Uninvited Blockers?

CO_Weimar

CO_Weimar

New member
Do any of you ever have uninvited blockers just show up and start hunting in the same field, obviously trying to "help themselves" to birds that you might be working? I have had this happen 2 times this year. Today I was out with Blitz and Dakota near Brush, and 4 guys unloaded out of a pickup and headed right for us spread out in a line. As soon as I headed the other way, they turned around got back in their pickup. Grrrr.
 
Public land is just that, open to the public. I never expect to have any to myself but when I do get it, I consider it a treat.

Just be happy they left, that's the best outcome. I have had them walk right into me and shoot a bird that my dog flushed right in front of me this season.

All you can say WTF and pray you encounter these SOB's infrequently.

On the other hand if you run into polite folks that give you space and split the field, it can work in your favor.
 
Yep

I've had guys do the same thing and I have done the same thing. I never saw it as trying to mess up a hunt. If I'm going into an area from the southeat and some other guys come in from the northwest, we help each other. I've had some good times meeting other guys in the middle. Not sure of your exact situation, but drive and block tactics can work well; especially when birds are running and flushing 100 yrs out. Experiened hunters may see an opportunity and move in with only the best of intentions for all parties. Happy new year and may 2013 beat the heck out of this one!
 
Yep, and 9 out of 10 times I'm on private! I know I sound like a big crybaby, but I really hate the WIA's and the attention it brought to the area i hunt. Pre-WIA I could count the number of other hunters I'd see in a entire season on one hand. Now I see them on every trip and a lot of land getting posted with "NO HUNTING" signs.

Happened to me again on the 26th. My friend and I were walking a CRP field (private land) and a guy with two kids decided to park, get out and block the field. Then his kids went across the street to a hedgerow on a different landowners property and walked it! They had permission for neither!
 
conversation and communication would be helpful.over the years ive always wished to have the hunting area to my self.I understand that many people's hunting trips are combined with dog training and the chance to work a new dog on wild birds and to help an intermediate dog hone their skill. My dogs have been like my kids and i know we all have safety issues with unknown hunters,as well we should.
however,lately , in my older age ive wondered if maybe ive been to reclusive and should have cultivated some more hunting friends,associates?
in the past there's been people i've usually known outside of hunting that want to tag along but often don't seem to have the "fire in the belly" that i try to aspire to.seems like i'm always supplying the ambition.
its true enough that those big pieces of cut wheat and crp are hard to work with one or 2 guys.perhaps stopping and talking might put more bird in the air than just getting aggravated.
I feel similar lots of times,but again ,in my older age,53, i dont find my hunting "plans" work as well as just letting things happen.my 20 yr old son and myself do upland,big game ,dove,duck and goose.lately ive found myself wishing for an extra set of hands once in a while.
this would be my advise to myself:"try to be more charitable to others i meet in the field"
 
If I see someone in a field, unless it is an entire section, I usually drive on by.

Also, maybe I am a paranoid snob, but I put everyone that I don't know personally into a category. They potentially just bought a shotgun and some shells at Walmart and have never shot a gun before. Keeps me safe. ;) The other side of that would be, how do they know that I didn't just pick up a shotgun at Walmart and have never shot a gun in my life? That just isn't a risk that I am willing to take. :cheers:
 
Polite folks I don't mind. I guess my biggest beef is about safety. I don't know these guys and they don't know me. Also, I would rather be shot myself than some yahoo shooting one of my dogs.

shorthairs4life said:
Public land is just that, open to the public. I never expect to have any to myself but when I do get it, I consider it a treat.

Just be happy they left, that's the best outcome. I have had them walk right into me and shoot a bird that my dog flushed right in front of me this season.

All you can say WTF and pray you encounter these SOB's infrequently.

On the other hand if you run into polite folks that give you space and split the field, it can work in your favor.
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Walk In

jlmatthew said:
Yep, and 9 out of 10 times I'm on private! I know I sound like a big crybaby, but I really hate the WIA's and the attention it brought to the area i hunt. Pre-WIA I could count the number of other hunters I'd see in a entire season on one hand. Now I see them on every trip and a lot of land getting posted with "NO HUNTING" signs.

Happened to me again on the 26th. My friend and I were walking a CRP field (private land) and a guy with two kids decided to park, get out and block the field. Then his kids went across the street to a hedgerow on a different landowners property and walked it! They had permission for neither!
Click to expand...

I agree 100% with not caring for the current walk in situation. Back in the day, the crowds thinned out after Thanksgiving. I'm thinking the division should be charging a min of $50 for access and using that money to pay farmers a fair price to get alot more quality land to hunt. There are just too many guys on the front range for the limited amount of cheap public hunting available. I too have noticed a significant increase in no hunting signs.
 
i've often thought that our hunting was too cheap any way.if my license cost 4 times as much could the hunting be twice as good.could there be a senior or master class that cost more but gave you access to better properties?
 
I like the idea of paying a higher fee to pay the land owners a fair price, which could possibly bring in more property.
 
Of course we are hijacking the post... but I will chime in and agree... I used to pay almost $1000 a year to access private land for goose, duck and pheasant. With waterfowl, you almost need to. (that was before having to feed my three children when I could afford it and have time to use it.)

I have no idea whatsoever about why they eliminated the walk in fee. How can you complain about gaining access to thousands of acres for 20, 40 or even $100? It sure makes me question... if a hunter is not willing to pay that much to use a farmer's land, how much will they respect it when they get it for free?
 
