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Public land etiquette

WISCO

WISCO

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2022
Messages
451
Location
Northern Wisconsin
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?
 
he was def low key saying ''this is my spot''. Public land is first come first serve, case closed no matter someone's mindset. I would still setup in a spot where i observed a stand if i pulled in first and saw no one else in that area. He seeing you should have gone to plan B but he's more than likely one of the lazy hunters that has one spot picked because he never scouts added with the fact his stand is already there and god forbid he has to setup some where else. I dont leave stands out but if i did all season long on public i would have to expect them to get hunted if im not there, no way around it.
 
That happens a lot here in Michigan too. I have to admit its one of the reasons to be a mobile hunter. I try not to set up near another guys stand but you don't always know where they are. Unfortunately I also find a fairly high correlation to good sign around "permanent" stand and illegal bait piles. Apparently its easier to haul bait than move the stand to a more productive area.
 
I love that this guy is having coffee or beers with his buddies whining about some freak in his diaper hunting his spot. Or, even better, got his feelings off his chest to the other person involved, and moved on and has forgotten about it.
 
That guys an idiot. Here is my take on public land rules:
If you leave your stand out all year, I don’t have to respect it because you were supposed to remove it at the end of season.
I won’t intentially hunt an area that someone goes to on a regular basis.
First come first served. You don’t like me here, get up earlier.
If I come in and someone already there, I may say I will hunt someplace else, but that’s my stand over there.
Messing with peoples equipment will get you shot.
There is no such thing as “your area” because it’s public land.
 
[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?]

NOPE - In my area, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another hunter sitting in it either, if it’s on public land. (I don’t leave stands out though.)

[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?]

YES - it’s public land, and like @boyne bowhunter said, you don’t always know where others are. Some guys leave stands all over the place - you don’t know which one they’ll use on which day.

[Does someone else's stand mean that they have the sole rights to hunt that area and you are supposed to move along?]

NOPE - and if someone chooses to set up right next to them, they really have no recourse. But I’d advise against such discourteous behavior for good etiquette. Also, it might start a conflict, which will eliminate the enjoyment of my time outdoors.

[What if it is a stand that never gets removed at the end of season like the law states?]

NOPE - ESPECIALLY when it is a stand that never gets removed at the end of the season as required by law. There are literally dozens of stands left on some pieces of public land that I use - sometimes within relatively small patches of the forest. And many of those stands look like they’ve been aging away there for many seasons. If you do the work and find hot sign and aren’t messing up someone else’s active hunt by setting up too close when you know they’re there, HUNT!

[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. It’s 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. ]

You’re concerned about etiquette, and this dude’s not even concerned about ruining your hunt that day or messing with your trail cam.

For my own sanity, I’d just hunt elsewhere.
 
boyne bowhunter said:
That happens a lot here in Michigan too. I have to admit its one of the reasons to be a mobile hunter. I try not to set up near another guys stand but you don't always know where they are. Unfortunately I also find a fairly high correlation to good sign around "permanent" stand and illegal bait piles. Apparently its easier to haul bait than move the stand to a more productive area.
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I've found plenty of stands in the woods here in MI that are just left to rot. I found a lock on two weeks go, all locked up...with the key on a lanyard on the bottom rung of the climbing sticks. The amount of rust and the state of the straps, I'd guess it's been sitting for at least a year or two. I found a few ladder stands already this year, and almost all of them look really unsafe to climb.

I can't imagine doing all that work and spending all that money, just to leave it sitting in the woods forever. Honestly, I can't imagine hauling a ladder stand deep into the woods anyway...
 
Empostarr said:
I've found plenty of stands in the woods here in MI that are just left to rot. I found a lock on two weeks go, all locked up...with the key on a lanyard on the bottom rung of the climbing sticks. The amount of rust and the state of the straps, I'd guess it's been sitting for at least a year or two. I found a few ladder stands already this year, and almost all of them look really unsafe to climb.

I can't imagine doing all that work and spending all that money, just to leave it sitting in the woods forever. Honestly, I can't imagine hauling a ladder stand deep into the woods anyway...
Click to expand...
They haul them in with no intent to ever remove them. Thats my gripe. Its like dude this isn't your land, you cannot claim it year after year because you leave your stand illegally in the woods.
 
Talked to a guy this weekend that leaves his climber year round in the spot he hunts. He ha no issue at all with me hunting near him which I did last year because I didnt know where he was hunting. Saturday when I talked to him, he told me he wasnt hunting that afternoon and to use his stand if I wanted too. Most folks are not like that though and want to claim an area.
 
Has anyone who posts these “Some person on public land is doing something I don’t like what should I do?” Or “My neighbor does something I don’t like what should I do?” Threads considered just becoming friends with the offenders?

I mean, just take a smile and the benefit of the doubt and some grace and self awareness into the situation. Invite them for a beer, or a sandwich or coffee. See if they would like to hunt together or scout together sometime. Worst case, you inject a little decency into the situation, and they see you’re a human and you see them as human and they’re less spiteful. Medium case, they stop with the offending behavior because they now see it from your point of view, and realize they can do better. Best case you make a friend or someone that ends up saving your life in a pinch.

