Boundary bay - inconsiderate people rant

I got to the bay before legal light and set up near the shoreline past 72nd with a newbie buddy of mine that I’ve been mentoring.
Two other people set up behind us, but at a respectable distance - again, before legal light.
It was a slow morning but everyone seemed to be getting some shot opportunities until around 9 am when a group of four (bozos) decided to walk through the people’s sets that were inland of me and proceed out towards my set. I stood up to make sure they could see the spot was occupied, but they continued to press forward. When in yelling range I asked where they were planning on going and suggested they look elsewhere for a spot to set up - like the miles of unoccupied foreshore - rather than setting up shop right up my butt crack.
To their credit they backed off a little, but we’re still only 75 m away when they decided to set up their decoys.

If you’re on here - thanks for making an otherwise productive (slow, but productive) morning that much worse by walking through people’s sets well into the daylight hours and taking your sweet time with setting up shop. Also, props for sky blasting ducks as we were walking out - real winners.
Next time try giving other hunters the courtesy of some space.

p.s. If you want to hunt the good spots, get up earlier.

I've brought a bicycle and gone between 64th and 72nd It can be a gong show there.

I’ve been hunting out there for close to a decade now and have never had that happen before yesterday.

I’ve certainly seen it busy. People walking through someone’s set is new though. Heck, last year I had a guy steal my duck (a cripple. he hadn’t shot it, just walked out and grabbed it). My buddy had it happen this year too. And I thought that was the lowest of lows.

The really perplexing thing to me is that this year, October was pretty quiet out there. I had the foreshore to myself on opening day… that never happens. So what changed between then and now?
I guess more people turned to waterfowling because of the highway restrictions…?

Not too smart to walk and steal your duck while you have a shotgun in your hands.

someties its hard to tell when people are delibetely belligerent and when they just dont know better.

I have two questions:

Q1. I staggered a duck in mid air this morning and it fluttered within range of another hunter who put it down. My buddy asked me why I didn't go get it or contest it. To my mind, it wasn't certain if the duck would have kept flying if the other hunter hadn't added his shell into the mix. I'm also pretty non-confrontational. It's just a duck. Last year I was one of three hunters who riddled a Canada goose. The last hunter who hit it shrugged and waved me to get it. I started back to my spot when a hunter I hadn't seen marched up smiling and indicated it was his. Again, it's just a bird. So I handed it over and he thanked me. What are your rules?

Q2. A cripple lands within range. The other hunter is coming from far away to get it. Do you swat the cripple to save the hunter a dash through the mud? Or would swatting it be disrespectful? (Btw I was the other hunter and lost a cripple and wasted a lot of energy chasing it to no avail. So neither of us benefited by it).

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Originally Posted by silveragent

I have two questions:

Q1. I staggered a duck in mid air this morning and it fluttered within range of another hunter who put it down. My buddy asked me why I didn't go get it or contest it. To my mind, it wasn't certain if the duck would have kept flying if the other hunter hadn't added his shell into the mix. I'm also pretty non-confrontational. It's just a duck. Last year I was one of three hunters who riddled a Canada goose. The last hunter who hit it shrugged and waved me to get it. I started back to my spot when a hunter I hadn't seen marched up smiling and indicated it was his. Again, it's just a bird. So I handed it over and he thanked me. What are your rules?

Q2. A cripple lands within range. The other hunter is coming from far away to get it. Do you swat the cripple to save the hunter a dash through the mud? Or would swatting it be disrespectful? (Btw I was the other hunter and lost a cripple and wasted a lot of energy chasing it to no avail. So neither of us benefited by it).

