Thank you Eric and Steve

I was hunting/scouting the bay and saw this first hand. Unreal! Public area, near lots of boat traffic and you would have thought a bunch of kids got let out for spring break. I was alerted by a buddy fishing stripers to go and take a look and I did later in the AM. Lots of hollering, shooting and acting like a bunch of ...... needless to say, I found it embarrassing. I am glad I hunt waters a few miles from these guys. Some jokes and fun just go too far and this was one of them.
I am hosting a fellow (east coast guy coming out)member of the DHBP later this week and I will make sure we post some pics of the other side to CA duck hunting.
D-
 
Well, I guess I'm dead ass wrong then. Sounds like a bunch dumbasses to me. Maybe they should have a flag football game instead of a waterfowl hunt to celebrate their friendship.

I failed to mention it earlier, but thanks Steve and Eric for the same reasons that were expressed above.
 
Mostly though I just thought that even with our disagreements we are a much more respectful and a less divisive place then that is.

Tim
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I feel that the statement above is the core of this thread. From what I have seen most of the hunters on this site are respectful of each other, the resource we enjoy and the heritage of the sport. That is not the case on many other websites devoted to waterfowling. I appreciate that.

One thing we need to remember is that fooling around in public with guns is never funny in the eyes of the people who fear them. It is a sure fired way to get folks even more stirred up and is just asking for trouble.
 
Ed,,

Maybe we will have to hire someone to follow you around and make sure you leave the flamingos at home......1000mm lens and waiting for that incriminating photo of going to the dark side....

Tim,

I do agree with you Tim, most people here seems to have some respect for the group as a whole and the differing views. I would postulate that we as a group, are not that different in core orthodoxy concerning the ethics of waterfowling. (was that some religious term I just used?? oh my, the waterfowlers doctrine)

To Eric and Steve,

I appreciate your commitment to monitoring and keeping this site "alive",, as it is a rather unusual collection of eclectic waterfowlers here that are responsible, have some moral fiber, and ethics. This is a bit unusual in this day and age of the outdoor widget monster commercialism....


To the rest of the threads authors...

I really couldn't resist joking a bit and adding the whacko whacko grandpa pic..
 


One thing we need to remember is that fooling around in public with guns is never funny in the eyes of the people who fear them. It is a sure fired way to get folks even more stirred up and is just asking for trouble.
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I don't recall any photo's where anyone was "fooling around with guns". I saw lot's of stupid photos but nothing unsafe. I get how one can be tied to the other I just didn't see it people acting irresponsible with guns.

Pete - Mud Motors and pop up blinds as "bad" gadgets? Without the pop up blind I would not be able to hunt any of the places I go. It has allowed me to hunt public water (with private land all around) and stay well without the legal limit of navigable waters. As more and more hunting areas are closed down, it takes mud motors and pop up blinds to still hunt. Why are these bad?

Mark W
 
Mark-
Seriously - think about this, that many guns being shot in a big group(s). I dont care who you are, its just not a safe shooting enviroment. They were bunched up in a couple of groups and the firing was intesne to say the least. I would never - ever shoot in groups like that - one for safety and two for the fact it just doesnt appeal to me.
 
But these guys are just so over the top for me to even crack a smile.
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Yeah, I see it as a few guys acting goofy...took it too far...and then posted it on the internet in hopes of making others feel left out. As for the piles of carnage, isn't that to be expected on the refuge? That's twice in the last three days someone has sent me looking over there...wish I hadn't looked.

Derek, looks like your trade deek will be delayed...I'm going to have to start all over...anyone else interested in a full body, life sized, stretched canvas Pink Flamingo? ;^)

Chuck
 
Mark,

I'm not referring to boat blinds. What gets me is pop-up blinds or permanent blinds over a feeder for turkey, deer, etc. where one can go "hunting" in their sunday best without regard to any real hunting skill. I'm not saying they are all "bad", what I am saying is they rub ME the wrong way. When it comes to mud motors, I see way too many guys abusing the marsh by their inappropriate use. Used appropriately - OK, but there is a backlash building against them right now because they're tearing up the marshs.

What I'm getting at is too many guys using a gadget to do what it used to take skill, experience or hard work to do and because of the gadgets have no real appreciation of the hunt.

It's not about the kill shot - it's about getting to the spot and being in a position to even take the shot.

In the end, I guess I shouldn't even worry about anyone else - it's MY ethics and traditions that are important.
 
I would be pissed off if yahoo's were hunting like that anywhere near me... but I hardly think this will be the end of the of our sport. I find the pictures ( at high shutter speed) of a bird being being shot, where you see all the pellets and the moment of death to be more disturbing.. and more ammo for the antis...

The beer can in one of the pictures also didn't give a good image of hunters in general.
 
Mark-
Seriously - think about this, that many guns being shot in a big group(s). I dont care who you are, its just not a safe shooting enviroment. They were bunched up in a couple of groups and the firing was intesne to say the least. I would never - ever shoot in groups like that - one for safety and two for the fact it just doesnt appeal to me.
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You've never hunted with a group of guys - ever? On opening day we have a group that large and hunt together. 2-3 to a boat and 3-4 boats in the same area. Nothing dangerous and nothing unsafe. We know where everyone is (and it looks like these guys were group hunting in a safe manner). Just cause you don't do it doesn't automatically mean others can't do it in a safe manner.

You ever hunt pheasants? Groups of 10 or more lined up going through a cornfield with stalks as high as 10 feet. Nothing dangerous here if you know what you are doing.

Ever shoot at a gun club. Way more guns in a much closer environment. By your definition, this too must be unsafe.

