Here's the scenario. You've made a plan to hunt a gated fire road in the National Forest that is locked and all that is allowed is foot travel. You've hunted there before with success. You leave the house allowing yourself ample time to get there before daylight. When you arrive at the location there is already a vehicle there parked at the gate. Someone has gotten there before you and the hunter/hunters have already left the vehicle and are somewhere out the road. What do you do? (A) Do you turn around and go to another location to keep from potentially messing up the persons hunt that got there before you. Or do you (B) Park next to the vehicle at the gate, get your stuff together and head on out the road following the hunter/hunters that got there before you.
GO FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO HUNT PERIOD EXCLAMATION POINT EXCLAMATION POINT. Nothing makes me more angry than someone that has no hunting etiquette and proceeds to hunt where someone beat them to the spot. Not to mention it could be very dangerous.
Only way in to a huge chunk of land? Hunt it. Small piece? Move on else where
In Alabama you find another spot. Always have a few backups. In Indiana, there will be 3 cars at every parking area. I've ran into other hunters almost everyday I've hunted Indiana public ground.
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Quote from: turkey_slayer on May 03, 2014, 05:24:56 PM
Only way in to a huge chunk of land? Hunt it. Small piece? Move on else where
Quote from: alclark2 on May 03, 2014, 05:59:28 PM
In Alabama you find another spot. Always have a few backups. In Indiana, there will be 3 cars at every parking area. I've ran into other hunters almost every day I've hunted Indiana public ground.
Both valid points...
Public land in California can be crowded, and hunting many areas you will have company... You know this going in though.
Small piece of property, I would move on though...
Big property with one access point, in my area you will have company (I know of one area with several thousand acres of land, and one access point)...
In states with lots of public property and lots of birds, I would go to a different location... In other words, to some degree the etiquette is regional and situational.
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One of the biggest factors in killing public land birds is finding one you can have to yourself and that has been fooled with much previously. You are not likely to find such a bird after parking next to someone else.
depends how close are you to the city? lol here in mo around the city every rich guy wants to hunt my decoys have been shot at public land near the city... how ever in better areas where not so populated find another spot its just the right thing to do not saying you need to find whole new ladn but find another trail might work out in your favor as the birds could eb less pressured
The general rule in turkey hunting etiquette is that one hunter should never interfere with another hunter who is on a gobbler. A corollary to that rule is that if a hunting area is of insufficient size to accommodate more than one hunter at a time, then the first guy there has "dubs" on the area,...until he leaves the area, at which point he relinquishes his privilege of priority.
However, if the area is large enough to accommodate multiple hunters without them interfering with each other, I see no reason why multiple hunters could not hunt there. Having said that, if you are the second hunter in an area and you have doubts that you might interfere with the first, you should move on.
As has been stated, it is always best to have multiple back-ups in terms of other places to go. If you don't, then you probably need to do more "homework" during the off-season.
Quote from: GobbleNut on May 04, 2014, 05:52:46 PM
The general rule in turkey hunting etiquette is that one hunter should never interfere with another hunter who is on a gobbler. A corollary to that rule is that if a hunting area is of insufficient size to accommodate more than one hunter at a time, then the first guy there has "dubs" on the area,...until he leaves the area, at which point he relinquishes his privilege of priority.
However, if the area is large enough to accommodate multiple hunters without them interfering with each other, I see no reason why multiple hunters could not hunt there. Having said that, if you are the second hunter in an area and you have doubts that you might interfere with the first, you should move on.
As has been stated, it is always best to have multiple back-ups in terms of other places to go. If you don't, then you probably need to do more "homework" during the off-season.
