Group hunts;individual limit or group??
- Thread starter jonnyB
- Start date
Probably the most common violation commited. Party hunting is illegal in most if not all states. With block and drive groups shots tend to present themselves irregularly, so one member might get a lot of shots while another very few. laws of most states are specific, illegal, period! Proving it difficult, but I wouldn't get caught with more than a personal limit in my gamebag. Permissable to walk and act as a two legged dog to facilitate others in most cases, sans gun, unless there are other legal species present. I can never remember a conservation officer asking even with a posession limit of quail, and close on pheasants, on ice in the truck, if we each shot the prescribed numbers. I don't specifically remember, but we may well have not! It's been so long since it's been an issue!
We always work towards the "group" limit... Our groups most always consist of fathers, sons, grandfathers and so on... Some of the older or less mobil hunters are always blockers and don't expect to get much shooting but love being out there and being part of the hunt. The younger hunters usually get to walk the thick cover and in return get the better shooting most days. I always run two labs with me and don't get much of the shooting but always end up carrying the most bird out because they always retrieve to me and that's just fine.
The bird limit is always just a bonus to us, although it's been common the last few years, it's the camaraderie, being with family and enjoying the outdoors that comes first! Who shot what has never been a consern.....
The bird limit is always just a bonus to us, although it's been common the last few years, it's the camaraderie, being with family and enjoying the outdoors that comes first! Who shot what has never been a consern.....
kansasbrittany
Banned
Same here Husker. IF we're lucky enough to have to consider it, we fill the group's limit. I've quit after a personal 4 to run a camera before, but typically, everyone in the group keeps shooting. Another thing is that the opener is really the only time I have a group and/or a limit to be concerned with.....after that I bring home a bird or 2 per day usually.
BRITTMAN
Well-known member
Every state has different laws.
ND everyone must shoot their own birds and some state game wardens will ask people in the group - "so how many birds did you shoot today?"
MN allows party hunting on both deer and upland game.
I assume SD allows party hunting.
Would not even think of shooting onto our kid's bird limit whether legal or not. Where legal, on rare occassion I have been known to down a bird on my brother's limit
for giggles and he has certainly returned the favor.
ND everyone must shoot their own birds and some state game wardens will ask people in the group - "so how many birds did you shoot today?"
MN allows party hunting on both deer and upland game.
I assume SD allows party hunting.
Would not even think of shooting onto our kid's bird limit whether legal or not. Where legal, on rare occassion I have been known to down a bird on my brother's limit
for giggles and he has certainly returned the favor.NElabaholic
Member
Husker, here is where I agree with the working towards the group limit! For me its not a matter of going out and getting my limit, I know that if i have the chances I can get my 4 birds, but my younger brother has only been out a few times since he is quite a bit younger than me (15 years younger). So I would much rather see him shoot at birds and "fill my limit" (though its never happened) than quit shooting when he gets his limit. Just my .02
quail hound
Moderator
When we are dove hunting you either shoot fast or have your limit filled for you. Any other hunting you better not shoot into my limit though.
AquaVac
New member
I am usually fortunate enough to get out more than most of the people I hunt with and always try to give them opportunities to shoot birds over my dogs, especially kids. But lets face it you know you dogs and when they are hot on a bird. You try to tell them to pay attention and follow the dog etc. Let face it if you donâ??t stop shooting you will get more shots than the rest.
Nimrod
Member
This is definitely a question to get resolved before the hunt as you can see there are very different opinions about it here. I saw it get ugly once when the guy who organized the a trip to KS kept shooting after he'd killed his own limit. When the outfitter announced that the group had reached it's limit, one of the guys got pretty pissed. He said he'd paid his money, bought his license & intended to shoot his own birds. I couldn't disagree w/ him but it put the outfitter in a tight spot.
Moral of the story: work it out before hand.
Moral of the story: work it out before hand.
If it's ok for a guy to shoot 4 birds in SD on a group hunt is it ok for a single guy hunting 5 days in SD to shoot 4 birds in one day because the day before he only killed two and needed the fourth bird the next day to fill his 15 bird limit? That is after he took his 3rd bird of the day back to the motel so as not to possess 4 birds at any given time.Happy hunting.
Ranger Rick
Member
I'm just back from my hunt. 6 guys, 4 dogs. Having no dog this year, I was one of those guys asked to walk the edge on either side of the guys with dogs and so did not get the shooting opportunities those guys had. Day 1 I shot 1 bird and one of the guys remarked that I didn't get much shooting opportunity. I said it would work itself out in the long run and I was happy to be a part of the team. Day 2 I shot 4, day 3 I shot 4, so it did even out. I understand there are those who are paying to hunt and therefore want their monies worth, but what to do about the guy who can't hit the broadside of a barn or can't keep up or is too green to understand where he should work to stay in position where he could shoot? does the entire groups keep pushing and watching one guy try to fill his limit? Depends on how hard of a day it's been but I can see that getting old. I much prefer hunting with guys who are more laid back with how the limit is filled. As for the regs, one of our guys had a retriever that beat the other dogs to birds and so he had times when he had more than 3 in his vest. Is he going to get busted because his dog retrieves? Seems a bit much to me.
Party Hunting = illegal
I did an internet search " party hunting in South Dakota". Found three articles, one about a group of antelope hunters in S.D. getting fined and cited for party hunting, An article on party hunting from N.D. outdoors, that stated that party hunting is illegal in N.D., S.D., and Montana, for ALL SPECIES of fish and game. Also Minnesota has banned party hunting for deer in S.E. portion of the state, from the Minneapolis Star/Tribune. I assure you it's illegal to party hunt pheasants in both Kansas and Nebraska, at least one of which has a limit of party participants of 13. I would sure not be carrying more birds than I could legally possess personally, on a given day, out in my game bag. Proceed at your own hazard, legally and morally.
