What’s your standard when you hunt public land? Will you crowd other hunters? Why?

I've come to the conclusion that freshly picked corn fields are to pheasant hunters what brown hide is to deer hunters, they lose their common sense and any sense of common courtesy.

Friday morning after Thanksgiving Day I went pheasant hunting to a wildlife area where they had been picking the last of the corn on Wed. Still some standing corn left but I decided to hunt there anyway. Learned my lesson last week and parked right on the edge of the management and corn, didn't want someone cutting me off, and made that my first swat. Long story short I had a nice hour and a half hunt, got two birds. Right before I got the second bird up, a truck pulls up no more than 100 yards from my truck, they got to see me shoot and retrieve that bird. I had a nice chuckle, I had two birds, and they were going thru a spot that I had already hit.

When I left the combines were gearing up so Sat morning I hit the same spot. Results were poorer, who knows how many guys had hit the spot Friday afternoon after the corn was out, but it was a nice day to get out. I hit the corn edge and some cattails and as I topped a hill to hit the rest of the management, I encounter 3 guys hunting, they had already hit the opposite edge of the cattails I was hunting and were heading back toward their truck. I was screwed, I didn't know where they had been, one way or the other I had to hunt stuff that they had covered.

I don't understand it. This is a small management area, less than 70 acres, and two days in a row I encounter other hunters that obviously saw my truck but were so eager to hit the 'hot' spot that they had to play the 'me first, screw the other hunter’ game.

Personally I have higher standards for my pheasant hunting than that. I love to pheasant hunt, I love to watch my dogs work, I love their excitement, I love to roam over new territory. I like sizing up the hunting area, figuring out where the birds might be, and planning my hunt accordingly. Racing to cut off other hunters does not make for a fun, enjoyable hunt. Its not all about putting birds in the game bag. I like to shoot birds too but not at the expense of ruining my hunt or someone else’s hunt. Hunting pheasants isn’t the cutthroat business world or driving down 494, its supposed to be relaxation and pleasure.

I do a lot of public land hunting, when I head out in the morning, when I get to the area that I’ve chosen, if its already being hunted, I move on, I don’t want to degrade the quality of that hunters hunt. I already have a second and even a third area to hunt in mind, just in case my first choice is taken, I don’t just barge in regardless because that’s the area I picked ‘and by God its public land’. You never know when that second or third area might produce or when you might find a new hotspot. Earlier this year I saw a bean field being combined next to a management area, when I got back with my dogs, someone else was already there. Damnnn. Went down the road to my second choice, another hunter!!! Went to choice number three, ended up having a nice evening hunt – and got two birds!! You don’t have to crowd in on other hunters to get birds. Be brave, explore new territory.

What’s your standard when you hunt public land? Will you crowd other hunters? Why? I’d like to hear from pheasant hunters that hunt public land, not people jacking their jaws ‘ its public land, what do you expect’? Lets hear your stories about other hunters and where you draw the line. The only way we’re going to change other hunters attitudes and hunting methods is to let them know what proper hunting etiquette is. My two examples above were not just single hunters either, both times it was multiple hunters. Its very disconcerting if its a veteran hunter showing other hunters in his group that its ok to play ‘me first, screw the other hunter’ but if its two veteran pheasant hunters all I can say is ‘Why do you do it’?

So what’s your standard when you hunt public land? Will you crowd other hunters? Why?

my standard for hunting public land is all about the challenge. I go into each public area not knowing what I am going to get, and for some reason that excites me...the challenge.

Sure I can go hunt private land and easily have a limit, however if it was easy it wouldnt be any fun and obvisouly alot more people would be out there to crowd the walk in areas.

you got to take what you can get and understand that some people dont have the common sense the rest of us have. Its what you get when you hunt public land.

My other standards, dont hunt them on the weekends, or even fridays for that matter. Also hunt the last hour of the day, most of the birds are out feeding anyway and wont be back until just before dark.

Will I crowd or barge in...no. If I see a truck I keep moving. However there is no law that say I have to do so, and neither does anybody else. Is it moral to barge in...in my opinion no, but there isnt a law to stop people from doing so, so its going to happen. Again this is what you get when you hunt public land.

Do you really think that someone is going to get on here and say "yea, me first, screw the other hunter", come on man, these people don't even know how to operate a computer. They're morons. Thats the way they were raised/taught and thats the way they'll die. The bad thing is they probably have kids and they'll teach them the unethical way to hunt. It's all over not just Minnesota, no respect for the land, no respect for others, no respect for themselves. They will kill anything that moves. I feel your pain. It sucks but thats what society has allowed them to do. The day will come when there are no birds left and they'll be the first to cry foul. The future is most likely going to be game farms and preserves. They have nearly wiped out the quail population here in Missouri and it will soon work your way. They chase coveys until every bird is dead. Pretty fricken stupid in my book. Too bad that there's not more conservation officers to be out watching this nonsense. Good luck with your replys and your hunting.

