I hesitate to take advantage of this law, but I know others who insist that the law is well-understood by residents, and that the residents who don't want you bird hunting on their land, have posted it. Still, given that the PLOTS program would allow them to "officially" open their property up to bird hunters (if they qualified), I still feel like I'm sneaking on someone's property if I hunt unposted private land. I'd like to know how others see that.

Your experience in North Dakota is similar to ours.
 
I "see it" as better for all of us if you go ahead and ask permission. That feeling you get when ppl tell you that the residents are okay with it, is your guy telling you something just does't seem right w/ the practice. My opinion is that you're doing us all a favor to stop by the L/O's house and asking for permission.
 
North Dakota's open access unless posted has been in existence for 65+ years at least. I also feel guilty not knowing for certainty I have permission, maybe if I lived there I would feel different, I will say that North Dakota has a problem that it shares with many of the plains states, and that is where do ou find the landowner to ask? Whether it's Kansas, Nebraska, or N.D. it's sometimes all your effort is worth just to find the landowner, or even the leasee, if the landowner is absentee. Seems like N.D. law goes a long way toward solving this problem. If they don't care enough to post it against tresspassing, and you can't find anyone for miles to ask, I see nothing wrong with it, but it would still make me uncomfortable, and diminish the experience. I refused to hunt without specific permission, on several trips to SW North Dakota, many years ago. I do believe there is also a landowner indenmification law in N.D. which protects the landowner from suit if injury occurs while hunting on unposted ground, but not sure if it applies to hunting with permission. Might be a reason the locals don't ask. Either way they are legal. Must be our Puritan guilt which makes us less fortunates from the lower midwest guilty.
 
By the way, you all realize that the N.D. law of access is consistent with the orginal intent of the U.S. constitution. All game is owned by the people, framers of the constitution failed to consider that at some point private landowners would seek to deny access to public game, by restricting access to the game via property rights. If they had considered that to be a threat, there is little doubt among U.S. scholars that it would have been addressed at the time. At the time approx. 93% of U.S. territory was public ground. now vise-versa.
 
kansasbrittany said:
I "see it" as better for all of us if you go ahead and ask permission. That feeling you get when ppl tell you that the residents are okay with it, is your guy telling you something just does't seem right w/ the practice. My opinion is that you're doing us all a favor to stop by the L/O's house and asking for permission.
Click to expand...


In ND this is very hard to do, usually the owner lives elsewhere and there are not many houses around. I know it sounds funny but very few at least in the far west where I go, live on the land, and if there is no sign you need a plat map to find the owner. My guess is that is why they do it that way if you want people to at least ask put up a sign.

I have hunted ND 4 years now and the plots land is productive most of the time, and if not hit everyday will be OK. Several years ago I went out in Dec. and got more birds on plots than private.
 
it is a longggg drive for me, but i would sooner go to ND than SD and have to pay thru the nose. if i have an opportunity to shoot 3 birds a day, i don't need to pay to see hundreds of birds flushing ahead of the dog......i just could never understand that, but for an occasional hunter it might be an experience he would enjoy, even if he had to pay big money, me i will take a single rooster which the dog has tracked for a half mile or more, ending with a point and a clean kill/retrieve.......3 a day is all it takes, makes for better memories too.
 
Just got back from ND

I spent a week in ND hunting. It was tough with alot of crops still in but managed to get 1 short of my limit.
The first year I hunted ND (6 years ago) I felt like I was trespassing. Now I hunt everything that isn't posted. You ask farmers around where I hunt they all agree if it is not posted hunt it.
But hey! if you feel guilty good that means more hunting for me:cheers:
 
In ND trespass laws, it is recommended to obtain permission on unposted ground. What is it you can hunt unposted ground or you need to obtain permission?
 
Hunting ND

pheasantaddict said:
In ND trespass laws, it is recommended to obtain permission on unposted ground. What is it you can hunt unposted ground or you need to obtain permission?
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You are supposed to be able to hunt unposted land, but....

My group has hunted ND for the past six years. We go to the Williston area. Bird numbers seemed to be off about 30% this year.

