Public land etiquette

Potashminer said:
OP - is perhaps a mistake on your part to think that is somehow "your" spot - you have no more rights to be there than anyone else - is what the "public" part of "public lands" might mean.
So as per your dilemma - neither does that other person have any "rights" to that spot - barring guiding or trapline rights, etc., which have been discounted in posts above. Is between you and them in the bush. Has been so for 10's of thousands of years. I think lots of Europe was about sneaking into the King's land to hunt - can read about how that went for them.
Is why I mostly hunt on my own land, or on land that I have permission from the lawful land owner - it works better, usually, unless some parties have traded money - which is illegal, but happens, in Saskatchewan.
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By referring to it as "my spot" was intended to imply that it was the spot I was planning to hunt that morning. Obviously I dont consider it MY spot, otherwise I would not have made this post asking people's opinions. That said, a lot of interesting points and perspectives. Here's what we did end up doing... We stayed and set up there anyway. Didnt touch the guy's blind. We left around 10am and he never ended up coming. So had we relocated, we would have given up this spot for nothing and scrambled to find another just as the morning gobbles were about to sound off. We did not have any regrets, I seriously considered leaving a business card to have the guy call me and settle this matter. I wanted to understand what he was thinking and what his intentions were. We're talking about public land within an hour drive of Toronto, and that was a brand new hub blind. Scanned the area after the hunt and can say with almost 100% certainty that there were no trail cams. I'm sure there are many people who would have walked away with that blind. Pretty risky move leaving it on public... probably why it's brand new :rolleyes:
 
Yep. I was relocating with my son while carrying 3 ( very realistic) turkey decoys week before last up Lynch Creek and he said "Dad stop" and there was a blind set up about 30 yards off the trail pointing at the trail so he may have saved my life LOL! We went somewhere else. I don't like crowds.
 
Blinds are ghey…be a real turkey hunter. ( yes I said it) Buy some good camo and pick a tree. Besides no gear to pack in or out, no one can steal your spot because they never know where it is. A blind pins you to a spot it’s boring way to hunt turkeys in my opinion. it’s way more fun deciding if you should or shouldn’t move on a gobbling Tom. Sometimes that’s What it takes to kill him.
When I pull up to my spot if there is another truck parked I find another spot. Stay away for your competitors….aren’t all the hens enough to compete with?? I suggest you scout multiple spots for toms and have plan a, b, c etc.. based on expected pressure.
Ditch the blinds and the decoys get into the woods with the gobbler. Use your callls and get that gobbler to come searching for you then blast him. Blinds are for deer hunters in bad weather.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
Blinds are ghey…be a real turkey hunter. ( yes I said it) Buy some good camo and pick a tree. Besides no gear to pack in or out, no one can steal your spot because they never know where it is. A blind pins you to a spot it’s boring way to hunt turkeys in my opinion. it’s way more fun deciding if you should or shouldn’t move on a gobbling Tom. Sometimes that’s What it takes to kill him.
When I pull up to my spot if there is another truck parked I find another spot. Stay away for your competitors….aren’t all the hens enough to compete with?? I suggest you scout multiple spots for toms and have plan a, b, c etc.. based on expected pressure.
Ditch the blinds and the decoys get into the woods with the gobbler. Use your callls and get that gobbler to come searching for you then blast him. Blinds are for deer hunters in bad weather.
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Blinds are good for bad weather, hunting with bows and hunting with young children who dont always sit still. Some would say that telling people how not to hunt is ghey :rolleyes:
 
53Izzy744 said:
Posession is 9/10ths of the law
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And about 3/4 of the convictions! LOL!

I have known a few guys that carried side cutters, just so that they could cut the valve stems off truck tires that were purposely parked across access roads in to public land. Knew one or two who would make a point of leaving a gut pile under an illegally built tree fort stand, too.

While I would not hunt from a blind that some guy seemingly abandoned on public land, I certainly would not see it as a reason to not hunt the area. It may be his blind, but it certainly is not his spot. Unless he was in the blind, anyways.

If the guy shows up, and gives you a hard time, call the cops on him. Easy peasy.
 
my thoughts.

cant Sit in "his" blind.........
Can set up near by in hope he dont show but -bugger if he does.
it is only one hunt if its "ruined"..... so be it..
it is public land... so if hes got attitude in doing it, just 'waste' your hunt an sit right near it anyway. youl upset him if that is the case. he proberly storm off. might call you some names... meh.

id leave a note if had paper sayin, date - ps im down the bush 100m. happy hunting .etc.

really shouldnt have just one turkey, or hunting spot in general. on public land. an nothing wrong goin in blind as you would of either had A-a new spot to hunt or B- a spot to avoid.... so simple.

umm yeah first in best dressed in most circumstances without prior consultation IE- at a camp ground or on the track or trail , mentionig of intent for am or pm hunts.

lots of scenerios but i always think, if the Bro is going to get hot headed an Carry on about it, then that itself becomes a whole nother Ball Game in terms of "game regulations" in which the hunter is to abide by under his Firearms and Game licenses etc....... then it becomes a authorities issue. not yours per se
 
Dogleg said:
Yeah; then the cops will be investigating a confrontation between two armed men.
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No, the cops can investigate a confrontation between an armed angry person, and a hunter trying to get on with his life.