I guess I don't see two groups of people hunting on 80 acres is crowding if the land supports that much habitat. If I see a public hunting area that is being hunted I will either go in after they have gone thru an area or start at the other end. I don't see a problem with this because I am avoiding the path they are taking. If it is a small area 50 acres or less I will just go some place else. There are a lot of hunters with less public land around my area. If you want to hunt you need to work with and around people.

Just got back from LQP.

Combat hunting at it's finest. Nearly a rig at every access point and a swirling mass of orange criss crossing, zig zagging, running and gunning.

For a tuesday morning......I was dumbfounded. LOL

Went and hit "our little corner", then followed behind other groups at a safe distance and did well.

There are large places I will hunt when others are present. They've gotta be pretty large though. Smaller areas I will pass on if I'm not the only one there.

I'm still amazed at the amount of hunters out today???????

I just HATE hunting public land. Hunted a big chunk on opener, it was terrible. I seriously felt like having body armor. Won't be pheasant hunting in MN much more unless its late season, on private land, or somewhere you gotta bust some cats and swamp to get into.

For me its the hunt rather than the results. I'd rather have a nice day and watch the dog work and see some wildlife but shoot nothing - than shoot a limit on land where there's an orange army combing the fields

I hear alot of complaints about public land being crowded on here. I hunt during the week for the most part because I work most weekends. During the week I rarely even see another person on public land. I guess they must be zoo's on the weekend. I guess there finally are some advantages to working weekends

Im with you rmkrod, I have Thursday's off and that's when I go west to hunt. Never have a problem with crowds during the week.

I really don't understand all of the negativity also. I have been out on public land every weekend since opener and I have had good luck. If I see a car in a smaller WMA, I move on until I find one that is empty. There is plenty of public land to hunt. The first of the season was tough but it has gotten better and better since. Last weekend, I drove for a hour and a half from the cities, went past a couple of WMA's that had cars and then found a empty one. I saw quite a few roosters and two in the bag in about a hour. I felt bad for the dog so I flagged someone down as they drove by and asked them if they would like to hunt as there were birds and use a dog. The guy was really happy and he got his limit too. Oh wait,,, there are no birds in MN only SD...

I hunt solely private land and don't really have a problem. I've been on a field when another group pulls up and hops out to hunt the other side. Almost always we'll stop hunting to watch them kick up birds. If we are quiet, the birds will fly towards us and we can see right where the birds land. We then go over to the spots and are almost always able to get those birds. I just give them a wave and a smile and go on with our hunt when they leave.

i was lucky enough to have tons of public land in northern iowa. if there was a car in the lot, i'd hit another. mid week, no problems. by wednesday, the birds are back and settled down a bit. i am usually more disturbed by the piles of empty shells or bird carcasses in the parking lots than other hunters in "my" spot.

I hunt PUBLIC land all the time with no issues. If somebody is there before me I dont hunt it. If somebody hunts while I do no problem, because its PUBLIC land. If you want land to yourself find some private land. I dont see what the big deal is, if you dont like it go home.

Without becoming a complete preacher.... These thoughts are exactly why becoming a contributing member of PF or you local sportsmans clubs are great things. These are the organizations that are purchasing ground that becomes public hunting areas. The state does as well, but with budget woes, this becomes less and less every year. Do your part, become a contributing member. Our chapter recently just finished yet another aquisition to add to our 2000 acres in our county alone. This is only done by member contributions. If you want more public ground.... get it done. Do your part, get on a comittee today. If your comittee needs help, feel free to contact me, I can help in the tips and things that can help make a purchase easier.

It's not so bad. OK it has it moments.....LOL I enjoy hunting WMA's and WPA's for the most part. When it's a complete circus much like it was today, it makes for an adventure. Between my partner and I, we fired six shells and got five birds. We enjoyed the Rolling barrages off in the distance when two or three guys would empty their guns, only to see the Rooster Glide off to safety

Much public hunting ground can be great land to hunt, as long as your willing to work harder than most, have half an idea what your doing, and have a decent hound or two. Guess it's pretty much all I've ever known. I do know if it was too easy, I'd loose interest. The dogs might like it better that way, but I like the exercise and the challenge.

muc33

How can I get in contact with you? I have a few questions for you related to getting an organization going.