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You're not first - what next?
10-26-2006, 10:48 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location:
Posts: 242
You're not first - what next?
We're discussing hunter ethics in this coming Sunday's outdoor class. The situation is this:
You're hunting public ground. You have a favorite spot to hunt - you've been saving it until now. You arrive at the usual pull-off and there's already a vehicle parked there. You're spot is only 300 yards from the pull-off. You have no idea where this fellow is. What do you do?
You're hunting public ground. You have a favorite spot to hunt - you've been saving it until now. You arrive at the usual pull-off and there's already a vehicle parked there. You're spot is only 300 yards from the pull-off. You have no idea where this fellow is. What do you do?
10-26-2006, 10:55 AM
#4
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location:
Posts: 242
RE: You're not first - what next?
There's no one-car or multiple-car - this is public ground.
This situation plays out over and over in Indiana. Some people think it's o.k. to take the chance of walking in on someone else, other people think it's wrong to take the chance.
I'm neutral, but our class will be using this data to discuss the issue and debating the ethics of the situation.
This situation plays out over and over in Indiana. Some people think it's o.k. to take the chance of walking in on someone else, other people think it's wrong to take the chance.
I'm neutral, but our class will be using this data to discuss the issue and debating the ethics of the situation.
10-26-2006, 11:03 AM
#6
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
RE: You're not first - what next?
i hunt public land ALOT of times. do other guys park near me? sure do. do i see other hunters? sometimes. are there days theres cars near mine and i didnt see anyone? yep...a bunch. just because theres cars there doesnt mean diddly squat! A-its public land B-they could be anywhere. most public land will hide more then 1 hunter!! C-ive had numnuts walk straight to me and sit down and not care! more then once! just yesterday i had a squirrel hunter move into my bow setup and sit less then 50yds away! i had a orange hat AND vest on too and wasnt too high in the tree!! he parked right beside me. D- if someones near my spot ill quietly walk to my BACKUP spot or drive to my backup spot!
theres no good reason NOT to park there. heck i park places just to throw people off. ill hunt and park across and a little ways down the road just so people dont know where i am! but unless i know the area is TINY and that hunter HAS to be near or in my spot im still going to walk in. just my thoughts on the subject
i also dont think that had much to do with ethics! maybe finding someone IN your spot will show ethics...some guys will fight over it. some guys will take a dump or try to screw up the other hunter. some guys will quietly walk away like i would. but a parking lot means nothing. you must never hunted an opening day of rifle season in PA!!
bring your class to a State Game Lands on the first Monday after Thanksgiving..put your orange on and walk around the first day! youll see 100s of cars ontop of eachother. probably witness a fight or 2 if your lucky and there long enough. heck...you might get shot at for walking in someones spot! i have alot of ethics..but a parking spot means nothing to me. sure theres bad apples out there..those are the ones youll find fighting..or chucking lead your way. dont doubt it dont happen. i know a guy that was hunting a open farm opening day. he was up in a tree stand another guy came along..said he was hunting there or he would blow him out of the treestand and had the gun pointed at him. the guy in the stand had to call the cops over it and before that they got into a fist fight!
theres no good reason NOT to park there. heck i park places just to throw people off. ill hunt and park across and a little ways down the road just so people dont know where i am! but unless i know the area is TINY and that hunter HAS to be near or in my spot im still going to walk in. just my thoughts on the subject
i also dont think that had much to do with ethics! maybe finding someone IN your spot will show ethics...some guys will fight over it. some guys will take a dump or try to screw up the other hunter. some guys will quietly walk away like i would. but a parking lot means nothing. you must never hunted an opening day of rifle season in PA!!
bring your class to a State Game Lands on the first Monday after Thanksgiving..put your orange on and walk around the first day! youll see 100s of cars ontop of eachother. probably witness a fight or 2 if your lucky and there long enough. heck...you might get shot at for walking in someones spot! i have alot of ethics..but a parking spot means nothing to me. sure theres bad apples out there..those are the ones youll find fighting..or chucking lead your way. dont doubt it dont happen. i know a guy that was hunting a open farm opening day. he was up in a tree stand another guy came along..said he was hunting there or he would blow him out of the treestand and had the gun pointed at him. the guy in the stand had to call the cops over it and before that they got into a fist fight!
10-26-2006, 11:13 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,358
RE: You're not first - what next?
Need more info. I deer hunt in the white mtn national forest, ie all public, LOTS of room. There are often cars parked at the logging road when we get there and we never see them.
If its lots of room, sure head in, but if you find them in "your" spot, move along quietly.
If its a small spot, move along without getting out of the car. Did this during youth turkey weekend with my 14 year old. Had a bunch of birds roosted in a field, short walk in from the road. We get there early enough to get setup and there's a car there. They had seen the same birds the afternoon before. We moved on, they called in the birds and missed.
Just be nice and do what you would like others to do if it were reversed.
If its lots of room, sure head in, but if you find them in "your" spot, move along quietly.
If its a small spot, move along without getting out of the car. Did this during youth turkey weekend with my 14 year old. Had a bunch of birds roosted in a field, short walk in from the road. We get there early enough to get setup and there's a car there. They had seen the same birds the afternoon before. We moved on, they called in the birds and missed.
Just be nice and do what you would like others to do if it were reversed.
10-26-2006, 11:14 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: The top of The Wild and Wonderful West Virginia
Posts: 2,625
RE: You're not first - what next?
The State Game Lands near Burgettstown PA are a prime example of this. I always know the first day of PA gun season because the sides of the road are packed withs cars and trucks.I often wonder what it looks like in there when the sun comes up. Last year there were seventeen vehicles parked together in one stretch. I'm not talking spread over a couple of miles, seventeen together. To answer your question, if it's just one vehicle and the area is bigenough for a couple of people then I'd go on in. I'd just make sure to keep my eyes peeled for the other person.
Being as I hunt 69 acres with two other people, I pretty much know where the others will be.
Being as I hunt 69 acres with two other people, I pretty much know where the others will be.
10-26-2006, 11:22 AM
#9
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location:
Posts: 242
RE: You're not first - what next?
O.K. Point taken - the public ground is very large. There are multiple places to pull off, lots of room, miles of road and even more miles of hunting locations. That's the point. Do you take the chance of walking in on someone when there's lots of room? Or, do you see no reason to move because there's plenty of room everywhere? Some believe, with plenty of room, why take the chance of walking in on someone. Others believe, because there's plenty of room, the chance is minimimal and worth taking to hunt a favored spot.
10-26-2006, 01:21 PM
#10
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 7,208
RE: You're not first - what next?
I go in and hunt. If I come across them in the woods, then I move. I hunt a place that has 1 access spot. I've pulled in with as many as 6 cars there and hunted without coming across another hunter. A parked car by no means reserves an area. You don't know which side of the road he's on or anything.