People don't suddenly become this way. Just like any other endeavor in life where you have to invest something to get a return, people tend to show their true colors when doing so as a team. The selfish and greedy people are never able to hide these characteristics for long when it comes to investing and expecting returns (in this case investing time, money, and work in order to get the returns of hunting success). Not everyone is up to the task of putting in enough to get out what they want in the end.
I felt this way at one point in time. Felt like if I shared, I was giving something away. Now I learned that with family, I share any nice buck pic. It makes me feel much better than being a shady cousin and friend. I just ask that they not really share and give out my spots.
My BIL is my main hunting partner for both elk and deer. We always hunt together during archery elk, but not a lot for deer since our property is a short drive away and a deer isn't too bad to get out yourself. We both readily share game cam pics, to me it's more fun to share the anticipation that comes with getting a good buck on cam. Of course I would love to be the one that gets a chance at a nice buck on our place, but it's just slightly less fun to see someone else get a good buck, especially if it's family or close friends. Anyone I'm willing to let hunt on my place is fine to take any good buck they encounter. I will say it's a little different on our place because it holds does and mature bucks rarely show up until the rut. Once in a while I'll get a pic of a good buck before the rut, but it is random and I rarely get another picture of them and certainly nothing that can be patterned. To me this kind of adds to the excitement of hunting during the rut, because I never know what might show up. Once in a while a really nice one will be seen, but most are 120-140 type bucks. Two years ago a 155" or so ran by, but he was going full tilt behind a hot doe and there was zero shot opportunity. Never saw him again of course.
Here's a suggestion- use the trail cam to take photos at the zoo. "Look, I got a great picture of a rhino. Didn't know they were around here." Keep 'em guessing. It's a shame that people will take advantage of your photos and hunt that area. BTW, I don't have a trail cam...yet. I thought I would get one for my wife. Won't she be surprised!
I had a friend at work let me hunt his 15 acres. No house on it or anything, just a small part of a larger family owned property. Had a small clearing towards the middle of the property. Worked hard to get a little food plot in, scouted, trail cams, the 9 yards. Got some pics of some REALLY NICE BUCKS, sent him pics from my phone showing what was out on his property. 2 weeks later pulled in to hunt one evening and 2 cars were parked where I walk in. Called him up and he said some other guys at work(600+ employees where I work)saw my pics and asked him if they could hunt it also. He was like "SURE, I dont care." Told me he didn't care who hunted his property and we would all just have to work it out and get along. By the time gun season rolled around there were 5 or 6 guys hunting back there, my cameras and stands had disappeared. Of course no one knew who had done it. I just bailed on the property and moved on. I dont show my pics anymore. Sent from my SM-G965U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I also dont tell people my public land spots. Not that I think the people I would tell would go hunt there, but all it takes is for them to tell someone and then for them to tell someone and so on.
Oh thought we already had one of those, ... Cheers, With my brother in law it’s about getting the first kill, not really size Then the pressure is on, thankfully patience wins. Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting .com Forums
I think I would have had to go and let a little air out of some tires after my equipment magically disappeared..
Fishing is the same way. People blab about catching a bunch of fish on Monday at work, then complain that there’s no place to park at the boat landing the following Saturday... hmm, wonder what happened? You toss a glimpse of a nice set of antlers around and there’s bound to be trouble.
Yes I agree with the fishing. if your fishing near a bunch of people and you start catching fish they all move in on you. same goes with any sort of hunting. pheasant hunting in western Kansas is a good example. as soon as you kick up a bird or two someone is next to you in seconds. Waterfowl is the worst. especially on public land. you can be the fastest runner and get to the spot first set up and sure as death, someone will move in on you.
My grandfather is horrible about showing trail cam pictures. I don’t have to worry about sharing them. Everyone has already seen them. I send them to him, and they disperse lol drives me nuts but I love him anyway. Wouldn’t even have the property without him. We had someone come out to work on our tractor on warranty couple years ago. Dude barely got hello out his mouth and he whips out his phone bragging. Maybe it’s a old retired sheriff thing lol Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I can see it both ways. I’m very limited on who I would send a picture to. Anyone I send pics to will send pics back to me. The part I don’t like with a lot of hunters is how they get possessive of deer. You got a deer picture on your property and now it is your deer and no one else should shoot it. I have no problem with neighbors shooting big bucks that I’ve seen. I’m jealous, but also happy for them to have a great hunting experience. People jumping in on others spots to me is just selfish and disrespectful. I’ve had opportunities to hunt other properties, but others already hunt it and I stay away out of respect. People will be people. All sorts of them out there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I told a guy at work he could hunt the property my in-laws own 660 acres, told him where all of my stands where and to call me if he needed any help. He has bow hunted for 4 years and had never drawn his bow on a deer. He called me the day he hunted and asked if I could come help him track a deer, I was so excited for him I said of course, when I got to the property he is standing there with a guy I had never laid eyes on. It was a friend of his, he had told the guys he could hunt with him without ever asking me. Needless to say he hasn’t been invited back. Good news is I found the BB the other guy had shot.
