[hkdonfishn]

Who here as experienced hunters walking into the woods to find a spot on stockings days instead of just waiting in the parking lots till 8am or sunrise. I would think this is illegal because by law the WMA are closed on till 8am on November 11th through Nov 12th at 8am so technically they should not be walking into the woods till 8am. I hate when this happens cause they walk into the woods kicking up birds on there way in get to a spot where they dump the birds wait till 8 and start shooting and half the time the shot is coming your way as you are walking in up the the spot these jerk offs walked to at 7am in the morning. I have seen this in Berkshirevally and Whittingham and I think it should be stopped. I don't find this to be hunting nor do I see it as being legal as they entered the woods before the WMA's opened for the pheasant season or the sun up shooting times. Plus it is very Dangerous cause there are people who do wait legally in the parking lot and walk up as these a holes are shooting down at you. The only way to avoid this is to be an hole so you don't get shot and you at least get a chance to see or shoot a bird. If you wait in the parking lot by the time you get to where they dumped the birds the spot is all shot up cause they walked up there before shooting time and sat on top of them. I don't know maybe it is just me but I think we all should wait in the parking areas till it is time to hunt. Sorry if I offended anyone but it is just how myself and allot of others feel.[mad]

 

[TJC]

First let me say that I always wait at the end of the fields up at Flatbrook.

But, I don't see much difference between the guy who walks in the woods to get to a treestand with a bow BEFORE the legal shooting time and the guy who walks in with an empty gun to take up a position in another area before the shooting time.
I'm not saying it's right, ethical or anything, I just don't see a difference. Unless there is something spelled out in the F&G Code (I've never looked) I don't see a difference.

What I don't like is having someone see that you are waiting to enter a field at the legal shooting time with another person or 2 along with dog(s) and they just cut right in front of you. Especially at Flatbrook where some of the fields are narrow. It hasn't happened often, but I've seen it and had it happen to me once or twice.

 

[broncosbp]

Whats worse is when some idiot with an untrained dog lets his dog run wild in front of you flushing all the birds in the area. This same jerk from PA comes down to Peasleys every year in Millville with his dog who is clueless kicking up all the quail in the area. Now that guy needs to be in the parking lot for the first hr.!!

 

[hkdonfishn]

It is different then a bow hunter that has to take stand because that is the way that hunting take place. Pheasant hunting is a flush you don't have to get into the woods settle in and wait. You have to flush the birds. What happens when people are up in the woods is the happen to shoot towards the people who actually waited. I just find no need to go up in the woods and stand on top of the birds till it is shooting time it is kinda greedy if you ask me because there are allot of ethical hunters that sit and wait while the rest of them are standing on the birds waiting till the sun to come up. This is not deer hunting or turkey hunting it is pheasant hunting. And the rules do say the WMA's are closed till 8am on opening day and closed till sunrise on stocking days. So technically the rules a written in the guide. People just chose to think this only means no shooting til it is time. Like I said this is only my opinion and I find it unsafe as people walking in are shooting towards people who have already walked in and the ones who walked in early are shooting towards the people walking in at the legal times. Just a bunch of BS if you ask me. This is not hunting it is a competition to these people they want to be the first in and out and don't feel like looking for there birds cause they are not hunters.

 

[JERSEY BOB]

Sorry...I think the bow/deer and gun/pheasant analogy is BS...

I've asked C.O.s..You can be IN YOUR STAND before legal hunting hours (1/2 hr. before sunrise) and knock an arrow @ first light.

That said, there is a difference between hunting tame birds and wild deer.

 

[Matty]

This is why I could never get into this type of hunting.

Too much non-sense. Guys running everywhere, dogs everywhere, people shooting in every direction.....Not my idea of peace and relaxation. I witnessed it first hand last year, and it was chaos. I wouldnt be able to enjoy myself.

Put a bow in my hand, my butt in a tree, and let me relax by myself in the middle of the woods waiting for a deer. Ahhhh....I can hear the squirells rustling the leaves, the alarm chirp of a chipmunk alerted to the steady gait of leaves crunching as a buck makes his way into view..... NOW THAT IS RELAXING!!!![up][up]

Im not sure how you guys do it, but have fun tomorrow![up]

 

[TJC]

Don't get me wrong, I bow hunt too and I'm not saying what these people do is right. But, if the WMA's are closed until legal hunting hours, that would be closed until all legal hunting hours. That means guys going in an hour or so before sunrise would be in violation. Just giving food for thought.
You are right. There are some people there for killing and not hunting. That's their problem as long as they do it safely around me.
Personally I don't think it should be legal to shoot a bird on the ground. It's unsafe no matter how safe someone is on the WMA's. Too many people, not enough clear sight through the hedge rows etc. But that's just my opinion.

That's why most of my bird hunting is done on private property/gun clubs. I only venture onto WMA's on Tues and Thurs or late in the afternoon. I've been hunting Flatbrook for the last 5 years and have found it to be pretty reasonable for the most part.

 

[hkdonfishn]

Personally I don't think it should be legal to shoot a bird on the ground

This is true also but alot of times stocked birds don't fly I have shot them on the ground only after not being able to get them to fly. I also will only take the shot when safe. As for the WMA's being closed this only pertains to small game and the pheasant stocking. The WMA's are open during the bow seasons. Except where permit bow and the pheasant season overlap then same rules apply to bow hunters.

 

[Dave2122]

I gave up on hunting Pheasant after I had a bird take off 2 feet in front of me and a guy 20 yards away shot the bird and me. My brother almost caved the guys skull in.

