My last post regarding the changes to the duck blind draw and tier system

RUGER

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Nov 19, 1999
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4,145,959
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TN
First of all, I would never damage another hunters vehicle, trailer, anything.
Secondly I would never burn a duck blind. Well I still want to burn one arsehole's blind at West Sandy, but I don't guess I will. :D

This has never been an East v/s West thing for me.
I hate the computer draw for many reasons but it is what it is.
I hate this new tier system for many reasons as well.
Basically I feel the same way about all this as I do the every day over reach and crooked crap we deal with in our political "parties" of late.
A few decide something will help and benefit them or their friends so they use their power to get it done, everyone else be damned and that is exactly what I think happened here.
Regardless, it is what it is so there ya go.

I have never had a top 5 blind at Gooch and probably never would have anyway so I probably got all tore up for no reason but it still just sucks.
I duck hunt to hang out with friends, cook, eat and just have a good time.
The system that did pass it is worlds better than the original bs they proposed. It does make me happy that enough people did listen (and put in their thoughts) that it was changed.
At least now there are 30 spots available for 60 day draws.
The majority of these are gar holes but would provide somewhere to hang your hat for the year anyway so I am happy about that.

Every year since I started duck hunting it has been the same story every single year. Talk to whoever and they say, this is the worst year I can remember. This seems to be getting moreso every single year as well.
Yes some kill them but they are the exception of late.

Anyway I could babble for hours so I will just say what I came here to say.

If anyone, from anywhere, that is on this site gets drawn for a 3-4 day blind on Gooch this coming year give me a shout and I will do whatever I can to help you out.
I can be there and on the water in an hour so if you find yourself in a situation that you need help and nobody is around just holler.
From my experience everyone that hunts there will go out of their way to help anybody. Never seen a stranded boat get passed by without someone stopping.

I would be happy to come help you put out decoys or whatever or even bring my cooking box and play blind woman for the day so you won't have to pack quite as much gear.

When / if you get drawn shoot me a pm and we can exchange numbers and go from there.

Ok I am done and good luck to everyone.
 

BigRed1080

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Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Messages
307
I will say coming into duck hunting as a newbie this is all very interesting. Trying to keep up with the changes and when to apply for blinds and figuring out when to Go hunting etc., 2021 I am determined to at least be in a duck blind a few mornings. Thanks for all the posts, Ruger. It's making this whole process a bit easier to follow along with.
 

Headhunter

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Joined
Nov 14, 2000
Messages
6,971
Location
Tennessee
I find it interesting that the selling of a duck blind is illegal, but a few rich people want a place to "hunt for a few days" so the whole system was changed. Other than being legal, I already have a lifetime license, I will not support the TWRA in any shape, form or fashion. I will not report any violations I see (which does not matter anyways because you can report all you want, video people breaking the law, etc. and nothing is done anyways, the only reason for that is because there are not enough officers but they have time to build and maintain duck blinds at least that is what Jamie F with the Tennessee Wildlife Division told me), until the system changes I am completely done. I will express that opinion anytime I get the chance. Watching the meeting, glad I had to work and could not attend, that meeting was a crooked and rigged as anything I have ever witnessed.
 

cmn

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Joined
Nov 7, 2010
Messages
367
Location
nashville,tn
First of all, I would never damage another hunters vehicle, trailer, anything.
Secondly I would never burn a duck blind. Well I still want to burn one arsehole's blind at West Sandy, but I don't guess I will. :D

This has never been an East v/s West thing for me.
I hate the computer draw for many reasons but it is what it is.
I hate this new tier system for many reasons as well.
Basically I feel the same way about all this as I do the every day over reach and crooked crap we deal with in our political "parties" of late.
A few decide something will help and benefit them or their friends so they use their power to get it done, everyone else be damned and that is exactly what I think happened here.
Regardless, it is what it is so there ya go.

I have never had a top 5 blind at Gooch and probably never would have anyway so I probably got all tore up for no reason but it still just sucks.
I duck hunt to hang out with friends, cook, eat and just have a good time.
The system that did pass it is worlds better than the original bs they proposed. It does make me happy that enough people did listen (and put in their thoughts) that it was changed.
At least now there are 30 spots available for 60 day draws.
The majority of these are gar holes but would provide somewhere to hang your hat for the year anyway so I am happy about that.

Every year since I started duck hunting it has been the same story every single year. Talk to whoever and they say, this is the worst year I can remember. This seems to be getting moreso every single year as well.
Yes some kill them but they are the exception of late.

Anyway I could babble for hours so I will just say what I came here to say.

