Sharing a stand

[JPH]

A friend and I share permission to hunt a 20 acre suburban farm near our homes. We each have our own stands on opposite ends of a crop field. Since it's close for each of us, it's often a last second hunt. Since we work the same schedule, we just text one another to make sure we're not interrupting something before heading out. Very casual.

Last year we mutually identified a corner of timber that seemed to be a travel corridor for mature bucks. Since neither of us had a stand in that area, we waited until winter to split the cost of a ladder stand and placed it in there. We also agreed that we would stay out of the area until the rut. The question then became, how do we determine who gets to hunt it and when? One possible pitfall would be for one hunter to monopolize that stand on the best days. Another pitfall would be that we both worry too much about being rude and fail to hunt it enough.The solution we came to is as follows:

We agreed to declare Oct. 30th "opening day" for this stand. A coin toss would decide who got to choose. There are 32 hunting days between Oct. 30 and the opening day of Iowa gun season (closed on this property). Picking even days gets you the first hunt on Oct. 30. Picking odd days gets you the next two, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Each hunter gets 16 total days. You can hunt as much or as little as you see fit on your day but you cannot hunt it on the other guy's day, even if he is staying home or hunting elsewhere. Before the toss we both realized that if he won he would pick even and if I won I'd pick odd. We put the coin away and shook on it.

Does anyone else have a system for sharing hunting spots with hunting partners?

[Deebz]

I don't really share any stands with other hunters on my property, but there are 2 other guys who hunt it. I haven't seen them around this year, so I don't know if they are still hunting or not. It kind of worked out that since I was hunting the property first, I already had stands set up. I'm friendly with the guys and wouldn't mind if they sat my stands occasionally, but I really try to leave a few spots alone until rut. It ended up that they kind of decided to stay on the one side of the creek, and I'm on the other. I think I got the better end of the deal, but they also have other places to hunt, so it works out.

[shaman]

Good to see ya' JPH.

Our system at camp is that everyone has a favorite spot, and they get first shot at it. The other spots are up for grabs, and so far we have not had contention, but I'm sure it will happen at some point. We all know Gin Rummy. We all know Russian Bank ( a nasty and complex double solitaire) and we have a throwing ax and a target stump. I'm sure we'll find some way to settle it.

My advice is to get the mutually agreed dates settled first. In dealing with the remaining dates in contention, I would use a game that combines skill and chance. In our group, a Gin Rummy Tournament would give us each a number of points. We'd then use that to proportionally allocate the number of picks. With just one other guy to deal with, you might try something simpler.

[Wanderer]

At our Alabama lease, we use a sign out sheet. We have an aerial map of the land with all the stands marked on it. The map is covered with a sheet of acetate so that we can write our initials over the stand that we intend to hunt with an erasable magic marker. If I get to the camp house first ,I have my choice of stands to hunt. The next hunter to show up then knows where I’ll be and can sign out any other stand. I usually attempt to not hunt close enough to someone who is already out there so that I mess them up. I also try not to drive through any of the “roads” that we have that might come close to the occupied stand. Normally, we have no more than 6 people hunting on any given weekend. With a base lease of 977 acres and over 40 permanent stands, we usually don’t have a problem. This year we’ve picked up an additional 350 acres adjacent to our base lease. We’ll have to make another map to cover that area. In addition to keeping us from running into each other on the club, we also know where everyone is if they don’t return to the camp house in a reasonable amount of time at the end of the day. All hunters have to go to the map immediately after leaving the woods and wipe their name off the map. If we see someone still signed out, we know where to look for them. Usually they are tracking a deer that they’ve shot or dragging one out and could probably use some help. With a couple older members in the club, we need to be sure that no one is having medical problems out in the woods. You’d think that our method would create a flurry of early rising to be the first one there. Actually, we usually discuss amongst ourselves where we’d like to hunt the following day. After a couple of years of hunting together , we pretty well know which other hunter favors which stands, and we try not to monopolize any one stand. If someone tells me that they are hoping to hunt “The Top Of The World” stand tomorrow, I’ll pass it by even if I’m the first one there in the morning. We used to have a member who’d stop in at the map the evening before to sign out for the next day. He is no longer with us.

[Woods Walker]

CAGE MATCH! WINNER TAKE ALL!

My money's on J'PER!

[Woods Walker]

You'd love to hunt with me. If I'm in camp I ask everyone (there's 4 of us if we're all there) where they are going and then I adjust accordingly. I don't hunt stands anymore and just adapt to whatever situation I'm faced with. It's unorthodox I know, but I do OK, it's fun, challenging, and best of all....MINIMAL EQUIPMENT AND CHEAP!!!

Hunting gear manufacturers however, hate me.

[kellory]

You'd love to hunt with me. If I'm in camp I ask everyone (there's 4 of us if we're all there) where they are going and then I adjust accordingly. I don't hunt stands anymore and just adapt to whatever situation I'm faced with. It's unorthodox I know, but I do OK, it's fun, challenging, and best of all....MINIMAL EQUIPMENT AND CHEAP!!!

Hunting gear manufacturers however, hate me.

....So do Walmart customers......

[JPH]

CAGE MATCH! WINNER TAKE ALL!

My money's on J'PER!

Not so fast! I don't have many friends, but those I do have are some pretty tough dudes. They almost all do what I do for a living and many were college or pro ball players, Army Rangers, or Marines before. If there were any quit in them, they'd have walked away from me long ago. Just ask my wife!

I like Shamn's idea of playing cards. I'm pretty good at Uno.

[DEER30]

Our team takes a MD hunting trip each september to take advantage of an early opening day. The stands are set in the summer or from previous seasons based upon their summer patterns. The hottest spots for morning or evening hunts are consistent. So we write the stands on a piece of paper and draw from a hat. After that we rotate so everyone has a shot to hunt the hot spots.

When one of us hosts another on one of "their" farms, the host always gives the guest the best chance to be successful. Usually every property has at least two good spots so no one is at a disadvantage.

The important thing is that we are happy for each other when we are successful.

[w4sar]

I have permission to hunt 80 acres on two adjacent properties on which I have placed 4 ladder stands, one of the owners does not hunt. Of course I give the hunting landowner right of first refusal on days and locations he wants to hunt. One really good thing is that our respective work schedules make it better for him to work the mornings and for me to work the evenings, we manage to stay out of each other's way. When he knows that he or his family will need some full days, he lets me know in advance so I can plan accordingly. On those days where it is a spur of the moment thing where we might end up working the same hours, we usually send a text message before entering the woods to see if the stands are clear and then shift accordingly.

It has been a very cordial agreement, we've become good friends and I have taken 21 deer off that property over the past several years. I keep both landowners well supplied with jerky and smoked sausage.