WWYD - Permanent stand found on public state land

[talktolee]

I have a question about hunter etiquette to get opinions / comments on a situation I came across last night scouting a new area of public near my house. I found an area I wanted to check out.

After I got out there it was pretty apparent that there was only 1 tree that had the potential to hunt out of. The area is thick grass and brush...there is not another tree in the entire area that wasn't a massive thicket.

Upon making my way back there I find a stand that tree and looks like it is set up to stay as there are additional pieces of wood for a platform fixed to the branches.

I was bummed because now I feel like I can't hunt that area which looks pretty promising because (A) there is a stand in the one tree to hunt and (B) it would be my luck to just use that when I went out there only to have the hunter come out at the same time and be like *** dude!

There is another area I can also hunt so I have another option...I just started bow hunting this year and don't have an experience co-mingling on public. I would like to hear what others would think or do in this situation.

The land is state owned and when I contacted the DNR for clarification they instructed me to contact the local warden which I haven't done yet.

Pics for reference in the thread.

Thanks for any comments good or bad

 

[Weldabeast]

Looks like plenty of other trees to me....I wouldn't use that person's stuff. U may just have to get creative

 

[philsanchez76]

I’m sure this can differ from state to state but here in TN it’s perfectly legal for you to hunt that stand if you want. I find a lot of permanent stands on public here but most of them are set up for gun hunting. I find the bow hunters to be less lazy. I will say, unless it’s a REALLY old stand that hasn’t been used in years, deer usually know it’s there an May avoid it.

 

[Bwhana]

Anything left on NC public is illegal, so I either disable them when I find them or fog the area with Axe body spray, usually both.

Also, when I find that situation, there is zero way I will hunt near that area and stick to spots with no human sign.

 

[talktolee]

Looks like plenty of other trees to me....I wouldn't use that person's stuff. U may just have to get creative

Are you basing that comment off the satellite photo or the actual picture of the stand? the sat photo yes has a lot of green...but those are huge bushes...nothing someone could climb up into.

In the stand photo there is one tree adjacent to the tree in question (in the background) but there is no way someone could hunt out of it practically, IMO without really trimming up some areas (which isn't allowed).

Again, I am asking about this scenario more to see what others opinions are if it happens again in the future...

I’m sure this can differ from state to state but here in TN it’s perfectly legal for you to hunt that stand if you want. I find a lot of permanent stands on public here but most of them are set up for gun hunting. I find the bow hunters to be less lazy. I will say, unless it’s a REALLY old stand that hasn’t been used in years, deer usually know it’s there an May avoid it.

The stand looks like it was recently set up as there are fresh dig marks in the tree for the ladders...so I am pretty confident it was set up for this bow season

Again, being new to bow hunting and not really wanting to piss anyone off I will more than likely leave the whole thing alone but if it becomes a more frequent thing, finding semi permanent stands in decent areas where it technically isn't allowed I wanted to see what other folks who have come across the same scenario do, if anything.

 

[talktolee]

Anything left on NC public is illegal, so I either disable them when I find them or fog the area with Axe body spray, usually both.

Also, when I find that situation, there is zero way I will hunt near that area and stick to spots with no human sign.

Since I am just starting and haven't really done a TON of scouting I am still looking for areas I find on Sat images...so similar to you I am willing to leg it a little bit for a decent area...or an overlooked area just gonna take me more time.

I am a little late to the game this year just deciding kind of last minute on top of having to buy all the gear...so I plan on doing a lot more scouting post season and spring to get the lay of the land.

I don't think I have the heart to destroy / disable someone's stuff...but I get it.

Thanks for the replies! I would love still hear others if they have any.

 

[elk yinzer]

I’m sure this can differ from state to state but here in TN it’s perfectly legal for you to hunt that stand if you want. I find a lot of permanent stands on public here but most of them are set up for gun hunting. I find the bow hunters to be less lazy. I will say, unless it’s a REALLY old stand that hasn’t been used in years, deer usually know it’s there an May avoid it.

How do the deer know it's there and to avoid it if it hasn't been used in years?

 

[Plebe]

Are you basing that comment off the satellite photo or the actual picture of the stand? the sat photo yes has a lot of green...but those are huge bushes...nothing someone could climb up into.

In the stand photo there is one tree adjacent to the tree in question (in the background) but there is no way someone could hunt out of it practically, IMO without really trimming up some areas (which isn't allowed).

Again, I am asking about this scenario more to see what others opinions are if it happens again in the future...




The stand looks like it was recently set up as there are fresh dig marks in the tree for the ladders...so I am pretty confident it was set up for this bow season

Again, being new to bow hunting and not really wanting to piss anyone off I will more than likely leave the whole thing alone but if it becomes a more frequent thing, finding semi permanent stands in decent areas where it technically isn't allowed I wanted to see what other folks who have come across the same scenario do, if anything.

So put a tri-pod in a bush then.

If it is illegal to leave stands in trees, which you haven't made entirely clear, sure, tell the Warden if you want. Maybe he or she will act on it. But, is someone who operates outside the law really the kind of dude you want to hunt around...especially if pissed off from his/her set being removed? Not to mention, it looks like you'd have to be pretty spry to get in that stand.

If you are going to hunt the area, figure out where the deer come from and cut this other hunter off. You may have to consider alternatives to hunting treeborne.

