MS Outdoors TV Pursuit channel

[LODI QUACKER]

[Bullet]

[LODI QUACKER]

"Theres no secrets. And also no secret conspiracy to ruin duck hunting within the state."

He eh eh, I am sure that is 100 percent accurate, but its exactly what is happening. In my opinion of course.


Its over, the heavily regulated ones are garbage and the others are just picking up the additional pressure from the people who feel just like me, which in turn makes them garbage and subject to the same regulations.

Im done with this one fellows I will just watch and read what yall have to say.

[RiverDuck]

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"...I think that about sums it up!

[TODO]

Never duckhunted a WMA so i dont have a dog in that hunt. One things for sure. . . you can raise all the hell you can muster on the internet and its not gonna do much good. Write a letter or pick up the phone, much more effective.

[DUCK-HUNT]

[gator]

in 2006 (or '07, can't remember, will have to pull my journals down) me and a friend of mine went up to montana for 1.5 weeks of hunting ducks and upland birds. this was my second year in a row to make the 29 hr journey. the first year we hit things perfectly, arriving before a huge clipper in which i saw for the first time (and, maybe the only time i'll ever witness such - the Grand Passage). it was an awe inspiring experience that i couldn't wait to see again........i didn't, as we missed the "weather" and arrived to near 70 degree temps with birds well north of us still in Canada.

after 3 days of hard hunting which saw little by way of return, we turned my truck south through montana, wyoming, and colorado making a few phone calls to some contacts i have out that way. as we turned east in Denver, i called up my buddy who is an ER doc in columbia, missouri who quickly told us to "come on". we arrived some many hours later and followed them to Grand Pass CA - a famed waterfowl location in missouri - which was part of the "draw system" up there.

i had trepidations about the deal from the start but was running short on time and options, so we sat in line, heard the story, drew the "pills" and drew high, meaning we got a really nice spot to hunt. at the time, and per the officer running the "show" they were averaging almost 4 birds per hunter per hunt. we set up in our designated "pool" and the hunt started.........we did WELL, but only after the group behind us had limited out. we still, even with a "draw system" had to deal with sky blasting, close hunters, unruly dogs, shouting humans, etc etc etc.....but, the sheer number of birds made it worthwhile.

that went on for another 2 days with greenhead limits for our party of 4 (the max you could hunt) and a nice mix of greenwings and pintails to round out the limits......i mean, i have not seen that many birds in one location at any point in my career best i could tell. the third day, our host and myself both killed banded greenheads - my first in many many years.

admittedly, i began to think the whole thing wasn't that bad......i mean, we were WAXING birds despite a fair amount of commotion and folks hunting "close" to us, flaring as many birds from there shots as we were able to get into range.

my initial fears were realized and infinitely increased on the last day.........the day before, the bird per man average was nearing 5 and it was pretty much a given that you "just had to draw high enough to get onto the place." we were 3 for 3, i had heard the same dude say the same 30 min "speech" for 3 days so i started looking around. my eyes fell on two young fathers with their sons, both around 10-12 years old, both head to toe in hunting gear, including waders, a neck full of calls, and a face so full of smiles i kept watching them.........i remembered my own youth and the excitement i used to feel when me and my daddy went hunting together.

there were 22 open "pools" and for all intended purposes we drew 23, keeping us out........it pissed me off, but what was worse was that group of 2 daddies and 2 boys didn't draw high enough.

i had to watch those two dad's tell their little boys they couldn't hunt that day, and i had to stomach the tears streaming down their little faces. i CAN NOT imagine how those two daddy's felt.

we left and drove up to fountain grove CA..........we were 2 hours late for the "draw" but got in on standby - the birds weren't using it, thus the hunters weren't there, they were at grand pass. we killed 2 birds and came home.

i drive when i travel, b/c if i'm going to be in a vehicle that long, i might as well be driving.....that leaves alot of time to think. the mood was pretty somber as i got to thinking about the past week. i had several epiphanial thoughts as i drove.

one was, you can't legislate stupid....meaning, sky busting, loud mouth, irreverent hunters are going to be sky busting, loud mouth, irreverent hunters regardless of any draw.

two being - i hadn't been "hunting" as much as i had spent a week at a fast food joint. I waiting in line and hoped my order was right when it came to my table.

three being (and, in my opinion the most disturbing of it all was) - i wonder what those boys did that day. i wonder if i can count on those boys being there in the future when laws come to vote FOR HUNTING or FOR GUN OWNERSHIP or anything of the like, or did those two go home, pic up the xbox and take on something a bit more "reliable"? i dunno. what i do know is they learned nothing about conservation that day. they learned nothing about how to "do it right" when in the outdoors and they learned nothing about being a good steward to the land and resource.

that last bit still bothers me on a deeply visceral level. i continually wonder when the time is going to come for my own daughter and son (he's due this may) to go hunting and will i have to tell two excited children "we can't go today b/c we weren't 'lucky' enough."

say what you want, but in this day and time, i find it despicable to know that our "department" is following the path that could eventually, in any number of ways, push kids, our future, AWAY.

are Polles and the various other commissioners "good people"? don't know, don't care. should he be celebrated b/c he's lasted as long as he has? can't see why, as i read all the time on here how obama will survive 4 more years and ain't many on here singing his praises. they are, by way of their decisions, making the states hunting resources in which the citizens of this state fund difficult to count on for hunting/sporting enjoyment........thus, in my mind, that makes them not "an" enemy but THE enemy.

after reading this thread i am left to believe that a simple "letter" or email carries more weight than some message board......and, i have to wonder why? my name is attached to it - justin harrison of brandon, ms - and my phone number, email address and physical address can be found any number of ways. thusly, my disgruntlements and concerns are noted as well. i'm not going waste my time describing again what i find detestable when, by all estimations, no one cares to hear about. conjecture, yes? educated guess probably REAL close to the truth, certainly.

the "show" that i'm sure will be just wonderful for our state does nothing but further show me that our resources be it ducks, geese, deer, turkey, etc etc are nothing more than a dollar sign and decimal point to those in the "charge of making decisions".

there are a LOT of things right in this world, in this state, and concerning this state's hunting heritage.......draws, unfortunately, aren't one of them. they are a blight, a cancer, a bad chapter in a book i wish someone would turn damn page on.

sincerely, justin harrison

[greenheadgrimreaper]

Hear Hear!

[mudsucker]