Oklahoma public land drama :p

[Schmidty3]

Lol....WWFBD??? (what would Fred bear do???)

I found this at the base of my stand Friday. I was just running by and checking my stand and camera for my hunt today. (Hopefully this is legible)

   

Being a fellow public land hunter I understand his frustrations. However I wish the fellow would have been a bit less entitled and passive aggressive. Pretty bold of him to ask me to move IMO. Especially since my stand has been there since labor day   :p  
(Practice what you preach...am I right???      )  

I think he did a quick circuit and left a note on every stand around. I saw another stand that was tagged. Its pretty unreasonable to claim about 40 acres of public land as your own.

I wish the man would've just left his number and asked to cooperate. I'll likely pen a response to that effect.

I know there's some here that don't agree with leaving stands out on public land. That seems to be the norm here, so im playing the "game" as it were.

I believe he left the note on the second or third. He should a been hunting, this dude walked right by at 3 pm.

   

Here's another from that stand.

   

Good thing for him I'll probably hunt this other stand if the wind is right!

   

And the icing on the cake. I present to you "Mr.Buck". What a toad!

   

[AZ_Longbow]

Public land fun.

[Schmidty3]

Maybe he was jealous of the big rub 20 yds from my stand!  

Having never hunted here I'd say I did a decent job scouting! Now I just have to execute!

[maineac]

Why not leave the reply on his stand 200 yds to the south, letting him know your placement date and that you will do your best not to disturb his hunt. At least he was polite.

[Schmidty3]

He tried... He came off as passive aggressive. Rubbed me wrong.

Priority date seems to only apply in regards to patents... Not so much on stand placement

[Matty]

Interesting like maineac stated. At least he was polite. IMO 200 yards is a pretty good distance. And my guess is it's probably further than that. Maybe you will be hunting on different days so it doesn't matter. Public land is also. Just that. He in reality can't ask you to move.. It's quite the dilemma.  Yes he could have been a tool and taken your stand down or stolen it.  But I think in this situation. First person there wins. Or like stated. You can share. 200 yards is a long way. I hunted this weekend in a great spot and there was a guy 80 yards from me I wasn't about to move as I was on private land and he was waiting for the deer to come from my side to his. I didn't care that he was there I still had deer all around me. Good luck

[foxbo]

How do you still hunt on public land without causing problems? Is it all stand hunting?

[ChuckC]

All I hunt is public. 200 yards is like....another county.  I try to be nice and I have given up spots that were mine alone for years to avoid hassles and be a good neighbor, but come on.....  As I recall a ten acre tract is 220 yards to a side.  If he is sitting in the middle, as you stated, he is laying clain to 40 acres, whether he is there or not.

I don't like the whole idea of leaving stands out cause that is one of the responses... mine mine mine.

I would be as nice as I could be, and hunt my stand.  I might hide a trail cam near my truck in case of sabatage.
ChuckC

[Fattony77]

I agree that it comes off as entitled and passive/aggressive, but in all fairness, it is extremely easy to misinterpret (or difficult to convey) tone in the written word. I couldn't begin to count the times that I have written something, or sent a text msg., that was taken by the recipient in a different manner than I had intended. So, I think that leaving a phone number is a good idea so that things can be settled like gentlemen and without misunderstanding.

Also, it could be that this guy is only wanting to gun hunt there, in which case it could be potentially dangerous to hunt at the same time, but it could also mean that there will be less conflict in your schedules.

[Bowwild]

Yep, 200 yards is plenty of distance between hunters.  You pay as much for that public land has he does.

By the way, some fellows do their scouting by looking for stands and then setting up near them. Those folks figure everyone knows more about scouting than they do. Probably true.

[dh9]

Well he was polite, but I would not move. You have the same right to hunt that area that he does. Two hundred yards is fine. Good luck and enjoy your time in the field!

[Schmidty3]

This place is bow only. 10,000 acres! This particular section is about 2000-3000 acres. I'm just far enough in to beat the lazy hunters. But this is my closest spot to the truck at 0.4 miles.

I left him a note at the truck. Basically told him that his response was unreasonable. Informed him that my stand had been there since labor day.

And left him my number so we could cooperate. Told him I'd send him some pics. Help him drag a deer. Told him I'd only hunt it on a south or east wind.

Its a mountains from mole hills really. There's plenty of room.

[Schmidty3]

The reality is that I've only sat in that stand twice this season!!!  :p
I may sit in it 2 more times.

I should a set there last Friday apparently. A nice'n walked by while I was in my other stand!!!  :p

[Hossmiller]

Ive ran into multiple stands on the public land I hunt. In fact one guy had flagging tape from the road all the way to his ladder stand. It seems pointless to me to put up any stands that I would leave on public land in Arkansas, as our rule book states that you have to move the stand every 7 days, that's why I use a climber. I'd say both of you leave your stands, and whoever gets there first that day hunts it. There'll be days he hunts that you won't be there and vice versa.

[wooddamon1]

Had a similar deal here, the guy keeps getting closer every season to my natural blind that's been there for 12 years. This season he left me a note on a piece of plywood basically whining that his stand was stolen last year so he's hunting from a blind 80 yards S of me (he's less than 40 yards E!) and he's been there for many years and thanking me ahead of time for my "cooperation". I think he's just trying to weasel in on my spot.

 Plan on meeting him there some weekend to have a chat, can't stand the entitlement mentality some of these guys have. It wouldn't bother me so much but I know it's the same guy that's been making illegal quad trails and using excessive bait nearby for quite some time and it took me years of scouting before I built the blind there in the first place. He discovered this spot by following my tracks into it one late season with snow on the ground. The next year-you guessed it-a nearby ladder stand.

I'll snap a pic of the note next time I'm in the area, it's ridiculous, implying that maybe I stole his stand...   :rolleyes:

[Schmidty3]

Lol... This isn't that bad yet.

This is my first year to hunt this unit. I spent 10-15 Saturdays this year walking 10-15 miles each time trying to figure this place out. I've got a pretty good feel for it. My cams tell the story. The story they tell is that there are a ton of really nice bucks. But they are all nocturnal! They aren't dumb deer.

[Schmidty3]

I guess the point is that I did my due diligence. I scouted not only for deer but hunters as well. Found this really good choke point no signs of human activity (old stand locations, trimming, tracks, trash etc from.years past).

[AZ_Longbow]

The thing is, in the end its public land. In AZ who ever gets there first that morning gets the spot. They can even sit in the stand you put up or blind you set or built. On public land here you can't cut or screw into any living plant or tree. They love to charge for damages. So best to be nice, keeps the forest aervice, wardens, and deputys out of it all. Keeps them from wanting more restrictive laws as well. Out here FS and LEO can and do remove a stand, blind, camera after 24 hours.

[Michael Arnette]

Haha public land hunting at its best...get yourself some thick skin and execute.

[Michael Arnette]

...it's one more reason to pack in and pack out IMO. Lots of work but I have found that when I leave stands up people hone in on them and "steal" (if you can call it that) my spots. Not to mention they sometimes disappear too