Calling ducks off of other people? Opinions?

[Drakeblake]

I had a very disturbing incident today while duck hunting in my usual haunt. We were having a decent shoot and ended up with five mallards that we worked very hard for "not many birds flying". Wile we were picking up decoys the guy that hunts on the property next to ours walked over to the dike and started yelling for one of us to come talk to him. I could tell immediately by his tone that he wasn’t very happy. This guys started leasing the land from the owner about 5 years ago and put lots of money into building ponds and dikes with a very nice blind set up. Our spots are about 500 yards away from each other so it not like its combat hunting. Im sure you guys know the type...he rides up on his 4wheeler about 10 min. before shooting time and sits down in his blind cause he leaves his decoys out all season long. When I got close he started yelling at me and questioning if I had permission to hunt there and how long Ive been hunting there which is going on 16 years not counting my dad or grand-dad hunting there. He started accusing us of calling birds off of his spread while they were working him. He said if they were on his side of the tree line we should not be calling at them. This magic line is new to me. What bothered me the most is his tone. He didn’t come over and ask if we would mind letting the birds work for him or say anything that seemed remotely polite. He said something about how he was going to call birds off of us next time it happens. My though was bring it on more power to him if he can. Many other people hunt in neighboring fields and I know them personally and if they are getting all of the shooting one day oh well I smile about it and maybe next time it will be me shooting most of the birds. Outside of hunting I may see them and we will joke about it and have a few laughs no harm done right? If I can get the birds to come decoy our spot and get the to commit the I'm going to do it. Very few of the birds today did even decoy close enough for him to get mad at us the way he did. He ended up only shooting at one flock that were out of range IMHO. I lost it when he said that if we kept it up he would start shooting when he saw birds decoying our spread. The whole thing ended on a bad note with a few choice words said to each other. And each of us walking off very upset. My opinion on the whole matter is if I put in the time to set up my decoys where I think the ducks will be depending on the wind and water levels and I have put in many hours of practicing calling why shouldn't I be able to kill more ducks than he does? I am the 4 generation in my family that hunts there so I feel as though I have obligation to feel worried if he isn’t shooting as many ducks as he thinks he should. Maybe I'm just old-fashion. Sorry for ranting and raving but I have a feeling this could get very ugly with damage to property and other things that may begin to happen. Im wondering what your guys thoughts are on the subject do I have a reason to be mad or is it my fault? Thanks

-blake

[ 12-19-2003, 03:52 PM: Message edited by: drakeblake ]

[TonTo]

I'm not a water fowler so I don't know the unspoken rules of the sport but I've met plenty of winers that sound like this guy,and hey thats why it's called hunting and not shooting maybe he should stick to busting clays if he can't stand the freindly competition for the same birds,or start farming his own ducks if it's all about the kill/meat.I'ld just let it go no point in getting riled over what he believes to be his private flock.If it goes any further I'ld might want to have a chat with the land owner.

[Day Late]

If you're calling ducks off his spread from over a 1/4 mile away, he's obviously doing something wrong and/or those ducks have extraordinary hearing ability and can't resist your sexy call. :grin: Obviously when ducks are working someone's spread you should honor that and not poach, but this sounds like birds working an awfully large area and each of you is trying to get them to take a look. I quit hunting public areas years ago because of this issue, but if the blinds were 500 yards apart I'd probably still be out there (dreaming). Have fun and don't worry about it. :smile:

Day Late

[Lured In]

There is a time and a place to call ducks. Not all ducks should be called at. Depending on the area, ducks are usually moving in, out, or between ponds/fields. This is the time to call them. If you know somebody has a spread 'under' the birds and the birds are working, I wouldn't call.(especially high balling them) Now if it is full on combat hunting (like SI), the best callers often win the birds and all gloves are off.

If I were you, I would continue to be considerate as you apparently have been. Additionally, keep in mind that the birds will go where they want. If you let the birds truley work his spread and they bug out, have at 'em. If they are flying around both ponds, call as much as you like. If he is "winning" the battle for the birds, let him limit out and get out of there. Basically extend him the same courtesy you would ask for.