+1000
I appreciate the input. I was the one that got to the gated road first the other morning. Got there around 5 am. I had walked a couple hundred yards up the road and was hanging out waiting for daylight. At around 5:40 or so I hear gravels crunching and eventually see the lights of the vehicle approaching the gate where my vehicle was parked. There is no parking area. Just a pipe gate blocking off the road. My truck was eased to the side of the road so not to block the gate. I foolishly thought, "They will see that I got here first and they will go somewhere else." Wrong! The lights on the vehicle go out and less than a minute later i see a flashlight headed my way up the road. I started walking farther up the road ahead of the individual. As I made my way around a couple curves I continue to look back and he is still there. At one point I flashed my cell phone light at him thinking maybe that he hadn't seen me. Didn't phase him. So I stood there as he approached me. I was nice to the fella but inside I was boiling. Totally changed the plan that I had for the morning. I almost laughed as he said a couple times, "I don't wanna mess you up!" He messed my hunt up when I saw the flashlight headed my way up the road. Anyway, he went one way and I went the other and by 7 I was in the truck headed to another spot. So with all of that being said. I haven't and would never park at a gated road when there is already someone there. The way I see it is that they beat me there, find another spot. I'll leave earlier the next time. To me, it is unethical and potentially dangerous.
Here majority of the areas have only one way in to 10s of thousands of acres so it's common for other vehicles to be parked together. 99% I'm the first there but if not and a bird gobbles I wait to see if someone is working him before I go in. I don't wanna mess somebody up and expect the same but the reality is there are more people that will cut in on you than people that respect you.
Otdrzman you should not ask a question like that on a forum of turkey hunters, all they want to do is get a bird alone. I read something to the fact that Indiana had 3 cars parked in one spot. To enlighten you I hunted public land state and national forest in Indiana since 1984. If I ever wanted to know anything regarding rules on public land I would call the authority of the area I wanted to hunt and ask them. On public land in state that would be Indiana DNR. For hosier national forest I would call them. State land and national forest land all have designated parking areas, you cannot park off the side of the road, and you cannot block a gate. If you come to a spot that is a gated entrance spot with only enough room for 1 car I would go look for another spot, as there is only enough land for 1 car of hunters to hunt. If a parking area is big enough for 3 cars then there is only enough acreage for 3 cars of hunters to hunt, etc. I have never experienced a rude turkey hunter even if I were walking in on a main trail and someone came in behind me I have no gripes, It is the only way in and everyone has the right to travel it in or out at anytime. No one expects you to be on the main trail hunting turkeys, they expect you to be hunting right or left of it, etc. This past Saturday I was hunting in Indiana on public land and parked where there was no other cars there, thou there was room. I got up into the forest and just listened, eventually a bird started gobbling to my left about 150 yards. It kept gobbling, eventually I heard a who cooks for U coming in on the other side about 20 minutes later. Now since I was at the bird first do I walk over and tell the individual that it is my bird. Do I give a raggedy who cooks for you to let him know this is my bird. No I wait till he hits the ground and give soft clucks and purrs, eventually the bird went in a direction that avoided us both. The guy gave a half hearted attempt at a fighting purr, End of that story. No other cars were parked by my car when I got out. Was I mad at the guy for coming in on MY BIRD. No He didn't know I was there and was just like me trying to get a gobbler. After all it is public land. I have hunted private land once, a couple weeks ago, to keep this story short the adjacent landowners were protecting their birds. Even though they were not branded. I prefer public land. I moved out of Indiana 3 years ago but go back to hunt every chance I get. One note of interest, don't call from the main trails, birds get called from there all the time and are leary of it. I do not know what state you are from but I would recommend you calling the DNR for state or federal land you plan to hunt, If it comes right down to it and you are drawn into a situation you don't want to be in it is best to be on the right side. Good luck
I hunt public land in Mississippi almost exclusively and turkey hunting is no big deal. When people ask me where I kill my birds I tell them and add that the hunting pressure is awful and I see hunters regularly , etc. Keeps them away, LOL! Duck hunting on the other hand is totally ridiculous. People will spend the night in their boat illegally to be the first person in the hole at 4 am. Also, adjacent duck hunters will shoot to flare ducks if they think they are going to land where someone adjacent to them will get a shot. These public land duck hunters are a work in progress if you know what I mean.
