Public land etiquette

[Weldabeast]

I don't mess with anyone's stuff during hunting season except trail marking stuff...spring and summer it's fair game. I've used stands that I found and have them memorized so can use in the future if need be. I've had 2 stands stolen and someone cut my lifeline once. I don't carry a card reader but don't have any problem with people who do sneak a peek as long as they put the card back. Obviously I don't like it when there's others hunters around in the area I am but I don't get upset...I've seen multiple times were they push deer around that I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. It's getting harder to out walk peeps now especially with e-bikes and popularity of THP...I know I've pissed off a bunch of other hunters for sure....gotta roll with the punches

 

[Horn]

I'm with @Weldabeast on the sneak peek. If the card goes back the same way it came out... that's probably pretty smart actually. I thought about sitting on someone's, Al according to his flagging tape, ladder stand just yesterday. It's fair game if you leave it, but I'm worried about confrontation

 

[kyler1945]

I don't mess with anyone's stuff during hunting season except trail marking stuff...spring and summer it's fair game. I've used stands that I found and have them memorized so can use in the future if need be. I've had 2 stands stolen and someone cut my lifeline once. I don't carry a card reader but don't have any problem with people who do sneak a peek as long as they put the card back. Obviously I don't like it when there's others hunters around in the area I am but I don't get upset...I've seen multiple times were they push deer around that I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. It's getting harder to out walk peeps now especially with e-bikes and popularity of THP...I know I've pissed off a bunch of other hunters for sure....gotta roll with the punches

OnX and YouTube and Tethrd have caused a significant shift in my strategy for hunting public land. I completely ignore things that look good on a map. You’ll just be meeting other people who know how to read a map. And I prioritize areas close to access now more than ever, and work away from that access as needed. I used to “go deep” then start looking.

The one good thing is onX maps are usually outdated and don’t show the type of things I’m looking for anyway. Still use the tool, but simply for marking my own real life findings

 

[OspreyZB]

The property I spend the most time hunting is a couple thousand acres across the road from my house. I would guess (conservatively) that there's well over 250 stands on the property at any given time. Some of them get hunted every weekend, and some probably haven't been hunted in a decade. There are still plenty of deer, big bucks included, slipping through the cracks... You just gotta hunt those cracks. I talked to a guy last year that told me him and his brother have around 30 stands out. I showed him my saddle setup thinking he might be interested, but he explained to me that they use the stands to deter other hunters. They'll put several stands in their best spots, often within shooting distance of each other, so when another hunter finds that spot, they think "well there's already a bunch of other guys hunting here" and they move on. When in reality none of those stands have even been hunted yet that season and there's bucks walking by them in daylight regularly. They're "reserving their spot" without actually reserving their spot. They understand it's public land and anyone can hunt those spots, but that most guys won't hunt a spot where they can see 3 other tree stands. They kill nice bucks every year. Genius if you ask me... I much prefer hunting in other states where there's not tree stands and bait piles everywhere, but you gotta work with what you've got. My 3 biggest deer have come from this property, just because it's so close to home that I can scout it daily.

 

[Dsabhunt]

How do you know it hasnt been there less than 24hrs? And even if you do know that, its not in your authority to do anything about it. Call a warden.

And no, the price doesnt make any difference.. Abandoned is abandoned. The guy who takes your truck could say he saw it there more than 24hrs, so he took it.. Prove him wrong...

I have the keys and title

 

[onestringer]

I don't mess with anyone's stuff during hunting season except trail marking stuff...spring and summer it's fair game. I've used stands that I found and have them memorized so can use in the future if need be. I've had 2 stands stolen and someone cut my lifeline once. I don't carry a card reader but don't have any problem with people who do sneak a peek as long as they put the card back. Obviously I don't like it when there's others hunters around in the area I am but I don't get upset...I've seen multiple times were they push deer around that I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. It's getting harder to out walk peeps now especially with e-bikes and popularity of THP...I know I've pissed off a bunch of other hunters for sure....gotta roll with the punches

You didn't make me mad. I live and hunt in Missouri where game cameras are illegal on any lands owned or managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Does that stop anyone from putting cameras out.......heck no. I carry a card reader that works with my phone. I check every camera I see, I have never deleted a picture from the camera unless it had a clear image of my face. This trail camera strategy has given me a vast network of cameras.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Our public land regulations state no permanent stands and no stands put up 7 days prior to the season opener or left up 7 days post season. Any not within rules/laws are subject to seizure and disposal by the department of wildlife. Also, absolutely no baiting. Luckily, I don't see many stands. I chalk it up to laziness. I have seen 8 or 10 so far out of thousands upon thousands of acres walked. I have not seen one more than 250 yards off a main road. The vast majority are 100 yards or less. A few have been there for years. A couple were out when Nixon was in office, lol. It's weird but I sort of feel sorry for the guys putting them out. I feel like they bought into what the TV guys are doing and that just can't work too well on public land. Maybe some of them are old dudes who can't walk far and can't be mobile. Who knows? To me, I just can't see a permanent stand being any good unless someone is dumping bait in front of it, or it is in a phenomenal pinch point. How many phenomenal pinch points are conveniently located 100 yards of less from the road?