If anyone, from anywhere, that is on this site gets drawn for a 3-4 day blind on Gooch this coming year give me a shout and I will do whatever I can to help you out.
I can be there and on the water in an hour so if you find yourself in a situation that you need help and nobody is around just holler.
From my experience everyone that hunts there will go out of their way to help anybody. Never seen a stranded boat get passed by without someone stopping.

I would be happy to come help you put out decoys or whatever or even bring my cooking box and play blind woman for the day so you won't have to pack quite as much gear.

When / if you get drawn shoot me a pm and we can exchange numbers and go from there.

Ok I am done and good luck to everyone.
Great post and great attitude! By the way the Governor had NOTHING to do with it. He stated it is up to the commission to do the job...like it or not. The RICH people?? What a joke! They are the ones that always seem to have access to top producing blinds...They have their own leases or places to hunt our just live with the system. Remember whether people like the change or not more duck hunters were in favor than against
 

Headhunter

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Joined
Nov 14, 2000
Messages
6,971
Location
Tennessee
Great post and great attitude! By the way the Governor had NOTHING to do with it. He stated it is up to the commission to do the job...like it or not. The RICH people?? What a joke! They are the ones that always seem to have access to top producing blinds...They have their own leases or places to hunt our just live with the system. Remember whether people like the change or not more duck hunters were in favor than against
I don't believe more duck hunters were in favor. Not one I know was in favor, not one. They only polled approximately 10 percent of hunters and they don't even know if they were all duck hunters and from what I was told by the wildlife division, mainly polled hunters from East Tennessee.

Yes, this started with a commissioner, a rich person, who wanted somewhere to hunt for a day or two and not have to build a blind or basically do any work. Like a I said, a commissioner said that will not listen to the hunters, only to the area managers. Sad, sad state the TWRA is in.

Somehow, some way, the system needs to be abolished and some other way of addressing game laws and conservation came up with.
 

waynesworld

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Joined
May 13, 2012
Messages
3,212
Location
Shelbyville, Tennessee
Well if they would have asked me I would had been in favor of it before reading all the great information that you all have posted. Before you all jump in and say I am stupide and should be banned from this site I will clarify why I would have supported.
First I will state I have never hunted ducks in TN. When I hunted them in SD and MN most blinds were not open to the public. So only the rich people got to hunt blinds. We did have some places to hunt the sloughs and around some lakes but it was all first come gets the location and someone may go 10 yards over and hunt. When I fist came to TN over 18 years ago I looked into blind draws and thought them to be something that I couldn't do as far as go to a boat ramp and apply for a year spot and then there was the grouping thing. So I didn't hunt, when the ability to apply online came I put in for it last year. There again I was not very smart of the different blinds and there location but I put in for the area of OH that I had my boat docked. I didn't get any probably for the good. But if you asked me that I could be in a drawing for a blind for just a week I would think that it would mean I stood a better chance. I have seen some blinds on OH and some on Woods Res. Both looked easy enough to get to and use. But when Ruger made the post about all you would have to get to one some other place I thought the week thing may not be the best idea. I hope things keep improving and we all get a chance on enjoying all that TN has to offer, not just the rich or the people in the privet know it clubs. Believe me when I say it can be worse.
 

Headhunter

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Joined
Nov 14, 2000
Messages
6,971
Location
Tennessee
Well if they would have asked me I would had been in favor of it before reading all the great information that you all have posted. Before you all jump in and say I am stupide and should be banned from this site I will clarify why I would have supported.
First I will state I have never hunted ducks in TN. When I hunted them in SD and MN most blinds were not open to the public. So only the rich people got to hunt blinds. We did have some places to hunt the sloughs and around some lakes but it was all first come gets the location and someone may go 10 yards over and hunt. When I fist came to TN over 18 years ago I looked into blind draws and thought them to be something that I couldn't do as far as go to a boat ramp and apply for a year spot and then there was the grouping thing. So I didn't hunt, when the ability to apply online came I put in for it last year. There again I was not very smart of the different blinds and there location but I put in for the area of OH that I had my boat docked. I didn't get any probably for the good. But if you asked me that I could be in a drawing for a blind for just a week I would think that it would mean I stood a better chance. I have seen some blinds on OH and some on Woods Res. Both looked easy enough to get to and use. But when Ruger made the post about all you would have to get to one some other place I thought the week thing may not be the best idea. I hope things keep improving and we all get a chance on enjoying all that TN has to offer, not just the rich or the people in the privet know it clubs. Believe me when I say it can be worse.
First duck killing, not hunting, has been tough for most in Tennessee for many years. A huge percentage of blinds, most likely will a duck not be killed, but you won't even get a chance. With that said, however long the season is, to me the purpose of a duck blind is to have a place to go, IF AND WHEN the weather and the ducks cooperate, to have a chance at killing some ducks. The majority of blinds, you a have at best, a few days to maybe a week of days when you might kill a duck. To draw for a 3, 4, or even a 7 day period is insane. I got the best blind on the wma for those few days, then when it is time for your 3 days, it is hot, coming a "noah's ark" flood for those days, we get cold enough weather and everything freezes up and you can't even get to the blind, etc.