 

[talktolee]

How do the deer know it's there and to avoid it if it hasn't been used in years?

The only thing that made me think it was recently put up was fresh marks on the tree where the ladders were attached.

The tree is dead so the bark is off and grey...right where the ladders are the wood was scratched and fresh wood was showing...

 

[Connor J]

Personally if I came across a stand like that in michigan and I first discovered it after the legal date to put out stands (September 1st I believe) I wouldn't hunt that spot. However if I find a stand someone left out while I'm spring scouting I have no reservations of hunting nearby or even that stand. Seems in the areas that I hunt that no one likes to really play by the rules and they almost always leave stands out. Then the majority of the time they find it to much work to take it out of the woods and the next thing you know there's all kinds of abandoned rusty old stands in the woods with straps and chains growing into the trees.

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[smcchevy]

The tree is dead

I'm leaving this person alone, finding another method to hunt this area or make a slight location adjustment.

 

[thedutchtouch]

its public. if it is truly the only tree i'd hunt it because the other guy leaving his crap there doesn't give him any more right to it than you, but generally i have been noting stand locations but not hunting by them. i was amazed by how many (permanent) stands i saw on public last year (my first season) since we're supposed to take em down each day.

 

[bigmike23]

I love finding stands, especially new ones. Tells me EXACTLY where not to be

 

[Mitchellfarmer1982]

The choice is yours. Myself, personally I am not touching anyone else's stuff. Ultimately they are breaking the law if they leave it. (Here in Arkansas is being left over 7 days) The only thing I would do is call the game warden and let him know but chances are nothing will get done about it. Sounds like a no win situation.

 

[talktolee]

So put a tri-pod in a bush then.

If it is illegal to leave stands in trees, which you haven't made entirely clear, sure, tell the Warden if you want. Maybe he or she will act on it. But, is someone who operates outside the law really the kind of dude you want to hunt around...especially if pissed off from his/her set being removed? Not to mention, it looks like you'd have to be pretty spry to get in that stand.

If you are going to hunt the area, figure out where the deer come from and cut this other hunter off. You may have to consider alternatives to hunting treeborne.

Since it is state owned land in this area it is technically illegal to leave stands over night. The spot is nice (why I wanted to check it out) because it has two main paths going through it on the north and south of the tree...and that tree is high enough to see both paths for a shot.

I agree with what you said and I did find / follow the direction of the path to a second area which I will pursue and leave the original spot alone.

I don't have many folks to ask the hypotheticals on so I figured I would post the question to see what some common responses would be.

Thanks again!

 

[talktolee]

The choice is yours. Myself, personally I am not touching anyone else's stuff. Ultimately they are breaking the law if they leave it. (Here in Arkansas is being left over 7 days) The only thing I would do is call the game warden and let him know but chances are nothing will get done about it. Sounds like a no win situation.

I agree...Since this is literally my first time out I am not in a mood enough to make a stink...I can find other spots...this whole thing just got me thinking about 'what about the next time' kind of thing...first thing I don't want to do is piss someone off but there is a little bit of me that thinks hey I got the same rights to hunt here the legal way and I want my crack at that spot too...

But life is short I will find others areas...just food for thought mostly.

 

[gcr0003]

It is disheartening when you find so many in the woods. It’s even worse when it’s corn or some other kind of bait. I reported both and game wardens basically told me to pound sand. I don’t report them any more but I tend to not hunt around them either.

 

[Plebe]

Since it is state owned land in this area it is technically illegal to leave stands over night. The spot is nice (why I wanted to check it out) because it has two main paths going through it on the north and south of the tree...and that tree is high enough to see both paths for a shot.

I agree with what you said and I did find / follow the direction of the path to a second area which I will pursue and leave the original spot alone.

I don't have many folks to ask the hypotheticals on so I figured I would post the question to see what some common responses would be.

Thanks again!

It’s fair to seek a consensus. Just understand that folks have different rules so what is commonplace in one area might be out of order elsewhere. Conventions in hunting are a bit of a moving target.

To understand this, you should read some of the posts about some hunt club tactics running dogs across boundaries...and what’s transpired can give you an idea of how insane things can get.

I posted here before about setting up a brush blind for my father on a piece of public. On opening day, he was in the blind undisturbed until late morning at which point a fellow comes along claiming my dad is in his spot. My dad was recovering from a terrible car accident and wasn’t very mobile, so any reasonable effort to hunt that spot would have put this hunter there first. This fella was having none of what my father was explaining to him, and unsatisfied stomped around the blind for the next several hours until my dad packed up and limped off.

Unfortunately, there are some real pricks out there. I caution you because there are way worse than that fellow. Just be safe and try to have fun.

And if you can figure out a way to find success, despite the obstacles, you’ll relish it all the more.

That jerk took a nice 8pt out of the blind I set up for my dad....pissed me off. But, I took 2 nicer bucks that he pushed to me and my Dad seems as proud of those as his biggest buck which is far better than my best.

 

[gcr0003]

As I tell everyone, no sense getting shot or killed over a dang pine goat.

I have taken down a stand before and it almost ended badly. Take the high road. That’s what I do now in my older years.

 

[ricky racer]

I would do as instructed and contact the local Warden. Explain the situation. Your state probably requires a hunters name and contact info on the stand. The Warden would most likely contact the stand owner and have him remove the stand. Then it's first come first served.