Also, I can only say what I said based upon what I saw in the pictures. If others who actually were there said they were irresponsible with their guns, I defer to their actual firsthand knowledge.

And just to let it be known, I thought some of those pictures were disgusting and some of them looked like a bunch of guys out having a good time with each other. And yeah, I don't get all the insider jokes but I don't get all the insider jokes on this site as well.

Mark W
 
Hey Pete, I've been saying for a couple of years that if I were in charge I'd outlaw pop-up field blinds for everybody but youth hunters and the handicapped! Maybe that's over the top but I'm not a big fan. I have friends that won't even consider leaning against a tree for turkeys...they need that stupid blind. I hunted out of a friends this year for deer during a rain storm which was a nice gesture. I hated it so much that I got out and moved 50 yards and got soaked.
 
I would be pissed off if yahoo's were hunting like that anywhere near me... but I hardly think this will be the end of the of our sport. I find the pictures ( at high shutter speed) of a bird being being shot, where you see all the pellets and the moment of death to be more disturbing.. and more ammo for the antis...

The beer can in one of the pictures also didn't give a good image of hunters in general.
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A guy had a beer AFTER the hunt (unless I missed a pic during the hunt) and this is a bad thing for the image of hunters? I read the whole thread and IF you believe what they said, there were rules in place as to what individuals were allowed to do, how many guns would be loaded at one time, where each person could shoot etc.... There was also a strict rule against any alcohol or drugs in the field. Sounds responsible to me, more responsibel than many of the average hunters in my opinion.....

The question is, do you believe them?

Mark W
 
A beer ( unless it wasn't a beer can ) at the landing infront of the boat with the slaughter hanging off of it... I don't know or care if they were doing it in the field... It looks bad. Many people think hunters are just drunken hillbilly rednecks anyway. So I think it looks bad. In many places it would be illegal to have an open container in public anyway... I don't know what their laws are.. perhaps they only pounded a case of beer then drove home. Again I don't know.. it does not look the best is all I am saying. At least to me, and then in context with the rest of the images... They do give off a feeling, without being there, many would look down on these people.
 
A beer ( unless it wasn't a beer can ) at the landing infront of the boat with the slaughter hanging off of it... I don't know or care if they were doing it in the field... It looks bad. Many people think hunters are just drunken hillbilly rednecks anyway. So I think it looks bad. In many places it would be illegal to have an open container in public anyway... I don't know what their laws are.. perhaps they only pounded a case of beer then drove home. Again I don't know.. it does not look the best is all I am saying. At least to me, and then in context with the rest of the images... They do give off a feeling, without being there, many would look down on these people.
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Fair enough. I don't think I would have enjoyed the hunt as much as they did. Posing with a beer aftwards is something that I would have done and will proably do sometime in the future. I just don't like jumping to a conclusion when one doesn't know the real story.

Mark W
 
Mark-
Sure I have hunted in groups - I dont think ever more than 5-6 guys in a drive pheasant hunting (most I have personally hunted with) but never and I mean never 5-7 guys crowded in a boat or a small spit of land like a firing line. My dad just taught me better than that and I will teach my kids the same. Sure some guys hunt 5-6 in big boats/blinds, its just not my style and doesnt seem safe. I think you woudl have had to have seen it to believe it.
 
5-6 guys on a pheasant drive wouldn't cut it where I hunt the birds. A minimum of 10 is needed in some of the fields and more is better. Then you have the posters at the end which adds a couple of more. Heck we even bring the wife's, girlfriends and kids along to help walk the field. I can recall exactly one time where I did not feel safe hunting this way and this was with one of my brother-in-laws who does not hunt and had a new autoloader gun that year. My son and I stayed far away from him and wouldn't walk a couple of fields. I won't even shoot clay pidgeon's with this guy as it isn't safe to do so in my opinion. It isn't the number of hunters, it is the quality of the hunters in the group that matter to me.

A large group of hunters is not automatcailly unsafe. If so, kiss gun clubs and other activities like this good-bye. I even went through gun safety again last year with my son and no mention was made about it being unsafe to hunt in large groups with guns. As a matter of fact, we had 20+ people at the range shooting a variety of weapons during the hands on part of the training. Never felt unsafe as there were ground rules in place to ensure safety.

I wasn't at the hunt in question and trust your explanation. I have however hunted 7-8 guys on a small spit of land from lawn chairs and no camo. We hunted/still hunt Bluebills on Lake of the Woods in Canada and it is a very effective way to hunt. Camo makes little to no difference and sitting out on the end of the point doesn't matter to the birds at all. They fly the same way every year and have done so for as long as we can remember. We laugh and joke around and have a safe hunt every year. No alcohol, no drugs, and no inflatable pig decoys (although I found that funny). I'd bet that anti hunters would not appreciate our hunt (we kill a bunch of birds) nor would some on this site and thus no pictures posted. You can mix fun, and a bunch of guys together on a safe hunt. If duck hunting can't be fun, why hunt? Life's way too short to do things that aren't enjoyable.

Mark W
 

From all the guys I know and have hunted with from the DHBP 9and the refuge), I have got to say, you would love some of the Refuge crowd.

I dont know many guys here advocating for 5-7 guys shooting birds en masse as they come in (sans turns) and one reason being that of safety. The last thing I want to worry about is 5-6 other guys shooting around me when I duck hunt. Not the way I learned/care to hunt.
 
"read how they respond to criticism of their "antics"......."

I guess I took those as a total joke though I have my doubts now. They certainly don't look good in a public forum regardless.
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