GHHC Rules and Rants

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Waterfowling Rules & Rants

...by Mike Bard

I spend countless hours each year working with retrievers, participating in conservation projects, traveling to shows, doing seminars, scouting and hunting that I feel qualified to share with you, some general rules and rants about waterfowling (Just ask my wife, she’ll happily verify). I hope that these statements help some of you newer guys and gals learn the ropes and reminds the rest of us about the rules of the game. The statements below aren’t all laws or regulations, but should serve as a guide in becoming a better and more respected waterfowler.

Being a Guest- If you are invited to hunt with another waterfowler at one of their spots (public or private), remember you are a guest and…

Don’t go back their without at least asking them (this includes not trying to obtain permission from a landowner for hunting access and telling other waterfowlers the location of the spot).

It’s their spot, so let them run the show, to include how things are set up, calling the shot, etc. unless however they ask for your input. If you are more experienced and things aren’t working, kindly make a suggestion during the hunt.

Remember to try and return the favor or you may not get invited back again.

Band Etiquette- Plain and simple, it’s just a piece of metal.

Don’t try to claim something you know isn’t yours. It’s beyond me, why some people do that. I’d never want a band that I know, I didn’t at least have a part in shooting the bird it was attached too.

When two people or more legitimately feel they may have shot the banded bird…draw straws, flip a coin, or have a non-involved person pick a number and those involved guess the number, and then stick with the outcome.

Sky Busting- This is a big peeve of mine and I see it happening more and more on public waters/grounds in the last few years.

Don’t do it! If a group of birds are working someone else’s decoy spread and swings wide to get a better angle for the wind, comes over the tree tops into the area, or just happens to be flying high over your spread, don’t take a 100-150 yard shot at them, you are not only screwing yourself, but your fellow waterfowler and I’m sure you wouldn’t appreciate it, if someone did it around you well you were working birds. You know who you are… you’re not waterfowlers, you might want to be, but you’re not!

Early Bird Get’s the Spot- So you arrive to the spot you want to hunt and someone has beaten you to it…

Do the right thing and move on to Plan B; no need to say something to the group who beat you, no need to set up on top of them and ruin both of your hunts…just move along.

Always have a Plan B or even a Plan C in mind each day out.

Did I already mention to move along, don’t dilly dally and sit there and think about what to do now, while talking bad about they guys who wanted it more than you (people can hear a long ways off across water and you never know who they are).

This holds true on both water and in fields. No matter how big the field is, don’t set up in a field already occupied by a group. Again…you wouldn’t like it if they did it to you. Hunting the same field with two competitive groups of hunters isn’t going to work anyway you try it, as it’s difficult enough with two cooperative groups of friends in the same field.

Having Permission/Trespassing- It upsets me to even have to discuss this, but trespassing seems to be pretty common these days.

If you find a field, pond, private boat launch…whatever…it’s owned by someone. For the sake of all hunters, please be respectful enough to ask for permission to use the property. Typically when I’ve heard stories, the names of individuals aren’t often remembered, but the fact that they were hunters and the game they were hunting seems never to be forgotten. I hate walking up to a farmer and asking permission, only to hear a story about another group of guys who trespassed on the farmers land to shoot geese.

If you get permission on a piece or property, treat the land with respect and obey any rules that the landowner lays down. Pick up your empty shells, don’t drive across fields unless granted permission to and be smart.

Let me further explain being smart – Examples of smart things you can do… pick a spot in the field shooting away from buildings and away from the house, as you don’t want to rain pellets down on their roof or make the noise any louder than it needs too (the farmer’s wife may not be an earlier riser). Remember that someone could be watching you, so act responsible and respect your game – no need for jumping around if you get a few birds and dispatch cripples quickly.

Trespassing isn’t only against the law and disrespectful to landowners, but it’s also dangerous to you and other hunters. You don’t know the land and could end up getting hurt or worse yet the farmer thinks your decoys are real and decides take a shot at them, to get them out of the field, only to hit you instead. Or maybe another hunter is already in the field with decoys set and you see them from the road and put on a sneak. You could end up killing another hunter.

I hope that you’ll think of these 5 points next time you encounter any of these situations and do what a responsible and respectful waterfowler would do. Be safe and good hunting.