Am I the jerk?

[bj139]

All I have is Saturdays to hunt because of work schedule so I'm up the creek without a paddle.

Sorry to hear that. That was my problem until I retired recently. I am over 60 so I try to stay close so I don't die dragging one. I was avoiding weekends completely until Veteran's day hit me by surprise this week. I had to follow up my shot on a deer just before dark the night before, so I had no choice but to go look for it before the rain arrived. If that makes me a jerk, then I'm a jerk.

 

[swampdonkey]

Wouldn't yall have shined a light, or said the words "hey there" "too close" move away from me jackwagon".

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I thought shining your light followed by a whistle in the dark while on Public was pretty universal for “i’m here go the other way”?

Actually can’t believe he wasn’t annoyed enough to have someone setting up right next to him to say something or climb down and leave himself. No fault of yours of course as you didn’t know he was there.

I avoid other hunters on public like the plague as i hate the thought of messing up their hunt almost as much as i hate the idea of them messing up mine.

 

[swampdonkey]

I understand what you say, but this is "public" land so I am not sure how much of this land you can claim as your own. I assume the answer is none.

It’s common courtesy. If i can see you you’re too close.

I will go a quarter mile out of MY way to avoid you if i see you to avoid wrecking your hunt. I expect the same behavior out of any fellow hunters.

My Dad taught me this over 30 years ago and i’m teaching my son the same. Perhaps these types of courtesies are being lost on today’s hunters like many things.

If you’re hunting an area with such high hunter density that you all need to sit 50 yards apart you’re not hunting deer anyways then you’re just taking in the scenery.

 

[bj139]

It’s common courtesy. If i can see you you’re too close.

I will go a quarter mile out of MY way to avoid you if i see you to avoid wrecking your hunt. I expect the same behavior out of any fellow hunters.

My Dad taught me this over 30 years ago and i’m teaching my son the same. Perhaps these types of courtesies are being lost on today’s hunters like many things.

If you’re hunting an area with such high hunter density that you all need to sit 50 yards apart you’re not hunting deer anyways then you’re just taking in the scenery.

I would have done that if I wasn't trying to find a deer I may have hit. I thought that takes precedence. It certainly would have with me if the tables were turned. I guess this is modern internet hunting. Nice to know you have a large area to hunt. I got a deer last year a hundred yards from this spot. I guess I wasn't hunting.

 

[swampdonkey]

I would have done that if I wasn't trying to find a deer I may have hit. I thought that takes precedence. It certainly would have with me if the tables were turned. I guess this is modern internet hunting. Nice to know you have a large area to hunt. I got a deer last year a hundred yards from this spot. I guess I wasn't hunting.

I started 32 years ago hunting this way and my father 30 years before that. No idea how we were “internet hunting”? The internet didn’t exist.

Giving fellow guys their space is a common courtesy there is no arguing otherwise. I hunt SE WI trust me there is PLENTY of competition on public it’s still easy to give other guys a wide berth.

 

[bj139]

I started 32 years ago hunting this way and my father 30 years before that. No idea how we were “internet hunting”? The internet didn’t exist.

Giving fellow guys their space is a common courtesy there is no arguing otherwise. I hunt SE WI trust me there is PLENTY of competition on public it’s still easy to give other guys a wide berth.

How do you give guys a wide berth when you are looking for a deer that was shot? My father started hunting around 1932 and me around 1969. People were not as anal back then.

 

[swampdonkey]

People were not as anal back then.

So me going around guys so they can enjoy their hunt is anal? Wow, some people i guess.

You do what you need to do out there and i’ll continue to avoid messing up others guys hunts. There are all kinds on public.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

I still don't get the :messing up someones hunt" thing. I don't think it hurts a darn thing.

 

[swampdonkey]

I still don't get the :messing up someones hunt" thing. I don't think it hurts a darn thing.

So you don’t think setting up 30 yards away or walking under someone’s stand hurts their hunt?

I guess there is a reason i out walk and out work 90% of guys on public when there are attitudes like that.

Thanks for confirming the way i hunt on public is necessary. I rarely see a soul where i set up any given day. I’m not out there to see people.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

Let me clarify. I was talking about walking in on somebody's set up and then continuing on not setting up right next to them.

 

[bj139]

So me going around guys so they can enjoy their hunt is anal? Wow, some people i guess.

You do what you need to do out there and i’ll continue to avoid messing up others guys hunts. There are all kinds on public.

You didn't answer my question about what if you were trying to find a deer you shot. I agree with you just out hunting to avoid other hunters. I do agree that just walking by another hunter's stand at 50 yards is not "messing up their hunt".
I was walking through the woods one time when I heard a deer running straight towards me. I dropped to my knees and tried to identify if it was a buck. It stopped to identify me. Boom. I had stopped the deer and another hunter along there shot it. Your welcome.

