Sitting in someone else's treestand

[Wildlife]

Nope!

Never have & never will!!!

I see a hunter in site,,, I'll turn 180 degrees and leave the area completely.

I do this out of respect & courtesy for that hunter hoping that I would get it in return, however that's not always the rule.

I've lost hunting spots in the past due to friends & family that I have taken out previously only to find out later, that they moved in with all their friends & family. Very disappointing!!!

Never again will I do that!!!

Today, I invite a new youth each new season nowadays. If the youth is successful in harvesting a deer, shows the right attitude & enthusiasm towards the sport, I'll invited them back the following season.

I do enjoy public hunting with a group of good friends when we can get together to do so.

Again,,,

I would NEVER HUNT the same area/deer that someone else is already hunting!

That's NOT how I roll!

 

[Jackalope]

On my property anyone who hunts here can hunt where they want. That was on of the first rules established.(stops politics and cuts that snakes head off before it grows have seen this ruin other camps)
We at least my group of guys. Go with no one owns the deer mentality. If any of us get a big one etc it’s all the same to us.
Not saying we each don’t have our own spots etc.. We all just work together. It’s never once been an issue.It will never be an issue.. Atleast on my own property.

Now if I were somewhere else. No I wouldn’t climb up in somone else’s stand. Really tho the only time I do hunt out of a tree stand is gun season.

In the south that's how most leases operate. Stands are placed for the use of anyone and marked on a map with a number. All hunters must sign in and out of a numbered stand at the camp before hunting. You can put up a new set anywhere you want, as long as its identified on the map with a number and the understanding is that anyone in the club can hunt it.

 

[Sgt Fury]

It should be common sense, but when it comes to deer stands, people get brain cramps. You wouldn’t jump into someone else’s car parked on the street and just take off, you wouldn’t just open the door to a complete strangers house and make yourself at home. You wouldn’t sit next to someone at a restaurant that you don’t know and start eating their food (unless you’re Bill Murray)....so why would you sit in someone else’s deer stand. The only exception is if you know whose stand it is AND they invited you to do so.

 

[Lundy]

I think ones opinion on this subject will very much come down on what your personal mindset is about your hunting goals. If you are driven and passionate about trying to pattern and create an opportunity to harvest a specific animal you absolutely don't want anyone at anytime near your stand much less hunting in it. If you don't really care about what deer you may have an opportunity to kill, having a good time outdoors with your friends or if you are trying to share the love with a family member or friend you will view sharing stand as no big deal and maybe even encourage someone to hunt your stand.

I haven't been up a tree in many years, but when I was younger and driven by bowhunting it was always just an unwritten, unspoken, common courtesy with the group I hunted with that you would never sit another guys set or even ask to sit another guys set. Just asking would have been worse than asking to jump their wife, They might have been fine with the wife part but not their set.

 

[Sgt Fury]

I once had a guy place a stand about 15 yards from my stand and place bait on top of the bait that I already had out. He did this the Saturday before the Monday opener. I rebaited the stand Sunday and found his bait on my pile. Then he wrote a note on a piece of paper, placed it in a ziplock bag and tacked it to my tree. It stated that he was hunting this spot shotgun season and I should go elsewhere. After an altercation on opening morning (I explained to him the breach of etiquette and also that I’ve been hunting that spot since 1982) and also explained that when you stumble upon another hunters setup, that you should go find another area, then a second altercation that afternoon, he finally got the point that if he came back again, he would not be leaving. Guy was a real a-hole. Funniest part of the whole deal was that the state land where this took place was over 1,000 acres.

 

[BlueSpruceOutfitters]

Absolutely not. If you didn't hang the stand, then don't sit within 150 yds of it. Even on private property. Drives me insane even when the neighbors set up closer than 30-40 yds of the property line, cuz you know what they're gonna do when Mr. Big rolls down the line on your side...

 

[Wildlife]

I caught an out of state trespasser in his climber hunting not even 10 yards from one of my lock-ons two seasons ago, midday in the second week of November.

This scrawny little guy made me chuckle when he said to me that he didn't think anybody was hunting the area after I yelled at him from the ground beneath him, "Enjoying my shooting lanes???", as I busted him red handed glassing my hunting area.

I immediately told him to climb down in a hefty stern tone.

Then I asked him who gave him permission to be hunting back here. Of course, he was a total loss for words as he was continuing to climb down from the tree.

No sooner than he hit the ground and as I started walking towards him, not even 10 yards away, he suddenly turned around away from me, then ran like a S.O.B

Yeap, he took off with his climber in one hand and his bow in the other, and boogied straight to his pickup that was parked across the road, approximately 500 yards away, uphill even.

No sooner he made it to his truck, he through his shit in the back, then took off in a big, big hurry and didn't even bother to look back at me

Now,,,, I couldn't believe what I just witnessed as I stood there in complete & utter awe that afternoon.

First off, I was absolutely amazed by this guys impressive endurance. That was one hell of a run

Never have I seen ANY hunter in my entire life jog approximately 500 yards without even stopping, EVER!!!

He fled that area in less than 5 minutes from where he was standing just moments prior, right in front of me. I was so impressed with this guy's ability, I kid you not!