Drawing for a chance to hunt a few days is USELESS. The TWRA spending over a 1 million dollars to build the blinds is just as useless and thinking the government (TWRA is a government agency) is going to maintain them? A complete joek. (t is and will be for the most part, a complete waste of time and it will not take long for those blinds to sit empty mainly because of the weather, weather and weather up north. And when the ducks do happen to cooperate (they are animals and may not show up on days with the best conditions or may show up on days with the worst conditions) but since the weather is wrong, I would bet no one will be there and blind hopping is not allowed? Hilarious. The people who came up this have no clue about duck hunting and do not care what anyone thinks. Well the couple of rich people that wanted this have a say, no one else does.

This is the most ludicrous thing ever.
 

waynesworld

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Joined
May 13, 2012
Messages
3,212
Location
Shelbyville, Tennessee
Headhunter I hope you read my post and understand my opinion on it has changed because of all the post in here and understanding it better. But not all hunters are in this forum. And I would bet most hunters that are not familiar with blinds are either. But if asked if they would like more opportunity they would say yes. It is ludicrous to you because you understand the issues better then some, including me. That is a problem with random surveys of all sorts.
 

Dodge Man

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Joined
Oct 15, 2003
Messages
8,005
Location
Dyersburg, TN
I myself don't think this change was to help the rich or to benefit the state government people voting to change it. I think the TWRA heard a few people wanting it changed, they sent out the survey and got 15-20% respond that they were "unsatisfied with the current draw system. So someone thought they should change everything.
I think the better option would to make more place that are not currently being used to duck hunt into a place to hunt. More places around or on existing WMAs or waterfowl ref could be made to hold water and kill some ducks. The State made Thorny Cypress and Bogota from nothing and created new hunting opportunities if people want a 3-4 day draw. Bogota unit E is available for people that want a 3-4 day hunt without a blind. It doesn't get hunted a majority of the season because people do not show up for there dates.
I am not going to say the blind tier system is bad until I see how it plays out a season or 2. I have my opinion like the rest. I think several blinds will sit empty a majority of the time because people will not show up to hunt. If we have a dry year it will be a mess to see people trying to run an outboard in the swamps. If we have a wet year a flood levels its going to be dangerous for people that have never seen the bottoms to show up in the dark.
I will say this in every topic on this subject. The only things that just really has me upset is the $30,000 price tag for a simple duck blind that the average draw group could build for $3,000. Don't tell me it is because they are building a metal frame. I am pretty sure I could have the same blind built from metal for $3,000 range. We built a 24 ft blind full metal frame, covered in 25 year warranty metal roofing, for a field blind, we had less then $2,500 in materials in it.
 

WilcoKen

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Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
1,589
I think the better option would to make more place that are not currently being used to duck hunt into a place to hunt. More places around or on existing WMAs or waterfowl ref could be made to hold water and kill some ducks.
This right here. There is a lot of unused public habitat across this state that could be set up for waterfowl. It is the best option for ALL waterfowlers in TN. It doesn't take from anybody—and it would give to everybody. That is opportunity for all.
 

Headhunter

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Joined
Nov 14, 2000
Messages
6,971
Location
Tennessee
Maybe, if some don't show up on days drawn, it will somehow help on pressure on the birds. That's been my main concern. Because if the current trend keeps building, it wont matter if we draw or not. Seems to me, main focus is really being missed. Resource needs better management.
Difficult to reduce pressure on what isn't there. No ducks, doesn't matter if the blind is hunted or not.

To me, the number one purpose of drawing a blind, is to have a place available to hunt if the conditions are right and the ducks show up, or just if the ducks show up at all. That means having access to a place to hunt all of the season, not just a few days. No way is that even remotely workable, well if you had ducks every single day of the season, it would be ok.

No different than the idiot twra dove hunts where you draw for a place to dove hunt, only you cannot pick a spot to hunt. You have to dove hunt at the assigned stake that is drawn, even if a dove has never been killed at that stake. Making EVERYTHING fair for EVERYONE is a liberal, communist, socialist dream that ends up making EVERYTHING more unfair than anything else.
 

tickweed

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Joined
Nov 25, 2009
Messages
7,061
Location
medon,Tn.
Difficult to reduce pressure on what isn't there. No ducks, doesn't matter if the blind is hunted or not.

