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Why do people with Xbows walk around the woods like they have a shotgun in hand? 7 hunts ruined in the last 2 years by people just wandering about with xbows. Has anyone made any kill like this? Sorry for venting. I Had a doe feeding her way to me at 65yds and some jacka** comes out of a thick bedding area, he scared her off.
A few years back I was hunting state land from my tree stand, and could not miss seeing some guy with a compound bow, flitting through the woods. He entered my view from a nearby field as he climbed over a stone wall. From there he was whipping his head around and bobbing and turning in a search for deer. As he approached my stand I marveled that he never noticed my three piece strap on ladder. As he blew by my location I had no problem hearing his foot steps. In fact I could trace his wanderings on the hillside below me by simply listening. After twenty minutes he returned the way he came. Only this time he stopped and looked up at me as he spotted the bottom section of my ladder, only an arms length from him. "Oh $hit", he said and started apologizing for busting my location.
I don't think it is so much the choice of weapon, as it is the attitude towards hunting. Quick and easy trumps patience and practice in today's world. Woodsmanship has been a disappearing quality.
Apparently the crossbow hunter didnt mess the hunt up too bad. At 6pm had 2 does come in from directly down wind not far from where i was watching the first doe at 330. One of them stood under my stand for 5 min trying to figure out what I was and where I was. (22ft up an oak) She finally veered off behind me and I managed to miss her at 15yds. I only had a front/top lung shot. most of her body was behind a tree. i was mainly concentrating on not hitting the tre which was my downfall. what a bummer better luck next time i guess. Shooting behind you while in a stand with a rail is not easy. safety strap also restricted me quite a bit.
IT'S NOT FAIR TO GENERALIZE ABOUT XBOW HUNTERS, HOWEVER, I DO AGREE WITH YOUR COMMENT "ITS THE GENERAL ATTITUDE OR LACK OF GENERAL ATTITUDE DISPLAYED BY HUNTERS" ... I DONT CARE WHAT YOU HUNT WITH BUT PLEASE DONT PLACE A STAND 20 YRDS FROM MY STAND ON STATE PROPERTY... I UNDERSTAND STATE LAND IS SHARED BY EVRYONE BUT TAKE THE TIME AND SCOUT YOURSELF...
Emmitt I have to take you to task. Your asking me not to put my stand up 20yds. from your stand on STATE land. By putting your stand on state land your claiming this state land for yourself. How is that "state land shared by everyone". I use a climber 99.8 p/cent of the time. I can't tell you how many times iv'e gone to trees on state land that iv'e hunted for yrs. and lo and behold theres a permanent ladder stand in the exact tree iv'e used for yrs.. I do have respect for other hunters and if i see a car parked near that stand i'll go somewhere else,but if i'm there first and your stand has been left on state land. I may be sitting in it when you arrive.
What about the rich hunter who can afford 20 ladder stands and he places them at every good location he can find on state land. He just locked up tons of acerage for himself where he may or may not hunt on any particular day. Sorry Emmitt but on state land its first come first served.
deer slayer, I'm the first to say state land is to be shared equally by everyone ... my point being I believe other hunters intentionally look for existing stand locations because they are either lazy and or inconsiderate
Ok i understand your point. I guess i misunderstood your point. Look for me in your stand. lol
Guys, relax and take a deep breath...
In the past, during shotgun season, I have had someone walk up on me while on stand. Both times, the guy didn't see me until the last moment.
Both times the guy waved to me and went in another direction.
I myself bumped into another hunter..didn't see him 30 feet up in a thick pine. Gave a wave and turned around.
It happens to everyone.
Courtesy goes a long way.
Emmitt...It is quite possible that someone else scouted an area, and saw the same things that you did, for placing a stand.
Being state land, he may place his stand where he wishes. A little breathing room would be nice, but not everyone is like me.
Good luck guys, shoot straight.
Please don't sit in a stand that's not yours in will lead to a fight for sure...
I haven't hunted state land in years, but I would not be happy to find someone in my stand. I would not use a stand that does not belong to me. However, I would have no problem setting up next to an unoccupied stand.
I feel your pain pass-thru, I've been hunting deer for 39 years and have many stories to tell like that one. But the very 1st buck I shot was from 2 idiots wandering around near my stand, they eventually pushed a nice 6pt my way. Even in states as big as Pennsylvania it's happened to me more times than I care to remember...some people just don't get it
Two years ago I was in a spot I had bow hunted for many years on state land. I was settled in before daylight and just as it was getting light enough to see well I saw something moving my very slowly. I got up and got ready.
I noticed something didn't look right about this thing moving right toward my tree and realized it was a hunter. He carried a cross bow and got almost to the base of my tree when I whistled at him. He looked at me and said he was sorry.....told me I was in an awesome spot (which I already knew). I asked him where he was going, and he pointed to the tree next to mine and said he was setting up on the ground.
I gave him a suggestion to go up the hill and set up in another area I knew of....he refused and asked if I would be hunting there in the afternoon....I wasn't. He said he'd come back another time.
At first I was afraid of a confrontation, but it all worked out. And the best part was about an hour later I shot a nice 6 point.
However, I am now Leary of hunting that spot since that time. I'm afraid of someone else being there or disrupting my hunt while I'm already set up.