Deadbuck
I see you have duckhunted at st caterine creek nat refuge
Lol
Otdrzman, here in sw virginia we have large chunks of national forest land with multiple access points. There are parking areas, gates and even large rocks off the road that serve as places to pull over. Where I hunt, the size of the parking areas have NOTHING to do with the amount of land behind them. I agree 100% that you got there first and the other hunter had no reason to park beside you. First, he doesn't know where you are. Second, if you were farther away from the road, you wouldn't have a clue that he was there. Third, the vehicle who parked next to you has no idea if it is just you or you and 1-2 others. It's called hunting etiquette. I hunt public land also and if someone is in a parking area that I want to hunt, I move on to another. He beat me there. It boils down to SAFETY first then basic etiquette. I agree with most of the answers you got. I've had the same happen to me. It's frustrating. I don't understand why d.winsor would say that you shouldn't ask that question on this turkey hunting forum. That makes no sense to me. Maybe he thinks you should have asked that question on a fishing forum. People jockeying over one gobbler usually ends up educating the gobbler and lowers everyones odds by a mile. Also, his " after all it's public land" ties in to the beginning of this thread. Unfortunately, there are some hunters with this excuse and see nothing wrong with the scenario you experienced.
Otdrxzman I didn't recommend you go to a fishing form did I. My recommendation for you was to call the DNR of the public state or federal land that you intend to hunt. They will send you all the hunting regulations just for the asking, including parking. As I said you don't ask that question on a turkey hunting forum because if people feel their home brew ethics are in danger they get mad and abusive. You are a grown man and you know what ethics are I hope, once you get the regulations for where you want to hunt you will know how ethical to be. I would hope you don't let people bully you into their brand of ethics. I can guarantee you this, with rules like that you would always be last, until everyone else is satisfied. As I said I have hunted deer, turkey, quail, pheasant, rabbit all on public land since 1984 on state and federal public land. I never heard of such rules and never had 1 problem from anyone. The people that give you "they were first rules" ask them for the regulation that backs it up and not be fed garbage about ethics. That is my last post concerning this I don't intend to get too deep into it, not where I want to go, but I gave my opinion and that is it.
it realy depends on the size of the property theres a very large piece of public land close to my house that only has two access points. its a valley that is about 8 miles long I wouldn't expect anyone to leave if I was there first ( although it would be nice ;D) on such a big piece of ground. On the other hand there is a 200ac piece of public a couple miles down the road if someone was there before me I would definatly go else where
Otdrzman, I'm sure that is isn't against regulations for that hunter to park beside you. However I feel like we should go above the laws and regulations books and not let them serve as a ethical guide. Ethics come from the individual, not a regulation book. I believe in going above and beyond what any regulation book says, especially when it involves hunting. I guess I struck a nerve with d. winsor a little bit. I have had 2 bad encounters on public land involving hunters who messed up my hunts. They parked beside me. I was way ahead of them in the woods. I was short standed in one of the hunts. They still didn't care. Asking another hunter to show proof in the regulations book to back up why they have a right to park beside you speaks volumes to me. Frankly, it makes me want to question a person's judgement. I don't hunt like that and I give others their space. It's my personal choice. If that makes me last, so be it. Messing up another persons hunt or jeopardizing my safety isn't worth the risk. Some people will risk safety and do what they have to do to kill a turkey. I've witnessed this cowboy mentality personally. There is over 1.6 million acres of national forest primarily in sw va where I live. Ethics and personal safety come before trying to pull out a rule book and explain myself. I can go to another spot if someone beat me there. That's not a big deal. I hope that I didn't offend you and showed plenty of sensitivity. YOU have to make that decision. Hopefully others will respect another hunters space. Just my opinion. Good luck and be safe.
You were messed up twice in hunting public land. I took my wife out two days last week and had people in our setups BOTH days. 20 minute brisk walk down a horse trail in the forest. No one else around. No one parked anywhere close. They hear a gobble and come stomping through.
