Other hunter sign - Too good to be true

[d_rek]

Question for you guys scouting public land...

I have put about 18 miles on the GPS odometer on public land near me. This is public land about 1hr north of major metropolitan area in Michigan, which is one of the heaviest hunted states with high hunter densities. In those 18 miles I have found some incredible looking spots. At only one of the spots i have tagged have I found other hunter sign (someones pop-up blind, obviously from last season) about 100 yards away, and a tree a few hundred yards away in a different direction.

Is this normal?

It's almost too good to be true. Of those 18 miles I have only discovered 2 other locations where I knew of people to be hunting. No bait piles, no climbing sticks, no leftover hang-on stands, no reflective tape/tacks...

Are hunters that diligent in removing their gear after the season is done? Or are these spots just that overlooked and remote? Of course a few of them the access was poor and/or challenging - getting on hands and knees, ascending/descending steep ravines to creek bottoms, outskirts of cattail marsh with 8-10" of standing water but none are more than 1mile from road access.

But still I feel like there's no way that I have covered that much ground and not unearthed more hunter sign.

I want to steel myself against the eventual and expected encroachment next season when I hunt some of these spots.

What do you guys think?

Regards,
d_rek

 

[flinginairos]

I would say the majority of hunters are lazy and don't go through the effort to get into most areas. I'm fairly new to public land myself but I honestly don't think it's as crowded as people make it out to be, at least during archery seasons anyways. I think if you make a decent effort at accessing you can eliminate lots of competition. Hopefully you have found some good spots with little pressure! Only way to find out is to hunt it

 

[SG843]

In my areas I find that hunters walk in, slip around, and sit on the ground. Others carry climbers in/out. Most of this I see are in areas where they can see the furthest. If it "looks" pretty, it's likely being hunted.

I try to walk further than the average and gravitate towards the thicker stuff. This seems to eliminate 90%.

 

[g2outdoors]

In my areas I find that hunters walk in, slip around, and sit on the ground. Others carry climbers in/out. Most of this I see are in areas where they can see the furthest. If it "looks" pretty, it's likely being hunted.

I try to walk further than the average and gravitate towards the thicker stuff. This seems to eliminate 90%.

I would say this is spot on.

Also, it sounds like you are far enough in the difficult terrain to weed out most Hunters. I read a statistic from a study conducted by the University of Georgia that said most people hunt no further than 200 yards from the nearest access point. Meaning they may walk 1 mile down a dirt road, but once they cut into the woods they're only going a couple hundred yards.

I think this is generally true.

@flinginairos is spot on as well.

 

[huck72412]

I would say this is spot on.

Also, it sounds like you are far enough in the difficult terrain to weed out most Hunters. I read a statistic from a study conducted by the University of Georgia that said most people hunt no further than 200 yards from the nearest access point. Meaning they may walk 1 mile down a dirt road, but once they cut into the woods they're only going a couple hundred yards.

I think this is generally true.

@flinginairos is spot on as well.

Any study conducted by the University of Georgia should be be considered at best inconclusive and inaccurate unless it has to do with underwater basket weaving. " Go Yellow Jackets " Just messing with you G2. I was born without a choice but to harbor all sorts of disdain for all things UGA.

 

[redsquirrel]

I think it is a little bit of everything that the guys said. I pretty much exclusively hunt publicly available lands. I agree with @flinginairos that most people think public is way worse than it is. I agree that it gets hit very hard during gun season, but during bow season it is not as bad. I hardly ever see anyone in the spots that I hunt, I usually only run into people by or close to the parking lots. During the rut more guys come out of the woodwork but they're still mostly lazy.

I also think that a lot of guys really don't do much scouting. These guys are hunting out of climbers and they walk out, find a nice tree to set up in and hunt. Their next time out they do the same thing somewhere else so they really don't leave a ton of sign in one place.

 

[d_rek]

I have to agree with the general sentiment that most hunters are lazy but even this is a surprise to me. I have seen some old timers and my inlaws in action on public land - only waking to the main trails or setting up within 100 yards of them.

As for the climber guys I'd have to agree with that as well.


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[flinginairos]

I'll admit if I had to haul a climber in I wouldn't be walking far either LOL. Switching to saddle and lightweight gear it has really opened up how far I'll walk


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[huck72412]

I have a Summit Specialist climber and I can carry it 150,000 miles on my back and barely notice it. I'm not convinced that the apparatus from which we hang has much to do with our overall effort to be successful. But it does seem to be true that they generally cause you to find a nice straight tree closer to the pickup truck.

 

[SG843]

I started out with a climber like most. Which transitioned into purchasing the lightest climber I could find. Being a flatlander carry distance wasn't that big of a deal. What frustrated me the most was having to hunt trees that worked with climber more than hunting the animal itself. LoL. Then I started pursuing animals up north that no longer lived on flat land. I then realized just how much an Ounce weighs and how Ounces ADD up to be Pounds quickly! So now I have been transitioning from the lightest weight hang on and stick into the saddle department over the past 5 years.

I have tweaked the saddle to about 90% usage. Enjoy walking up to just about any tree base that will safely hold me and climbing up. Now able to hunt perfect sign versus hunting perfect trees........

 

[skell]

I've hunted the same public ground for 12 years now. In my area I find that most will walk 1/4 to 1/2 a mile. And I always run into a couple of hunters who carry a climber in 1 mile plus. There is definitely a sweet spot between 1/2 mile and a mile for me...and the nastier the ground, the more people stay away.

With that said, I have also found a number of spots overlooked because they are so close to parking or a road. I'm meaning less than 250 yards. One of my favorite terrain saddles to hunt is about 200 yards from the parking lot. I found a gem scouting a couple of weeks ago which is about 100 yards from the parking lot. People walk right past these spots because they are "too close".

 

[redsquirrel]

I just remembered talking to a guy once and realized that some people don't like to go far cause they don't want to drag a deer out very far.

 

[Ontariofarmer]

I just remembered talking to a guy once and realized that some people don't like to go far cause they don't want to drag a deer out very far.

Tell them that's what friends are for


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[redsquirrel]

Tell them that's what friends are for


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It's better to stay quiet and keep them away from my spots

 

[d_rek]

Haha... a friend of mine has a friend who hunts the same area. He said when he gets a call from his buddy to track he knows it's going to be a long haul out.