Shut It Down!

[Nab]

Ain't nothing gonna happen because of a few things - the main one being money - others are released birds and the fact that all we ever do is talk about change - hell we are never gonna get change until we start pounding the doors and phones of out legislators and nobody has shown that they will make this effort.
Our best shots I think are getting a reduced mallard season and limit - this will do a couple of things - get rid of alot of tamie operations, get rid of alot of tamie corn ponds - in other words allow Mother Nature to do her thing.
And we need our refuge system to be allowed to operate the way it should.
I am going to push for a 30 day season and 3 duck limit next year - what do ya'll think?

[choco-lab]

I think we should dig a canal 300ft. wide all the way to canada to help with the migration. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[GobblerHntr]

After what I witnessed this morning the only thing that needs shutting down is this thread! I'm not saying that duck hunting here in SC is the same as it was in it's heyday but I totally disagree with just "shut it down". I do agree that some things need to be changed but the one thing I think that has the most effect your not going to change, and that is the weather.

Just a piece of my $.02!

[HighVelocity28]

Shut it down! Are ya'll crazy? I been killin the shit out of the ducks all year. I've killed way more mallards than woodies, my bag has been mixed all year with only a few of the mallards being SCWA. I hunt a lot of private land, but the public land hasn't been bad either.

People have to realize the old days have gone. The climate is changing and the night lights are brighter.

FACE THE FACTS IF YOUR TIRED OF GOING AND NOT KILLING ANYTHING YOUR NOT IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

IF YOU think shutting down the season would help QUIT FUCKING HUNTING yourself or quit fucking complaining. DAMN!

On a lighter note, quite hunting in SC, save your money and go out of state. You don't have to go on guided hunts to kill ducks. I hunt way out of state every year on public land and steadily kill limits. One of my best hunts each year costs less than $400 for 4 full days of hunting on public land. This includes gas, hotel, license, shells, meals, everything.

Oh and remember Arkansas is not the only state with ducks. Not going to tell you where I go, but drive NW a long way and don't take more than 4 people with you. Research public land in different states besides Arkansas, because ARK has more public land hunting pressure than SC ever had time to have.

[stump-jumper]

You know I've read all the post on this thread and ONE of the biggest problems it seems to me is we cant agree on what the main problem is. But for my two cents worth we don't have the habitat that they do in other states. We also don't have the help of our goverment officials we pay way to much in taxes and with all the money raised by hunters the state doesn't do much for the hunter; Most wma fields are backed by larger corp. my daughter has been on several dove and deer hunts so called put on by the state but all have been set up by someone other the SCdnr. We need to lobbie for more habitat I wasn't around when the good old days of SC duck hunting where; but most times they talk about the refuge system and how the fields where filled with ducks. We may need to get back to that type of system and leave the ducks alone in them ie..(not hunting them or around them give them some peace) if we plant it and feed them they will come.

WE MAINLY NEED TO STICK TOGETHER NOT TEAR EACH OTHER DOWN... it wouldn't hurt either to contact our goverment officials and bend there ears also...

[Coot Slayer]

I hunt a lot of private land, but the public land hasn't been bad either.

Remshot#4 (aka Duck Assassin), that was all you had to say. Private land that is most of the time properly managed and is way more likely to hold ducks than public water. Oh and by the way, when tamie mallards do reproduce, they aren't hatched with pre-clipped toes and leg-bands. Look at the number of private clubs/ponds and the numbers taken there vs. the numbers taken by your average SC public hunter. The numbers are pathetic. People that own impoundments or that are members of clubs have the priveledge of hunting in an area that is managed. Public water doesn't have that mangagement. That is the purpose of this post, not some fluke hair of luck that you're having. When SC moves up to the top ten harvesting states in the country, then you can say that people are lazy and that the duck numbers are there.

I'm going out on a limb with the good ole days theory, and sure those days may be gone...but what is going to hurt to try to improve things. Sure the state would lose money and people would get pissed off. Change is never accepted well. Hell, even Nab's idea would be a great start. If we try these things and nothing improves, then you certainly would hear any b*tching from me about putting the season back the way it should be. We aren't going to slow down real estate development and we sure can't control the weather, but we can limit the amount of time that the birds are hunted/harrassed, and the number of ducks that are harvested. Worst case scenario, some birds won't get hunted...may imprint here, and then will bring some others back.

I say screw the '06' pond counts and USFW recommendations. 30/3 and noon cut-offs.

[Coot Slayer]

StumpJumper, you mentioned sticking together. I agree 100%. As far as getting in the face of legislators and officials that can make these changes happen, what do you suggest?

