I was out this morning well before shooting light setting up my decoys, with two minutes before LST i saw a boat heading my way. I proceeded to yell, flash my light, and make myself seen. After running my decoys over, I was assuming they would leave. However, they set 50 yards from me and ruined my hunt. I am curious if there is a certain distance they must be away. I have never seen something this absurd before so just wanting input.

That sucks! I don’t know of any distance between hunters rules

Can't fix stupid.

Sounds like my hunt Tuesday, except they were about 75 yards away and bumpin lil Wayne all morning during shooting light

Welcome to public hunting in Texas.

I've decided I'm done hunting public and if I can't find somewhere to hunt private then I'm done all together...hunting should be enjoyable and I about lose my forking mind over a deal like that...mainly because I wouldn't do that to someone and I don't expect others to do it to me. Good luck!

Judd. You ain't hunting anything colder than 60 and warmer than 65 your just done. Don't be blaming nothing else. You ain't ever dealt with any debacle on public.

I quit hunting public for that reason. Especially weekends. Had many people get mad i got to a spot before them then they would set up close by and shoot up in the air when i would have ducks working.

I was blessed with the opportunity to deal with that aswell except it was a shot over my to a bird i had decoying, thats when saftey came over birds and i decided to leave by 7:30

I may be a little biased, but that sure seems like it constitutes hunter harassment.

That was my thought too, but, with having to be somewhere early, i warned the hunters who i see often that if they do it again i will be calling the warden

Thats the reason I don't hunt public any more

Yeah, you're right

I will say that if they had done me that way, I would've attempted to talk to them nicely before legal. But if they blasted at a duck I have working....my goal switches from killing ducks to making sure neither one of us get a single duck. I hate guys like that with a passion.

Im sorry, I thought you were welcoming me over with your light this morning.

I have forwarded this to Dick Chaney. He supposedly has some information about how close you should be to another hunter.....

Oh it does. I’m convinced the second hardest thing to do in this country is get a warden to a.) actually be present and then b.) actually do anything about it. You can call and call and call and won’t ever speak to a soul.

I called a warden and was told he could do nothing unless he was there to witness it happen otherwise it was my word vs theirs. He said he would keep an eye out but i don't think he would waste his time riding around in the boat when he can be lazy and wait at the ramps to check people. Maybe its different now but when i used to duck hunt public, i never once saw a warden while actually hunting. They were waiting for you at the ramps.

It use to be 200 yards.... not sure if they still enforce that.

In S. Louisiana marsh, we would spread out before daylight ---------- if anyone tried to get within a couple hundred yards, we would begin cursing our buddies and shooting at each other, sometimes bringing out a 22 pistol and using that. The unwelcome hunters would always leave before our wrath was turned on them. At daylight we would regroup and get in our blinds.

WTH...he runs over your blocks and then set up 50 yards from you. Did you happen to say anything to them after they ran over your decoys? Don’t think I could have sat there and not said anything after that.

The same kinda thing happened to me on Livingston about 20+ yrs ago buy a guy in an air boat, but he didn’t hang around. He came flying into the cove and was all upset we beat him to “his” spot so he cussed us out saying it was his hole and he’s been hunting there all his life...then drove his boat right over our decoys and blew them all over the place. He turned the fan our way and about blew our hats off as he roared out. Lots of brave idiots out there.

Genius. I've heard the spreading out theory, but not the fake fight.

2 minutes before legal time so you had your gun in hand and loaded? Their in a boat so I'm sure their guns were cased....sounds like a good time to walk over to them and lay down some dam law. I'm not sure what the outcome would have been but I can dam well tell you they would not have hunted in that spot if I had been in your shoes that morning. But the thing is I hunt public exclusively and I do not have these problems. I get the accasional guy who comes in late looking for a spot and if its an opener or weekend I half expect it. But once the season is underway and all the shenanigans is gone for the most part these types of occurrences are rare for me. All you guys who gave up public for this reason I can only figure you were setting up all the time in spots I probably avoid anyways.

Used to be on Corp property it was 200 yds but then they stopped allowing permanent blinds that all went out the window. Besides half the fools cannot judge distance or they wouldn't be shooting at ducks 250 yds away.

Shoot in their direction, if they get peppered they know they are too close. Works pretty good.

Run through my decoys and stop 50 yards away, and I guarantee we'll be having a face-to-face chat, and I'll further guarantee you ain't shooting a single bird all morning, not as long as my #3's are raining down on you every time a bird is within 100 yards...