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So you find some illegal stands while scouting....
- Thread starter Hunter260
- Start date
In Tn most guys that come from out of state or east Tn buy a few stands at Walmart and leave them in the trees when they leave so they don’t have to carry them. I see it every year. The game warden try’s to keep up with them. He can’t. So I help him out every once in awhile. 
See you in a tree, Ricky
See you in a tree, Ricky
I've had this situation on my WMA, and I am actually in that situation this year. If it's preseason and you know the stands are not legal then I'd take them down and leave them at the base of the tree so they can come claim them. Pin the regulations governing legal stands to the tree. I'll go back a couple of times to check for activity, if there is none I get the ok from the local EPO and take them out. I'll leave a note that states if they want them to contact the EPO. I've never had a follow up from anyone. Most are stands that are left from season to season which is illegal. If I wanted to hunt it I would. On public land you don't get to claim a spot for yourself, that would be a private right. I have as much right to that spot as another, and more because I follow the rules.
If it ain't mine I dont touch it and never will. I didnt carry it in and dang sure won't carry it out. Publics just that, public. Pull ya hat down and go on unless it's a violation harming the animals.
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There are stands hanging all over the public near me. Some have been there un-hunted for a several years. They aren't mine so I do bother them but have no problem hunting directly next to them. Some of the guys that hung them were good scouters because they had found a great spot to hunt others not so much.
I talked to the biologist over Black Warrior last season about packing out a deer. He said he strongly discouraged me from doing so but basically when it comes down to it, it’s not against the rules. I can’t stand that they try to push that crap. You rather me try to drag a 200lb deer out of the woods for two miles by myself. I’m a small guy and it’s just not physically possible for me to do it. I know several guys down there that spend 7 or 8 hours dragging a deer out. That’s just stupid in my opinion.
Back to the original topic I’m in the same predicament. I hiked way in last season only to find where someone is accessing by boat. That’s fine but they’ve got a stand, sticks, bow hanger, safety line and all kinds of crap screwed in several different trees. It looks like it’s been this guys secret spot for a while. I thought about going in one day this summer and cleaning up the place. Idk
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Yeah I dont think any of them want waste left in the woods or at the gates but they probably dont want to do a ParaRescue for Heart attack victims either. lol
Good luck next season @aclawrence maybe we will see you over there
I don't even worry about them personally. Can't pack out deer, can't use climbing spikes, can't snip branches... There are a lot of things on the books that are silly. I'm not a fan of someone leaving their stand, but no way I'd ever call the man over it. An example I often think of is cutting. I come across spots yearly that someone has cut shooting lanes, trees, branches, whatever. I could call and they might get a ticket, like those speeding tickets that change all of our ways, oorrrr I can use that to my advantage just like any other terrain feature.
Just an update on wheeler for 2020. It looks like they added a rule stating "Field dressing of game is not allowed within 50 feet of any roadway, trail, or public area." I think this is a good rule. I saw probably 8 deer gut piles and carcasses right by the road or in front of a gate and it makes us hunters look like lazy a-holes. I am not sure if this was a rule in the past but I am all for it. I usually gut mine where it lays anyway, plenty of coyotes that wont let it see morning if youre back away from people. @publiclandz
Lol here on Long Island guys will put up stands on public and when someone finds them they take pics and go to the LIDH FB page and post it because they think they own the spot. They’ll start with “whoever owns this stand PM me” lol like anyone has to answer to these guys
Call the game warden and tell him the situation and tell him you'll be glad to take them down and give them to him.
I've encountered dozens of treestands in the public lands during post-season scouting. The farther back into security cover I've gone, the fewer stands I see, but some people hunting in CT leave stands on public land year round even though the regs require you to remove them after the season ends. I also frequently see DIY 2x4 stands, screw in steps and bow hangers, etc., that are in violation of the regs:
"The construction or placement of permanent tree stands involving damage to any tree or shrub is prohibited. The use of portable tree stands (climber, ladder, or hang-on) is permissible. However, all tree stands must be removed from state properties at the conclusion of the hunting season."
Despite the fact that they're breaking the law by leaving the stands in the woods, I personally don't touch the stuff if it's not mine. I have heard of more than one instance near me where someone had well hidden trail cameras and knew who messed with their tree stand setup ... then sabotaged the person who messed with their stuff later.
If I *really* liked the spot, I have setup right next to it, but only if no other hunter was there that day. But more and more I try to stay away from other hunters entirely.
The problem with hunting a spot that someone else is hunting is that you never know when they're coming and going unless you put out your own well-hidden cellular trail cams. And if they're not as good of a hunter as you are, they might be disturbing deer and stinking up the place with human scent while you're not there. That's just one of the realities of hunting public land and a good reason to find other places way back and difficult to access that have good deer sign but otherwise appear unhunted & undisturbed.
"The construction or placement of permanent tree stands involving damage to any tree or shrub is prohibited. The use of portable tree stands (climber, ladder, or hang-on) is permissible. However, all tree stands must be removed from state properties at the conclusion of the hunting season."
Despite the fact that they're breaking the law by leaving the stands in the woods, I personally don't touch the stuff if it's not mine. I have heard of more than one instance near me where someone had well hidden trail cameras and knew who messed with their tree stand setup ... then sabotaged the person who messed with their stuff later.
If I *really* liked the spot, I have setup right next to it, but only if no other hunter was there that day. But more and more I try to stay away from other hunters entirely.
The problem with hunting a spot that someone else is hunting is that you never know when they're coming and going unless you put out your own well-hidden cellular trail cams. And if they're not as good of a hunter as you are, they might be disturbing deer and stinking up the place with human scent while you're not there. That's just one of the realities of hunting public land and a good reason to find other places way back and difficult to access that have good deer sign but otherwise appear unhunted & undisturbed.
You wouldn't happen to live in or around St. Louis Cabelas area would you? I was driving to Cabelas on hwy 370 when I looked off to my left and saw a skeleton of a person with a hat on hanging in a tree. I almost wrecked...I turned around and drove back...called the Hazelwood police and two officers showed up. This was in December, cold, wet, icy and muddy all at the same time. The skeleton was down in a ravine, past a creek that we had to go through and then through a small field filled with trees that could barely support the weight of a grown man. One cop refused to go any further than 30 yards...the other cop looked at him and called him a female body part and did not want to go by himself. So i went with him to give him support and to satisfy my morbid curiosity.
Someone had put a full size halloween skeleton in a tree with a rope and clothes. It was sick and funny...the cop who went with me did not find it funny as he fell in the mud and had mud all over his legs and boots. The other one and I found it very entertaining.