We have managed to hunt private land, mostly. We always ask permission, even if the land is not posted. It is just common courtesy. We are allowed to hunt except near the home, ie, that area is reserved for the farmer's family. It is difficult to get permission opening week, so we usually go the second week of the season.
 
I grew up in ND and have hunted there 30 years. I guess I grew up hunting unposted land, so have never felt guilty about it or that I need to ask permission. I know all the posting laws and check thoroughly before entering a property. Much of my extended family farms there and they don't post a lot of their land because they don't want to be bothered by hunters asking permission. I think most ND farmers are very aware of the trespassing laws, and I feel that if they don't post their land they are ok with you being out there.
 
ND law

here it is on trespassing:

POSTING AND TRESPASS
Only the owner or tenant, or an individual authorized by the owner, may
post land by placing signs giving notice that no hunting is permitted on the
land. The name of the person posting the land must appear on each sign
in legible characters. The signs must be readable from the outside of the
land and must be placed conspicuously not more than 880 yards apart.
For land entirely enclosed by a fence or other enclosure, posting of signs
at or on all gates through the fence or enclosure constitutes a posting of
all the enclosed land.
It is illegal to hunt on posted lands without permission from the owner or
tenant. Trespass is a criminal violation punishable by suspension of hunting,
fi shing and trapping privileges for a period of at least one year.
It is illegal to hunt upon the premises of another within 440 yards of any
occupied building without the consent of the person occupying the building.
This does not prohibit hunting on land owned by neighbors (private or
public) even if the land is less than 440 yards from the occupied building.
Any person may enter upon legally posted land (without a fi rearm or bow)
to recover game shot or killed on land where he/she had a lawful right to
hunt.
It is illegal to hunt in unharvested cereal and oilseed crops, including
sprouted winter wheat, alfalfa, clover and other grasses grown for seed,
without the owner's consent.
It is illegal to deface, take down or destroy posting signs.
Failure to close gates upon exit or entry is a criminal violation, punishable
by forfeiture of hunting licenses

ROAD RIGHTS OF WAY
Do not hunt on road rights of way unless you are certain that they are
open to public use. Most road rights of way are under the control of the
adjacent landowner and are closed to hunting when the adjacent land is
posted closed to hunting.


I did not find where it says you have to ask on non posted land.
I called the DNR a few years ago and asked them the question and they told me that asking is nice but you do not have to on non posted land.

Lazlo
 
We always stay with a farmer north of Ashley who owns 5,000 acres. We have driven around with him many times and come across other parties hunting on some of his unposted sections. He has never acted upset or angry when we have come upon these groups. He simply says that he didn't post that section and they are allowed to hunt it for that reason. He doesn't even bother them accept to maybe see what state the party is from. I agree that you should first try to ask permission if a house can be found near unposted land, but I wouldn't sweat it too much if there were no homes for miles. The township north of where we hunt contains 26 sq. miles and only TWO families live in that township. Good luck trying to find the owners of most of that property.
 
whiskeyhoundog said:
We always stay with a farmer north of Ashley who owns 5,000 acres. We have driven around with him many times and come across other parties hunting on some of his unposted sections. He has never acted upset or angry when we have come upon these groups. He simply says that he didn't post that section and they are allowed to hunt it for that reason. He doesn't even bother them accept to maybe see what state the party is from. I agree that you should first try to ask permission if a house can be found near unposted land, but I wouldn't sweat it too much if there were no homes for miles. The township north of where we hunt contains 26 sq. miles and only TWO families live in that township. Good luck trying to find the owners of most of that property.
Click to expand...

I think NORDAK is the best kept secret..ummm I mean SODAK has the most pheasants...

I have had great success hunting plots. Never had a lack of birds. I think if you learn to read a map and find some out of the way plots with good habitat you can have a good ole time.... I have hunted un-posted land in ND we typically sought permission from the closest farm house if there was one present. NORDAK has a unique land ethic like no other place I have been. Keep a lid on this thread as i seriously think it is the best pheasant destination...
 
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