txbowjunkie

personal bag limits and group hunting. Here in TX the regs state that your personal limit is 6 birds. Once you accumulate your bag, thats it, no more shooting.

The question I have is, what if you are hunting with a group? Do you think you should be allowed to continue shooting to help your partners fill their bags?

I personally think it should be alright so long as the group does not exceed the total limit of all participents and all birds are distributed equally.

This topic came up with some fellow waterfowlers the other day and I'm just curious to know how you all feel about it.

critch

It's a question of hunter ethics and integrity.

critch

A5Mag12

When limits are set, they take into account that most hunters will not get a full limit. There is no such thing as a group limit. What would be the difference in buying my wife a license and killing double my limit, get my mom one also and killing triple my limit, and so on, and so on. Or I'll go ahead and kill tomorrows limit today and sleep in. Or Jack was sick so I told him to just stay home and I would kill his limit for him.

You can spin it any way you want to convince yourself that you arn't really a law breaker. But the simple truth is that if you are killing over "your" limit, you are a poacher.

txbowjunkie

A5Mag12,

I hope you weren't implying that I am a poacher. If you read my post I didn't say I did it, I said that I think it should be alright. I also stated that the topic came up in a discussion about hunting regulations not an actual hunting situtation.

I am aware of how limits are set, and know there is no such thing as a group limit.

The difference in my opinion is that all of the group is hunting together in the same blind at the same time. All are licensed, thus each may take there alloted birds. What's wrong with continueing to shoot with your partners until they fill there bag?

G-Dawg_02

I am new to duck hunting, and I am a good shot. But if my buds have their limits, and I am minus two birds, and we are going to stay, I know that I am the one who wants to shoot my limit, and I think most of my friends feel the same way. If we are fortunate enough to get close to a limit, we want to be responsible for our own limits. Now where your group hunting comes in hand, is when you accidentally kill over your limit or more birds than are allowed in your bag. For instance, my friends first duck hunt, one friend killed two mallard hens. HE didn't know how to tell the birds apart yet, so I took one of his hens as mine. He now knows the importance of this, and the trouble it can get you in, and he is trying to learn to identify the birds while they are in the air. Another example is when I was hunting last year(my first year) and I killed two wood ducks with one shot, and I already had one. The bag for woodies here is two of either sex. So I exchanged a woody for a gadwall from a fellow hunting partner. I was shooting #3's with a modified choke, had no idea that I would kill both birds, but that is how it happened. As for shooting over my limit to fill a friends, I don't think it is right, because it takes their fun out of it. I don't want to go out and have my friends who might be in a better position, get to take their limits, and mine as well, that is not what I am there for, I want to have a good time, and try to get my own limit. I guess it depends on how the hunters in the group feel about it, but i believe it is illegal. I might do this sometime in my life, but right now, i am more concerned with killing more than 2 birds in a hunt. SO far, i have never been on any really good hunts.

jolle

I would never consider shooting over your limit legal or ethical. However, if in a group of people and shooting and everyone decides to divide the birds that dropped after they fell and each put them in their bag, then you shoot until you are full personally. For example, a flock of geese come in, 4 guys shoot, 4 birds drop, 2 guys missed, 2 guys doubled. If each man claims the birds he dropped, fine. But if you decide that each guy will claim a bird and everyone agrees, then the decision is made right there and cannot be changed thereafter. However, most people are more interested in killing and knowing they killed their own birds.

I have hunted with my little brother and taken other kids hunting numerous times and when the smoke clears, I always ask them how many they got and which ones they killed. I may know very well that I killed this bird or that, but I always let them claim them if they want and tell them they killed the bird to give them encouragement. As they get older, they get more particular about wanting to kill their own birds and know when they hit or missed. This and the previous situation are acceptable, but I don't think it is right to claim a full limit and continue to shoot birds to fill someone else's bag. That is illegal.

txbowjunkie

Jolle, you said more along the lines of what I was talking about, I was referring to splitting the birds. Even if one guy is shooting better. I'm not saying shoot a bag, then hunt more for them.

I'm talking about letting the steel fly and sort it all out at the end of the day, but the regs don't say that, so I wanted some others opinions.

A5Mag12

What I'm saying, is, if you have killed your six ducks and are still shooting, you are breaking the law. If five of you go hunting and four of you kill five ducks each and one of you make up the difference that would mean that one of you killed ten ducks. That person would be just as guilty, just as big a law breaker and just as unethical as a person who went out by himself and killed 10 ducks. Any way you look at it they both over harvested four ducks.

Yes there are instances where two people will pull on the same bird and both hit it at the same time. This bird must be added to someones bag limit. Generally the one with the fewest would be the norm. Any duck killed must be immediately claimed in someones bag limit. And legally that has to be the person that killed it.

DevilDawg

Okay, lets add a little twist to this. Remeber that Txbowjunkie was asking for OPINIONS not bashing.

You are finished with your hunt and you and your buddies all have their limits. On your way back to the launch you spot a downed bird in the corner of the cove. You paddle, or motor over to it and it is a banded Harlequin. What do you do, and remember that everyone with you already has their limit?