In your situation I would probably woul have done the same thing, being that you had permission to hunt the property. If the farmer didn't know that there were any tree stands on the property than chances are who ever built the stand probably didn't have permission to be there.

it is not ethical in my eye's.
In our club we have a lot of permanent stands,we have about 30,000 acres.I do not hunt from others stands,and DO NOT want anyone in my stand.I took the time to scout and then time to carrie the materials in and build the stand.there are to many places to hunt.
as deerslayer said,would you get into someones car,or house,or use someting that didn't belong to you?
If a member of our club wants to get someone mad,(not just me)but anyone in our club that has permanent stands,just get caught in a stand that doesn't belong to you.
it is a rule that you do not bother or disturbe any personal property.you can get kicked out of the club,may get a case of whoop a$$ to go with it.
I think that goes right along with picking up someones deer befor the shooter get's to it.
we don't put up with it in our club!!!!!!!




I am not a hunter I am a whitetail population reduction specialest

remember keep your back to the sun, your knife sharp, and your powder dry.

Edited by - tree climber on 03/03/2002 06:51:47

I'm with DeerSlayer and treeClimber 100% on this one! On private property it would be wrong to hunt someone else's stand without permission, PERIOD!

I hunted property that only my group of 6 had permission to hunt. During one of my scouting trips I came across a beautiful ladder stand that looked like it had not been used for many years & had never seen it before in this area, but I left it alone & went about my scouting. I later asked the landowner & my group if they had put it up or knew who it belonged to & nobody knew.
I left it there for 5 years & never used it & never saw anyone near it (there was a saftey belt hanging over one of the ladder rungs all of this time & never saw it moved).
When the landowner timbered this area I guess he removed the stand & got rid of it but we never did find out who it belonged to & none of my group ever did make use of it.
So I guess I would never hunt out of anybody elses stand.

Straight Shooting
mtbyak

To me this is just as bad as stealing.

Hunting is nature.
It is our nature to hunt.
I'm not a hunting fanatic just a hunting addict.

THere are some places I hunt where several different groups have permission to hunt. Some of them choose to build permanent or semi permanent stands. I have never hunted any of them but I have climbed up in them while scouting to get a feel for why the person chose that location.

I would not hunt some one elses permanent without permission, but as wimp said I to have climbed up in them to check out why it was selected and to gain a better view of the surronding area. I must say the positioning for some of them made no sense to me unless they were rifle hunting and all their shots were 100+ yards.

The Tazman

If it's left from the previous year and it's on public land then I would even though I have never done it.They are to be taken down shortly after season closes so if it's still there then it's free game.If it's on private land then no way...unless I knew the person wouldn't mind.I'd ask permission first.

IT'S LIKE SLEEPING WITH SOMEONE ELSES WIFE, YOU JUST DON'T DO IT.

I would not have climed into the stand. I think that if someone spends time making and scouting for a stand he should be the one that is able to use it.