Ran up to Mass this weekend. I work remote so I've spent the majority of this year out west or down south. It was nice to keep this trip to only a few hours from home. Anyway, the first morning I come back to my truck at about 9 and notice there's 4,5 cars parked right on top of me. Surely they couldn't be other hunters. Small area and I didn't hear a peep from anyone else. I was a little bit confused. I continued to hunt this weekend and realized that I didn't see a single other hunter, but there must have been 30 different cars parked at gates throughout the weekend. By Saturday afternoon I realized these were all hikers and bikers. All of these people hitting the trails by 730-8am. Unfortunately, I even had one walk right down the trail that I was trying to call a hot bird down.
Is this a super common thing in Mass or all over New England? What about your area? I'm not going to lie, this drove me crazy. Not to mention some of these folks were wearing masks while on the trail alone
:TooFunny:
I haven't had it so much happen in Oklahoma, but in Colorado in the fall while elk/muley hunting it is quite common, even during the rifle seasons
I've had it happen in FLA on WMA's. Frankly I find it very irresponsible of the state to allow hikers, bikers and equestrians on WMA's, usually for free, when hunters have to pay to access the woods in limited times, but have to share the woods with the freeloaders. Grrrrrrr!!!
Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.
IL public is out until 1:00.
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I have had it happen in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Along with the hikers and bikers I have had dirt bikes and horse back riders come through. The dirt bikers and 4 wheeler riders really drive me crazy because they are not supposed to be out there on the public land. After the first couple of years I have learned to avoid those places those groups frequent especially on the weekends.
They changed the trail down here so now there is an extension off the trail that runs right in front of me and along the crick so now I constantly have people in front of me walking it.
The new people running the trail have ruined it, trying to make it more like the city parks/walkways and are working against nature as opposed to the old crew that I was a part of that tried to work with nature and the wildlife flourished. I did not even see any deer tracks there. pity is it is where I got my first deer.
Same thing happens here in Pa.
Welcome to New England.
Certain WMAs can be more popular than others, especially those with well established blazed hiking trail. Until last year you could find plenty of spots where you would not see another person in the woods that day. Once COVID hit and the outdoors became cool again there's cars at pretty much every barway and pull off. Still waiting for them to lift all these restrictions so all the yuppies can go back to their normal lives and the woods will be quiet again.
Dirt bikes, quads and horses on WMAs... Don't even get me started. It's frustrating especially when those individuals advocate to keep hunting closed on Sundays so they can have more time to use the trails that money from hunting goes to maintaining.
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Public land, these things put a damper on a hunt but it's for everyone to use!
I've hunted exclusively public this year and while some of it was busy I've been able to work around pressure and any contact with others has been positive and cordial.
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Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 10, 2021, 06:53:50 AM
They changed the trail down here so now there is an extension off the trail that runs right in front of me and along the crick so now I constantly have people in front of me walking it.
The new people running the trail have ruined it, trying to make it more like the city parks/walkways and are working against nature as opposed to the old crew that I was a part of that tried to work with nature and the wildlife flourished. I did not even see any deer tracks there. pity is it is where I got my first deer.
Concrete and shopping mall generations now
Oh this place is nice, let's plow it down and build something here
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Very common in New York + New Jersey. Hikers and Bikers often get out at Sunrise to see the Wildlife.
Let's not forget the bird watchers also..
Quote from: sasquatch1 on May 10, 2021, 08:57:58 AM
Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 10, 2021, 06:53:50 AM
They changed the trail down here so now there is an extension off the trail that runs right in front of me and along the crick so now I constantly have people in front of me walking it.
The new people running the trail have ruined it, trying to make it more like the city parks/walkways and are working against nature as opposed to the old crew that I was a part of that tried to work with nature and the wildlife flourished. I did not even see any deer tracks there. pity is it is where I got my first deer.
