Cosumnes River Preserve shooting incident kayakers beware

Hey y'all.  I want to hear your thoughts about an ongoing dangerous situation at the Cosumnes River Preserve.  I was out there fishing Sunday, November 15 on the Cosumnes River.  I saw a couple girls kayaking and going east on the Cosumnes River past the railroad tracks.  I knew there was a hunter back there because I could periodically hear gun shots and knew from experience they hunt back there.  After a few minutes I heard a couple shots...a bit later a guy in a flat bottom aluminum boat zooms past me without slowing...a few minutes later the two girls paddle back from the same direction.  I asked the girls if the hunter slowed down for them and they told me he actually shot in the sky above them and buck shot fell down around them!  They said he then zoomed past them without slowing.   This kind of thing has happened before.  You can actually watch MooMoo's video of when he went to the Cosumnes River Preserve and had a similar situation, minus the warning shots I think.  Thanks and be careful about where you go in the Preserve.  This time of year there are aggressive duck hunters east of the railroad tracks back in the sloughs.   

Thanks Ronaldo.  I've been thinking of heading out there, but now I think I'll wait for duck season to end.  Not worth the risks.

I've had the same thing happen in the same area.  Shot fired into the air, then pellet rain falling all around the boat.  Definitely not cool

Shooting at rising ducks? Specifically to intentionally shower them with pellets? They go up and will come back down. Hunters will hunt. I hope it was not intentional.

Yah if the shot is falling down like rain, more than likely, it wasn’t a warning shot or intentionally aimed toward them. If you ever hunt any of the refuges for duck, you will definitely get rained on by the shot more than once in a day. That’s just part of the deal. The shot doesn’t travel very far so if you’re anywhere inside of 100yds of the hunter and the ducks are between you and the hunter, there’s a good chance to e gonna get rained on. It may sting a little depending on your pain tolerance, but just don’t look up and it won’t cause you any harm.  And obviously it’s probably a sign that you should put some distance between you and where you’re hearing the shots from, just to be safe.

Ammo is expensive nowadays. So is gas, and just duck hunting in general. I don’t see that shot being a warning shot. Most hunters wouldn’t waste their time and money to just shoot in the air for nothing.
But then again, there are some crazy people out there. Lol

Yah if the shot is falling down like rain, more than likely, it wasn’t a warning shot or intentionally aimed toward them. If you ever hunt any of the refuges for duck, you will definitely get rained on by the shot more than once in a day. That’s just part of the deal. The shot doesn’t travel very far so if you’re anywhere inside of 100yds of the hunter and the ducks are between you and the hunter, there’s a good chance to e gonna get rained on. It may sting a little depending on your pain tolerance, but just don’t look up and it won’t cause you any harm.  And obviously it’s probably a sign that you should put some distance between you and where you’re hearing the shots from, just to be safe.

Ammo is expensive nowadays. So is gas, and just duck hunting in general. I don’t see that shot being a warning shot. Most hunters wouldn’t waste their time and money to just shoot in the air for nothing.
But then again, there are some crazy people out there. Lol

I've never duck hunted and I'm not familiar with the area, so these questions truly come with zero judgement.  Can the hunters not see downrange?  If the range isn't clear of hazards and they're still firing, that's some unsafe marksmanship, no? 

Being peppered by falling shot is pretty common.

As a duck hunter, That guy wasn’t shooting buckshot.  Which is relatively huge. It was some lead-free waterfowl load. 

Sucks, but it happens. He was shooting up.  Gravity; not only is it a good idea - it’s the law.

Pretty standard. Raining size 4 shot won’t hurt you.  They didn’t know you were there, and you were close.  Inside 100 yards.

Be sure of your target and what's behind it. I've been peppered and it's not cool. At shotgun range you can definitely see if there are people downrange. People like that give hunters a bad name.

Edit: And those of you acting like this is ok are the ones that are going to whine the loudest when our right to hunt and to keep and bear arms are taken away. Are you really trying to tell non-hunters (who are the majority) not to worry about getting hit with shot pellets? Really?

I think a major issue is that it is difficult for the general public to know when hunters are present BEFORE planning a trip. I have gone onto BLM land for turkeys and ran into hikers/mountain bikers/motobike/ATVs/etc who had no clue that they were on land open to hunting. Even for hunters, it takes a bit of work to figure out which lands are open for what. And that's with hunters intentionally looking for information! The public really don't have a chance to get informed.

If those two kayakers knew Consumes River Preserve was open to hunting and that it was prime duck hunting season, do you think they would have gone? I think not.

With what is going on in the world and in politics, I think it's crucial for all of us to believe in the goodness of one another and to have faith that people are understanding. Or maybe it's just my wishful thinking and putting up too many cheerful, flashy Christmas decorations up already.  Posting under the influence, so to speak.

Be sure of your target and what's behind it. I've been peppered and it's not cool. At shotgun range you can definitely see if there are people downrange. People like that give hunters a bad name.

Edit: And those of you acting like this is ok are the ones that are going to whine the loudest when our right to hunt and to keep and bear arms are taken away. Are you really trying to tell non-hunters (who are the majority) not to worry about getting hit with shot pellets? Really?

When you shoot at a passing duck, the sky is behind it. I’ve rained pellets back on myself shooting damn near straight up at a sand hill crane.

Those goofy pheasant farms. It’s drizzles pellets because groups of hunters are hunting those grid patterns.

It’s us vastly different from being shot with distant pellets.  While unpleasant and nit fun. It isn’t dangerous. Well if a pellet jammed i your eyelid.

kinda like moving next to a dairy and complaining about the smell

Edit: And those of you acting like this is ok are the ones that are going to whine the loudest when our right to hunt and to keep and bear arms are taken away. Are you really trying to tell non-hunters (who are the majority) not to worry about getting hit with shot pellets? Really?

More like don’t go to popular hunting spots during hunting season and quietly sneak up on people duck hunting, then complain about getting pellet rain.  So yeah, really.

When I was in my teens my brothers and I went to Bakersfield to hunt doves with Uncle Ben.  Soon after hunting started the hunter next to us, maybe 150 feet away, shot at a passing bird and peppered me with shot. Uncle Ben yelled at him and told him to be careful and not let it happen again.  Half an hour later the same thing happened and Ben yells out "I told you not to let that happen again you son of a bitch" He pointed his 12 guage automatic at the guy and emptied it as we watched the guy run for it over the next hill.  Ben was our favorite uncle but he was not to be messed with.

There is Duck Hunting right next to the Feather River and you can hear Shotguns going off. I avoid it during the season.