That sounds silly in 2022, I know. Talking to a stranger face to face with only good intentions and no expectations is unheard of these days. But surely, whining about it on the internet or calling the law has not made things better. What’s the worst that could happen? It seems like a more interesting use of your time anyway.


Another rule I’ve come to live by. If I encounter someone behaving in a way that most people wouldn’t, and it’s negatively impacting me, they’re usually having a much harder go at life than I am at that time. I either keep that in mind when interacting with them. Or I avoid them like the plague so they don’t bring me down too. Life’s too short, and there’s too many good places to hunt and fun people. Make a friend or go find less hunter density I say!
 
Here you cant leave a stand more than 24 hours as well,unless its left at the base of the tree in a non hunting position and your info clearly visible, but that doesnt stop people from doing it as i have encountered several through the years including a blind that was always out when i was out there. First time i noticed it, i did the right thing and quietly left the area to not disturb them...then i noticed that every single time i was out there, that blind was there in same spot,even after the season closed. I walked up to it and looked inside, ol boy has bait bags all in there and a trail camera maybe 15 yards from it.
 
Dmathews87 said:
Here you cant leave a stand more than 24 hours as well,unless its left at the base of the tree in a non hunting position and your info clearly visible, but that doesnt stop people from doing it as i have encountered several through the years including a blind that was always out when i was out there. First time i noticed it, i did the right thing and quietly left the area to not disturb them...then i noticed that every single time i was out there, that blind was there in same spot,even after the season closed. I walked up to it and looked inside, ol boy has bait bags all in there and a trail camera maybe 15 yards from it.
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If you will hang right next to the camera, the deer should be in easy bow range in the direction the cam is pointed. It's all about reading the sign. ;)
 
BTaylor said:
Talked to a guy this weekend that leaves his climber year round in the spot he hunts. He ha no issue at all with me hunting near him which I did last year because I didnt know where he was hunting. Saturday when I talked to him, he told me he wasnt hunting that afternoon and to use his stand if I wanted too. Most folks are not like that though and want to claim an area.
Click to expand...
Thats how all interactions in the woods should be between hunters.
 
kyler1945 said:
Has anyone who posts these “Some person on public land is doing something I don’t like what should I do?” Or “My neighbor does something I don’t like what should I do?” Threads considered just becoming friends with the offenders?

I mean, just take a smile and the benefit of the doubt and some grace and self awareness into the situation. Invite them for a beer, or a sandwich or coffee. See if they would like to hunt together or scout together sometime. Worst case, you inject a little decency into the situation, and they see you’re a human and you see them as human and they’re less spiteful. Medium case, they stop with the offending behavior because they now see it from your point of view, and realize they can do better. Best case you make a friend or someone that ends up saving your life in a pinch.

That sounds silly in 2022, I know. Talking to a stranger face to face with only good intentions and no expectations is unheard of these days. But surely, whining about it on the internet or calling the law has not made things better. What’s the worst that could happen? It seems like a more interesting use of your time anyway.


Another rule I’ve come to live by. If I encounter someone behaving in a way that most people wouldn’t, and it’s negatively impacting me, they’re usually having a much harder go at life than I am at that time. I either keep that in mind when interacting with them. Or I avoid them like the plague so they don’t bring me down too. Life’s too short, and there’s too many good places to hunt and fun people. Make a friend or go find less hunter density I say!
Click to expand...
Honestly, when I run across another's stuff in the woods I just move on. Its easy to walk a little deeper or go to plan B or even C. I'm out here to enjoy myself, not get worked up about what someone else is doing.

Not sure that I want to be friends with the guys whose illegal bait piles I've been running into though. Leaving a stand up for a season is one thing, its not a blatant violation of the law. The rules are very clear here on the aspects of putting down bait and have been for several years.
 
boyne bowhunter said:
Honestly, when I run across another's stuff in the woods I just move on. Its easy to walk a little deeper or go to plan B or even C. I'm out here to enjoy myself, not get worked up about what someone else is doing.

Not sure that I want to be friends with the guys whose illegal bait piles I've been running into though. Leaving a stand up for a season is one thing, its not a blatant violation of the law. The rules are very clear here on the aspects of putting down bait and have been for several years.
Click to expand...

I should have clarified.

“If I were bothered enough to ask for advice on the internet on how to deal with someone doing something I don’t like on public land, I would try the friendly relationship building approach instead.”

I am allergic to other hunters in the woods. Access is a different thing - I’ll say hello there and be friendly. Once I’m in the woods, I avoid other hunters and their equipment. I just can’t imagine being so bothered by a deer stand or another person in the woods that I complain on the internet. It feels like it says more about me than the offender if I did that.
 
it is almost an exact analogy to leaving your fishing pole next to a public trout stream and thinking that gives you sole rights to fish that area until you decide to take your pole back home, if you ever do

or leaving a folding chair next to somewhere on a public river bank where you like to catfish and expecting no one else to ever fish anywhere near there EVER

lazy hunters just think that's what everyone does....no one is mobile

everyone picks their spot on public land and puts up their stand and then hunts just there every day they hunt....if you step outside that then you are breaking their paradigm that they use to understand the world....then you're the bad guy
 
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