 

[Matty]

Except where permit bow and the pheasant season overlap then same rules apply to bow hunters.

No rules apply to bowhunters because of pheasant season. We can go about our normal routine. Even the day before, when they stock, the WMA's are only closed to firearms. Not bowhunting.

I was bowhunting last year in Black River and saw the guy stocking pheasants. He waved and yelled out something like "you better get one before the crowds come tomorrow. LOL" He was right, I had never hunted a stocked WMA on opening day of pheasant, I'll just say it was an unpleasant surprise when 8am rolled around....I had no idea that many people would actually be there...

 

[hkdonfishn]

I hate that kind of crap this happens because we get guys up here from the city who are just out for the kill and have no clue what hunting is about. They think I have a gun and I paid for a license and that make me a killer so I am going to shoot whatever no matter who is in the way or could get shot as well. All the want is a bird and don't care how they get it. If I did not love bird hunting so much I would stop also. Makes me sick seeing what these people think is hunting. [mad][down]

 

[mpemt24]

Sean, I was just thinking about this actually. To be honest I see them as blockers. They use them our west. If the birds fly towards them and it is safe to shoot, then so be it. I see it as just another stategy.

 

[Jim in Byram]

Many of the comments made here are the reasons I stopped hunting the "state grounds" many years ago. I refuse to be shot for a bird.

Hell, at the Black River grounds a game warden used to blow a whislte for the different waves of hunters to enter the "killing zone". That was enough to stop my hunting there.

I recall hunting Black River with a co-worker and his dog one morning. We came up to the top of a small rise, heard a shot and then the sound of pellets flying over head. Yea, they whistle as they go by. We went the other way and that was my last time there.

Just last year I went back to hunting the "state grounds" namely the Flatbrook area with Brother TJC and his dogs.

I would not even consider hunting on a Saturday or better yet, opening day. We hunt every Tuesday and Thursday and normally limit out.

For the most part the group that hunts there is a good one. Friendly guys who say good morning and ask how you've been since the previous day out. Nice to be out there with a friendly bunch of hunters.

There was one guy (AH) last year who had an obviously untrained dog that ranged out about 75 yds. ahead of him running all over the place. Also, he did something that I would not do and that was to bring a very small boy, I presume his son, with him just to tag along.

TJC and I are usually two of the very first hunters at the Flatbrook. We normally pick the same field each time, most guys that hunt there do. Everyone seems to understand that the "eary bird" gets the spot they want to hunt. According to the size of the field, normally the guys see what fields will safely accept a certain number of hunters. Not this AH, he came late, didn't know what in the Hell was going on and pushed his way right into a field that safely, can accomodate two hunters with two dogs.

This AH took a shot at a bird out so far that his untrained dog flushed that would have required a 12 ga. 3" #4 or 2 shot to bring down with a full choked gun!

That being said, I see no reason to enter a pheasant stocked area earlier that the legal shooing time. Come on guys, it's only a pheasant, not an 8 point buck!

For safety concerns on "state grounds", I also see no reason to shoot at a pheasant on the ground. Where we hunt up on the Flatbrook, there is way too much of a chance of pellets skipping or ricocheting and hitting another hunter. Again, it's only a damn pheasant!

Hey, hunt safely and I hope everyone gets his/her limit to help pay for that $40 pheasant stamp.

 

[rutnbk]

HOW DO YOU GUYS FEEL ABOUT SHOOTING THEM OUT OF TREES, BEFORE THEY GET OFF THERE ROOST, LAST YEAR IN BLACK RIVER THERE WERE 9 BIRDS STILL IN THE TREES WHEN PEOPLE SHOT THEM JUST WONDERING WHAT YOU THINK?[confused]

 

[JERSEY BOB]

I'm 100% with Matty on this one. In fact I asked the C.O. and the F&G employees at Black River a couple of years back to get my clarification above on being on stand in a WMA that stocks pheasants.

Lets just say I ain't doing THAT again!

 

[Jersey B du B]

Shooting them out of trees is the same as shooting them on the ground -- it's not hunting. If killing is something is all that you're after, go shoot a hamster in a fishtank, or a parakeet in a cage...

 

[Deerseason Widow]

Sorry, again watching the hunter education video last night/this am...you do not shoot bird in trees or on the ground....ethically the bird should be in flight.

This seems like a very dangerous sport with too many "loose cannons" out there not thinking before they shot. Too many people in one area, not caring about "knowing their target and what is beyond!

 

[Dave2122]

To shoot a bird on the ground or in a tree is UNETHICAL. This is supposed to be a SPORT. the bird takes off and you use your skills to take the bird in flight. It is an unfotunate fact that most of the "Game Hogs" Just blast away and ruin it for the guys that are true to the sport.

I gave up the sport even though I LOVE hunting Pheasant and watching a dog work an area and seeing a bird flush is exciting stuff. I now spend my time trap shooting or skeet shooting to replace some of the thrill I had for hunting birds. It isnt the same but at least I wont loose my eye or be difigured from some unethical "Game Hog".

 

[imb21]

well, today was my first day hunting Pheasant in NJ. Let me tell you it sucks!! [down]

I am from PA, and there you hunt fields, and thick brush, not the woods. In the woods you have a better chance of getting peppered or rained on. why doesnt the fish and game cut some fields or make some, they are better habitat for the birds and also safer for hunters and their dogs!!

 

[almech55]

I gave up on this so called hunting. Too many people, not enough birds. By the way Black River WMA is just about the worst. If you want to enjoy a better day afield than give the DWGNRA a try. There is more land and at least you can hunt without being so crowded.