From my own personal experience of having permanent stands out on a lease I can tell you that out of 18 lock on stands I had out, I would see deer out of one or two a season. I used a climber most of the time. They just weren't productive, and I would hate to think I had to hunt that way. Those stands are gathering dust in my shop now. On that lease permanent stands were everywhere because there were basically no spots people would not ride with 4 wheelers and side by sides. You can't do that here on public and that really limits the lazy folks.

 

[kyler1945]

The property I spend the most time hunting is a couple thousand acres across the road from my house. I would guess (conservatively) that there's well over 250 stands on the property at any given time. Some of them get hunted every weekend, and some probably haven't been hunted in a decade. There are still plenty of deer, big bucks included, slipping through the cracks... You just gotta hunt those cracks. I talked to a guy last year that told me him and his brother have around 30 stands out. I showed him my saddle setup thinking he might be interested, but he explained to me that they use the stands to deter other hunters. They'll put several stands in their best spots, often within shooting distance of each other, so when another hunter finds that spot, they think "well there's already a bunch of other guys hunting here" and they move on. When in reality none of those stands have even been hunted yet that season and there's bucks walking by them in daylight regularly. They're "reserving their spot" without actually reserving their spot. They understand it's public land and anyone can hunt those spots, but that most guys won't hunt a spot where they can see 3 other tree stands. They kill nice bucks every year. Genius if you ask me... I much prefer hunting in other states where there's not tree stands and bait piles everywhere, but you gotta work with what you've got. My 3 biggest deer have come from this property, just because it's so close to home that I can scout it daily.

You talked to a guy?

You think he has a good idea that isn’t your cup of tea, but you respect?

You kill deer on crowded public land with lots of stands on it?

You have a good attitude about it?



I have to go post this right now in the samsquatch thread!!!!! I’ve found him!!!!

 

[MAHunter]

I have the keys and title

I think u get my point.. Just because its on public land, doesnt mean you get to touch it, regardless of what it cost.
Otherwise, my scenario above is absolutely accurate.

 

[kyler1945]

I think u get my point.. Just because its on public land, doesnt mean you get to touch it, regardless of what it cost.
Otherwise, my scenario above is absolutely accurate.

My girlfriend says the same thing to me a lot when we scout together.

 

[dalton916]

If you hang a stand at the beginning of the year with the intentions to leave it out all year or never take it down, do you get upset when another hunter hunts the area?

If you are scouting and find good sign but also notice a ladder stand someone drug into the woods, would you still sneak in that area for a sit if there is no sign of someone being in that area?

Does someone else's stand mean that they have the sole rights to hunt that area and you are supposed to move along? What if it is a stand that never gets removed at the end of season like the law states?

Last Sunday I pulled into a parking lot of a spot I wanted to hunt, well over an hour before sunrise. Grabbed my gear and headed into the woods, no other cars in this parking lot. Got to the spot I wanted and set up. Around 1:30 I hear some crunching and steps coming my way then I hear a voice talking to me. Its another hunter and he tells me he hunts there and has a stand 50-70 yards away from me. He also proceeds to tell me hes the one that wrapped my game camera in orange flagging tape to let me know he was hunting that area. He also deleted my pictures on it but didn't admit to that. Going into this hunt I never seen his stand. I personally don't care if he has a stand in that area as it is public and anyone can hunt the land. I feel like he was trying to tell me its his spot because he hauled a ladder stand 500 yards back in the woods and has no intention of ever removing it. I will be the bigger person in this and change location, I will flank "his" spot next time and push further in.

This is the norm on the public land here in Northern Wisconsin. I see so many ladder stands in the woods people drag out and never remove to claim their spots. Then they want to start a confrontation with you about you hunting in that area. I have never thought thats my spot, I'm going to go confront someone for hunting here! I would never intentionally see a stand and set up right on it but I have no qualms hunting an area where others are also hunting. If sign is good and there is no vehicles near by I'm going to hunt it. When I hunt I hit the woods early, I am in well before daylight to get to the spot I want to hunt before someone else does. If someone beats me to a parking lot or pull off I switch plans and head to another spot.

So lets here it. What do you all believe?