JHoch00 said:
Of course we are hijacking the post... but I will chime in and agree... I used to pay almost $1000 a year to access private land for goose, duck and pheasant. With waterfowl, you almost need to. (that was before having to feed my three children when I could afford it and have time to use it.)

I have no idea whatsoever about why they eliminated the walk in fee. How can you complain about gaining access to thousands of acres for 20, 40 or even $100? It sure makes me question... if a hunter is not willing to pay that much to use a farmer's land, how much will they respect it when they get it for free?
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I think people are who they are whether they pay $ 1000 dollars or hunt for free!! Money doesn't make you respect anything anymore then you normally would or would not do!!! A federal Grant allowed the DOW to cancel fees for the WIA program!
 
BleuBijou said:
I think people are who they are whether they pay $ 1000 dollars or hunt for free!! Money doesn't make you respect anything anymore then you normally would or would not do!!! A federal Grant allowed the DOW to cancel fees for the WIA program!
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I did not know about the fed grant. It makes me wonder, if the money to pay farmers a fair price is there, why isn't there alot more land in the program?
 
brittboy said:
I did not know about the fed grant. It makes me wonder, if the money to pay farmers a fair price is there, why isn't there alot more land in the program?
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Not enough. Take a look at Kansas. pg 6-7. If every dime available was spent on the walk in program. Might be able to pay 6.00 an acre.

Best way to increase available funds is to increase licence sales. Using Ks. as an example again. One license brings somewhere in the neighborhood of 70.00. additional funding. Somehow land area figures into it, but you get the point.

http://www.fws.gov/budget/2011/PDF files FY2011 Greenbook/24. Wildlife Restoration 2011.pdf
 
Grassroots involvement! Takes some good people to talk to these farmers and convince them!! Some have had bad experiences and the list goes on and on!!! A lot of the ground is marginal at best this year because of the drought! One of my favorite WIA properties was 7/8 burned then it was disced and a small triangle left alone, yet it is all in the WIA!!! They are getting what they can and some of it is not very good!!! Trying to build relationships is the key, when they have a history of not trusting one another!!
 
BrownDogsCan2 said:
Not enough. Take a look at Kansas. pg 6-7. If every dime available was spent on the walk in program. Might be able to pay 6.00 an acre.

Best way to increase available funds is to increase licence sales. Using Ks. as an example again. One license brings somewhere in the neighborhood of 70.00. additional funding. Somehow land area figures into it, but you get the point.

http://www.fws.gov/budget/2011/PDF files FY2011 Greenbook/24. Wildlife Restoration 2011.pdf
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about Kansas myself. This year they are as bad or worse off than we are drought wise, but a few years ago I hunted Kansas exclusiley. There was plenty of pubic access to good habitat and the out of state license fee kept alot of front rangers on this side of the border. There are just too many of us on the front range that head to the northeast. If we could pay the farmers more to maintain corners and edges for pheasant than they can make planting winter wheat out to the road, I think most of us would be more than willing to pay much higher license fees. There is a thread on the main forum from a guy that recently hunted so dakota and he mentioned something about the farmers being "in" on habitat improvemet. The division has always been great on big game, but don't seem to be that keen on upland. It sure would be nice if they would take the lead and let us know what it would take to pay for it.
 
With the proliferation of pay-hunting taking over the Dakotas, most of the displaced hunters now have to either hunt WIA's or quit hunting. With so few WIA's actually holding birds, it is hard to not have other hunters in or around your "hot spot" while you are in the field. Even getting to the hot spots first doesn't assure not getting surrounded by other hunters. That's just how it is.
 
Here we go again. I have to agree that WIA Should be a pay as you go as it once was. However $50 is a little steep for a lot of people in this economy,So hunting should be just for the people that can aford it so others can not.Sounds a little ellitist to me.I think the DOW did mess up by doing away with WIA permits, but lets not get carried away here.
 
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my opinion of those walk in properties is there's no water on them.part of what we're trying to accomplish is to have a place for the pheasants and other wild life to survive through blizzards ,hail storms,and protection from avian predators.where do the birds go to get a drink?
how much would it cost to drill some wells and put some kind of watering system stretched out across several sections. with all this off the grid and solar powered technology is there away to move water with out electrical lines
i also wonder if those properties would brood more birds if they were grouped to gether rather than seperated by long stretches of lunar land scape.
these things represent an expense but what is our budget any ways.thats our money maintaining the swa's,wia.and state trust lands. are we getting enough bang for the buck?should there be a grass roots ,watchdog movement?for those that cant pay higher license fees ,could they work it off doing conservation work? just some questions ive had for years
 
pointshoot said:
my opinion of those walk in properties is there's no water on them.part of what we're trying to accomplish is to have a place for the pheasants and other wild life to survive through blizzards ,hail storms,and protection from avian predators.where do the birds go to get a drink?
how much would it cost to drill some wells and put some kind of watering system stretched out across several sections. with all this off the grid and solar powered technology is there away to move water with out electrical lines
i also wonder if those properties would brood more birds if they were grouped to gether rather than seperated by long stretches of lunar land scape.
these things represent an expense but what is our budget any ways.thats our money maintaining the swa's,wia.and state trust lands. are we getting enough bang for the buck?should there be a grass roots ,watchdog movement?for those that cant pay higher license fees ,could they work it off doing conservation work? just some questions ive had for years
Click to expand...

We could all go out and volunteer to build 2 guzzlers per section?
 
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