I am glad I don't hunt state land but one time on private land I had a guy put a stand in the same tree that mine was in .HE didn't want to use my stand just my tree .LOL
I don't intentially look for stands, I hate seeing hang on or ladder stands on state land that stay up all year. I had this argument on here before in the past. I use a climber exclusively for this reason. I scout an area, find sign, pick a tree and intend to hunt that spot. I would not consider hunting there if I saw a stand that looked like it was set up recently. However, say I scout and find a great spot, pick a tree but may not be able to get back to hunt there until the next weekend. In the mean time someone sets a ladder or hang on in that spot after I leave. I go in early in the am with my climber and as it gets light a stand is 50 yards away. How is that my problem or my fault?....except my hunt possibly being ruined by someone that "claimed" that spot. Should I wrap the tree in surveyors tape with a sign that I am hunting there? :)
If I hunt some small spots for a quick hunt and see a vehicle parked, I will move on somewhere else, which is the good thing with a climber. Lucky my other state land spots are a pretty far walk in and I would be surprised if I saw anyone else.
Maybe I'm naïve....but I don't look for stands, just really good areas. And lo and behold, I find stands in a lot of spots already on state land in these areas. It's very difficult to find a piece of property that doesn't have someone hunting/poaching there already......even private land.
Tobywon, no need for surveyors tape and a sign, thats what ladder stands are for :)
Last year someone put up a hang on stand next to a tree I have been hunting out of for years. I found it opening day after the sun came up. When I left I hung a branch in the way of the steps and didn't go back to hunt there for the rest of the season. I went back after the season ended in January to scout, and the branch was still there.
I hear you griz, maybe I'll get a cheap ladder stand up to reserve the spot for my climber :) I've also done the same thing as you with the stick just to figure out if someone was using it. This was on a ladder stand. The stand has been there for several years and has not been used for a while according to the sticks I've placed there.
There is a simple solution to the problem. No stands allowed to be left on state land. Over The last few yrs. i have literally had guys place permanent stands in the exact tree I have used climbers in for yrs. It was starting to creep me out almost like they were watching us. I would say at least 6 to 8 EXACT trees i was using. Thats when i lost it. If your not there i'll put my stand up 1ft from the tree your in…..You know the tree iv'e hunted out of before you were born. if your car is parked in the vicinity i'll move on. If you come up and confront me about being 1ft. away from your stand I have no problem going back to prison. In case I forgot to mention it iv'e been bowhunting 45 yrs.
Easy there fellas. No deer worth goin to prison for! Try to be grown ups ok. You got a problem with another fellow hunter try a conversation before pulling out your 9. Thanks and be safe out there.
9's a pea shooter s/w 500
Wow I am so glad in my 33 years of hunting I get more pride of helping other people who come into my hunting area's . I think of it as a sport and don't let these guys and girls stress me . Over the past few years I've made friends by helping them out and even hooked into some nice private lands but you get out of life what you put into it . Just my 2 cents .
I hunt state land only and over the past 47 years there's only been one area where I ran into another hunter who had set up a stand and left it in the woods with a game camera and he posts on this sight occasionally. If he's there before me, I go to my alternate spots.
Use the other hunter to your advantage! If you know where the deer are coming from and going to, you should be able to use the other hunter to push some your way if he spooks them. There's plenty of room in the woods guys and the deer move around quite a bit.
Im so glad I have hundreds of acres to hunt private land...
Never hunted in the tree that I took this one from.
Never hunted in the tree that I took this one from.
passthrough
one thing that you and others might ask themselves is - "Why is there only that one tree we all think is the only place to hunt?" I feel you pain, because I used to think the same way.
In 2014 I put a young man in "MY TREE". Not a tree near "MY TREE", but "MY TREE". I went to another location not far from him, never been in that tree before, and I was the one who arrowed a nice, mature buck.
Years ago I learned to stay flexible when it comes to picking a spot to hunt. What was a great spot last year might be the 2nd best this year, you just never know unless you remain flexible.
I only hunt state land. I've accepted that I might run into others or they might run into me. My main concern is some unethical person that is going to not identify his target. I for one would like to see a hunter orange requirement for Xbow shooters. Since those bolts can carry a fair distance, I think that would be a good safety measure.
I am so glad that I have plenty of private land to hunt! All I have to worry about are poachers and thieves!!!
Garbanzo - I agree with you about the orange, that's why I wear it on the way to and from my stand. Even non xbow hunters can sometimes do the wrong thing, so you can never be too careful.
Gene - never considered the problems on private land since I don't hunt it, but I guess there are bad people everywhere.
BBB I never pick 1 tree. I use a climber and pick out about 10 trees for different wind and when the sign shifts areas on state land. I just don't get why these few crossbow hunters would walk through a thick bedding area about 75yds long when you can't see more then 5 ft in front of you. Their Never going to get a shot like that. You can't shoot a deer on the run with a crossbow, when in an area that thick. Or at all for that matter. That was my point. I set up near thick bedding areas usually and that's why I've had this happen 7 times I guess. The fork I got Saturday came out of the bottom of the same area the guy went through last week.
Now I understand. Yeah, I've seen hunters do the same thing, maybe just too lazy to walk around these areas.
Crossbows are heavy and wide, not well suited to still hunting or stalking. With trad bows or compounds you can snake through thickets much easier. I have never shot a cross bow but have killed deer with trad and compounds from the ground while still hunting or stalking a bedded deer. Especially new hunters with xbows should probably see the wisdom of restricting their efforts to ground blinds and tree stands or simply hunting turkey style with their back up against a tree, using a rest like the trigger-stick. They will enjoy more success than stalking.