Been through it. The Police are pretty decent about dealing with folks that are being arseholes and making threats!
 
I always revert to an analogy that I built up in my head over the years when this question comes up.

You are in need of a public washroom - and you stumble across a Porta-Potty in an open field at a festival. Only problem is that someone approaches it the same time you do and beats you to it by 2 seconds. You really have to go - no foolin :) What do you do?

Do you knock on the door and plead your case? You can try yelling - but if he really needs it as bad as you do - I don't think he is going to budge from the throne.
Do you kick the door down and remove the occupant to use it? It is "public property" and you have the same rights to it as anyone else. You saw it at the same time.
Do you hover over the person in the stall and try to use it at the same time? No laws say you can't - but likely wont win any friends that way
Or do you move on and keep on looking for another? Or wait your turn?
 
Doc Rainbow said:
Yep. I was relocating with my son while carrying 3 ( very realistic) turkey decoys week before last up Lynch Creek and he said "Dad stop" and there was a blind set up about 30 yards off the trail pointing at the trail so he may have saved my life LOL! We went somewhere else. I don't like crowds.
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I use a black decoy bag for this purpose. I can fit 3 flextone hens and a funky chicken jake in it along with my chair. It’s not only a safety feature but very easy to move everything fast!
 
I’m torn on this. I hunt public and private for deer. Some of my best stands are public. I leave my stand for the season. They are typically ladder stands too. Would be pissed if I found a guy in it? Maybe mildly, but only because he’s clearly not a strong enough hunter to find another productive spot in the many thousands of acres of available public land in my area. If there was very limited public hunting in the area, I’d understand it more. It’s not like I’d engage in a pitched battle over it, I’d just move on for the day, but I have lots of alternatives within 15-45 minutes of my house. For turkey I hunt exclusively private. So I’d be pissed if someone was in “my spot”. But that’s a completely different type of scenario as I generally have sole permission on the farms I hunt! Anyway, you handled it well! It’s a better bet to take the high ground and be the bigger man!
 
meatsticks said:
I’m torn on this. I hunt public and private for deer. Some of my best stands are public. I leave my stand for the season. They are typically ladder stands too. Would be pissed if I found a guy in it? Maybe mildly, but only because he’s clearly not a strong enough hunter to find another productive spot in the many thousands of acres of available public land in my area. If there was very limited public hunting in the area, I’d understand it more. It’s not like I’d engage in a pitched battle over it, I’d just move on for the day, but I have lots of alternatives within 15-45 minutes of my house. For turkey I hunt exclusively private. So I’d be pissed if someone was in “my spot”. But that’s a completely different type of scenario as I generally have sole permission on the farms I hunt! Anyway, you handled it well! It’s a better bet to take the high ground and be the bigger man!
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I'm not torn on it at all. To me ,it's crystal clear. Public land is just that....public. First come,first served the same as it applies with duck blinds built on the water. Just because someone built it doesn't mean they own it. If someone beat you to it that day,simply move on. Get there earlier next time. Another poster mentioned about not using blinds in the woods. I'm with him. That way,no one knows where you'll be at any given time and you're free to move without needing to break down the blind and move it,too. My parents taught us to not leave our toys laying around or someone will take it. Still good advice to this day.
 
Sure pal no worries! I am guessing you probably come from a slightly younger generation. That’s ok. I’ve shared the woods with a lot of different guys both public and private and it’s never been an issue because I’m a respectful dude that has always managed to come to terms with my fellow outdoors enthusiast, with the exception of one time that was an absolute safety issue on the other parties side of things. I don’t feel the need to make my point or defend my right to a spot on public. There is lots of places to hunt in my area. I just get along, because I enjoy my time in the woods it’s not meant to be stressful. Your mileage may vary!
 
When faced with this situation, my buddy made a great point. The guy who left his blind in the woods was littering. I dont like seeing trash in the woods. We should have cleaned up his mess :cool:
 
Whitetail hunting in B.C.'s Region 8 one time I found a very nice enclosed treestand just off a logging road. It was very much like the German hochsitz (high-seat) treestands. It was a weekday and there was nobody around so I climbed up and sat in it for a little while. The owner had tried to bait the deer with pumpkins left over from Hallowe'en and other dainties. It's public land and it's not even legal to put structures on public land, but if he ain't using it why shouldn't I?

Some people get really ####ty about this. I used to duck hunt with a guy and told him once I regularly used a duck blind I found along a river and he quit hunting with me as if I had committed some kind of international human rights violation. You know, I have never seen another person use that blind. He was from Ontario though, and you know what they're like. lol

There was another local duck hunter who had a permanent blind built in a popular hunting area who got all bent out of shape if anyone used the blind. He even threatened to burn it down if he ever caught someone in it.

Well, as I said, it is illegal to build a structure on crown land so the authorities found his blind and did him a favour. They burned it down.
 
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At what point is leaving your stuff lying around on public property considered littering? Set up a tent in a city park and one of two things will happen. 1) a city employee will gather it up and it will disappear forever, or 2) a vagrant will take up residence.
 
Bigbubba said:
I look at it as if I was going fishing.
If I got to my spot and there was a guy there, I would move farther down the stream....
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What if there was no guy, but just a fishing pole laying on the bank? That's a better comparison to the empty blind set up on public.
 
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