Treestand etiquette - when it's not yours

[Ifishandhunt]

It's been a while since I posted here. I have been reading and not really commenting. But I have a question regarding tree stand etiquette, more specifically when you find a hunter in your tree stand. If you hunt private land and hang your own stand is it exclusively yours? I mean if someone else has permission to hunt the land, do they get rights to your stand (without knowledge of me or the land owner) if they beat you to it? If you find someone in your stand, are you within your rights to tell them to get out of it?

I hunt on private property and the owner allows me and this one older gentleman to hunt his land. I met the guy once this year as we arrived the same time one morning. He went his way and I told him I'd be hunting to the west and south of his spot. No problems... it was bow season, pre-rut and we would be far away from each other and in different terrain (I was high, he was low). No issues.

Well this morning was opener day of Ohio shotgun week. I arrived a little later than I usually due, though it was still 45 minutes before sunrise. I noticed the guys truck was parked on the property. I have a couple stands that are mine (I own them) that I put on this property. When I saw the guys truck I decided not to hunt my normal gun spot because it was closer to where I thought he was hunting and thus too dangerous (guns). So I went toward the back of the property where my other stand is that I use to hunt during the rut and multiple times after that including gun week and muzzleloader. Well, son of a gun, when I am about 40 yards from my stand, I saw the glow of orange sitting in my stand and figured it was that guy (I could also see his grey hair). He obviously saw me as I walked in on the tractor path that comes up to it. I was ticked but turned back around and voiced my anger with a 'damn-it' or two as I walked away. Two things crossed my mind... go up and tell him to get out (he was holding a shotgun) or keep walking away and find another spot to hunt. The problem of confrontation is the land owner has been wishy washy about allowing us to hunt. I really didn't want to start trouble and chance losing the best hunting land I have ever hunted by ticking off the owner. Still I figured I would try to wait for the guy later in the morning and tell him it is my stand and I'd appreciate him not using it. Funny enough I went to my other ladder stand and found that the ratchet strap was either cut by someone or maybe chewed apart by an animal (squirrel???) so it was not safe to sit in or even climb. So I only had one option and that was to sit in the backside of owners broken down barn (or sit on a stump) and hope for the best. Well I got lucky and shot a doe almost 30 minutes after I sat down. I was lucky but I am still annoyed about the guy in my stand... should I be? I never did catch up with the guy.

[shaman]

It is EXTREMELY bad form to occupy another hunter's stand without permission. I would call the fellow up and tell him so. Tell him you cut him slack this one time, but the stand is yours and that's the end of it. If he does it again, remove the stand. At very least get out there with a cable and chain and make it so no one but you can get in it.

During the call, start off nice. Slide into it. Tell him you wanted to coordinate things for safety's sake, blah, blah, but eventually get around to the fact that it's your stand. You paid for it. He's not invited to use it again, and make sure he understands.

As to the overall issue of telling someone to leave. I have had this happen only once. I confronted the fellow with my bow hung low so I wasn't looking like I was brandishing it. I was nice, but I said he'd obviously made a mistake, and I'd driven three hours to hunt out of my stand, and I was not going to go away without him leaving. He got down and left. He even apologized for the inconvenience.

BTW: On Ohio public land, it was the law that you have to have your name and address on any stand that you put up. I always had my name on my stands as a result, so it wasn't like a fellow could say it was nobody's in particular.

[Jslotter]

IMO, that guy has no clear understanding of hunting ethics, or any common courtesy. I would be ticked, but I would not want to share woods with another hunter who does not respect the areas I hunt and my equipment I leave in the woods. I would start looking for other properties to hunt right away.

[Sierra]

I agree with Shaman. Though, you are nicer than I am, I would have walked right up and nicely explained that although we both are fortunate enough to be able to hunt the same private land, you had hung this stand and thus it was yours.

Where I hunt, the landowner has several stands already up. The other guy that hunts there puts up a couple. I made sure to ask which were his, and which were not. Maybe mention this to your landowner, cheerfully stating that there was a little misunderstanding, and perhaps we could just clear it up.

Before you leave, put a whoopie cushion under the seat.

[Woods Walker]

Simple solution! 3 "S's".......................

[Ifishandhunt]

# S's? Shave, shat, shower?

[mhouck06]

Simple solution! 3 "S's".......................

Agreed!
I had this happen this year in archery.

I hung a stand at a spot my dad killed at last year.. Hung the stand in early august, thinking guys would see it and we also like to get in and get out leaving it undisturbed as possible unil season.

First day, my dad had a guy climb up into a stand 30 yards thru some mtn laurel behind him... My dad ended up shooting a 7 point that morning, but still frustrating.

On the last monday of our season, I went in to take the stand down.. As I was walking to the stand, I saw someone sitting in a tree.. From a distance, I was thinking what kind of hunter would set up another stand so close to our stand.. I proceeded to walk a little closer and figured out he was sitting in our stand. I was boiling, so I confronted him.. He said he saw all the rubs around the stand and didnt want to set one up so he decided to hunt ours. I told him, had I been coming in to hunt.. things would have been a lot different.. He got out of the stand and walked away.. What amazed me was that it did not even phase him. He didnt seem to care.. he took the sections of ladder down that he had strapped to the tree and walked off.

I coudlnt believe it. We like to hunt public ground.. the two farms we have permission on are ok, but the public ground around where we are is great so thats what we chose to do.
I know we dont own the land, trees or anything there, but I thought there should be some sort of etiquette. The guy that set up 30 yards from us, said he liked the spot too.. so he was going to hunt it all season. We didnt say much, because, what can we really say?

The guy in the stand tho.. thats just plain wrong imo.

I dont know, there seems to be no brotherhood or anything left in hunting.. Everyone has some sort of big shot attitude. I pride myself in being the best hunter I can and learning new things every season. I put countless hours in scouting, shooting and preparing for a season. I choose to do this hard work in hopes getting a chance at what I consider a nice deer.

Sorry for the rant, but I feel you fishandhunt.. its a terrible thing and especially since you are on private ground.. that makes it even harder to take in.

[kellory]

Shaman has the right of it, with one exception. I believe the rule on public lands (at least here) is first come first served. If a stand is unoccupied, it can be used. I do not like that rule at all, it happens to be MY PROPERTY, someone has parked their butt in. Even if I don't hunt it, HIS hunting it has polluted the area. It makes it less effective when I choose to hunt it.
DO yourself a favor. If on public lands, or lands you do not own, don't make your stand "easy to borrow" . Pick up a dog runner cable or two, and lace it over the seat area and platform so he can not sit on either. Padlock it. Or remove the lowest set of tree stairs, or quick sticks, and bring them with you when you come to hunt.
On land other than yours, make the rules clear with the owner first (if possible) and in clear language with anyone who has rights to hunt. If there is a problem, leave a note on his truck, and a request that he contact you. Leave a phone number. If he wants to argue, remove the stand.
On private land ON MY LAND, he is already a criminal. Trespassing, poaching, using a gun in the commission of a crime (that adds 3 years automatically) I will call the cops and have him removed. Weather or not I press charges will depend on him. Second violation, I will put him in jail.

If he is one of the very few, who has been given permission to hunt or to pick morels,...those same instructions were already laid down in stone. I will not put up with it.

[Woods Walker]

# S's? Shave, shat, shower?

Nooo........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting,_ ... hutting_up

[Jslotter]

I hope none of you are serious about the 3 'S's.