Guide 04

Field Etiquette

1. If another group is already set up on a pond, that's actually the safest spot to hunt — someone's clearly already confirmed birds are using it.
2. Sky-busting gets a bad reputation, but really, it's just calling their bluff at 70 yards instead of 40.
3. Setting up thirty yards from someone else's blind isn't crowding — it's networking.
4. If you shoot a duck someone else called in, that's just an assist. No one keeps official records.
5. Waving at a passing boat is optional if you're mid-story with your hunting partner.
6. Borrowing decoys from an empty blind isn't stealing if you plan to feel bad about it later.
7. A friendly wake is the best way to remind neighboring hunters that you, too, have a boat.
8. If someone's dog retrieves your duck, that's finder's keepers for them, but bragging rights for you.
9. Talking loudly on the walk in helps ducks locate the blind ahead of time, which is only polite.
10. Public land is first-come, first-served, unless you've hunted there longer, in which case it's yours by seniority.