[M.T. Pockets]

Fabs, you're right on with the attitude of why can't we be friends.

I've hunted in one slough since I was 15 in 1980, it is a public area, about 250 acres of good cattails & water. There were about 3 or 4 groups that hunted there regularly for many years, they were very respectful of other hunters, if a group of ducks was working someone else's decoys - the other groups would quit calling. Very few shots were taken unless the ducks were commited with wings cupped. I was told early on that as a rule of thumb "don't shoot unless the feet are down". If a flock of mallards was working someone's decoys, nobody would take a shot at a teal or other duck til the mallards came down. The guys had class.

I hunted alone, it was very common for one of the groups to invite me to set up with them and we hunted together. Other times we would ask where everyone planned on going and we spread out. If a lone hunter without decoys was pass shooting at ducks working decoy spreads he was often invited to join in and hunt over decoys. We were shooting 2 3/4" #4 shot and killed as many ducks as hunters today shooting 3 1/2" #2's. We helped each other find cripples and if one group finished off a bird for another group, it was given to the group that knocked it down. I learned a lot from these hunters, they didn't have the best equipment but they had skill and class.