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Illegal Ladder Stands on Public Land

Unfortunately your censorship missed the name calling post, #78. No worries.
I left it because it was more of general comment than an attack at an individual. The intent is not to "censor" the content of the forum but to keep the personal bickering/friction to a minimum. I could easily have censored your post here as well but I will take the high road.
 
When you find one of these stands on public:

  1. 25-50% chance the owner will never come back for it.
  2. 1% chance the constabularies will do anything if you report it.
  3. Nothing wrong with jamming some dead limbs between steps so they have to be removed before climbing. This info may be useful in the future.
 
When you find one of these stands on public:

  1. 25-50% chance the owner will never come back for it.
  2. 1% chance the constabularies will do anything if you report it.
  3. Nothing wrong with jamming some dead limbs between steps so they have to be removed before climbing. This info may be useful in the future.
I never thought of doing the limb in between the steps thing. Interesting. When I see another stand but its in a decent area, you can tell if the stand is being used or not.... usually. I will just try to find a downwind location from this stand if its in decent cover near good buck sign. The beauty of the saddle is using these other stands to funnel buck movement.
 
So, I put about 3.5 miles of hiking in on a piece of game lands near me this evening and found 8 ladder stands. You're only allowed to have them up on game lands two weeks prior to the season opener of archery and then they must come down two weeks after the last season which ends in January. I try to get as deep as possible when scouting, but the issue where I'm located is that there are typically many access points, so if you get deep from one then you aren't far from another. I just got back into hunting this past season after not hunting since I was a kid. My youngest son is showing interest and it's frustrating to find these stands "reserving" spots when I'm trying to find a good place to take him. How do others deal with this situation? Quite honestly, I want to take some tools with me next time and just take them all down. Does it do any good to contact a game warden? It seems like this doesn't create an even playing field for those of us who follow the rules.
Sounds like PA....I see this ALOT. I always mark them on my GPS and use their location to my advantage. Most people take the easiest route to their stands. It's not too hard to figure out where they park and how they are hiking in. Most of the time they leave a trail of reflective tacks a blind man could follow as well. I figure it's more of an advantage to me if I know where they are going to be and where they are coming from. If you contact a warden and the stand is removed chances are they will find a new "spot" to hunt....where at, only they will know, unless you stumble upon their setup again.
 
stands don't reserve spots on public land. In general it is polite to hunt somewhere else if possible, but if the whole place is covered and you have no idea how often the person will be there, i would go ahead and hunt there. Now on the other hand, i have gotten very pissed when i legally hang and leave a stand and someone else sets up within a few dozen yards. The worst part about deer hunting is dealing with other people.
 
I'm happy when I find ladder stands because it takes me where not go to.

Calling the game warden is a bitch move, taking them down is worse. Worry about yourself man.

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I find it interesting that so many hunters think that all the other hunters don't know ****, especially when they aren't running some fancy gear.

I enjoyed the video where Dan I. found some flagging that led him to the guts from a kill, after he said the hunter was set up all wrong.

Not because Dan ate crow, but because that's how it works sometimes.

I have a relative who puts lots of nice bucks down, but isn't a particularly good hunter by celebrity standards, or necessarily mine, but finds spots that work and gets it done.
 
its not so much the stand itself that bothers me, as the damn trash they leave...jerky wrappers soda cans, bottles , veinna sausage cans. looks like some kids were camping out for the weekend. if you follow there trail back a couple hundred yards, you find a spot where they had a campfire at miday and cooked hotdogs or something. thats all good fun ! but take your trash with you!
 
Where it is illegal, I fight the urge to want to take peoples ladder stands down. I am a hypocrite though because I put up cameras (allegedly) and thats prohibited as well. Where I get super pissed is when I find corn. Makes me want to tear up some stuff.
 
Seems like the original poster is from PA. I see this a lot in PA too. I don’t mess with the illegally left stands when spring scouting. I would not feel right messing with them. They are a good data point to not hunt within a few hundred yards. What really drives me nuts is when I am a couple miles back and find a ladder stand that someone definitely brought in on their side by side. Motorized vehicles are mostly prohibited on our public land. I put the effort in to get way back there only to encounter undue hunting pressure by some lazy turd taking an illegal shortcut.
 
Seems like the original poster is from PA. I see this a lot in PA too. I don’t mess with the illegally left stands when spring scouting. I would not feel right messing with them. They are a good data point to not hunt within a few hundred yards. What really drives me nuts is when I am a couple miles back and find a ladder stand that someone definitely brought in on their side by side. Motorized vehicles are mostly prohibited on our public land. I put the effort in to get way back there only to encounter undue hunting pressure by some lazy turd taking an illegal shortcut.

People here try to claim areas of public land by setting their stands up and leaving all year. It's totally illegal. I'd never hurt the stand, but I have been tempted to get a bag of hair from a barber and throw everywhere along with some bars of soap and some of that anti-deer spray for gardens. Never did, but thought about it.
 
Just a reminder as annoying and emotionally draining as these douchenozzles' litter can be, there are a few actionable steps you can take.

One is to discern if they are being used or not, intel you can use to decide if the area is worth hunting or if it's time to move elsewhere. Besides looking for obvious signs of use, a good method is to leave sticks or branches on the platform and check if they have been moved. For every stand I find that is hunted frequently I find 4 or 5 that are abandoned.
 
Just a reminder as annoying and emotionally draining as these douchenozzles' litter can be, there are a few actionable steps you can take.

One is to discern if they are being used or not, intel you can use to decide if the area is worth hunting or if it's time to move elsewhere. Besides looking for obvious signs of use, a good method is to leave sticks or branches on the platform and check if they have been moved. For every stand I find that is hunted frequently I find 4 or 5 that are abandoned.

Be careful climbing someone else's rickety contraption. I'd put some sticks in the way of the ladder or climbing method first, from where you can reach from the ground.
 
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