Bowsite.com

Discuss public land

Found this on another site. It was in reference to someone putting up a blind on public land, then someone else putting up a tree stand directly above it. I find it very amusing. I will not put up a blind or stand on public land, I will still hunt and stay at a location I like. I favor keeping my options open and not fighting for a spot in the woods.

Happens on private land as well. My son had a ground blind set up last year, a guy put a tree stand 15 yards from the blind. When asked he said he could hunt during the week while my son was working, if my son had a day off he would stay away. Hundreds of acres to work with, neither took a deer from that location

It gets pretty bad on public here in WI. Common courtesy is pretty much dead around here. But that just means you have to hunt where the d.bags won't go.

Put up dummy decoy stands in the bad areas to attract others to those spots

I hunt a lot of public or WIHA and I put up brackets and some steps and leave up. I try and hunt spots that others overlook or are hard to access. Sorry but lots of guys are lazy and don't want to work too hard. Create some sign(fake rubs and scrapes) and hang a few dummy sets. Shawn

Yeah hang a few dummy sets... because there aren't already enough stands out there in the woods. You are just as bad as the others if you do this, because you might be wrecking the hunt for someone that is trying to stay away from others.

Hang dummy sets lol. I don’t have enough stands for what I want never mind extras. Never mind it’s about 50/50 some would get stolen. One thing I do have extra of though is non-working trail cameras. I could leave those all over the place

No leaving stands just some steps in the tree and trim some lanes. Guys are brutal, i have had sets that were marked clearly and had guys hang stands within 15 yards. I am not the one being an a-hole by trying to deceive someone a bit. The a-holes again are the guys who set up where other people are already hunting. I have only had 2 issues and both were in Kansas but those guys had a week and were not worth getting upset about,, they were just terrible people and hunters. Shawn

I walk in about an hour uphill and normally never see anyone.

No spot reserving Shawn! Sorry, but if your stand is there and you're not in it when I get there, I can set up in the next tree over.

I have been 100% mobile for 20 years, starting with a climber and transitioning more to hangons the past couple years. I think all public should be carry in, carry out.

I also think it's just dumb to leave a stand, or tacks, or ribbon. I work hard to find good spots I certainly don't want to advertise those to other hunters.

elk yinzer x 2!

There are so many stands left in the woods anymore.. If i want to hunt a location that has a stand in place, I will MOST definitly set up in the tree right beside that one. SO LONG AS, no one is there when i arrive..

I've seen stands set up and seemingly never hunted.. Yes, hard to tell, but seems like no one was ever there...

either way good luck and be safe this season!

Hey Bou…..don`t forget to add some fake rubs.

I went to scout a property with my best friend one time and while he walked around one side of the cornfield I ran harder than a 2.5 year old buck and made a giant scrape line down the other side under every suitable licking branch I saw. We met at the far end, and he's like "nah not much sign." I says "oh wow this side was pretty good." We walked back and I could hardly contain his oohs and ahs the whole way back lmao. That fake rubs comment just reminded me of that.

The problem is even if I am in my stand you can set up ten yards from me. Its public but it still makes you an a-hole no matter how ya look at it!! I do okay even having to deal with guys that have no moral(sp?) code at all! Shawn

So, you put sets up and further crowd the available land for other people. Then act as if they are the ones committing a moral dilemma.

You're dead ass wrong and have the balls to call me an a-hole? Okay, here's your sign!

The thing is I don't set up where other hunters are pounding it like Stormy Daniels. So if I go in there and see a beaten human path, 39 fresh shooting lanes, and those clown ass scent drippy things, I am thankful for the useful scouting info and move on. If that's you, you've effectively reserved your spot because congratulations, you ain't killing crap there. Some stands are a little harder to discern usage, and some more are pretty clearly abandoned. If those semi abandoned stands are in a good spot, damn straight I am hunting there.

Well that escalated quicker than my brother with a LW and three steps

I'm all for friendly debates but throwing that tag around, twice, carries some weight. Must be nice to live out in BFE great white north and not have to deal with so many idiots. I think it is almost incomprehensible to the Western folk that some of our public lands easily have 30 or 40 hunters bowhunters per square mile during busy times. You see all types, that is for sure. It seems so simple to follow the rules of the road, but I've run into "that guy" a few times even while trying like hell to avoid them.

I broke my own rule and did an atv based hunt here in AK over the weekend since my gf wanted to go this making my normal hike in not feasible. I got to fly the area a few times the week before season and I knew the caribou migration path. So we went to a high peak a decent ways in that had 3 ridges with associated saddles just below the peak. We got in early the day before season and had at least 1500 caribou passing through the saddles the 2 days we were there. Not a single camp for miles when we first arrived. As expected people started to filter in late evening the night before opener, but for the most part everyone respected camps and gave an even spacing except for 2 dip sh#*s on 2 rangers. They rode up to our camp, stared at us for a while as if they were expecting us to leave then went 50 yards away and set up camp. I know it’s legal but cmon have some ethics there were still plenty of spots far enough away to not smell each other’s farts.

The story gets good because we had seen several giant bulls but one that I thought might approach 400. We watched him feed all day until dark in 1 small drainage 800 yards away the day prior to opener. We made a plan to be in the area we last seen him stupid early. We woke up at 0230 and got into a glassing position 30 minutes later close to where we though he would be and in the dirty light I see him feeding again. We moved into position and my gf dropped her first animal which is probably a 350 class Caribou. The best part besides her being super stoked was looking back and seeing the guys who camped on top of us get out of their tent late and watch us high fiving.

@thedude - isn't that just the sweetest?! Congrats on a great bou.

Register here to reply to this topic