As far as the ribbing you and the other hunters have done over the years, you seem to have an understanding that all is fair in love, war and duck hunting. You might want to temper that for this particular fellow. Better yet, the next time you are having a good shoot and he is not, invite him over to join you. [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

Just my .02 but it sounds like you are trying to do the right thing. :grin:

[Mello-Yello]

If he should be mad at anyone, it should be the ducks...

IMHO, good calling and decoy presentation are what bring the ducks in close. If he were any good, he'd convince a few more ducks into his lair. It's not your fault if the ducks prefer you. I agree with tonto...any more problems I'd make a mention to the landowner. If he does start firing in the air to bust ducks coming into your setup, I'd report him to OSP. If I'm not mistaken, that is against the law. Basically the same law that says PETA wackos can't go into the woods and walk alongside you when you're hunting, with the intention of scaring everything off before you can shoot.

Just try and keep your cool (I don't blame you for getting mad though...been there, done that).

The only invisible line is the one that separates your property from his...

[Drakeblake]

Thanks guys I appreciate the input. Its good to know that I haven’t fallen off of my rocker and been going about this all wrong. To me its all about good set up and calling if your not doing that right your not going to get ducks no matter how much money you put into you hunting spot and fancy guns and what not. Its true that while the birds are circling either of our spreads they can see both of our deks at the same time so their open game to me. Im not intentionally flaring them off of his spread and trying to steal "his" birds. Some days you win and some days you loose. I can count numerous times where they have shot more birds then us and we didn’t go yelling at them about it. I wonder if he would have gotten as mad if I wouldn’t have called and still killed more birds? Would I have stolen them then? Thanks again.

-blake

[Blue Tip Spinner]

i have hunted many pieces of private and public land and i have NEVER heard of stuff like that happening. the one with the best call wins (period). don't let it bother you, what goes around comes around. appearently this guy isn't much of a hunter if he needs to go around blaming other people and clubs for his inadequacies in the duck blind [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] . i have been learned from experience that if the birds are fully committed to a blind or location, then there is no reason to call because the birds aren't gonna listen to you anyway. his ranting and raving shows his inexperience with duck hunting. he should have spent more of his money on learning to call and not on his 4x4. definately talk to the land owner and let them know what happened. it is better that they hear it from you and not through someone elses distortion of the truth. the only time i have been told to lay off the calling is when the birds are working a different blind in YOUR same club- you don't want to keep the guys you hunt with from shooting birds. by the way, the only "magic line" is at a boundry between refuge land and all other land. BTS

[Tilla]

If ducks land in your spread and I'm in the area....I musta felt sorry for you. :grin:

[Drakeblake]

Tilla
Haha
I noticed your from Portland...the ducks in the city park don't count :grin:

-blake

[Crashin' Bait]

Like others have said, "The best caller wins". Tell him to practice more. :grin:

[Get Bit]

DB,

I'd keep doing exactly what you are doing. Maybe he needs to get better decoys and learn how to call. If that guy has a problem with what you are doing:Tough! Sounds like no matter what you do this guy isn't going to be happy. For me, it would be really hard to resist having some fun with that guy. Keep blowin' that call and killin ducks!

Get Bit

[Salmon Hot Shot]

Tell him to practic on his calling then.

[Gun Rod Bow]

Calling birds off of someones else's decoys is second only to catchin fish from under a guide's boat Go get 'em tiger.

[Tilla]

Drakeblake, you obviously have not hunted nearby...heh...heh...heh

[Get Bit]

GRB,

Amen on pulling fish from underneath guide boats!

[Drakeblake]

Well I talked to some friends who hunt near by and they said today the guy "aka whiner" got most of the shooting so hopefully he got it all out of his system and I have heard the last of him. I'll keep you updated if I ever have the misfortune of running into him again. Take it easy guys.

-blake

[billc_sbio]

Tell him to take down that orange tractor umbrella he's sittin under, maybe he'll have better success?!!

No kidding, one time out on Sauvie Is. public management area there were some guys sitting in this "killer" blind with an orange tractor umbrella up! The ducks were trying to come in there but they just couldn't allow themselves to pile in on the big orange ball!

