Hunting Etiquette

#51
Interesting topic OP-

You of course don't need to share this but I'd personally be interested as to what your age is for my own information to putting the puzzle pieces together. The debate that you pointed out though is all too familiar- and from what I can ascertain, a lot of it comes down to etiquette on shared hunting grounds.

As for myself-during my hunting career, all of it has been on public grounds and (I at least) see a lot of similarities of my experiences to what you've outlined. To switch context- it's reminiscent of owning a home and asking about etiquette of people parking in front of your house. It may be on a public street and they may legally be within their rights but that doesn't answer the question on whether it's polite or the proper etiquette either. Unfortunately, social politeness doesn't seem to carry much weight these days.

I could post my own thread on this topic myself and how it's affected me but I don't want to derail on your post. Hope that you find the answer you're looking for sir and wish you the best of luck.

-LD
 
#52
I hunt public land mostly. I've put blinds out there knowing that there was a possibility that there could be someone else sitting in it the morning I go to sit in it. My only options are to deal with it, or pack up my property and move somewhere else with it. I can't kick them out of it. I've hunted in some stands that were placed on public property. The conservation states that stands on public property are open to anyone to use. I'm personally not going to be the guy to tell the owner of said stand that he can't use it, I will personally yield that stand back to it's owner and wish them luck. There isn't any hard rule to state that I must though.

In your case, if the guy had a seriously douchy attitude, I might go out of my way to be a dick back to them and tell 'em to get fucked. However they're likely to possess a loaded firearm, and there are a lot of retarded dumb fucks that head out in the woods in the fall that wouldn't be allowed to be in possession of a firearm if there was an IQ test, or psychological exam requirement for ownership......just sayin'.
 
#53
Last weekend I went with two friends to hunt a farm. We decided to sit by a tree and face different directions. We had a great time and two of us got deer. The first deer was shot and ten minutes later the second one was shot. A third deer was shot at and missed 30 minutes after the second one was shot.We've done the same thing before and had just as good a time without killing a deer.
Instead of getting torqued over hunting etiquette maybe you should have made a couple new friends and learned that there's more to hunting than killing a deer.
Have you ever helped a stranger quarter up his kill or drag his deer out of the woods? Have you ever been hunting with a friend and pass on a shot for your friend to take the shot?
More of ^^^^^this and less of the look at me I killed would make hunting a more enjoyable hobby.
Since we are all on a precision shooting forum is it really an accomplishment to kill an animal that has no idea that you are in the same zip code?
I think you missed an opportunity to make a couple friends and have a more enjoyable hunt.
 
#57
In conclusion, I must agree with @diverdon .

This thread was not about gathering opinions. It was about confirmation of bias.

The OP felt it was rude for someone to want him to leave their stand site since he got there first.

But one thing this forum has is a plethora of assholes and opinions, both smelling about the same.

So, there will not be a consensus. Or full confirmation of bias.
 
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#59
It's not an issue of etiquette but one of common sense. I prefer to hunt in places where nobody else is. Don't need the competition for the same game. I move so the other hunters around can be used to my advantage (when possible) and go about enjoying my day. Ya get into a pissing match with some stranger only to find out he's related to the property owner or something and now you're no longer welcome. No upside to arguing IMHO. Move on. Shrug it off. But that's just me. My next hunt is in the Arctic Circle (yellow dot) for muskox with a recurve. Doubt I'll run into any other hunters.

 
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#62
My cousin had a buck stolen, on his dads property. He shot it late one evening, we tracked it about 200 yards the next morning, all the way to a gut pile.
 
#63
Probably a lot of jealous hateful bitch came out in my reply. Damn fine place you got to wander around for sure. As stated above, I’d be more than happy just to walk around lost for a few days in a place like that. Happy hunting to you as well
 
#64
And I know I made jokes peeing and and dropping deuce as a spiteful thing but really, I would not do that, I would, like others, find another useful spot and let their late stomping around send the deer my way.

I don't see it as being weak. I see it as being neighborly. Hunting for me is relaxing. Except for the moment last Friday where I saw a doe. I was on public hunting property that is managed by the USFS. You can only gun hunt a doe during regular season on that land if you have an antlerless permit and you only get that by entering a drawing. I did not win this year.

She was about to jump the barbed wire fence (low) and was no more than about 60 yards in front of me. I would not have been able to shoot here but if a buck she was trying to attract came along, I could get him.

Something spooked her and she bounded off into more thick woods on the private property. So, I dropped all my gear and squatted on my camp stool and settled down.

30 minutes later, I could start to hear more movement but they were not getting closer. Anyway, so, that was exciting and it made all the other times I did not see one worth it.
 
#65
Funny story. I have a highschool friend that never hunted in his life. In fact, I don’t think he ever ate a piece of meat that didn’t start under cellophane in a grocery store or in a restaurant kitchen. Well, he eventually settled down and bought a home on a few acres (maybe 20?) in Michigan.

I get a call from him one day, “hey, I need help gutting a deer.”

