Sunday waterfowl

[dannyp]

let's hope , would double my season .

 

[730waters]

The Sundays that are approved for waterfowl hunting will reduce the season. Right now we have 30 days that runs to the end of January. So, if you have 5 or 6 Sundays to hunt, the season will end 5 to 6 days earlier in January. The main push of geese and ducks are just starting to migrate down now with the cold weather up north. It would suck to have the cold weather push them down and the season is over. I fthey go back to 45 days and 1 bird, then it would work out fine.

 

[Jerry M]

Don't hold your breath...

 

[Archeryrob]

The Sundays that are approved for waterfowl hunting will reduce the season. Right now we have 30 days that runs to the end of January. So, if you have 5 or 6 Sundays to hunt, the season will end 5 to 6 days earlier in January. The main push of geese and ducks are just starting to migrate down now with the cold weather up north. It would suck to have the cold weather push them down and the season is over. I fthey go back to 45 days and 1 bird, then it would work out fine.

No matter what is done everyone will never be happy!!

Open Sundays and the regular working man will be happier, but the seasonal workers that get to hunt all winter will be angry for the shorter season. Even though they get to hunt 27 of the 30 days and the regular guy gets 4 to 6 Saturdays in that season. I don't buy the birds need a day off, I buy the the guys that hunted all week, need a day off and don't want to waste any and he is wore out.

It has been warmer and the birds show up later in recent years. So if we push the season back January in to February, so you can hunt when the birds are here. Then we get a cold year, or years, and birds come in November/December and move through to Virginia to North Carolina and guys will be screaming about how the DNR F'd them over and the couldn't hunt when the birds were here. Back to my original statement.

What I have learned over the years is Hunters are on both sides of every issue and would rather fight each other than work together. Be it Sunday hunting, blind sites or anything else. These things are emotional issues for people and they get irrational about them. Guys abandoned MDWFA and swore to never support them again because they would not fight tooth and nail and burn Senators and Delegates to get blind site laws changed. You tell them about Riparian right and land owners get first choice by law. They don't care and expect you to fall on the sword and destroy any creditably the organization could have in the future and destroy all good will and working relationship you have with Senators and Delegate to give them their one issue. Do the right thing and someone will still want to see you hang for it. Back to my original statement

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

The only way you would “lose days” is is some counties prohibit Sunday hunting for waterfowl. 45 days is 45 days. It will span a shorter distance on the calendar, but your average hunter will see their opportunity double.

How many times has a Saturday not been good for you to hunt either because of other commitments or weather but the Sunday would have been ideal?

 

[Song Dog]

The only way you would “lose days” is is some counties prohibit Sunday hunting for waterfowl. 45 days is 45 days. It will span a shorter distance on the calendar, but your average hunter will see their opportunity double.

How many times has a Saturday not been good for you to hunt either because of other commitments or weather but the Sunday would have been ideal?

When GA passed Sunday deer hunting not all counties joined and opted out via "Home Rule" clause while some joined the legislation years later to reduce deer populations. So here's the Sad or Bad news, if SB 160 passed and Counties did opt out you would still need to pursue USFWS for Sunday hunting frame works losing the "compensatory days". The Feds won't grant both, its one or the other so those opted out counties will have fewer days afield for the number of Sunday's in the season frame work.

So don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

 

[Song Dog]

When GA passed Sunday deer hunting not all counties joined and opted out via "Home Rule" clause while some joined the legislation years later to reduce deer populations. So here's the Sad or Bad news, if SB 160 passed and Counties did opt out you would still need to pursue USFWS for Sunday hunting frame works losing the "compensatory days". The Feds won't grant both, its one or the other so those opted out counties will have fewer days afield for the number of Sunday's in the season frame work.

So don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

Ask yourself this question when Sunday deer hunting passed its was private land only ........................ so what happens if that occurs again ?

 

[gtodave]

Seriously does no one else read all the thread here?

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

When GA passed Sunday deer hunting not all counties joined and opted out via "Home Rule" clause while some joined the legislation years later to reduce deer populations. So here's the Sad or Bad news, if SB 160 passed and Counties did opt out you would still need to pursue USFWS for Sunday hunting frame works losing the "compensatory days". The Feds won't grant both, its one or the other so those opted out counties will have fewer days afield for the number of Sunday's in the season frame work.

So don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

That’s exactly what I said. If Sunday waterfowl hunting passes and some counties opt out, then hunters in those counties will lose days. Hunters in the counties that don’t opt out will not lose days.

