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Public land etiquette

SwingingGator

Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2018
Messages
63
Location
Florida
So as everyone knows, public land is a popular place to chase game and anyone going out can expect that every step you take scouting, someone has (or will) scout the same spots. It always amazes me that when i finally feel like i set foot in the most remote area, i see a marking flag or evidence of human activity.

Hunting in Florida following the rain we’ve already had and the hurricane on the way, the game is going to be channeled on land bridges between swamps and ponds but unfortunately that limits the same hunters to smaller ground. I’ve scouted an area with about 6 scrapes and set cameras to find some nice bucks in the area which i planned on hunting. I came back today and noticed someone has put up marking flags almost right by my camera to indicate their potential “spot.”

So i guess the question is, what’s the etiquette when trying to hunt areas like this? We’ve both identified good ground and despite the flagging tape being against the policy of the management area, i get what the other hunter is indicating.


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Since they violated the rules, they are fair game. Remove and/or re-route the flagging. Public land is a first come first served area, so if you beat them in to hunt, it is your spot that day. The other alternative is to fog the area with Axe body spray and find a new spot. Not that I have ever done any of this before!

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It's possible they merely marked the area so they could find it again as opposed to "calling" it as their spot. But there are better ways to mark land. In a public area, I would remove the flags. But try to avoid a confrontation. Hunters are generally armed, and some are downright unreasonable.
 
Try to treat others the way you’d hope to be treated and realize that just because some people have no morals or ethics doesn’t mean you should stoop to that level. If no one else hunted any spots other people thought were potentially good spots then half the public land would be off limits and no longer “public”
 
So as everyone knows, public land is a popular place to chase game and anyone going out can expect that every step you take scouting, someone has (or will) scout the same spots. It always amazes me that when i finally feel like i set foot in the most remote area, i see a marking flag or evidence of human activity.

Hunting in Florida following the rain we’ve already had and the hurricane on the way, the game is going to be channeled on land bridges between swamps and ponds but unfortunately that limits the same hunters to smaller ground. I’ve scouted an area with about 6 scrapes and set cameras to find some nice bucks in the area which i planned on hunting. I came back today and noticed someone has put up marking flags almost right by my camera to indicate their potential “spot.”

So i guess the question is, what’s the etiquette when trying to hunt areas like this? We’ve both identified good ground and despite the flagging tape being against the policy of the management area, i get what the other hunter is indicating.


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Here in FL i once had 2 different guys come to climb my tree in same morning

The second actually said he’ll sit under me and face the other direction & I said that I’ll be pissing on him then

Hard to get where nobody goes or has been

Beauty of a firefighter schedule is her out there during midweek while other guys are working



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Gotta have plan E, plan F, and G ready to go. By the time season opens I'll have 10+ spots picked out from looking at aerial photos. If my spot gets boogered up and i have time to get to a back up and be up in the tree before sun up I'll do that. But if it gets to the point were idon't think i can be in and set before sunrise then I'll relax till the sun's up then go scout other areas I've never been before. I've had pretty good luck and only been bothered a handful of times by other people in my spots. It is frustrating to put in the time then have to abandon. If somebody moves in.... I'll move on. I did see someone last year has written the dates of their quota hunt on the flagging tape. I thought that was good etiquette. My tail markers are tiny and i make them hard to see for other people... If i use flagging tape i take it down on my way back out.
 
So as everyone knows, public land is a popular place to chase game and anyone going out can expect that every step you take scouting, someone has (or will) scout the same spots. It always amazes me that when i finally feel like i set foot in the most remote area, i see a marking flag or evidence of human activity.

Hunting in Florida following the rain we’ve already had and the hurricane on the way, the game is going to be channeled on land bridges between swamps and ponds but unfortunately that limits the same hunters to smaller ground. I’ve scouted an area with about 6 scrapes and set cameras to find some nice bucks in the area which i planned on hunting. I came back today and noticed someone has put up marking flags almost right by my camera to indicate their potential “spot.”