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I have put cripples down for others. I have no problem saving people the sprint through the muck after a bird with functioning legs and a broken wing. I’ll happily give up a shot riddled bird to the person that fired first. Before I got my retriever, I have to had to chase crippled birds - and recognize that it isn’t fun, so I try to pass on the favour (do unto others…)

In the case of the bird that got swiped from me last year, I shot the duck and it glided to a stop in front of another hunter some 100+ meters away. No coup-de-grace shot was fired by the other person - the bird was either dead or severely wounded as it wasn’t moving when it hit the ground - they just walked up to it and returned to their blind with the bird. I was on my way to retrieve the bird when they got out to get it. I didn’t think it was worth starting something over a duck, so I let it slide.

Glad to hear you would help others with cripples.

I would agree with you in your second case too. If it's obvious someone did most of the work in putting down the bird, then it is theirs. And in your case, all of the work.

Couple things first you are seeing more hunters as the Sumas is a no go so they are filtering in from all places .The cripple duck thing is pretty much up to the individual I have had dogs my entire(45+) years and used to hunt the marsh early in the 80's.Always picked up cripples and went out of my way to assist guys that did not have dogs to help them. The walking through you're spread is really beyond stupid but some people were never versed in the hunting etiquette so they and I believe it don't know any better, although I would wonder about anybody that did that having an IQ of more than a plank.D..

I had an okay day at 64th St. yesterday. When I got in there were two groups ahead of me including one fellow who had left his car just as I was pulling in. When I got my feet wet finally I went straight for the water. The first group flashed their headlamps in my direction and I made sure to veer away from them.

There were ducks paddling around in the early light as I was setting up close to the stream at the western boundary of the shootable area but as if by magic a few minutes before legal light they took off. I guess their alarms were set too!

It was a relatively slow day but I ended up with two - including a nice greenhead drake that I got close to 10:30 literally a few seconds after I told my wife I was heading back. But I have a couple comments.

It is fairly hard to know if you are spaced okay between you and your neighbours in the dark. But as soon as the sun was over the horizon I was surprised to find I had sprouted even closer neighbours. Maybe surprised isn't the right word. More like - geez guys. I can understand missing people who are already set up in the dark once the headlamps are off, but I would enjoin those who are latecomers to pull back once you realize you are too close. I know it's hard once you are set up to pull up stakes (literally if you have a blind) but you're not doing anyone any favors.

As it was, I got my first duck due to it being "ping ponged" between two sets of hunters. I had my first crack at it (well three cracks which made for some embarrassing Shotkam footage), and the poor thing didn't know where to go as it was blasted at by my two newest neighbours so it fled back toward me and I got it as I had time to reload. Surprisingly it wasn't riddled so I should thank my neighbours for only loading "scare loads".

Having too many too close is nothing new, but I wish I could have chatted with the two hunters who spotted a group of widgeon who had landed in the water close to me. They were within swatting range for me but I was being picky and waiting for them to rise up (besides swatting has not given me good results). Unfortunately, the two hunters coming from about 200y away started basically marching in the direction of those ducks. I felt for sure they should have known I was there. I mean I had already been shooting that morning, they had flashed their headlamps at me and me in return. Yet they got half the distance to the ducks and caused them to take off. I raised my shotgun and waved at them just in case they 'forgot" I was there. But I was annoyed.

My message to them is don't even bother trying to walk up on those birds. Even if I hadn't been there; it's just dumb. Unless you are going to go all Navy Seal and crawl on your belly, don't bother. The birds have eyes and they are not going to allow two upright bipedal apes armed with shotguns to get close enough. Best be patient, let the birds feel calm and hope they take off in your direction.

What was nice that day besides actually getting birds is I saw what I assumed to be a father and son and their dog coming into the foreshore and spending an hour. I really wished I had had that experience when I was a boy.

There must be a way to hunt elsewhere at the bay away from the rude and the ignorant. It is a huge stretch of shoreline.

Boundary is definitely so wide open there should be room for more. Unfortunately "prime spot" is sometimes also "easy to get to" spot which can explain why so many get bunched up at the foot of the roads. Getting further off the beaten path is the way it is going. I found this in Brunswick Pt. too. You stumble across people who are just sitting in the grasses and don't want to get their feet wet on the edge of the swamp.