Lets say you have just spent the entire summer scouting and planning a hunt on some public land. You have done everything you ca

[benjismokin]

Lets say you have just spent the entire summer scouting and planning a hunt on some public land. You have done everything you can do to insure that you have picked the right location, have the time right, calculated everything right down to the shot. Then come the morning your going to sit, you find someone else is set-up not far from your stand! Or they might even be IN your stand. What do you do? What would be the best way to handle this situation?

[MLH]

The other guy might have worked just as hard and as long to find the perfect spot. He got there first. Hope you have a few backups.

You can tell him it is your stand and ask him to leave. But I am not aware of any laws that prevent him from using your stand on public land, though I would hope he/she would have the courtesy to honor your request. Just don't let any problems escalate.

Another hunter wanted to hunt the close to my stand one year. I suggested he set up looking in the direction opposite from me. He did but got itchy feet and moved on too early. An hour later I shot the buck that walked what would have been right in his line of fire.

[usmcturkey]

Always plan for mutliple set ups, always plan for things to never go right and you will never run in to this problem.

[huntfish37]

Always have more than one plan, because everything can go wrong. If he's sitting in your stand ask politely for him to leave, and if he doesn't come back after dar, take it down, and move on to the next spot.

[huntfish37]

dark*

[CPT BRAD]

Kind of like both the above, if you have put that much time in effort in scouting you will probably win out over that guy anyway. Be Patient, if he was in my stand I would defininently tell him about it and suggest he bring his own tomorrow. Also the reason I use a climbing stand. Either way go get you a second stand set it up in the same area facing another direction and hunt on. If the guy doesn't leave you will at least have as good a chance as he does. Once again one of the downfalls of hunting on public land, you can't rope off large plots to hunt.

Hope this helps.

[wallofsam]

This happens to almost everyone of my friends that hunt state land. There's not much you can do about it, except either wait them out or have a back up stand in place. Although a couple of my friends went to their back-up spots to find no stand or steps where they had set-up, seems to be alot of theft in the state woods around these parts. Hunters beware... I guess, though it's unfortunate. Hopefully the hunters in your region have a little more respect for each other than around here.

[hnestle]

Get there a dusk 30 and camp out. If there was only one spot that I had scouted I would make sure I got there first. There is nothing wrong with sleeping In a stand for a few hours. The further I drive to get to public land the earlier I get there.

[Sharkfin]

I don't hunt public land and still have issues like this. I hunt 1300 acres with 14 other hunters. Most of the time there are only 5 or 6 other people there but I've still had to pick another place. We have a map of the property and everyone put a pin to mark where they are hunting when they get to the property. Last year I saw a big buck at a place I like to go that is only about 40 yards off the logging road and I told people about seeing him. Nobody ever hunted that spot. I saw him 4 times over about a 3 week period and finally got him. I usually see more deer than everybody but one other guy that lives right across from the land. The other members know to follow us especially if we hunt one spot numerous times. I think they just thought the spot I saw and eventually shot the buck was too close the the logging road. I have about 10-15 spots that I count on and about 15 others that can be hit or miss. I usually don't hunt the same spot two days in a row even if I only move 100-200 yards. Basically you can't count any spot as yours, especially on public land so you really better have a backup.

[bonnier-admin_2]

I primarily hunt public land and if I do find someone in my stand I take it down right then and there. As far as someone being close, they may push a deer your way. I take advantage of hunting pressure and it works great when you figure the escape routes.

[Christian Emter]

I would hunt another spot. But like MLH said, "They may have worked just as hard as you". I agree with him. Sometimes thats how the cookie crumbles.

[Beekeeper]

When hunting public land I always get to my stand early (usually 1.5 hours before sunrise) to make sure someting like this doesn't happen. This also allows time for things to settle and get quite. I am amzaed at the deer that get pushed right under me by other hunters moving around at dawn.

Have a back up plan. If I do get to a location and find someone already there I go to my back up spot.

[2Poppa]

I probably scouted to close to the main road, where other people have as much access and rights to be there as I do.I go to the deepest bowels of the woods I can possibly go. Big bucks don't like the pressure and neither do big buck hunters. I usually take a boat if water is nearby and go that route to avoid other hunters ...

[MB915]

Not to sound like a broken record, but you should not put all your eggs in one basket. You should have multiple spots you could hunt if a situation like this comes up. As for the hunter being in your stand, I would let him know that it was my stand, and even tell him it is ok for him to use it this morning, but this afternoon I am going to come back and take it down. Last thing I want to do is miss out on my own opportunity to get something that morning by wasting time moving stans, so I would move to a backup spot, let him hunt that spot since he was there first, and then come back in the middle of the day, and take down my stand and move it to my other spot. Also last thing I ever want in the woods is a confrontation.

[idahooutdoors]

You should have gotten there earlier. It may be heartbreaking, but public ground is public ground. make sure you scout several areas and have back up options.