It is for this reason that I think Sunday waterfowl hunting will have to be an “all or nothing” proposition.

With Sunday deer, turkey and small game hunting those Sundays were truly additional days since the outside dates didn’t change. The hunters in counties like mine that won’t allow it didn’t lose any days. We just didn’t gain any

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

The two Sunday waterfowl hunting threads should be merged

 

[Song Dog]

That’s exactly what I said. If Sunday waterfowl hunting passes and some counties opt out, then hunters in those counties will lose days. Hunters in the counties that don’t opt out will not lose days.

It is for this reason that I think Sunday waterfowl hunting will have to be an “all or nothing” proposition.

With Sunday deer, turkey and small game hunting those Sundays were truly additional days since the outside dates didn’t change. The hunters in counties like mine that won’t allow it didn’t lose any days. We just didn’t gain any

The General Assembly has the final say, just an FYI, majority of Riparian blind sites to protect shore line from hunting so this is a possibility of objections by some Legislators that protect their shore line constituents.

So are you saying if Counties opt out the Sponsor should pull the Bill ?

 

[Archeryrob]

That is something I forgot about. One of the biggest complaints from Riparian rights owners on the blind site laws was being woke up early on Saturdays. They might fight Sundays over not being woken up then also.

 

[gtodave]

Thanks for the thread merge!

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

The General Assembly has the final say, just an FYI, majority of Riparian blind sites to protect shore line from hunting so this is a possibility of objections by some Legislators that protect their shore line constituents.

So are you saying if Counties opt out the Sponsor should pull the Bill ?

The bill as proposed already opts out the 3 no Sunday hunting for thee Counties and Baltimore City. This means hunters in Baltimore, Howard and PG acounties would lose hunting days as would the public land hunters in those counties that do not allow any Sunday hunting on public lands for things other than deer.

I honestly think this may be what it takes to get those hunters who are opposed to Sunday hunting to wake up and fight for statewide Sunday hunting across the board. The horse peopel in Baltimore and Howard Counties are already hunting deer on Sundays if they want simply by getting a crop damage permit. It’s the small landowner whiteout crops or a forest management plan that is shafted on that option. When those same horse people can’t goose hunt on Sunday, maybe they will come around on that.

I hate the piecemeal approach to Sunday hunting and I don’t have permission to hunt private anywhere it’s allowed. That said, I hope the rest of the state gets the opportunity. I would rather someone get the chance than nobody.

However I think this bill will go nowhere just like it did last year. There is no house version and I think it will never make it out of committee. I hope I’m wrong though

 

[Song Dog]

What 3 counties opted out ?

 

[Derwood]

I've always thought the view of some in Maryland and Virginia on this topic is extremely myopic. They act like the Sunday hunting ban is a normal thing, when actually Sunday hunting is the normal thing in like 44 other states. We are the weird ones who think birds need a rest day like they're bodybuilders, or that people who work M-F should be told how to spend their free days. Golf? Fine. Football? Go for it. Hiking? No problem. Hunting? No way!

There are horse people in every state. So I don't quite understand that argument either.

I would gladly accept a shorter season overall in exchange for the opportunity to hunt on Sunday...as long as the season gets shortened on the front end rather than taking the last week of January. They could even just pilot allowing it a few Sundays per year, like they did with deer hunting, and see how it goes.

Just my thoughts I gave up on this topic years ago but if there is a chance of it moving towards passage I'll get excited. Now if i could only find enough steel shot to be able to hunt a couple more days...

 

[Clark W. Griswold]

Same three that don’t allow any Sunday hunting. Baltimore, Howard and PG.

This bill simply alters the law to remove the prohibition on Sunday hunting for migratory birds. It would make it legal on private land in all but those three counties and legal on designated public land in the 5-6 counties that allow Sunday hunting for things other than deer

 

[Song Dog]

Same three that don’t allow any Sunday hunting. Baltimore, Howard and PG.

This bill simply alters the law to remove the prohibition on Sunday hunting for migratory birds. It would make it legal on private land in all but those three counties and legal on designated public land in the 5-6 counties that allow Sunday hunting for things other than deer

Lots of riparian and squatter Blind Sites in Baltimore and especially PG County which is a game changer and don't like the word "designed" public land which is a gamble what's left out?

Be careful what you wish for

 

[Archeryrob]

This is the results of the 2020 Hunters survey DNR did. Look at page vii and the support by general hunters for Sunday waterfowl hunting. 66% for it and 25% against. This is not the impression you get on the internet.

https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Documents/102720_MD-HuntingReport.pdf