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We beat this to death in another thread. It all comes down to the size of the tract and the access to the tract. Also, very important, is how many other options are there on public land within a 30-45 minute drive of there? dwin says if it is public and not against the regs, you can hunt it, regardless of who got there when. Most folks say use some personal ethics and follow the Golden Rule-"Do unto others................" It is so hard to honestly answer each situation. If someone knows you are there and comes in right on top of you, I don't care where you are or how much land there is, that is just plain rude. I won't do it and I feel like I am within my rights to be upset that they did it. I don't get to judge them though and I can't and won't do anything about it, other than just letting them know that I know what they did. With that being said, in almost every case where something similar has happened to me, I talk to the hunter(s) and we work out a plan that is safe and fair for both of us (I won't go east of this road or south of this creek, you stay west and north, etc). Never had a problem when I did that.
If it is a parking lot whit tons of land behind it,its acceptable to go in. If it is a long road with a gate I feel its not acceptable. I always have a back up plan for my backup plan. Two weeks ago I struck a bird a honest mile away from any road ,trail or 4 wheeler path. He was on the top of one ridge and coming down. With no good place to hide I topped the opposite ridge and was just waiting for him to stick his head up and look. 20 minutes latter I hear BOOM and it was VERY close to me. I stand up and can see the guy 50 yards from me and he was NOT there 20 minutes ago,honestly I dont know how he got between me and the bird without spooking the bird. He giggled a bit and said "Hey thanks bud " I dont know where he came from but what I do know if he was not younger and bigger than me I would have cleaned his clock for him.
Quote from: turkey_slayer on May 03, 2014, 05:24:56 PM
Only way in to a huge chunk of land? Hunt it. Small piece? Move on else where
Great advice. I hunt NF and this is what I do.
Quote from: Ocoee Ridge Runner on May 03, 2014, 04:12:22 PM
GO FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO HUNT PERIOD EXCLAMATION POINT EXCLAMATION POINT. Nothing makes me more angry than someone that has no hunting etiquette and proceeds to hunt where someone beat them to the spot. Not to mention it could be very dangerous.
x10 x10 x10. Well said
Quote from: Spitten and drummen on May 11, 2014, 10:03:11 AM
Quote from: Ocoee Ridge Runner on May 03, 2014, 04:12:22 PM
GO FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO HUNT PERIOD EXCLAMATION POINT EXCLAMATION POINT. Nothing makes me more angry than someone that has no hunting etiquette and proceeds to hunt where someone beat them to the spot. Not to mention it could be very dangerous.
x10 x10 x10. Well said
Turkey hunting is suppose to be fun, If you get angry and fume you should take up another hobby, you will live longer, or find yourself some private land. Yet the only time I hunted private land a few weeks ago the land owner next door was shutting the birds down. So that might not be a good idea for you either.
I hunt a lot of public land every year not to sound like a braggart but I always kill the limit...I avoid other hunters like the plague. If someone messes me up "in the woods" I just shrug it off and move on. No use getting mad.
This is the exception.
Just this past year I was hunting National Forest in Mississippi....I was driving down a sand road when I rounded a bend the road was full of gobblers 6 to be exact.....I slowed a little...5 of them walked south off the side of the road and one flew to the east. Thinking I had a chance of calling them I rounded the bend about 200 yards up pulled off on the north side of the road. Eased out of the truck real quiet and geared up.
Almost immediately I heard one gobble looking at the terrain it was obvious that if I went far in the woods I'd get seen. The terrain slopped down on the other side of the road I eased across the road and sat down next to a big pine tree not 10 yards from the road....I knew this was a risky situation when it came to hunter interference.
I called on my trumpet....goooooobbbllleee....they were less than a 100 yards. I switched to a diaphragm call in a few minutes I gave a few light yelps and they cut me off....goooobbbbllllleee. They were 50 yards and closing....knowing I had 5 sets of eyes coming towards me I was really careful not to give into temptation and turn when one gobbled. I made a few light yelps again....gOOOoooobbbbleee one was right in front of me...in killing range just behind a tree top.