Is that the purpose of the Flyway counsel?

If not, I know there are people on the site with connections and knowlege of who to get in front of. But in order for it to be taken seriously, it's got to be all or not. Some of going all the way with this while others are riding the fence isn't going to work or even be taken seriously.

[stump-jumper]

Well I think for what its worth; we could compile a list of goverment officials that we could contact. Emails are easy, but there too are easy to blow off by the person that you send it too without them reading it. A petition always gets notice and if we where lucky enough for someone to be running for re-election or if we could get the ear of some up and coming hopeful then that would definitly be a plus. Even some of the big businesses that fund some of the private stuff we could contact them. I know theres a lot of folks that know people I for one do not but if I get there names I for one would be glad to contact them ( in a professional way and state my case.) Likes been said before you got to start somewhere.

[Krazy Plumber]

What the heck are you guys reading that causes you to come up with these strange suggestions? It's all pretty simple. Ducks only move south for one reason. FOOD! They don't care how cold it is. The only part of cold weather that motivates a duck to move south is the removal of access to food. If the food is frozen over or the snow is deeper than their eyeballs, then they will pick up and fly south until they find food. OK, lets see. What is missing from SC that use to pull the ducks here? Its small and white and rhymes with mice. Yep. RICE. Most of the rice plantations are GONE. Ever been to Arkansas? Did you notice all the fields full of RICE? Here's something to stoke your oven!

According to DU policy, 7% of the money raised in any given state is required to be spent in that state. Now, to me, that's a pretty small percentage, but that's not what has me hot. In 2005 the Arkansas DU chapter raised 1.2 million dollars, so one would assume that at least $84,000 was spent in Arkansas. Well, they actually spent a little extra in Arkansas in 2005. Lets say 45 times the required 7%. For those of you that flunked math, that would be 3.8 million dollars. Yes, 3.8 MILLION DOLLARS (some of which was rasied right here in good old SC) was spent in Arkansas in 2005. Now, before you going openning your pie-holes and spewing a bunch of shit my way, I don't know if the #'s above are true or not, but I do know that it came from the mouth of TWO Regional DU directors just two weeks ago. One RD was the Arkansas director and the other was from Kansas. And yes, I heard it FIRST HAND. That means with my own two ears. And no, I didn't over-hear it. It was an answer to me because I asked them both a question about how the DU money in each state is spent. The other parts of the equation that pissed me off were the repeated stories of shooting over the limit or pintails out of season or sneakin' lead shot and story after story after story of party after party after party with open bars and fancy food, all paid for out of funds donated to improve duck hunting. I was appalled, to say the least, and thankful that I only had to share a cabin with those bastards and not a blind. I will never donate another dime to Drunks Unlimited and I suggest you do some investigation and soul searching before you do.

[Krazy Plumber]

What the heck are you guys reading that causes you to come up with these strange suggestions? It's all pretty simple. Ducks only move south for one reason. FOOD! They don't care how cold it is. The only part of cold weather that motivates a duck to move south is the removal of access to food. If the food is frozen over or the snow is deeper than their eyeballs, then they will pick up and fly south until they find food. OK, lets see. What is missing from SC that use to pull the ducks here? Its small and white and rhymes with mice. Yep. RICE. Most of the rice plantations are GONE. Ever been to Arkansas? Did you notice all the fields full of RICE? Here's something to stoke your oven!

According to DU policy, 7% of the money raised in any given state is required to be spent in that state. Now, to me, that's a pretty small percentage, but that's not what has me hot. In 2005 the Arkansas DU chapter raised 1.2 million dollars, so one would assume that at least $84,000 was spent in Arkansas. Well, they actually spent a little extra in Arkansas in 2005. Lets say 45 times the required 7%. For those of you that flunked math, that would be 3.8 million dollars. Yes, 3.8 MILLION DOLLARS (some of which was rasied right here in good old SC) was spent in Arkansas in 2005. Now, before you going openning your pie-holes and spewing a bunch of shit my way, I don't know if the #'s above are true or not, but I do know that it came from the mouth of TWO Regional DU directors just two weeks ago. One RD was the Arkansas director and the other was from Kansas. And yes, I heard it FIRST HAND. That means with my own two ears. And no, I didn't over-hear it. It was an answer to me because I asked them both a question about how the DU money in each state is spent. The other parts of the equation that pissed me off were the repeated stories of shooting over the limit or pintails out of season or sneakin' lead shot and story after story after story of party after party after party with open bars and fancy food, all paid for out of funds donated to improve duck hunting. I was appalled, to say the least, and thankful that I only had to share a cabin with those bastards and not a blind. I will never donate another dime to Drunks Unlimited and I suggest you do some investigation and soul searching before you do.

