Hunting Etiquette

Jonah's Revenge · 09-18-2003, 10:45 AM

How do you guys feel about grouse hunting in areas that bow hunters use?

Opening day of grouse season, I went up to the Detroit area for some grouse hunting with my son. There were bow hunters around and I avoided any area that I knew had hunters currently there.
As I was leaving one spot, I came across a hunter in a truck. We talked for a bit and he joked about me scaring all the elk out of there. Don't know if he was serious and irritated or truly joking. But that got me thinking.
Should bird hunters avoid any area that a big game hunter may use at any time or should it be first come, first serve?
I hunt both and probably would get irritated if I ran into a bird hunter after I hiked 2 miles into the woods. If I'm next to a road, probably not.

Martin85 · 09-18-2003, 12:50 PM

I've only ran into the problem once and I think that there is plenty of areas to bow hunt and not many bird hunters seem to get off the main roads. In the Long Creek area the birds are all over the dirt roads more than in past years.

Radke · 09-18-2003, 12:57 PM

It is a curious (and considerate) question you ask. But really, if the woods are only big enough for one group of hunters, would it be the bird or elk hunters who had priority? Because each have the same right to the woods, we just need to share.

wellll except those people on quads. They need to stay down at the beach on the dunes.

Old Coot · 09-18-2003, 03:06 PM

Thoughtful question. I think I vote first come, first served. Accomodation and consideration for fellow hunters is admirable, but why deprive yourself of a hunt on the basis that somebody else might come along and hunt the same area later? They also might not.

Mello-Yello · 09-18-2003, 07:35 PM

I agree. Those aren't 'my' woods, they're 'our'woods, and I think it's important that we all learn to share. With all the bambi-lovers fighting against us, we have no time to be fighting amongst each other.

There have been a time or two though where I've had the buhjeezus scared outta me by a 12ga going off in my general vicinity while I'm sneaking around.

It's all good...

Swamp Puppy · 09-18-2003, 07:56 PM

when i am out bird hunting i try to stay clear of the bow hunters. if i see a truck parked on the side of the road i clear out and try to get a decent distance away (another canyon or the other side of a hill) before i load up and start kickin' through the brush again. however, if i am already in an area i am hesitant to leave if other hunters show up.

nitrobass · 09-19-2003, 09:21 PM

If you're road hunting for grouse keep on cruising and shooting them. Even if you're busting brush for grouse(does anyone even do that?) keep on doing it. Deer and elk are used to it(shooting off of the roads) and dont spook much from it.
Case in point..A few years ago a buddy and I were driving down a gravel road and saw a couple of cow elk cross into a thicket. We could have just pulled over and given chase but decided to drive down and sneak back. Around the next corner was a whole pile of grouse along the road. We decided to act like grouse hunters and blasted a couple of them. Then we grabbed our bows, snuck into the reprod, and the elk were right there where they crossed. One of them came home with us too! :grin: I'm sure it can spook them but I am pretty sure elk get accustomed to that sort of activity.

dla · 09-21-2003, 07:06 AM

nitrobass: You're right, it doesn't freak out the Elk. They hear it, put their heads up and pause but that's about it. Grouse hunting doesn't bother Bow hunting. And yes, some of us still bust the brush for birds - kindof fun as you get a lot of play out of a few birds. Especially since I usually only get Doug Fir branches when I shoot :smile:

Mad Mikey · 09-21-2003, 11:00 PM

I've run into this problem rarely but it never has been a problem persay.
One of my best blue grouse spots I've hunted for over twenty years near Starkey also holds a ton of elk.
I start working up a draw and usually get a ruffed or two before topping out on the ridge and switching shells for the blues.
One afternoon I spooked some elk up the draw and ran a nice branch bull almost smack into a bow hunter. He nailed that thing at 20 yards and thanked me for turning the beast his way!!!
I got out of there as quickly as I could because I did not want to help drag the dang thing down the mountain!!! :grin:

ReelTrouble · 09-21-2003, 11:53 PM

Im glad this came up, because its something I wondered when I ran into a bow hunter last time I was grouse hunting. He was there first and we asked where he was going to be hunting so we could stay out of his way. He sorta laughed and said he didnt care at all where we hunted, but I didnt know if all bow hunters were that understanding.

feisty's wife · 09-25-2003, 01:21 AM

If I am bowhunting down an overgrown skidder trail or road, my rig is parked near, with a piece of bright trail-marking tape drawn across the road I am hunting...anyone can figure that out...never had anyone come in on me yet...I always remove the tape when I leave.

Jeremy · 10-01-2003, 08:36 AM

What about taking some grouse during rifle season? If im driving up to my deer spot and i see a grouse on the side of the road and have my shotgun on the seat. should i take it or not since there are probably other rifle hunters in the area looking for those pesky deer?

rockn'reel · 10-01-2003, 11:41 PM

If I am glassing a clear cut i have actually found it helpful if someone is shooting grouse around me. They deer pop up their little heads and I spot movement and take home a deer :grin: . The animals don't really care that much, I get more perturbed by other big game hunters because after they spot me they usually wave and then keep walking throught he area I am trying to hunt. I spot a hunter I back out of there and stay quiet to not interrupt the hunt. I don't usually see this kind of courtesy returned to me

Bait Bucket · 10-01-2003, 11:43 PM

As an upland bird hunter, I do everything I can to avoid other hunters. I do not hunt on weekends because there are so many folks who work during the week and would like to have a little space on weekends. I do not bird hunt during the big game season where I know the area is used by deer/elk hunters. (I do, however, put a bell on my dog during this time.) I come across more mushroom hunters than I do other game hunters. And that's good because they almost always tell me where they are seeing the birds. :grin: (Other hunters are sometimes understandably reluctant to share info.

[ 10-01-2003, 12:48 PM: Message edited by: Bait Bucket ]