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Run in with the guide service

1K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  decoydog 
#1 ·
I think that I have reached the point of deep frustration. Last year I took a trip up the basin to the Othello area to scout for my weekend hunt. I stopped on the side of a gravel road and glassed a flock of geese that were ready to land in a field. I always go out equiped with a cooler chest full of my own smoked salmon to offer as a trade to farmers for hunting their land. That was my intention, to find the land owner and ask permission. Just as my heart rate was starting to fall from watching the geese, two men in a new truck pull up behind me and got out. Now I am thinking to my self....WOW, the farmer came to me, now I don't have to find him. But not so fast. I also got out, and when I did, I noticed that these two guys were not in a good mood. In fact they were down right hostile. They drilled me with questions such as, and mind you I will keep the bad words out: What are you doing here? How many hunters are there in your party? What service are you with? Who do you think you are? Now mind you, these are the only things that I can tell you becuase of the profanity level. But when you grab me and tell me that I better watch what fencepost I am pissing on or I will get the butt end of the shot gun.... Well, lets just say after that, he was trying to pick him self off the gravel road. But I forgot about his friend who had moved in behind me. They left, and I found picking myself off the ground a real challenge. To top the day off, they keyed my truck. Gone are the days when you scouted for your own spot to hunt and asked permission I guess. Has it really gotten that bad that the services have scooped up all the good spots and to hell with your average hunter that wants to go out, not to makea living and a ton of money.... but he just wants a good hunt, good meat for at the most.........the cost of a smoked salmon.
 
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#3 ·
I spoke to the owner of the service during the DU banquet, and made a promise to him after his apology to me, not to run his service through the mud. Those characters that I had a run in with no longer work for them. The real meaning of this is the take over by large services at the expence of the average local hunter that cannot afford to compete with what the services are throwing at the landowners. Money and other perks can be a powerful lure to the landowners who are struggling to make a living these days with the price of diesel, the cost of equipement(purchase, and maintainance), and the low prices they get for their crops due to free trade, and open markets. Please understand why I did not name the service, but I know you, Ram 98, can take a wild guess and be correct.
 
#4 ·
You should spill the name out there as that kinda of stuff is going on over there all the time. I had a run in with an independent of over there last year tring to tell me that he had this land leased up and it was public land. the next morning did not go over well as my partners and I were there before he showed up with his paying clients. No punched were throwen but he did vow to take revenge if he got the chance. I have never payed to hunt over on that side as there is plenty of good places to hunt, but as we speak some big guide service is takiing land away from us freelance hunters as we speak. It wont be long before we will no longer be able to hunt and it will not be the librals stopping us but the greedy people that we now hunt with.....
 
#5 ·
Ironic. The liberals are the ones in favor of public land, but it's the conservatives who force us off of it. Ok, I'll keep politics out of it. Please tell Ram 98 if you know. This is not right. I think this kind of behavior by others is the one thing that will drive me out of the sport. I had a gun pulled on me last year because I beat someone to a blind. I'm not sure if the county mounties ever caught up with them, but I sure hopes what comes around goes around in this case.
 
#6 ·
Sorry to hear about you run-in's. I guess i'm pretty lucky as to not have that happen to me yet. In those situations, let the law earn thier pay. Make sure you report all and any type of violations and incounters to the authorities, WDFW and the local Law Enforcement, they're here to help.

WDFW is developing a new initiative to give incentives to farmers and land owners to open their lands to public use, maybe this will help us freelance hunters.
 
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