It was common courtesy when I grew up to help someone find a deer that was shot or certainly not telling them them to get the h*** off my public land.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

IMHO tracking a wounded deer should take priority over everything else and if you mess up someone else's set up so be it. If they are any kind of a sportsman they would abandon their hunt for the day to help you find your deer.

 

[swampdonkey]

IMHO tracking a wounded deer should take priority

If they are any kind of a sportsman they would abandon their hunt for the day to help you find your deer.

This i agree with.

My comments are directed at many public land hunters assumptions that it is public, therefore there is nothing wrong with walking right past guys, setting up close, etc.

When i was younger i had two duck hunters drag a sled full of gear right under me about a half hour after sun up on opening morning of gun deer. Loud as hell and talking the whole time because of course they weren’t in “their spot” yet hunting so talking loudly wasn’t hurting their hunt. I was in blaze orange, they knew i was there.

I’m dumbfounded if you don’t agree that hurt my hunt that morning.

But i myself would help a hunter find his deer on public. Goes along with the common courtesy of not messing up their hunt. Walking 50 yards past their stand most certainly does. If you feel it doesn’t we will have to agree to disagree. That’s the reason i out walk most because quite a few share your sentiments so i simply avoid those guys.

 

[bj139]

This i agree with.

My comments are directed at many public land hunters assumptions that it is public, therefore there is nothing wrong with walking right past guys, setting up close, etc.

When i was younger i had two duck hunters drag a sled full of gear right under me about a half hour after sun up on opening morning of gun deer. Loud as hell and talking the whole time because of course they weren’t in “their spot” yet hunting so talking loudly wasn’t hurting their hunt. I was in blaze orange, they knew i was there.

I’m dumbfounded if you don’t agree that hurt my hunt that morning.

But i myself would help a hunter find his deer on public. Goes along with the common courtesy of not messing up their hunt. Walking 50 yards past their stand most certainly does. If you feel it doesn’t we will have to agree to disagree. That’s the reason i out walk most because quite a few share your sentiments so i simply avoid those guys.

Yes. The big problem with public land is there are other hunters there. I have been trying to only hunt weekdays to avoid problems. Veteran's day took me by surprise when "my" weekday woods were packed with other hunters. I was trying to find a deer I shot the evening before.

 

[swampdonkey]

Yes. The big problem with public land is there are other hunters there. I have been trying to only hunt weekdays to avoid problems. Veteran's day took me by surprise when "my" weekday woods were packed with other hunters. I was trying to find a deer I shot the evening before.

Yes, things happen. Ive walked in on bowhunters because i didn’t know they were there. Just quietly wave and turn and go back the way i came.

It’s the guys who feel everything is fair game just because it’s public i have a problem with.

Could those duck hunters legally drag a sled right under me a half hour after sun up? Of course, they had every legal right to step foot there as i did. That still doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do though. It was a jerk move.

I do my best to not be that jerk, all i’m saying.

 

[sureshot]

I had a guy come through one day looking for a deer. His buddy shot it a week ago in the rain, didn't know where he hit it, and had no blood trail. So this guy comes out a week later to find the deer. He came by 3 times knowing we were there. You get all kinds out there.

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[rutjr]

Last year in the spring I checked out some public property near me and found a ladder stand that looked like it had been there for years. Hunting season came along and I thought I would try this spot out. When I got there a car was parked in the parking area and with no other spot to go I figured it was the guy with the ladder stand. I thought I knew where he was so I would just avoid that area. He was set up on a hill of sorts so I figured I would set up down by the edge of the swamp. I got all set up and settled in. When the sun came up I was only about fifty yards from him. The only reason I knew is because he left. I don't know if he left because he had to work or he left because he was discusted by this slob that set up too close to him. I sat there for a while all disgusted with myself and felt so bad ended up leaving too.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

Agree to disagree. I think what those so called hunters did was with no doubt wrong and being jerks but as far as ruining your hunt maybe not. I have seen and shot deer over the years that showed up just minutes after another hunter, a jogger, an atv or whatever had just passed through my set up. If you are quiet getting to your spot and setting up and the wind is right the deer don't know you are there anyways. There is a good trick when hunting bear over bait that involves 2 hunters going in and when one is re-baiting the other one quietly gets up in the stand. The bear hears the one hunter leave and thinks the coast is clear cause bears can't count Works for deer sometimes too. My dad shot a nice eight pointer one year on the railroad tracks just after another hunter had walked up the tracks and rounded a bend. The deer came out onto the tracks and had his eyes glued to the other hunter and never noticed my dad who shot him through the heart with his old .32 special lever action at 100 yards.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

I guess we can boil this conversation down to whether it is done on purpose or not. We all have "ruined" someones set up before and had the same happen to us but the difference is how it happened. If it was a mistake no big deal but some guys think only of themselves and are the only ones that matter. They are the jerks that make all of us look bad to some.

 

[bj139]

I wanted to hunt tomorrow afternoon but the same problem of shooting a deer late and going back the next day will present itself. I will try today. Tomorrow should be safe.