Bingo. The best spot on a map in my favorite public land spot I used to hunt probably has 4 or 5 stands on it each year. My favorite thing to see is a bunch of trucks in the same parking lot so I can go to another one and hunt it by myself.
As much as possible... I want to be on friendly terms with other hunters. If I truly stumbled onto the stand while scouting and just happened to notice the stand; that's one thing. If I decide to hunt there because I found someone else' stand, that's a different matter. On public land... I get there early... communicate with other hunters where I would like to hunt... and be willing to work with someone if they have a stand already up where I want to go. I have never had an issue when tasking this approach... and most of the time, find others waiting on me to make sure I get out okay and/or don't need help dragging a deer. I have never been so awesome that I can't manage another friend. The word is "good sportsmanship."
It illegal to hang and hunt from permanent stands on public land. Call the game warden and be will tear them down. The the tree would be ready for your climer!
Wow. Thank you for all the replies folks. Definitely made me feel better about wanting to hunt the spot. I will probably have to give it a try at least once or twice now. Like I said I'm almost positive they are all rifle stands so I shouldn't have to worry about other people hunting them until rifle season opens up. I went in originally wanting to put a camera up. After seeing the stands I decided against it for fear of it growing legs. I understand your point but do you still feel the same way if it wouldn't be hunted during the season they intend to hunt? Assuming these are rifle stands (which I am) that season doesn't open until November 8th. Do you still feel it is not ok to hunt the area with a bow prior to rifle season? I definitely do my best to not be that guy. Can't you tell by the title of the thread? These deer probably won't see much pressure until rifle season opens up on November 8th. Archery pressure is pretty light. The most pressure they probably get is from bird hunters on the road. Because it is a funnel I'm not sure they spend much time there any way. Just pass through on their way to do their deer things. That's just me making a guess though. I did find a funnel farther down the road down a trail that did not allow ATV traffic. I walked in to place my camera there thinking it would be safer. I get to the spot to find an old permanent stand that definitely wasn't used any more but also a spruce tree with limbs cut like it was ready for a stand to be hung. There was no stand in it yet so I left the camera. Hope I don't come back to check the cam and find a stand up. Or worse yet my cam missing.
I try not to hunt by other stands. I avoid people as much as i can on public land. I have better luck going where no one else goes or at least an area that doesnt have 5 stands in it. I would have no qualms hunting it i knew they were all rifle stands tho
Use those other stand locations to your advantage. The deer will change their movement based on pressure.Even a small move of 100-150 yds could pay big dividends.
I bet those permanent stands get hunted 3 days a year. I'd add the area to my list. These two spots intrigue me right off the bat, and of course, I'd be looking for a way to float the river into my stand
Yeah if nobody is there, hunt it. If you go in and someone else is already there, move on to another location.
I hunt public land in NY exclusively, so I run into this sort of thing a lot. Heres what I do if I want to hunt an area that looks like others may be hunting there. I usually take a morning of bowhunting off, generally a weekend day where the weather is good, and drive around to these spots looking for other vehicles parked there. Usually if someones bowhunting it, they'll be out on a nice weekend morning. If I think theres nobody hunting there, then I'll give it a try. I would never hunt someone elses stand and would hope everyone else would give the same courtesy. I don't want my hunt ruined when the owner of the stand comes walking in to hunt it! Same thing goes for hunting too close to someone elses stand. Now, if I conclude that there are others hunting an area, I'll try to figure out where they're set up and maybe hunt it based on this info. I generally assume that most guys aren't great hunters and the deer will catch onto them soon and adjust their travels accordingly. When they do, I want to be sitting right there!
Of course you would look into floating the river Fitz. Floating it down isn't an issue. Getting back up the river might be the problem . I didn't head to far into the area you pointed out but from what I can a remember it looked pretty thick to run n gun it. Will definitely have to take a closer look though at some point, Fitz style of course.
Public is public which no one owns it! I had a couple of old friends that were very secretive and possessive about "their" public land spot. I went hunting with them for 3 years the let them know I got a tag for the fourth and then all the sudden becomes a larger than life problem... I knew these guys since the 6th grade and even considered them family. One still invites so called friends to the spot every year and well let's just say they can go f themselves! Anyway public land is public and that is all there is to it!
I would do the same as every one else. I have a stand on public land now. I am deep in the woods so not very many people go there. I would do early morning hunts until boom stick season and pull out find a new spot.
Put some half filled with water soda bottles in the stand. If they remain there, no one is hunting them. If they get removed, someone probably is.
not a bad idea...if I knew what "water soda bottles" were. Empty pop bottles, on the other hand though...I know what those are. You should take some empty ones and fill them with water. That would work.
I'd just use my own climber to avoid any sort of "property" conflicts. The spot can't be reserved. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Its really first to spot gets it.ive walked in and seen guys hunt were I wanted to be.i just saw sorry and slowly move on.also try not to set up to close to them.just had a guy set up 40 yards from me last week.i was in a tree he was on the ground.was still able to see 2 deer even shot and missed at a doe.
I'm a public land hunter, that's all I hunt. Let's see "public land ethics". 1. If it's not your's leave it alone. 2. If you pack it in, pack it back out. Don't letter!! That's about it. I hunt where I want when I want, if others don't like it they can go someplace else...it's public land.
Use TP wrapping it around ladder or steps at a height that could only be broken by a hunter climbing into the stand. Don't use bottles as person who owns stands might not take them out. Never hunt someone else's stand as you don't know the mental state of that person. Use a climber only after you figure out if these are actually gun stands. If not move on it looks like nice layout of land there for you to hunt. NYS Bow Instructor