About then I hear this diesel truck coming from the east.....chugggg chuggg chuggg.......then I hear it turn off about 200 yards up the road east of me. I'm scanning the woods with my eyes and then I hear the crow call...caw caw caw....heck they were already gobbling like crazy at me. I'm thinking if this guy will just try and hunt them from where he's at I've still got chance.
I see a glimpse of a gobbler about 40 yards out...I called lightly and the one was still right in front of...gooooobbblleee
About that time I hear the diesel crank up.....I'm thinking then if this guy will just keep going when he sees my truck things could still work out.
As the diesel approaches the birds go silent...then the bozo stops in the middle of the road about 20 yards past my truck and turns the diesel off....clunk. By this time my blood is almost boiling....then he starts calling.
I couldn't take it anymore I stood up and I could see his big shiny red Ford double cab 4x4 with him standing on the running board...
Gun in hand I stepped out in the road as I walked towards his truck I first asked him..."Did you not see my truck you %$ o ^ @$#%&"...he replied "I was trying to"....."I don't give a @#%$ what you were trying to do when you saw my truck you should have kept rolling you low life %$@^&@ &#$^@# lucky for him and me he sat down in his truck cranked it up and drove off before I got to him.
I'll bet he'll think twice before he stops on top of someone again....
Move on down the road...
If it's the only trail I'll pick a good looking spot and just walk off the road. No need for a trail.
Go find somewhere else to hunt. I have always hunted public land almost exclusively and have seen my share of inconsiderate folks. Opening day I was set up with my son (small area) when I hear the hoot flute closing in. I finally see the guy, flash my light and whistle continuously. He walks on past at 50 yards in wide open woods headed straight toward the gobbling turkey and disappears. 6:15 am on opening day and we walk out of the woods hacked off and worried about getting shot. I get back to the truck and he had parked right by us (this is not a parking area....anyone with any sense would know better).
The above is just one of many similar stories I have experienced over the years. You deal with it and move on or you quit hunting. At the same time I have encountered many considerate hunters as well.
In instances like the one just described by El Pavo Grande, I think some of the time these are anti-hunters just trying to keep hunters from having the opportunity to harvest game. These are some of the tactics that are promoted by anti-hunting organizations. With the hunter harassment laws that are in place in many states, these people just can't go out and disrupt legal hunting activity, so what better way is there to legally screw up a hunt than to act like you are a hunter and just go interfere with someone who is really hunting?
Turkey hunting, in particular, is one of the easiest forms of hunting to accomplish this. An anti-hunter buys a license, gets a shotgun, drives around on public land, sees a vehicle that is probably a hunter, parks and heads into the woods listening for a gobbling turkey, and heads straight for the gobbler. What better way is there to mess with a legitimate hunt while avoiding the possibility of being arrested under the hunter harassment regulations?
They use all kinds of tactics nowadays to mess with us.....
I agree with you GobbleNut, kills two birds with one stone. One they bust the setup, and two they make us argue among ourselves.
I had this situation last week in Indy, got to the only parking place for an area I wanted to hunt, had never been to the area until the day before so I had decided on this 1 spot. There was a truck there and I almost bailed, I said to hell with it I am plenty early the area was huge and was surely big enough for both of us. I walked in down the road and after 10 minutes or so I had the guy flash his light at me , I had a solid 15 minute walk from there so I just kept going!
Worked birds all morning and never heard or seen the other hunter! Killed a bird there a couple days later and never had run into anyone!
I guess that there are many variables when it comes to hunting public land.
Amount of land, parking areas, etc. Each individual hunter has control where they go.
We have no control what happens from other hunters or idiots if we are the first one to park in a parking area.
I agree with L.F. Cox and try to avoid other hunters. I don't want to take a chance on messing up his hunt or getting shot at by some moron. For myself, it is a safety and ethical reason. If you decide to park next to someone, walk by them, or over top of them or work with them that is your choice. It's not my choice. I think that discussing the subject openly isn't a way to divide and cause fighting among us. It is more about hunter interference and dealing with it.
I think Otdrzman's thread has shown hunters have differences in opinion on hunting public land.
Be careful and stay safe. Mike