[stump-jumper]

I will never donate another dime to Drunks Unlimited and I suggest you do some investigation and soul searching before you do.

I agree with you I don't agree with the boozes and party way DU raises money for the so called duck hunter. I for the life of me can't see how we can say things like don't drink and (drive, hunt, boat) but we turn our backs on it when its for raising money. I bet they say those things( booze,food) are donated but still the message it sents ain't the best. I know theres folk that will fall on both sides of the fence on DU. But for my money I'd rather see it go to delta waterfowl but even then I don't donate much to any. The wife get most of mine...( she deserves it)

[HighVelocity28]

I have mixed feelings about DU, but I like the magazine and I do know that some money, maybe only a little bit goes to saving duck habitat.

On the alcohol at banquets issue.

Answer me this what is the purpose of the local DU banquets? To RAISE MONEY.

Anyone who runs any type of fundraiser not just ones for the outdoorsman, will tell you that more money is raised when alcohol is served at these events.

I'm not a drunk or anything, but every fundraiser I've ever went to that didn't serve SUCKED!

[Krazy Plumber]

"The only way to improve public areas is to create WMA's where professionals can manage ducks according to their needs. Seasonal management can work and keep all disturbance to a minimum."

Their NEED is food. That's all that drives them. Yes, shooting at them will push them some where else, but only for a short time. If the food is there, they will come, and they will come back, even after being shot at. But you already know that from the experience in your private pond.

Look, Arkansas is a clear example. There is plenty of food and plenty of resting areas. That leads to plenty of ducks. SC doesn't have the ducks it had because it doesn't have the standing crops it had. That is THE ONLY reason we don't have ducks. You can bet the state of Arkansas has plans in place to insure that crops attractive to ducks continue to be planted. If SC wants to reap the benefits of real duck hunting, they will have to make it feasible for the farmers to grow what the ducks want. Can it be done? Hell yeah it can be done. If a bunch of broke, dumb ass Arkansas idiots can do it, surely a state that's 49th in education can. I mean DAMN, we're just as backasswards as they are. Drive thru both states. If not for our hills, we would look just the same. Broken down shacks, cars up on blocks, dead deer hauled around on the hoods of trucks when there is a perfectly good bed in the back. Come on, we're almost related.

Can we bring the ducks back here? Yes, but it will take 1)a BIG change in thinking and 2) a whloe lot of $$$$ and remember, its all about the crops. Ducks ain't going nowhere in big numbers without food. IF WE FEED THEM, THEY WILL COME! Screw spending lots of money on a fine place for them to nest. 80% of them don't make it out of the nest anyway. Large numbers nest up north, where they always have. Then when they can't access food there, during the winter, they move down south, WHERE THE FOOD IS!

Proper habitat be damned. You can spend millions building the best duck refuge in the world and if you ain't growing the food you may as well be throwing the money into the lake. On the other hand, if you kept a supply of food in the middle of the Walmart parking lot, they would come there to eat it.

What's it going to take to fix the problem? A change of thinking at the state house. They have the key to open the safe that hold the future of SC duck hunting and we have to convince them that SC duck hunting will eventually put more $$ in that safe than it will take out, and that's going to be a tough job.

Here's someting else to ponder though.

Yes, if we build it they will come, but not just the ducks. The hunters from all over the country will come, and they will have to for the program to work. We need their money flowing in to fund the program. So, bringing ducks back to SC is actually a double edged sword.

DO YOU REALLY WANT ALL THOSE SKY BUSTING MONKEYS COMING HERE TO AGGRAVATE YOUR DUCKS?

It will change..... and you might not like what it turns into.

[Rock & Rye]

Moved to the forum for this kind of shit.

[TRASHDUCK]

Coot, last time I looked your ass lives in Atlanta!!

[Duckman#1]

The only way to improve public areas is to create WMA's where professionals can manage ducks according to their needs.

<font size="-1" face="verdana,arial,helv">They need food! maybe some of the grass the did away with.

[CAMO SNOB]

BUY EXTRA SC DUCK STAMPS!!

I want more ducks as much as the next guy. If you want to help South Carolina's "duck problem" and you want your money to stay @ home where it belongs then buy more state duck stamps. If DU and Delta have all the money in the world it might not help SC, but if you buy extra STATE DUCK STAMPS it will. i am not saying don't send money to national conservation groups, but just give a little to the folks at home to. I value every duck I kill and pray for more. [img]graemlins/mallard.gif[/img]