What to do when you come across a tree stand?

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Confrontation between hunters in this regard will eventually lead to written legislation because of the attitudes of a few believing they have exclusive rights to public land.
Happy hunting!
I agree, but tree stand users are not the only problem, the few that I have run into in my province have been quite cordial come to think of it.

There are much bigger problems with other types/groups of hunters and their actions that concern me far more than some guy staking a claim to a tree when he is sitting in it.
 
I'd hate to have to pull my stand out every night. Thing weighs 35lbs not including the tree pegs, and depending where I go if I were to hunt crown it would be anywhere from a 5-20min walk through the woods with that and all my other gear. Ugh just thinking about it sucks.
 
Sure it's a tree stand on crown land. But did you make any effort to construct it there?
Or spend any money out of your own pocket on building materials or take the time to move everything onto the site?
If the answer in no, then you should already know the answer you should give here.
Perhaps if you did use the treestand and were successful, perhaps, just perhaps you were successful in your hunt, maybe now you owe the fellow who constructed it something? Or do you think otherwise?? Your own private answer will tell you alot about your personality.

I do believe it's called mutual respect.
No I did not make any effort to construct it. This was my 1st hunt, 7 the reason that I asked this question. However I suspect that the people that did leave the numerous stands that I did stumbled upon were locals. As they were never there all week. I on the other hand spent money on food and lodging for a week to hunt public land that belongs to everyone. I would never use a tree stand without permission or a safety harness, which I did not have either of.

Next year, I plan on doing a lot of scouting. After doing all of that ground work, I expect to find a tree stand in one or two of the areas that I deemed as sweet spots. What value would you place on my efforts? After telling the tree stand owner about my efforts, should the person that owns the tree stand have to take it down and leave out of mutual respect?

As many others have said, scouting is important. It gives the person that arrives at the sweet spot 2nd another option to hunt on.
 
So, what I am getting from this thread that any personal item(tree stand, truck, shovel, quad,)if left unattended is public domain.

Some twisted senses of reality here.

Now, if you have a stand and a bait, properly identified by law in this province, I believe you are to not hunt over it.I could be wrong.However if you erect a stand on crown land you should share it with whomever wants to use it?

Ok, go ahead , use my stand ,I'll even leave you alone and wish you luck..........................I will then return with my Stihl , you have two options at that point.

With the vast hunting areas available(here yes, other places, I cannot comment)have some respect move to another spot.

I show up at my stand at 4:45 a.m. , Joe public at 4:40 a.m. , I gotta give up my spot?
 
With the vast hunting areas available(here yes, other places, I cannot comment)have some respect move to another spot.

I show up at my stand at 4:45 a.m. , Joe public at 4:40 a.m. , I gotta give up my spot?

This is the exact problem, ON CROWN LAND, THIS IS NOT YOUR SPOT.

AS a ground hunter I find this attitude to be totaly insulting , disrespectful and illegal!!!! What gives you the right to interfer with a legal hunt on crown land? I am a hunter with a dissability that prevents me from using tree stands any more. I do alot of scouting as do many of my fellow ground hunters, we leave no signs or litter to show we were there. We have every right to use that CROWN land that you do, no more or no less. The ONLY thing a tree stand tells me is that someone else MAY be hunting the same area. When I get to the spot I wish to hunt, I use my bino's to check out the area, including the tree stand, to see if their are any hunters or game in the area. If there is another hunter in the area, I quietly exit , leaving the first hunter to the area to enjoy his day. CROWN land IS a case of first there has the RIGHT TO HUNT WITHOUT INTERFERANCE. A tree stand does NOT mean you were there first. RESPECT YOUR FELLOW HUNTER, be prepared to change your hunt plans if needed, if you find a tree stand, LEAVE IT ALONE. Hunting is about getting out and enjoying life ...Dean
 
Ive come across ground blinds and tree stands on several occasions. Regardless of weather or not there is anyone in them I leave the area, and do not disturb the area.

I place my ground blinds in hard to access areas and hope that anyone that finds them will leave them alone!
 
If you leave a tree stand on public property you should expect it to be either used or stolen when you get back. Sad but true, no amount of "that's not right" whining on here will change it. It doesn't give you claim on the area either. It's still public land. There's so much entitlement out there it's unreal.

It's not entitlement, it is respect.

If there is a nice new stand put up, and bait out, you just figure you are entitled to it?

Public land so I can do or use or take what I want?

Yeah, no entitlement there....... :jerkit:
 
No one stated that stealing tree stands/ using others property is right (Or what they would choose to do). They are just stating the risks of leaving possessions behind on public land. There's really nothing to debate there?