I did an internet search " party hunting in South Dakota". Found three articles, one about a group of antelope hunters in S.D. getting fined and cited for party hunting, An article on party hunting from N.D. outdoors, that stated that party hunting is illegal in N.D., S.D., and Montana, for ALL SPECIES of fish and game. Also Minnesota has banned party hunting for deer in S.E. portion of the state, from the Minneapolis Star/Tribune. I assure you it's illegal to party hunt pheasants in both Kansas and Nebraska, at least one of which has a limit of party participants of 13. I would sure not be carrying more birds than I could legally possess personally, on a given day, out in my game bag. Proceed at your own hazard, legally and morally.
Ranger Rick
Member
"Proceed at your own hazard, legally and morally." ???
Legally? A few years back, my group of 7 had 2 birds left for the group total of 21. Near dusk and the gang decided to pass shoot to fill the last birds. I sat on the tailgate with a beer to watch the other 6 as they sat on a road between a corn field and a marsh. A warden pulls up and I'm sitting on the gate of a truck holding 19 dead cock pheasants. He checks my license and I explain that those 6 are the rest of my group. We count the birds as one of the guys drops one flying across the road. I say "20" and when the next one comes down the warden says "That better be it" and in unison, the guys get up, unload their guns and come walking back. He checked their licenses, talked with us for about 10 minutes before wishing us a good hunt the rest of our stay and drove off.
Morally? I guess then I'm a slob hunter if I hunt with groups who are not purists who only shoot their own birds. Like someone said earlier, what about those birds that 3 guys shoot at? Are we suppose to call it who is to shoot so as to not double up? Just my opinion - but get real.
Legally? A few years back, my group of 7 had 2 birds left for the group total of 21. Near dusk and the gang decided to pass shoot to fill the last birds. I sat on the tailgate with a beer to watch the other 6 as they sat on a road between a corn field and a marsh. A warden pulls up and I'm sitting on the gate of a truck holding 19 dead cock pheasants. He checks my license and I explain that those 6 are the rest of my group. We count the birds as one of the guys drops one flying across the road. I say "20" and when the next one comes down the warden says "That better be it" and in unison, the guys get up, unload their guns and come walking back. He checked their licenses, talked with us for about 10 minutes before wishing us a good hunt the rest of our stay and drove off.
Morally? I guess then I'm a slob hunter if I hunt with groups who are not purists who only shoot their own birds. Like someone said earlier, what about those birds that 3 guys shoot at? Are we suppose to call it who is to shoot so as to not double up? Just my opinion - but get real.
Nimrod
Member
The guys I hunt with are more interested in the "how", not the "how many". We respect each other's ability & we take the shots that are in our zone. This makes for more sporting shots as well since we're not trying to quick draw to beat the other guy. Of course if someone misses, we don't hesitate to "wipe his eye".
We don't have that many cases where multiple guns are shooting at the same time so it's not hard to keep track of who shot what. Generally, if you crippled a bird but I had to anchor it, it's your bird, & you carry it.
When you get your limit, you stop shooting except to anchor a crippled bird shot by someone else.
We don't have that many cases where multiple guns are shooting at the same time so it's not hard to keep track of who shot what. Generally, if you crippled a bird but I had to anchor it, it's your bird, & you carry it.
When you get your limit, you stop shooting except to anchor a crippled bird shot by someone else.
Interesting Info- Moral hazard- Don't hunt with me.
Look, I'm not addressing any of you personally. I am only telling you what the rules say. If that offends you, take it up with the 40 +/- states which don't allow party hunting and fishing. Personally, I quit trying to convince anyone of anything, a long time ago. Some of the repondents here, are the poster boys for why not. I will say that since my girls got home from school, I had this talk with them and during hunter safety training in Missouri, they were taught that when you are hunting in a group, you should notch your birds wing with an identifying mark to distinquish it from others when co- mingled. Frankly, I had never heard this before, so I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. The intent and purpose seem obvious to me. Moral Hazard? Yeah, I'll stand by that, it's clearly a violation, lots of people do it, lots run red lights, speed 20 miles over the speed limit. It's a sport, for crying out loud, not survival, not proving how big your balls are. If you start to cut corners where do you stop? Why not shoot all 15 birds on day 5, Hell, why not shoot 50 birds on day 5, yours and all the unfilled limits of your lesser companions, the young , the old, bad shots. Maybe no limits at all. So If your so offended, maybe the description hits to close to home.
Look, I'm not addressing any of you personally. I am only telling you what the rules say. If that offends you, take it up with the 40 +/- states which don't allow party hunting and fishing. Personally, I quit trying to convince anyone of anything, a long time ago. Some of the repondents here, are the poster boys for why not. I will say that since my girls got home from school, I had this talk with them and during hunter safety training in Missouri, they were taught that when you are hunting in a group, you should notch your birds wing with an identifying mark to distinquish it from others when co- mingled. Frankly, I had never heard this before, so I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. The intent and purpose seem obvious to me. Moral Hazard? Yeah, I'll stand by that, it's clearly a violation, lots of people do it, lots run red lights, speed 20 miles over the speed limit. It's a sport, for crying out loud, not survival, not proving how big your balls are. If you start to cut corners where do you stop? Why not shoot all 15 birds on day 5, Hell, why not shoot 50 birds on day 5, yours and all the unfilled limits of your lesser companions, the young , the old, bad shots. Maybe no limits at all. So If your so offended, maybe the description hits to close to home.
quail hound
Moderator
Good thing we dont have to worry ourselves with things like group limits hah c-dad.