Duck, permanent stands (nailed to a tree) are illegal on WMA's. However, putting up a hang-on stand is okay, and I have to disagree with you about what you did. Yes, those permanent wooden stand were not supposed to be there, but they were. So why would you put yourself in the position to be involved in a confrontation on opening day? In my opinion, you went into that area opening morning looking for trouble, found it, and then got upset about it. I hunt public land almost exclusively. When I see another hunter's stand, I look for a place elswhere. If someone is hunting there, respect that, show some consideration and find another place to hunt. Besides, you don't know how often they hunt the spot (they could be overhunting it), they may not be very careful about reducing their scent in the area and they may be ruining the spot, or have already ruined it.

It seems like some hunters hunt for stands instead of deer. Often, when someone moves in on me and I relocate, they find my stand and set up on top of me again. I have had this same thing happen on private land that others had permission to hunt, as well as public lands. I'm not saying you did this, but many people do.

Hunting crowded public lands requires some common consideration. If you don't practice this, and move too close to someone elses stand just because your miffed that they took "your" spot, then you will find trouble. I hunt for deer, not trouble. What are you hunting for
out there?



Edited by - NJ_Bowhntr on 08/24/2002 07:24:56