I was doing some map scouting the other night and I came across this good looking funnel between a clearcut and a river. When I got the chance I got to the area to do a little scouting. Sure enough there is one heck of a runway running along this funnel. The only problem is I was definitely not the first person to find this spot. I also found 5 stands along this cut. One was a hang on, two were ladders, and two were permanent stands. Now I am 95 percent sure these are all rifle stands. I figure this for 3 reasons. 1. Location (can see a long way) 2.Some of the stands physically wouldn't allow you to shoot a bow out of it and 3. There just aren't a lot of bowhunters in the area. Thinking that these are rifle stands my question to you is this, would you feel guilty if you hunted this funnel in the weeks before rifle season opened??? Or do you just say finders keepers and go find another spot? What do you think? This is all public land but leave the legality of permanent/leaving stands out of it. Just looking for opinions on if people feel it is ethical to 'move in' on the area. The distance between the stand furthest southwest and the stand furthest northeast is approximately 600 yards. Red dots are stand locations.
Hunt it if nobody is there and have a back up spot if somebody is there. There no reservations on public land
Hasn't this story been told before, only it was from the POV of the person who showed up to his stand only to find someone else sitting in it, or in a tree right next to it? Why is it ok for us to squat on someone else's spot but if someone does it to us, we freak out? Funny how that other post had the exact same title.....
Since the land doesnt belong to any of the people hunting it I wouldnt feel bad at all if I hunted the same spot. Heck, I wouldnt feel bad if I used one of the stands that was already up!
Id hunt it! Be careful though everytime you go in as not to walk in on someone mid sit, and that just always causes bad blood.
I agree with hunt if there is no one there and have a backup spot if there is. I personally would not hunt from one of the existing stands since I did not put them up. While I think it is not wise to leave stands on public land since at the least they will probably get hunted out of by someone else and at the most they will get stolen, I would still respect the other person’s property and not use their stand. I may hunt in close proximity to one of the existing stands if it were unoccupied but I just wouldn’t use their actual stand if I didn’t have permission from the owner. Having said that, by putting a stand there it doesn’t reserve a spot for them on public land. If you are setup 50 yards from their stand when they arrive, they should move to their backup spot and respect the fact that you were there first. At least that’s how it should work in a perfect world. Some people will walk right in on you and get in their stand regardless if you are right there. I was on a managed deer hunt once where this happened. It was a muzzleloader hunt so we were wearing blaze orange hats and vests. I got to a position well before daylight overlooking a glade and I was sitting on a big rock at the edge of the glade. Right at daylight, I hear commotion off to my left. 2 guys walk in and stop about 50 yards from me. They have a climbing stand and one of the guys proceeds to climb a tree and settle in. The other guy leaves and walks across the glade right in front of me where I expect to see deer. There is no way they could miss seeing me in blaze orange that close. They basically, with their actions, were saying to me “F you, we don’t care if we are ruining your hunt or not. This is where we want to be and it doesn’t matter if you were there first.” I just got up and left being sure to be as noisy as possible the whole way out. So just be aware and be prepared for something like this to happen if you hunt near one of the existing stands. I would probably setup somewhere between the furthest southwest stand and the next one in line to try and avoid having your hunt disturbed by someone getting into one of the other stands.
I would say first come first serve, if you see trucks at the parking lot I would avoid all of the stands just to be safe. You never know who you run into on public land and its a given they have weapons. Much better to meet them for the first time at the parking lot instead of when your walking past their stand and they're mad. But on the flip side they could be great people and I would say you should try to meet anyone you see out there at the parking lot-they may turn into friends and hunting partners. I meet a guy this year that has turned into a great hunting partner. If you don't see any vehicles well then give it a shot!
I would hunt it. Don't hunt anyones stands, but I would get in there. Putting a ladder stand out there and expecting everyone else to stay out of the area isn't how public land works.
Making conversation with those in the parking is a great idea. I always ask first where others are hunting. If they ask me I will give them a general area....never my exact coordinates though. As for the stands and area I would hunt it, but I would hunt out of my own placed stands. I am always trying to avoid confrontation out in the woods as we are BOTH usually carrying weapons.
get out there early afternoon and get a stand up. Then you will see if the area is actively being hunted. I am not familiar w/ Minnesota laws...is it legal for a private citizen to put a "permanent" stand on public land? If so that's messed up. I know Illinois DNR has some areas where they do it; but those are public draw or first come/first serve spots...which is messed up as well, but not as messed up as allowing anyone who feels like it to put up a permanent blind like they own the place.
First come first serve. Additionally permanent stands are illegal on public ground (KS) as well as leaving them up year round. There is also nothing wrong with hunting a location if other hunters are there as long as you have good practices and give them some room. I met a guy on public ground walking out once. Our stands were 50 yards apart and neither one of us knew the other was there!
I agree, I would hunt the area using my own stands if I was in the area first that day. I run into this scenario quite often when hunting Kentucky archery only property. Never had a confrontation as most understand. If they are a prick about it, I would make sure to hunt it as often as the opportunity arose, if it was a good spot. Everyone has the same rights to public ground. No gets special privileges no matter how much they think they should.
I think that's public hunting and the stands were put up because people know a certain amount of people will not hunt there now and look other places. Just know that you may find others there or they may walk up on you later so be ready.
Depends on a WMA in Minnesota stands can not be left overnight. You are not allowed to construct a stand either. I believe state forests are the same
I've had it go both ways when I used to hunt a lot of public land. My first encounter was when I walked in for an afternoon hunt. I walked to my stand that had been hung for a few weeks and there was someone in a climber about 80 yards away. I told him it was fine if he stayed put, but he elected to move on since I had my stand hung there. He shot a deer that afternoon and I helped him drag it to the road so he could get his truck to it. He couldn't have been a bigger gentlemen about it. I was only a 19 year old kid and he was in his 40's so he could of very easily tried to bully me out of it. I also have went into an area and saw a stand there. I scratched it off my list for a couple reasons. 1) who knows how much pressure had been put on it. 2) I have access to something like 3500 acres of public land, I like to try to be alone. I've also had the idiot that came in while I was already hunting. I motioned to him, and he came up and started talking to me in a normal voice trying to have a conversation about everything under the sun!!! I started getting slightly irritated and he finally moved on...but just over the hill from me and proceeded to put on a rattling, grunting, and bleating show practically non stop for about 2 hours when I finally gave up. Whatever you do, don't be that guy lol.
I see nothing wrong with you hunting there if you are there first (I would not use their stands)...but personally, it's already too crowded for me. I hunt public land a lot...and spend as much time picking a spot based on hunting pressure as I do sign.