“Sure man, but you do realize that you are in Michigan and I am in Texas, right?”

So I spent the next 45 minutes or so guiding him- over the phone- on how to gut a deer- cut by cut. Once he finished that, I gave him some tips on skinning it. To his credit, he got it done. And, in my small friend group, I received the moniker of “redneck tech support.”
 
#66
Sounds like rules/gentlemans agreement for your coop would be the best way to go. If its free, there's nothing stopping conflicts like this from happening. It only takes 1 person to ruin a good thing for everyone else.
 
#69
I used to think similarly. That all changed when I actually headed to the southeast to hunt whitetails, which is predominantly stand hunting. Its true thats its not as much of a physical hunt as I have done out west my whole life. Throwing a stand up willy nilly in the woods may be waiting. Putting boots on the ground and doing all the walking to find the sign and pick the spot within the spot to make a stand for a great encounter is a big part of the hunt. Getting into the spot clean and then having your mind right to stick it out is a real challenge, especially for a guy who spent his life pounding miles to find the critters. Am I in the right spot, should I move, did I bump em coming in??? Its a mind fuck and a whole different world from western hunting and if you dont know you dont know. I have enjoyed trying to figure it out and in some ways its been a lot tougher to find success in the tight piney woods of the deep south for high pressure mature skittish ass whitetail bucks than pounding miles to find a big bull or mulie. I haven't done much midwest whitetail hunting but those bucks in the deep south are smarter and WAY more alert and in tune than anything Ive ever hunted out west.
 
#70
I agree with this. I'm not a fan of people staking out areas in public lands. My general rule is if I arrive in an area and I see a rig I go somewhere else. That's part of my hunting rules. I have no interest in ruining someone else's hunt. I'd appreciate the same respect for my hunt.
 
#75
Regarding "stolen" bucks:

I'd treat it the same as I'd treat finding a money clip with cash in it. Ask your neighbor to identify the clip and the amount (or describe the buck), and then return it to them happily if it is actually theirs. That would make me feel like an okay dude to help a hunter find their [LEGIT] trophy...even if it is on my place.

If they say they lost a buck, but can't identify shit...I'm suspicious.

*I actually have a pretty nice and unique european mount in my kitchen. It belonged to one of my target bucks in the fall of 2022. He disappeared off camera coincidentally within the same 24 hour period of my neighbor taking a shot off my fence at 9PM with a rifle (6 weeks before rifle season). Sometimes I wouldn't get suspicious, but he never shoots coyotes/pigs at night...and only ever fires after dark during one of the deer seasons. I leave it at that, and don't stick my nose in other people's business.

Anyway, I found the intact skull of that target buck about 13 months later as I was chasing cows on one of the edges of my property - about 3/4 mile from that neighbor. I posted it on FB, and he responded, but then stopped after I asked if it went missing in relation to the shot off my fence that night. Oh well...I ended up with the mount and didn't have to clean anything I guess.
 
#79
I thought maybe the 'on his dads property' part would give that away.

And I'm not sure I'd call laying overnight being 'obviously dead for a while'.
 
#80
This right here hits the nail on the head. Most of the hunting work is the prep and scouting. Although I have watched western hunts where the first day or so was driving around with binos and spotting scopes to even get an idea of where and how to approach.

Problem with hunting in the woods is everything echoes. And sometimes, you need more than one stand.

I was watching an old guy talk about how he does not shoot does from his long term stand. If the does quit coming around, the bucks won't be there, either. But then, does he only shoot bucks from that stand? Won't other bucks also get leery?

Here, in the south, Deer know what time of year it is. You can go out in June and July and cut some branches down and clean up and refill feeders and reseed plots. Sit down for a break and have a sarsaparilla. And deer will show up about 20 yards from you and browse.

That same spot on the first Saturday (in Texas) of November? Ghost town.

Happened to a colleague. He was on a lease that he no longer has and just finished some chores tending to it and was having a beer in his folding lawn chair. And a deer showed up and munched for a while. It was July. Long days and hot temps mean no shootee, bangy bangy.
 
#83
You guys don't seem to get it. I had (have) no intention of sabotaging someone else's tree stand. I have no intention of using a tree stand put up by someone else. It's simply a matter that the guy MAY OR MAY NOT EVEN SHOW UP to hunt from that stand. And if he does and I'm on the ground, I think he's out of luck because I've already established myself in that AOO. If he doesn't, I'm out of good hunting area for absolutley no good reason.

If he had been sitting in that stand when I arrived on the scene I'd have wished him good luck and moved on. I expect the same from him. But he doesn't "own" that land just because he put up a tree stand (which may or may not being used) and before he's even in the stand if I'm there first on the ground, it's his tough luck. THINK PEOPLE THINK.
 