Those dough balls had NO CLUE what was wrong and why they weren't getting any shooting at this choice location! [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]

[chummer]

Other factors will also dictate where birds are going to land, such as Wind direction, blind location in relation to spread, shore in relation to spread. These always dictated our choice of set up. For many years, while living in hermiston, We hunted the river above Hat rock with great success. Over time, guides started started calling this area their own. It gave us no greaterer pleasure than to go head to head with these guys and their well appointed clients. Over time, most of them became rather friendly, often inviting us to share thier boat and hospitality if we showed up late after getting off our 24 hour shifts. As far as "rules of calling" Our thoughts were these: If the birds were looking and moving between spreads, they were fair game until the landing gear came down and the wings locked. As GRB said, going up against the pros, on the water or on the beach can bring a real sense of accomplishment.

[Spooney]

Sounds like Sauvie Island isn't the only place with that kind of problem.
I try to go with the flow; if it is combat then it is combat. If the hunters around me are doing the right thing, I will let em call them in. If they are sky-scrapers, I will call them off. If the hunter has a kid with him/her, I will always let them have the birds.
He aka (whiner)sounds like the guys I knew in the Army that blamed people for using too much toilet paper and causing a massive shortage.
I have little success with this, but, try to let the dirt fall off your shoulder. I don't know you too well, but if you are willing to put yourself up for possible slaughter in this forum you obviously have a high degree of courage and confidence.
My last thought is that factoring-in the effects of other hunters/people is just as important as the weather, terrain and time. I would rather go home empty handed before I would put up with some old fart yelling at me.
[img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]

[MarlinMark]

Is leaving your decoys out over night legal?? Sounds like he is asking for a little more "attention" than he bargained for....If you need any help with ideas to help teach this guy some manners let me know. I am always willing to help my fellow sportsman become a better, more polite, law abiding citezen. It' his "cry for help." We must all get together and help him. He is a fellow sportsman and we must answer his call.

Mark

[Neff]

I look at it this way. If the guys hunting around me are good guys and are letting birds work and not calling when the birds are in your decoys, then I do the same for them. If they dont sky bust either, then I wont call their birds in their decoys. I like to keep it to that. If some jerks are just sky busting and competition calling everybird within a mile, then they might get some people blowing birds out of their decoys. :grin:

[Drakeblake]

Well I went out yesterday and hunted; I had a very bad day where did all of the birds go? The guy wasn’t hunting but his buddy was. No problems were had at all, probably because neither of us had any birds to try and call. After the hunt I stopped by my uncles to give him his xmas present. I told him the whole situation and he suggested I talk to the other property owner. So down the road I go to talk to the other farmer about the situation and heard some very interesting stories about the whiner. One consisted of the whiner giving the farmer a ride back to his tractor on his fourwheeler "new toy" the whiner decided it was time to see how fast he could go up the STEEP hill. [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] Not a good idea with somebody on the back. The quad ended up flipping over and crushing the farmer he wasn’t breathing for about a min. and finally caught his wind again. Broke a few ribs and was very sore for a few days. I cant believe the farmer still lets the guy hunt after that. But I think I know why. When I was talking to my uncle he said that he asked the other farmer if he makes more money from farming the land or leasing it to hunt. He never gave a definite answer but it sounded like the whiner does pay a pretty penny for hunting rights. This guys is truly a work of art. I pray I never cross paths with him again. Especially if he’s driving anything! Take it easy guys shoot straight.

-blake

[Wreckless]

I alway feel TERRIBLE when I put out 175 duck decoys and 60 goose and every bird in the area fights to get it to the "kill hole" :grin:

Ya gotta love these "dough balls" who ride up on their 4 wheelers and walk up to the "blind" {box covered in grass) and start "hunting" over decoys that have been in the same position for 45 DAYS!!! [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] ......Were those decoys NOT hunting the day before???? [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

I'm not a "competitive" person and I only hunt SI occasionally, but this guy needs to spend some TIME on his hunting skills....$$$$ won't get the ducks to land on the dekes (most of the time}

My "better late than never" $.02.

Happy Holidays.....Dennis

I think I'll go practice my feeding call!!

[Crashin' Bait]

Just tune him out and hunt hard. He's a bad sport, ain't it obvious?

[Flatfish]

I have hunted with a fella who called at Stuttgart. He came in 5th place.

He sure can't make a duck go where it don't want to. I doubt you can either.

Mark and the highballin' double reed raspy clucking but a whistle kills more birds than anything else dog.