# Poor Etiquette. Another Hunter took a pheasant Finn had been working.



## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Finn and I were out yesterday working on a few things that have slipped.
Finn has decided that he doesn't have to listen, and come when called, so it was back on the check cord for him. I really thought I'd get through the season without hunting on the check cord, but, oh well. It was a good time while it lasted.
I was following Finn through the nasty stuff, as he was working a rooster pheasant. I'd heard it call and knew Finn was locking it down, but I could not get up that slippery sloped hill as fast as Finn could. I was kind of "duck walk", stooped, running up the hill, slipping on wet leaves, and moss covered rocks. I couldn't stand up.
Finn's bell went silent, and then he moved, and then silent again, so I knew the pheasant was running on the ground, and Finn was relocating with it. Next thing I know a shotgun goes off from the top of the hill, about 50'. I went running up the hill to make sure that Finn was okay, and there's a guy with the rooster.
At first I thought that Finn had busted it, and the guy was just lucky. in the right place at the right time. Then he proceeds to compliment me on Finn's work. He tells me Finn was right on the pheasant the whole time, and met him at the downed bird, after he shot it!! I was stunned!!! I really was sort of speechless. I was tired, out of breath, relieved, and I had to go back in the nasty stuff to get my shotgun.
My first priority was Finn, and I think I was just glad the idiot didn't shoot him too, so I just sort of walked away with Finn. After wards it really started to steam me. I really don't care about the pheasants. I've given away all of the birds Finn and I have taken this year, but what really started making me angry was that this guy shot the bird, without a clue to my position!! No way he could have known my position, relative to Finn and the bird!!
I love this sport/pastime. I truly do, but sometimes!!!!
For all the folks hunting here on the forum. Be safe my friends. there are folks out there, that shouldn't be out there.

I'll chose to focus on the positives for the day, or it cold ruin the whole season to date for me to dwell on it. Finn worked a rooster through some really tough cover, never lost it, didn't bust it, relocated his point only when necessary, was steady to the wing, but not so much after the shot, marked the fall in dense cover, and didn't maul the bird. Oh yeah, he had also been much, much better, on the recall and staying close. The check cord will come off, but it may be a few weeks.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

It's the biggest reasons I hunt private land.
And why I refuse to do guided hunts for some people.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Texas Red
I'm going to be looking into a couple of private shooting preserves here in New England. I think the peace of mind will be worth the seasonal cost.
Hopefully this is a "one off" experience because so far Finn's work this season, his first, has exceeded my expectations.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Glad you both are safe, yuck, this sounds upsetting and very scary. 

and well, getting forward and then backwards some steps, we all have done it and will do, Finn is young, not only still learning the `trade` but also still developing as a dog. I know you know it and he will become a great bird dog.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

Upsetting experience and extremely poor ethics. One would think that if they see a dog out on some grounds and no owner in site, that the owner would have to be lurking somewhere. Shooting while not knowing how the dog will react or where people are in the direct vicinity is extremely dangerous.

Were you hunting on a release site?

Where I live, upland is mostly on crown land in thick cover off logging roads or open hilly grassland where you can see a mile away so it is very easy to avoid people; there's a release site nearby that I avoid for similar issues that you discussed. Impossible to change people, but if it was a release site and you pay to use it, I would definitely complain... if not, just another place to avoid.

Your anger is 100% justified.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

OrganicThought.

No, it was not on a paid release site. It is basically "public access land". We also have "preserves", which are privately owned, and you do have to pay for a reserve date at one of those facilities.
In Connecticut we have what are called WMA's, Wild life Management Areas. These areas are open to all residents, and controlled by the state, and the Department of Environmental Protection. During hunting season they are open to hunting, and the state releases pheasants throughout the first 6-8 weeks of the season. They will release approximately 20,000 pheasants this year.
To hunt on them you need to have a hunting license, attended a DEP Hunter Conservation Course, a State Certificate for hunting upland birds, and if you hunt waterfowl on them, you need the state waterfowl permit, and the Federal Duck Stamp.
Hunting pheasant on these areas is only slightly more sporting than shooting chickens in a barnyard. Most of use them to train a new dog, or tune your dog up for a trip to Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont to hunt Grouse.
The particular area _I _was in is "generally" pretty safe to run a young dog, so what happened caught me by surprise more than anything. It was later that I got pretty steamed about it. Mostly because of Finn. 
The state will stop releasing pheasants hereby the end of this week, or next, and then a core group of us will have the area to ourselves until the end of February to continue to train our dogs.
One of the guys actually raises pheasants, and I will release quail. We'll get a dozen or so Chukars and be able to continue working with our dogs. The "retriever folks" will start coming in to use the long fields to get their dogs ready for a trip down south to hunt ducks. They're pretty cool to watch. They have some really elaborate dummy launcher systems. I love watching their dogs work. Nice folks too.
Connecticut does a pretty good job with their WMA's and State Parks. It is actually a very heavily forested state, with lots of dense underbrush capable of supporting wildlife. If they would make it easier for us to get rid of the predators, we could probably bring back the wild birds, but that it a separate subject unto itself.
Someday I would like to hunt an area where the visibility was wide open, and a full choke required, but in most of the areas I go to, the woods are too thick. A shotgun choked Improved Cylinder/Modified, is about all you need for upland birds here.
We take the good with the bad, and just try to be safe.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

this is why we prefer driven shoots rather than walked up shoots, but surely even on walked up shoots you still need to be aware of where everyone one else is?


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Harrigab

Yes, you absolutely should be aware of where the other hunters are at.
It's not easy at times, because everyone leaves at different times, from different locations, as this is not an organized event. Still, you don't shoot, if you don't know.
In the 40 seasons of hunting I've had, the negative experiences have been three, counting this one. The others;
I had shot rained down on me from about 200 yards away when someone shot a pheasant in the middle of a field. A shot that couldn't possibly be made with a shotgun due to the range. It was over two decades before I went back to that WMA.
The state messed up and allowed the bow hunters to be in the trees without any orange on, but the bird hunters were in orange on the ground. A pheasant went up, and just about where I was going to pull the trigger, a deer hunter in "Tree Bark Camo", about 15 feet off the ground, started screaming and waving his arms. That was the end of that day. I didn't go back in the woods for a week, until everyone had to be in orange.
I have met so many nice people hunting. Many I do not even know their names. I've helped people get their first bird, tracked down crippled birds, and deer, for folks, retrieved birds that went down in water, and just had some generally good conversation, and shot nothing. I enjoy it.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

harrigab said:


> this is why we prefer driven shoots rather than walked up shoots, but surely even on walked up shoots you still need to be aware of where everyone one else is?


You absolutely need to know where every person, and dog is located. 
It's like taking a stroll with your dog, and you have 2-4 armed hunters following you.
You dog goes on point, you make sure everyone is in the correct position. Barrels are always up, and they only go from up, to being shouldered. Guns should only be taken off safety, when shouldered. You are walking in and flush the birds, for them to shoot. This put you, and your dog in front of the shooters.

I've had a pheasant fly straight up my leg, and body. At my age, I can hit the ground a lot faster, than I can get up. No one shot until the bird had cleared me, but I wasn't taking any chances.

I only hunt private land for game birds, and know who is in the field. 
Game wardens are called, if anyone is in the field that should not be.

Although I have had strong words, with someone that wanted to cross one of the fields as a shortcut. They decided it was in their best interest to leave, before trespassing charges were filed.


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