I hunt private land only, but there have been a few times when I found an old stand, usually I will check it out and see if it is safe and climb it to check things out. If it looks good I will check back with the land owner and see if he is using it or if someone else is, usually he will say for me to use it, because no one else has his permission. Would I use it if it was someone else? No, but I would try to scout the area a little harder and see if I could head of any deer that would be working towards that stand from a safe distance.
The Tazman