Concrete and shopping mall generations now
Oh this place is nice, let's plow it down and build something here
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That's about it too. That and move to the country and then trying to make it like what they moved away from. I grew up in both city and country, when I was very young I could not wait to get away from the country, now I want nothing to do with the city for the most part and if I do miss things like the museums or theatre I will just go to the city instead of breaking down the country.
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This won't be good for hunting in general.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/missouri-hiker-shot-after-hunter-mistakes-him-for-turkey-police-say (https://www.foxnews.com/us/missouri-hiker-shot-after-hunter-mistakes-him-for-turkey-police-say)
So actually, I went over to NY on Sunday because you can't hunt in Mass on Sundays. And the hikers were actually even worse in NY than they were in Mass. To most people reading this who aren't from the Northeast, you're probably thinking "oh, well it's New York so of course". But the funny thing is, the majority of upstate NY is more rural and sparsely populated than most areas the in the south! So it just kind of blows my mind that there were that many people out and about on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. I'm guessing a lot of these people were travelling from some of the major areas and doing a weekend hiking trip, but it really pissed me off. There are quite a few yuppies in Mass though :TooFunny:
I live next to a large tract of BLM land that has always been very popular with horse riders. I usually figure I have to leave by about 8:00 because that is when they usually start showing up in the trails. A few years back found another spot on this same BLM land that did not have as many riders, only came across one and it was later in the day. This year while hunting there came across three different hiking groups. On the west coast so it must be a national phenonium.
Just hang a sign at the gate saying "man with gun in the area" and you'll scare most of those yuppies away.
Quote from: turkeyfool on May 10, 2021, 10:26:37 AM
So actually, I went over to NY on Sunday because you can't hunt in Mass on Sundays. And the hikers were actually even worse in NY than they were in Mass. To most people reading this who aren't from the Northeast, you're probably thinking "oh, well it's New York so of course". But the funny thing is, the majority of upstate NY is more rural and sparsely populated than most areas the in the south! So it just kind of blows my mind that there were that many people out and about on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. I'm guessing a lot of these people were travelling from some of the major areas and doing a weekend hiking trip, but it really pissed me off. There are quite a few yuppies in Mass though :TooFunny:
i'd think it has more to do with the fact that the weather sucks for half the year and people get excited to get out and enjoy the woods when they can
Quote from: turkeyfool on May 10, 2021, 10:26:37 AM
So actually, I went over to NY on Sunday because you can't hunt in Mass on Sundays. And the hikers were actually even worse in NY than they were in Mass. To most people reading this who aren't from the Northeast, you're probably thinking "oh, well it's New York so of course". But the funny thing is, the majority of upstate NY is more rural and sparsely populated than most areas the in the south! So it just kind of blows my mind that there were that many people out and about on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. I'm guessing a lot of these people were travelling from some of the major areas and doing a weekend hiking trip, but it really pissed me off. There are quite a few yuppies in Mass though :TooFunny:
Yea people hear NY and they think NYC right away. I went to OKC to visit and a woman looked at me and said "It must be nice to get away from all those people in NY" She was very surprised when I told her that OKC held more people than my entire county times almost 26
Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 10, 2021, 12:13:29 PM
Quote from: turkeyfool on May 10, 2021, 10:26:37 AM
So actually, I went over to NY on Sunday because you can't hunt in Mass on Sundays. And the hikers were actually even worse in NY than they were in Mass. To most people reading this who aren't from the Northeast, you're probably thinking "oh, well it's New York so of course". But the funny thing is, the majority of upstate NY is more rural and sparsely populated than most areas the in the south! So it just kind of blows my mind that there were that many people out and about on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. I'm guessing a lot of these people were travelling from some of the major areas and doing a weekend hiking trip, but it really pissed me off. There are quite a few yuppies in Mass though :TooFunny:
