Odd Encounters...

Labs

Labs

Well-known member
I'm curious of others get approached by random strangers in the field, requesting to hunt with you. I've had this happen twice in the last two seasons and am not sure what to make of it. The most recent was ND resident opening day. My wife, two of our labs, and I were first truck at a PLOTS a few minutes from the house waiting for shooting light. Just before, a convoy of three trucks pull up to us and one guy approaches. He says they're from town, don't have dogs, and requested to hunt with us. I was taken aback by that. I told him no (for safety I don't hunt with people I don't know and even then NMT 4 total). He then asked if I minded if his group posted at the other end of the PLOTS. I told him I had no right to tell him not to (one of my pet peeves is people that do this, but it was public land). This guy seemed just an average Joe, but last year we had a lone guy approach and ask us the same thing, who had an entirely different vibe. I'm retired LE and everything about that dude put my old cop instincts on alert...
 
I've had it happen 3 times, accepted the offer once. The first time I was a new hunter, only my 2nd year going. Pulled by a spot at a complex and talked to some other hunters who were at their vehicles. 3 guys, all very nice and new to hunting as well. They invited me to hunt with them, and I politely declined because I thought it'd be easier for me and the dog to learn hunting by ourselves. A second time there were three of us in a truck and two dogs, waiting on 9 am in MN the weekend after thanksgiving. Guy pulls into the lot with us, rolls down window and starts small talking us. Says his buddy should pull up any minute. 20 minutes later his buddy never shows, this guy doesn't have a dog, and asks to tag along. We declined. The last time was MN opener 2 years ago. I got to a spot really early, then a guy rolls up 15 minutes before the bell. He said all his other spots were taken and asked to hunt with me. He had his own dog. I said that's fine, it's a big enough spot, and we agreed to cut the field in half.
 
What struck me about the most recent situation is it seemed like SOP for that guy/group. No preamble or small talk, just straight to can we hunt over your dogs. Not at all like a couple guys at a parking area talking over who was going where on a PLOTS so as not to step on each other's hunts. That guy last year, everything about him put me in alert...
 
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I'd be very skeptical of a random other hunter's safety, not to mention their dog's ability/training too. There's a lot of nutjobs out there and when there's firearms involved, safety is more important to me than anything else.

That being said, in the rare event I encounter another hunter, I go somewhere else and I would expect the same in return.
 
Standard answer is no but there was this time a couple high school kids were hunting a field we got permission for. For some reason we ended up hunting together then we went to their grand parents property. They were really solid kids and we saw them once the next year but lost track. I just mentioned this weekend how I hoped they were doing well.
 
About 10 or so years ago, my wife & I ran into a
group of 6 guys from Wisconsin - they were really struggling & asked if they could hunt with us - not convenient for us, but we could tell they were demoralized - so we said sure & told them the public spot to meet us at the next morning it turned out great! I think they all ended up getting a bird - they were so thankful - a very rewarding experience with a nice group of guys - we’ve had a few singles join us over the years, unexpectedly, but went well. We ran into a couple guys last year, in the field - one of them lives about 5 miles from us - now that was a first!
 
Hasn't really happened in years & years. That said, at certain times of the season, I'm known to hunt ditches somewhat regularly. Well, in one area, there's this guy who drives around with his lab all the time (mostly road hunting I think), whom I've run into several times while I'm hunting a ditch & he happens to drive by (unless he's stalking me). Well last year once, he stopped to chat as I was hunting a ditch. He said he had permission on the ground right across the road & offered to let me & Ace hunt a little draw with him, maybe a 15-20 minute little jaunt. He's a nice guy & seemed excited to have someone to hunt with, so the draw could be pinched properly. So we did it. We saw about 5 hens, I got a rooster, & nobody got shot, so it was worth it. That said, if he wanted to hunt a larger public spot with me, I'd probably let him have it & go find my own.
 
Seems like for the last few years, at least once a year someone’s dog wants to hunt with the amigos and myself. Typically it’s on a large piece of public land with its owner screaming for it to return. Dispute my encouragement to return to their owners, they always stick with my pack. Not sure if they enjoy hunting with us better or if they feel I need all of the support I can get. The last three encounters they have loaded in the truck with the amigos and required a ride around to the other end of the section to the return of their owners.
 
If they share the same county license plate number I usually don't have a problem having a tag along. Although last summer I had 2 sketchy looking guys come up and ask to shoot my shotguns while I was shooting clay at north point rec area. That was a hard no response
 
That1uncle1776 said:
If they share the same county license plate number I usually don't have a problem having a tag along. Although last summer I had 2 sketchy looking guys come up and ask to shoot my shotguns while I was shooting clay at north point rec area. That was a hard no response
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People are weird. I may stop and watch someone shooting in a public area but who walks up and asks to shoot your gun?
 
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