Everyone has a cellphone.

“Let’s call the Game Warden and see what he has to say then we’ll both just follow his guidance……about the stand AND the camera……”

 

[MAHunter]

My girlfriend says the same thing to me a lot when we scout together.

Are we still talking about tree stands? lol

 

[Robert loper]

How often is the wrong spot the right spot I wonder.

True true my brotha lol.
i just try to avoid other hunters at all costs
One thing i do is i look at setup they have,
Then i look at and probably most importantly where its at.
Very rarely do i find a preset or location of another hunter or hunter presence i would ever want to hunt.
most times its in an area thats pretty open and from experiences over the years of hunting those areas and now knowing that most deer i am after would most likely never show themselves there during daylight hours.
I was slways told and taught avoid other hunter locations because if you know they are there the deer definitely know they are there

 

[Dsabhunt]

I think u get my point.. Just because its on public land, doesnt mean you get to touch it, regardless of what it cost.
Otherwise, my scenario above is absolutely accurate.

Might be true where you hunt but where I hunt that's not the case. Quote from the DNR "The Minnesota DNR considers any stand or blind on public hunting land public property. Regulations state that hunters are not allowed to leave a stand or blind in wildlife management areas overnight. Hunters must take their blinds with them at the end of every day."

 

[Plebe]

Might be true where you hunt but where I hunt that's not the case. Quote from the DNR "The Minnesota DNR considers any stand or blind on public hunting land public property. Regulations state that hunters are not allowed to leave a stand or blind in wildlife management areas overnight. Hunters must take their blinds with them at the end of every day."

That doesn't make them public property. And taking them is still theft, unless otherwise specified elsewhere or you are acting specifically as an agent of the law.

 

[MAHunter]

Might be true where you hunt but where I hunt that's not the case. Quote from the DNR "The Minnesota DNR considers any stand or blind on public hunting land public property. Regulations state that hunters are not allowed to leave a stand or blind in wildlife management areas overnight. Hunters must take their blinds with them at the end of every day."

According to MN Hunting Statue 97A.137

A person leaving a portable stand overnight under this paragraph must affix a tag with: (1) the person's name and address; (2) the licensee's driver's license number; or (3) the "MDNR#" license identification number issued to the licensee. The tag must be affixed to the stand so that it can be read from the ground and must be made of a material sufficient to withstand weather conditions. A person leaving a portable stand overnight in a wildlife management area under this paragraph may not leave more than two portable stands in any one wildlife management area. Unoccupied portable stands left overnight under this paragraph may be used by any member of the public.

This says the public can use them, not take them down/bring them home.

 

[Dsabhunt]

I never said anything about taking a stand home. You guys all have me out as some serial treestand thief and I've never even taken one. All I'm saying is a stand left somewhere doesn't mean it's your spot. It's first come first serve.

 

[MAHunter]

I never said anything about taking a stand home. You guys all have me out as some serial treestand thief and I've never even taken one. All I'm saying is a stand left somewhere doesn't mean it's your spot. It's first come first serve.

Maybe because you said you would lol

I don't mess with other people's stuff in the woods but if someone yelled at me and told me it's their spot. You can bet your ass that stand won't be there the next time they want to hunt "their spot"

 

[Bwhana]

I have been hesitant to share this public land secret, due to how effective it has been for me, but WTH, go for it if you want to try it and are willing to put in the effort too. I have used a hand saw for many years to create very realistic giant fake rubs and mock scrapes (including using a preserved hoof to leave a huge buck track in each one) on public land where it will be easy enough to find and I direct the "rub/scrape line" far away from anywhere I plan to hunt. It is fun to watch the trucks pile in and setup stands exactly where I want them to go and push the bucks to me like magic. Tear up more trees boys and girls! And don't forget the Axe body spray.

Although I cannot say for sure, I'd bet some of these guys likely killed a nice buck that came in to all the mock sign I left. So be it.

 

[Dmathews87]

I have been hesitant to share this public land secret, due to how effective it has been for me, but WTH, go for it if you want to try it and are willing to put in the effort too. I have used a hand saw for many years to create very realistic giant fake rubs and mock scrapes (including using a preserved hoof to leave a huge buck track in each one) on public land where it will be easy enough to find and I direct the "rub/scrape line" far away from anywhere I plan to hunt. It is fun to watch the trucks pile in and setup stands exactly where I want them to go and push the bucks to me like magic. Tear up more trees boys and girls! And don't forget the Axe body spray.

Although I cannot say for sure, I'd bet some of these guys likely killed a nice buck that came in to all the mock sign I left. So be it.

I will occasionally flag trees away from where im at so the flag followers go where i want them to.