To me, the number one purpose of drawing a blind, is to have a place available to hunt if the conditions are right and the ducks show up, or just if the ducks show up at all. That means having access to a place to hunt all of the season, not just a few days. No way is that even remotely workable, well if you had ducks every single day of the season, it would be ok.

No different than the idiot twra dove hunts where you draw for a place to dove hunt, only you cannot pick a spot to hunt. You have to dove hunt at the assigned stake that is drawn, even if a dove has never been killed at that stake. Making EVERYTHING fair for EVERYONE is a liberal, communist, socialist dream that ends up making EVERYTHING more unfair than anything else.
can I ask where in Tn. are you from?
 
Last edited:

drake799

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Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
403
Location
Tn
I myself don't think this change was to help the rich or to benefit the state government people voting to change it. I think the TWRA heard a few people wanting it changed, they sent out the survey and got 15-20% respond that they were "unsatisfied with the current draw system. So someone thought they should change everything.
I think the better option would to make more place that are not currently being used to duck hunt into a place to hunt. More places around or on existing WMAs or waterfowl ref could be made to hold water and kill some ducks. The State made Thorny Cypress and Bogota from nothing and created new hunting opportunities if people want a 3-4 day draw. Bogota unit E is available for people that want a 3-4 day hunt without a blind. It doesn't get hunted a majority of the season because people do not show up for there dates.
I am not going to say the blind tier system is bad until I see how it plays out a season or 2. I have my opinion like the rest. I think several blinds will sit empty a majority of the time because people will not show up to hunt. If we have a dry year it will be a mess to see people trying to run an outboard in the swamps. If we have a wet year a flood levels its going to be dangerous for people that have never seen the bottoms to show up in the dark.
I will say this in every topic on this subject. The only things that just really has me upset is the $30,000 price tag for a simple duck blind that the average draw group could build for $3,000. Don't tell me it is because they are building a metal frame. I am pretty sure I could have the same blind built from metal for $3,000 range. We built a 24 ft blind full metal frame, covered in 25 year warranty metal roofing, for a field blind, we had less then $2,500 in materials in it.
I think I seen that Trex decking/wood mentioned for the materials. Don't hold me to that though. Would explain the cost Idiotic but makes sense
 

Stlbaseball1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2018
Messages
306
Location
West TN
First of all, I would never damage another hunters vehicle, trailer, anything.
Secondly I would never burn a duck blind. Well I still want to burn one arsehole's blind at West Sandy, but I don't guess I will. :D

This has never been an East v/s West thing for me.
I hate the computer draw for many reasons but it is what it is.
I hate this new tier system for many reasons as well.
Basically I feel the same way about all this as I do the every day over reach and crooked crap we deal with in our political "parties" of late.
A few decide something will help and benefit them or their friends so they use their power to get it done, everyone else be damned and that is exactly what I think happened here.
Regardless, it is what it is so there ya go.

I have never had a top 5 blind at Gooch and probably never would have anyway so I probably got all tore up for no reason but it still just sucks.
I duck hunt to hang out with friends, cook, eat and just have a good time.
The system that did pass it is worlds better than the original bs they proposed. It does make me happy that enough people did listen (and put in their thoughts) that it was changed.
At least now there are 30 spots available for 60 day draws.
The majority of these are gar holes but would provide somewhere to hang your hat for the year anyway so I am happy about that.

Every year since I started duck hunting it has been the same story every single year. Talk to whoever and they say, this is the worst year I can remember. This seems to be getting moreso every single year as well.
Yes some kill them but they are the exception of late.

Anyway I could babble for hours so I will just say what I came here to say.

If anyone, from anywhere, that is on this site gets drawn for a 3-4 day blind on Gooch this coming year give me a shout and I will do whatever I can to help you out.
I can be there and on the water in an hour so if you find yourself in a situation that you need help and nobody is around just holler.
From my experience everyone that hunts there will go out of their way to help anybody. Never seen a stranded boat get passed by without someone stopping.

I would be happy to come help you put out decoys or whatever or even bring my cooking box and play blind woman for the day so you won't have to pack quite as much gear.

When / if you get drawn shoot me a pm and we can exchange numbers and go from there.

Ok I am done and good luck to everyone.
Only 25 spots at Gooch with 60 day option (Tier 1). 5 Tier 2 and 5 Tier 3.
 

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