Yea people hear NY and they think NYC right away. I went to OKC to visit and a woman looked at me and said "It must be nice to get away from all those people in NY" She was very surprised when I told her that OKC held more people than my entire county times almost 26
^Oh yeah, I mean you can be 6 hours from NYC and in the same state. That's equivalent to being in southern IL down by Kentucky and Chicago being in the same state, but 6 hours north. I've hunted NY 2 or 3 times now. Beautiful state but the weather is kind of depressing. The terrain makes it really tough, I've struck out every time
Quote from: turkeyfool on May 10, 2021, 12:27:37 PM
Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 10, 2021, 12:13:29 PM
Quote from: turkeyfool on May 10, 2021, 10:26:37 AM
So actually, I went over to NY on Sunday because you can't hunt in Mass on Sundays. And the hikers were actually even worse in NY than they were in Mass. To most people reading this who aren't from the Northeast, you're probably thinking "oh, well it's New York so of course". But the funny thing is, the majority of upstate NY is more rural and sparsely populated than most areas the in the south! So it just kind of blows my mind that there were that many people out and about on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. I'm guessing a lot of these people were travelling from some of the major areas and doing a weekend hiking trip, but it really pissed me off. There are quite a few yuppies in Mass though :TooFunny:
Yea people hear NY and they think NYC right away. I went to OKC to visit and a woman looked at me and said "It must be nice to get away from all those people in NY" She was very surprised when I told her that OKC held more people than my entire county times almost 26
^Oh yeah, I mean you can be 6 hours from NYC and in the same state. That's equivalent to being in southern IL down by Kentucky and Chicago being in the same state, but 6 hours north. I've hunted NY 2 or 3 times now. Beautiful state but the weather is kind of depressing. The terrain makes it really tough, I've struck out every time
I love this state with all my heart, but I hate the Democrats that have ruined it and made it so hard for gun owners and sports-persons in general. Most gun shops can't stay in business anymore because they have been regulated into submission. So beautiful and I love that weather you are talking about, had snow opening day last year I think it was.
There is a National Forest near where I live that has a lot of hikers and bikers. But they generally stick to established trails so I can avoid them.
Times are a changing. Here in East TN there are thousands of acres of public land (cherokee national forest) but most of the access is at Appalachian trail heads) you can forget weekends. There are a lot more hikers than hunters in the spring.
All part of hunting figureing out the birds and how to stay away from people. I have a very funny memory of a hunt last spring in WI. Had a hiker with his dog come through woods, as the guy dog was sniffing where i was hidding in the brush pile. The guy was bending over taking a selfie with his phone with my hen turkey decoy in the back ground. My only regret is it happen so quick that i didnt have time to get my own pictures.
Very common in NY now. I went to an old spot the other day that has a nice stand of pines off the trail where i have worked birds in the past. 3 different sets of folks walking dogs and a runner. Most of this has happened since the pandemic.
I ran into a group of about 30 guys playing airsoft war on a piece of public in South Dakota last year. Absolutely blew my mind when I was walking down the trail and saw people running toward me with army camo and ar-15 style air soft rifles
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On Illinois public it's Morel hunters, and post pandemic, Hikers. Most people have absolutely no clue about Turkey season, and the fact that Hunting areas are closed till 1 pm. I waited to hit my local Morel spot last week till 1pm, ran into a guy way far away from his vehicle, and spoke to him mainly to see what he had picked where I normally hunt. He told me he had been out all morning and hadn't seen any of them Deer hunters. I explained the season and the rules to him to which he just shrugged " yeah I haven't seen any of those guys".
One of the joys of public land...
Saturday in Mo. a hiker was almost killed by a turkey hunter, the hunter mistake him for a turkey. This happen around 12:30 and from what i understand that area was closed to Hikers until 1 clock...
Covid shutting down lot of indoor activities forced people to find nature again. When lock downs first struck I went from always being the only one out trail running to packed parking lots
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I was bow hunting a field edge yesterday morning. About 11:00 two ladies came walking by me with their dogs. They apologized...I said that's okay I was leaving anyhow. People are definitely out and about.