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#84
In regards to the op, I’d say what does the state law say? In Idaho on public land we can hunt someone else’s blind or hunt on someone else’s bear bait. I find either pretty distasteful. If a guy goes to the work of building a blind or building and tending a bear bait then it’s a lazy move to hunt someone else’s work. Just my opinion though. Also here in Idaho a person has to have WRITTEN permission to hunt private land whether it’s posted or not. Verbal agreements don’t count. I will agree with the majority on here-getting in a verbal confrontation with someone over a technicality is a good way to get shot. Would really suck to get injured or killed over your perceived right to hunt their stand. Also, I’ve had my share of unethical hunters. They give us all a bad name. My dad and I had a really nice mule deer buck get stolen by a guy that wasn’t legal to take said deer. I’ve had fat lazy idiots on four wheelers ruin hunts with my kids. I had two guys trespass in on my son and I and ruin a hunt. I’ve also had hunters offer to help me as I’ve offered to help others.
 
#85
How much clearer can I make it. I WAS NOT HUNTING IN HIS STAND. I WAS ON THE GROUND. HE WAS NOT EVEN IN THE STAND AND ONLY ARRIVED AFTER I DID. Let's put an end to this. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. IF I ARRIVED IN THE AOO OF FIRST, IT'S HIS TOUGH LUCK CAUSE I AIN'T MOVING. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR STATE'S LAWS SAYS - IN PENNSYLVANIA WE DON'T HAVE LAWS THAT COVER THIS SCENARIO. SOME OF YOU (I'LL LET YOU FIGURE OUT IF I'M TALKING TO YOU) ARE IDIOTS. I'm done with reading your inane {stupid if you don't know what inane means" and irrelevant arguments.

It's simply a matter of hunting courtesy. Had he been in his stand, I would have moved off. But he WASN'T so I had first control of the area. Once he shows up, I'm not moving off. I wouldn't move off if he suddenly showed up on the ground. I'm there first and it's his problem. Anything else is poor courtesy.
 
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#86


Regional differences, maybe?

Where I hunt if a deer isn’t recovered the day you shoot it, the yotes pretty much clean it up for you.

The magpies (or crows, depending) will tell you where it is.




P
 
#88
I cannot speak for all others and I can be stupid. In fact, in my first post in the introduction section, I stated I would be the dumbest guy here. And plenty of times, I have made good on that threat.

However, I would ask if you have decided on how you want to spell the word, inane?

Actually, that is rhetorical. I peeked and it is spelled with one N, not two.

And quit climbing into other people's stands.

JK.

Doing what I can to help you manage your blood pressure.
 
#89
If we let anything lay overnight on our property, the hogs and coyotes will have it cleaned up by morning. If I don’t find a deer that night, I write it off completely. Hell, I’ve almost stopped hunting in the afternoon. Looking back, most of my deer are shot in the morning anyway.
 
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#90
While I agree with you (first come first served), the more you post in this thread, the more I think you are an altercation looking for a place and time.

One of the beauties of hunting private land in Texas is that trespassers kind of expect a “shoot first ask second” reception, and encounters with strangers are very uncommon.

We did have the sketchy meth billy neighbors drive down our ranch road to the cabin ostensibly because “they heard a gun shot and wanted to congratulate the hunter on his kill.” I wasn’t there, but the sentiment from those that were was “glad I was carrying a rifle. Those guys were casing the house.” SOP is now to lock the ranch gate coming and going.

The only other interaction we’ve had was regarding a stand that they, apparently, felt was set too close to the property line. “Someone” ransacked the blind, took a pair of binoculars, pulled the SD card from the nearby game camera, and tossed the camera on the ground.

(In their defense, the hunter had placed his blind and feeder- literally- on the fence line. While neither unlawful nor particularly uncommon, many frown upon the practice.)

People are shitty, and hunters get even shittier than they normally are when antlers are involved.
 
#91


I get it.

Public ground. If you get there first it’s your spot. Too bad for him if he shows up after you, regardless if he put up a stand.

Whoever gets to a spot first wins.




P
 
#92
That really sucks.

The DNR has a shoot on sight policy here on hogs. My county is supposed to be one of the hot spots in MI, but I don't know anyone who has seen one.

We do have some coyotes around, but it's been probably 20 years since I've seen one. I do hear them occasionally. My uncles property is 3 miles from mine, and I hunted there for 7 or 8 years before buying mine. I never saw or heard any there.
 
#93
Except that it is not public land. It is private land that a few people are allowed to hunt, with no assigned compartments or parcels.
 
#95
Bow season can be spooky as fuck, walking to a blind, pitch dark, coyote howls coming from all sides, and all you have in your hands is a pointy stick and a string…
 
#98
Ok, so we get that you weren’t actually IN his stand, and if you feel so strongly about your moral high ground then good for you. I do agree that hunting land is “first come first served.” As such I don’t see the argument to be had. You may not care about what my state’s laws are, but I do. I really don’t want to lose my rifle and hunting privileges. Also, while I’m not necessarily scared of a good fight, I also do not want to get shot because I was too proud to walk away from a fight with what could be a mentally unstable person with a loaded rifle.
 
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