So i guess the question is, what’s the etiquette when trying to hunt areas like this? We’ve both identified good ground and despite the flagging tape being against the policy of the management area, i get what the other hunter is indicating.


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First of all, public land deer hunting is a challenge. Sometimes the challenge is to find hot spots others overlook. I'll betcha...theres better ground still to find and hunt.
But there was a time when others would never jump your ground if they knew there was another hunter hunting a particular spot or buck. Your lucky you dont have a wall of trophies hanging on the wall...I've been followed right from my home to my hunting grounds, tree stands have been stolen, gasoline pour on my scrape set ups all for nothing. I'll say theres no room for jealousy regarding deer hunting..better yet edify those that deserve your phrase..and keep civility at its finest
May The Magic of The Whitetail Forever Enrich Your Life
 
First of all, public land deer hunting is a challenge. Sometimes the challenge is to find hot spots others overlook. I'll betcha...theres better ground still to find and hunt.
But there was a time when others would never jump your ground if they knew there was another hunter hunting a particular spot or buck. Your lucky you dont have a wall of trophies hanging on the wall...I've been followed right from my home to my hunting grounds, tree stands have been stolen, gasoline pour on my scrape set ups all for nothing. I'll say theres no room for jealousy regarding deer hunting..better yet edify those that deserve your phrase..and keep civility at its finest
May The Magic of The Whitetail Forever Enrich Your Life

I’ve had corn poured all around my stand. I noticed it getting in the stand got down and moved to another stand. Just after daylight I seen the game warden come sneaking through the woods.
I had a guy come through scouting for ML season opening the next day. I was sitting in the tree with my bow. He walks up asks me a few questions and then puts reflector pins in the very tree I was hanging in! Lol.


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Here in FL i once had 2 different guys come to climb my tree in same morning

The second actually said he’ll sit under me and face the other direction & I said that I’ll be pissing on him then

Hard to get where nobody goes or has been

Beauty of a firefighter schedule is her out there during midweek while other guys are working



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Amen to the rotating schedule!
 
I appreciate the replies. I don’t want to get ugly over the spot and tbh, I’ve seen this guys same markings in other spots as well so chance may have it he sits somewhere else opening morning. I’ve spent the last few months scouting all the while pulling ribbons down from other peoples last year hunts which they should’ve removed AT LEAST after the season if not after their hunt. I’ll probably just get on this ridge (Florida Sandhill) a little further down the line and set up shop if i see his truck there. Luckily i have a few spots scouted at each walk in to prepare for neighbors. There’s at least 4 bucks in the area so he can’t kill em all lol thanks for the advice


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Here in FL i once had 2 different guys come to climb my tree in same morning

The second actually said he’ll sit under me and face the other direction & I said that I’ll be pissing on him then

Hard to get where nobody goes or has been

Beauty of a firefighter schedule is her out there during midweek while other guys are working



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I’m a firefighter too so i plan on taking some Wednesday’s off to get those 5 day weekday hunting blocks where the pressure should be a little lower. Love our schedule lol


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I’ve had corn poured all around my stand. I noticed it getting in the stand got down and moved to another stand. Just after daylight I seen the game warden come sneaking through the woods.
I had a guy come through scouting for ML season opening the next day. I was sitting in the tree with my bow. He walks up asks me a few questions and then puts reflector pins in the very tree I was hanging in! Lol.


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That’s just plain dirty haha


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That’s the only down fall I think with not having a ladder stand. In Illinois some public land you can leave a stand for all of season and others you have to drag in. One of my spots I hunted and scouted the next time I came back someone had put a tree stand two trees over from where I had been hunting. My thought is if I beat to you to the tree the right thing to do is for the other guy to back out. But honestly your hunt is probably tainted by then anyways.


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Guy hunted my stand here minichigan kept hunting over again said there was nothing I could do about I was baiting so I over baited the stand guy got the ticket for it:smile:
 
Like others stated, the best part of working a rotating schedule is not having to deal with the weekend warriors, whether it's hunters, hikers or bird watchers.
 
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