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public land... people leaving their stands up all year.

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JD_H

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Lets talk about it. I was out hanging stands yesterday and walked through some prime locations. I noticed that the stands I saw last couple seasons are still there. No activity around the sites, foot prints, etc. The steps are all grown in to the trees. Anyways I think you know where i'm going with this. You don't wanna set up on top of somebody, but its BS that they just figure they can claim the land by leaving their stand in there all year. Who the hell knows if these are even hunted!? Your thoughts?

lol... gotta love it!
 
#3 ·
I feel the same way. I see stands up all year on public land and never see anybody hunting them. Straps are getting stretched by the tree growin bigger, platform covered with leaves and pine needles. If its a reel good location i would not hesitate to set up near the spot. If you ask me it is a form of littering.
 
#5 ·
The stands I leave on state land I hunt out of every year and replace the straps annually. I also leave I laminated tag on them with my contact info in case anyone should want to get in touch to coordinate not interrupting each others hunts.

I've yet to be contacted or disturbed but I go pretty deep and stay off the beaten path
 
#7 ·
I hunt a couple places that there are stands up that I can almost positively say aren't being used.If I know someone is hunting the area I will move on but if I think it's a stand that is just taking up space I have no problem hunting by it.I allways use a climber so I allways have options.Some of these stands that are up all year only get used during gun season.
 
#8 ·
i hunt state property as well and see stands left in the same spot year after year . looks like they are never used and i guess the guys just left them. they never stopped me from hunting the spot. it also bothers me that guys leave them, than again look how some hunters leave litter by their stands and especailly parking areas .
 
#13 ·
Bucksnbows said:
The best way to communicate when you find another stand is to put a note in a ZipLoc bag and attach it to the found stand letting the owner know you plan to hunt the nearby area because you've never seen his stand used. Then leave a phone # and if the stand is still in use, you'll get a call soon enough.
Click to expand...
I've left a note like that on a ladder stand once, and got a call soon after :) Sounded like a nice guy - told me when he'd be hunting there. I said I'd setup a couple hundred yards away, so he knew to possibly expect to run into me. Side note: I think that ladder stand has since burned down in a forest fire!
 
#15 ·
Seems to be a common complaint for guys that hunt public land. I think it's just that selfish entitled attitude a lot of public land hunters have that once they hang a stand the spot is theirs. Or it could be they are just to lazy to come back and get their stands. Most or the ones you see or the cheap dicks sporting goods or sportsmans guide type stands. Maybe they figure for what they cost it's not worth going back for. Just buy a new one and hang it somewhere else. Who knows for sure. Pisses me off though. When you think about it who in their right mind would want to sit in a 40$ stand that's been in the woods a few years.
 
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#17 ·
There are two sides to this. I can see points made by both. Someone scouted out the spot and did the legwork, anther guy comes by and just figures there is a stand there must be a good spot and sets up right there. He basically did his scouting by looking for treestands. If the first guy is breaking his ass carrying bait its even worse. The first guy did all the work and the second guy takes advantage. The other side is it does get discouraging when every decent spot has a stand in it , and the stands have been set up for several years. You should not be able to claim a spot on public land for your lifetime. I do not know how to solve it. If everyone is required to remove there stands by a certain date and there is another date when stands can be setup it would be a race on that date. If everyone has to take their stand down at the end of each day that may be the fairest way to deal with this problem, but there would be an awful lot of noise with everyone setting up each time which I think the deer may get smart to quickly. Still seems to be the best alternative on unlimited access public land. It would also help somewhat if there were a limit to how many stands a person could hang with each being tagged by the owner so that the rule could be enforced. Now I believe some guys are hanging dozens of stands and leaving them out all year.
 
#18 ·
I've only come across two other stands on the public land near me. One is in an area that doesn't allow hunting, and has been there for 3 years. The other was put up last season, and I saw them putting it up so I hunt nowhere near it.
 
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#19 ·
I could care less how many stands I come accross. I leave one up all year because nobody hunts near that spot-- to thick for most people to venture. I take the others down and hide them in thick nasty area close by until week before season then put them back up. I know of plenty of treestands that have been up for several years. It is public land but I try to find areas away from people which really is not that hard to do. Most guys overlook spots to get in deep and some of the best spots are right off the road. I have shot several bucks off a paved road and can watch the guy cutting his lawn, raking leaves,etc and it is on a WMA. Learn where these people hunt and use it to your advantage instead of complaining that they have a treestand left in the woods.
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
There's a difference between willy nilly walking around and having a reason to be looking in a spot. One of the spots I checked out I had a feeling would be good based on knowledge of adjacent land, the map, and driving around the property. I picked a spot on the map, walked there, bam exactly where I picked there's an old grown in stand. So I didn't just go looking for stands to set up on. I supposed that won't matter if you're sittin in your stand at 5am and your "neighbor" comes strolling in pissed off cause you are shining a flashlight at him hahah
 
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