I deleted a couple of posts. Let's take @Jay_Disarray's advice moving forward please.
I deleted a couple of posts. Let's take @Jay_Disarray's advice moving forward please.
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.Unfortunately your censorship missed the name calling post, #78. No worries.
I do this almost 100% of the time . . . It at least lets me know if anyone has been around between now and the next time I pass by.Nothing wrong with jamming some dead limbs between steps so they have to be removed before climbing.
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.When you find one of these stands on public:
- 25-50% chance the owner will never come back for it.
- 1% chance the constabularies will do anything if you report it.
- 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.
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.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.
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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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.
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.