Definitely the weirdest hunting experiences of my life, and I'll never forget it.

The guy was from South Carolina TOO...

 

[xbowguy]

Used to be an older gentleman who hunted the tree farm on occasion. Never killed anything, so just put up with it. (3 or 4 times a year). He put a hang on right above my blind once! His bow rope was hanging in my window! I let him know about it.....then found his cell phone under another stand of mine the next day. Its probably still in the swamp I'd guess. He finally lost his key and it was never replaced. Some people just dont get it.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Threads like this remind me of how fortunate I've been to grow up hunting private ground that I controlled. Not too many horror stories for me other than the first year full year of bowhunting. We hadn't owned the property where my parents built our house for very long before I started bowhunting. A doctor used to own it and he let his buddies from WV hunt it. I was headed to the stand one day during the rut and saw a light walking towards me in the woods. I stayed on the hill 100 yards out and watched as the light wondered around and shined 360 degrees before climbing a tree. I turned my light on and walked right to my ladder stand, which now had a climber under it and a dude in it. It was a friendly encounter with an old dude that simply didn't do his homework. Not to mention he walked 3xs farther than he needed to, taking him all through the best of the bedding in the area, so he sorta dicked me in that regard too.

The only other time I've had it happen was right after we bought our farm and again, it was free-reign there with the previous owner. Had some assholes from PA leasing the place next to ours and they took the liberty of hunting one of my ladders stand during the rut one year. That was a less-friendly encounter than the first time I tossed someone off our ground, but it never happened again to my knowledge.

 

[Floki]

I really think this comes down to,if you know the group of guys you hunt with or if you don’t.As well as how close your are with the group of guys you hunt with. This makes the scenario apples to oranges.

You got a group of guys you have hunted with for a decade or so (whatknot) You pretty much have it figured out. What works for our group may not work for others. We all have our spots etc.. Yet if somone isn’t in to hunt it’s open to the next guy. You can’t kill a deer if your not hunting it that day.
But sure a shit if your neighbor is out he can etc. So we try to utilize the property for the potential of killing that buck before the neighbor.

Anyone of our guys would be happy to hear hey I got that buck before Tod the neighbor who was sitting on the other side of the fence a 100 yards away.
As a landowner I think when you start doing the whole my spot stay out etc.. You lose potential of the property to an extent. You also start adding politics and rules and it just grows from there.


Say one guy only bow hunts twice a year and gun hunts. Another bow hunts every chance he gets. Does that fella stay out of that spot all year?

What about those bucks that show up and are gone, not to be seen for the rest of the season? You weren’t there to hunt but your buddy was?

I guess I feel pretty strongly about this issue. I’ve saw the whole my spot thing go to peoples heads. Create a division among a camp.

Seen a fella kicking people off the land he was bow hunting,wasn’t even his property the people were there squirrel hunting had permission to be there. Absolutely nuts in my mind.

I guess my biggest issue with it is some people think or feel entitled to think,the property they are hunting becomes their own.That’s what I’ve seen happen before..

Agin tho if I were somewhere else I would never crawl up in someone’s stand. I guess it’s all about the group you hunt with. The point I’m at in my life I’d rather see a buddy get a big one than me. The smile is priceless, we all share each other’s success and failures.

 

[Lundy]

Floki,

i am curious if you don't mind.

How many of you hunt the property?

What size is the property?

Ratio of woods to open?

Trail cameras used?

Baiting?

Do you know what quality or specific deer are on or using the property?

Is there a established minimum standard for the group or individual?

Does your group harvest does during the archery season prior to gun season?

How many stands are set?

You mentioned neighbors, how many neighbors hunt? How close in proximity?

Is the property a core area or a pass through property?

Thanks

 

[OO2]

I’ve heard of guys getting into such a pissing match the landowner says this isn’t worth it and shuts the whole operation down.

I have done it once when I was a FNG and don’t think I’ll do it again. That being said I had permission to be there and do it.

My train of thought now after a little experience is that if the guy in question is out there sweating and swatting mosquitoes in July hanging stands with me I don’t have any issues. Just communicate about who sits where etc. But don’t come around October 31th and expect to hunt out of em without helping out with the work.

 

[Bigcountry40]

I sit in other peoples stands on public land all the time during gun seasons ( won't do it during bow, several reasons), never been encounters by anyone, if I am I will thank em and say I was just keeping it warm for em. I think doing this on public and private land (especially trespassing) is too totally different things and I justify my actions by believing so lol. I also wont climb into a public land stand before day light/the morning, if I walk in a wood in the afternoon see a vacant stand in the general area I am going to gun hunt, I am going to check out the view

 

[Floki]

Floki,

i am curious if you don't mind.

How many of you hunt the property?

What size is the property?

Ratio of woods to open?

Trail cameras used?

Baiting?

Do you know what quality or specific deer are on or using the property?

Is there a established minimum standard for the group or individual?

Does your group harvest does during the archery season prior to gun season?

How many stands are set?

You mentioned neighbors, how many neighbors hunt? How close in proximity?

Is the property a core area or a pass through property?