Hunting from the same area that an un-oocupied tree stand happens to be set up on? Thats going to happen as well, another reality of public land. No hunter has the right to be there more than the other, so first come first served seems to be the only solution. Stating that the stand owner has the right to disrupt the others hunt and tell them to move on is an absurd (lack of) logic. Otherwise I would just go around putting stakes in the areas I scouted and declare those spots for me only. Not much room for that kind of thinking. At least not in the few areas I've hunted.
 
I think what people are stating and want to hear is that if you come across a stand that looks like it is being used, show a little respect and move another 100 yards or so down the way.

If I encounter a stand or blind or simply find another location in the area.Nobody is saying move to the next province.The "I was here first" attitude IMO seems a bit childish.A mature acting person would say "looks like someone may be hunting here" and walk another 90 seconds to a different location.If there is NO sign of someone else being set up there then yes this applies but come on guys there is enough room for everyone.

No one stated that stealing tree stands/ using others property is right (Or what they would choose to do). They are just stating the risks of leaving possessions behind on public land. There's really nothing to debate there?

Hunting from the same area that an un-oocupied tree stand happens to be set up on? Thats going to happen as well, another reality of public land. No hunter has the right to be there more than the other, so first come first served seems to be the only solution. Stating that the stand owner has the right to disrupt the others hunt and tell them to move on is an absurd (lack of) logic. Otherwise I would just go around putting stakes in the areas I scouted and declare those spots for me only. Not much room for that kind of thinking. At least not in the few areas I've hunted.
 
I think what people are stating and want to hear is that if you come across a stand that looks like it is being used, show a little respect and move another 100 yards or so down the way.

If I encounter a stand or blind or simply find another location in the area.Nobody is saying move to the next province.The "I was here first" attitude IMO seems a bit childish.A mature acting person would say "looks like someone may be hunting here" and walk another 90 seconds to a different location.If there is NO sign of someone else being set up there then yes this applies but come on guys there is enough room for everyone.

But when I am there at 4:40 you show up at 4:45 to "your" stand, how am I to know it is yours? Are you going to pull out the bill of sale or something. For all I know, you could be feeding me a line!?
 
They key here is that you know it is NOT yours. ;)

But most likely you will have it figured out when you see my name on the stand an feeder.

But when I am there at 4:40 you show up at 4:45 to "your" stand, how am I to know it is yours? Are you going to pull out the bill of sale or something. For all I know, you could be feeding me a line!?
 
But when I am there at 4:40 you show up at 4:45 to "your" stand, how am I to know it is yours? Are you going to pull out the bill of sale or something. For all I know, you could be feeding me a line!?

That's where personal discretion should be applied. Personally, if I arrive 5 or 15 mins before the stand owner, if they are polite I will move on.
 
I think what people are stating and want to hear is that if you come across a stand that looks like it is being used, show a little respect and move another 100 yards or so down the way.

If I encounter a stand or blind or simply find another location in the area.Nobody is saying move to the next province.The "I was here first" attitude IMO seems a bit childish.A mature acting person would say "looks like someone may be hunting here" and walk another 90 seconds to a different location.If there is NO sign of someone else being set up there then yes this applies but come on guys there is enough room for everyone.

I'm sure most reasonable people would be willing to comprise if the opportunity to do so exists. But approaching the conflicting hunter in the middle of a hunt is not the time as it may spoil the hunt, for both parties.

And of course if I were to notice a stand, and there seems areas around the stand 100 yards+ away that would work just as well without conflict, I would do so. I think the majority of hunters would as well. I can think of several areas I've been where that wouldn't work however. I haven't encountered any tree stands yet, but quite a few busy hunting spots.
 
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Thanks to this thread I'm going to buy stock in ribbon/string line manufacturing, seems like all you have to do is show up once, leave some indication you've been there then expect the whole place to be your own. I can see it now, guys tying off to a tree and walking around in a 10km diameter circle, to mark their territory, each inch that gets strung out is money in my pocket. Hell, you can rent a plane or chopper and circle the province in a day and have it all!!!!
 
If i arrived at my portable treestand and found another hunter sitting nearby enough that he knew it was there, i would honour the fact that he was there first and respect his right to the spot. i'd be happy enough that, as he was sitting by it and not in it, he had respect for others property. might even offer to let him sit in it. i'd then back off far enough to give him some space and enjoy the day in the field.
vs
If i arrived at a "permanent" treestand and found someone in it/near it, i would honour the fact that he was there first and respect his right to the spot. basically, once you build a treestand permanently eg wood structure, ironically it is no longer your stand, as you had no legal right to place it there, assuming you are on crown land. therefore first come first served.
cueball
 
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