Thanks

You shoulda just asked me for my social security number... lol jk

Seriously tho. Big woods south east Ohio to give ya a mind set.. Agriculture isn’t that great there are a few fields etc.

There are some bait stations on some of the hunted acreage that is more less a pass through. Generally they are not hunted till gun season or when a kid comes down etc. I may hunt over them late winter. I’ve killed one for off bait In the last five years.
Generally we don’t kill Does until gun season. Like to keep them around till after the rut. Last five years only two Does have been shot.
Reason being they were getting slim. The standard was outside the ears unless your a kid, When the Doe ratio fell. That changed (a lot of things have happened in last five years.logging, Deer just disappearing never to be seen agin, after being around for years think someone is poaching whole other story not just my area neighbors as well) About 800 acres we share pics and stories with neighbors.We all have seen a drastic difference neighbors as well in the last few years.
There’s still some big ones to be got by all means.Maybe not 200 class deer. Doubt that would ever happen. Still tho some nice ones.

Regardless,tho if I owned the cream of the crop property.As a property owner,The rule would stand as we’re all in this together. We share our success and our failures.
As I’ve stated I’ve seen the whole my spot go to peoples head. If your to selfish to share a spot with the buddies you hunt with every year. Well ya may need to rethink things.(IMHO/life’s short)

Couple years ago I went out and saw a monster. Sent my buddy out to that spot the next evening. He missed it. I didn’t kill a buck that year.To this day Only thing I would change if I could was that he killed it. Yet a miss is always better than a bad shot.

I hope I answered your questions Lundy. This is just my personal opinion. It’s not directed towards anyone else. Just my own personal thoughts. This is one I got the year before last. Fellas I can’t be the only one that has witnessed a camp get split up over a my spot thing that’s gone to far.

 

[Floki]

I sit in other peoples stands on public land all the time during gun seasons ( won't do it during bow, several reasons), never been encounters by anyone, if I am I will thank em and say I was just keeping it warm for em. I think doing this on public and private land (especially trespassing) is too totally different things and I justify my actions by believing so lol. I also wont climb into a public land stand before day light/the morning, if I walk in a wood in the afternoon see a vacant stand in the general area I am going to gun hunt, I am going to check out the view

Man they must call ya big country for a reason. I stopped the whole publi land hunting 20 years ago. Was nuts then, can’t even imagine how it is now.

 

[Floki]

I’ve heard of guys getting into such a pissing match the landowner says this isn’t worth it and shuts the whole operation down.

I have done it once when I was a FNG and don’t think I’ll do it again. That being said I had permission to be there and do it.

My train of thought now after a little experience is that if the guy in question is out there sweating and swatting mosquitoes in July hanging stands with me I don’t have any issues. Just communicate about who sits where etc. But don’t come around October 31th and expect to hunt out of em without helping out with the work.

I have seen this happen a couple times.Im gonna have to start a new thread. curious to what other people’s camp rules are.

 

[Lundy]

Thank you very much for your response. I was just curious because I think there can be a lot of variables that lead each towards their own personal conclusions.

Again, thanks

 

[Floki]

Thank you very much for your response. I was just curious because I think there can be a lot of variables that lead each towards their own personal conclusions.

Again, thanks

Lundy, I’m passed the me part. I’ve seen a lot of things destroy camps over different issues. Usually the things that destroy deer camps is the me part.

The best hunter in the world can’t kill a deer if he’s not in the woods. How that works out is a matter of opinion. Many of tag soup has come by the way of being there or not. My attitude is life’s short enjoy it. If you consistently take big bucks great. But if your not there and your buddy does awesome.Not saying a fella misses a day you invade his spot.. Just saying if it’s tight knit it’s tight knit. With in reason.. Hard to explain in text..

 

[Redhunter1012]

Last year a new guy in the area started dicking me and Nate around. He started opening day of bow by trying to tell us a stand we had was placed on stuff we werent allowed on. Im convinced he was hunting it regularly. Then the dickhead placed a stand about 10 yards down from my absolute best stand, and posted a video of his new setup on Facebook. Luckily a co worker is friends with him and showed me the video. I talked to the landowner. He told me the guy was only supposed to be on the creek behind his house, but told me to handle it between us. If it gets to be an issue, no hunting for anybody. Not sure what to do this year if he continues to do it this year. Same guy drove past Nate down a grass lane as he was walking to his stand and parked back by the woods. Lazy fucker

 

[giles]

Last year a new guy in the area started dicking me and Nate around. He started opening day of bow by trying to tell us a stand we had was placed on stuff we werent allowed on. Im convinced he was hunting it regularly. Then the dickhead placed a stand about 10 yards down from my absolute best stand, and posted a video of his new setup on Facebook. Luckily a co worker is friends with him and showed me the video. I talked to the landowner. He told me the guy was only supposed to be on the creek behind his house, but told me to handle it between us. If it gets to be an issue, no hunting for anybody. Not sure what to do this year if he continues to do it this year. Same guy drove past Nate down a grass lane as he was walking to his stand and parked back by the woods. Lazy fucker

Become buddies with him and take him under your wing. Fighting with him will result in everyone getting tossed...so make the best of it.