Loose Lips Thread

[JROD157]

Dan's "Loose Lips Sink Ships" thread got me thinking about a a regret of mine.
I am, and will always be a promoter of the sport. I have introduced many of people to hunting kids and adults alike. I am a hunter ed and safety instructor, educator by trade, teach my kids, yada, yada, yada. A few of you posted to not ever let hunting get between family and friends, with which I concur, but it brought me back to last year.

A property I had hunted for 20 years blessed me with more memories to list (1st deer, 1st bow buck, 1st P&Y buck to name a few) and was owned by my best friends parents. I was the best man in his wedding. He, nor his parents ever hunted but as we got older he began to have an interest. So I got him started. Taught him the ins and outs, how to shoot, bow hunt, gun hunt, you name it. He shot his first deer while I was in the tree with him. First bow buck as I provided him the play by play. The entire process was filled with my gratitude for allowing me to be on the land and also providing him insight on not telling everyone the resource he had. A few years go by and I hunted it much less out of respect for him taking it more serious. But, I knew the land better than he did and I literally shot a bow buck during early archery 6 years in a row. I believe this built pent-up jealously (that was never talked about) and last year he politely TEXTED me his parents no longer wanted anybody out there hunting because they heard of a neighbor falling from ladder stand. I saw it coming, but I didn't believe it would actually happen. Things were weird after that and still aren't how they used to be. I wonder if I had not taught him my passion for hunting if I would still be in my honey hole?

Can anyone relate?

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Yup. Antlers bring out the greed in people...It is especially bad with people who haven't shot many. If you have a piece of private ground you don't pay to hunt on, it's only a matter of time before you lose it for any number of reasons. This is why i hunt more and more public so i don't rely on the whims of other people.

I had something similar occur a couple years ago and It was the best thing that happened to me in hunting. It freed me up and I got away from hunting the place because it was close to home and had nice bucks. There is a lot to be said about having freedom and not having to play by somebody else's rules.

[Stanley]

If you hunt other peoples property you have no guarantees. I don't hunt any of the places I hunted 15 years ago. Not by choice just the way it is.

[Bowhunting Brian]

shows what kind of friend he really was. sorry about your situation.

[Rubline]

Early in my bow hunting career, I had access to a farm that was on the side of two lakes with a thick wooded area wedged between the two lakes. A creek ran through another grove into one of the lakes...you get the picture. My father worked for the land owner. Had the "run of things" with a good friend. Then through a marriage, another guy got access and things started going downhill...Dad took another job, so we quit hunting that spot.
A person can get real attached to a hunting spot. Losing access hurts, but a person needs to look at the positive side of things. Be grateful of your success and in what you learned hunting that spot. Use that as an opportunity to find another spot or spots and push yourself to figure those out. Concerning your "best" friend, why not fully divulge how you hunted their land, set him up in the right spots, offer to help prep stand sights and recover deer. Help your friend move up the next level in his career...
I believe most serious hunters have more fun scouting, learning, and prepping new spots to hunt, figuring out new bucks to hunt, etc. Remember that they own the property and pay taxes on it. Just my advice for your situation. To me it isn't worth losing a best friend over...help him out and you'll be rewarded 3 fold in the future.

[Buckfever]

It's very common, but what are you supposed to do, suck so you don't hurt someone's feelings? You sound solid, worse case you adjust down your goals to the potential of the property and enjoy a hunt well made. God bless him and his family. What can you do?

[goldtip5575]

Just to take your friends side he is probably thinking what have you done for me lately.If you shot a buck 6 years in a row and he didn't hes probably thinking you are worried about looking out for yourself.If you knew the land better than him why didn't you teach him some.

[Rutnstrut]

Yes I've been there and it sucks. My advice to everyone is this, if you don't own the land you hunt, you will lose it. It's just one of the sad realities of this sport. I hate that part of it, and can honestly say it has caused me some anxiety and anguish. But in the long run, it has driven me to be a better hunter and person.

[Crazinamatese]

Loose lips do sink ships but how do you guys go about telling people about the areas you hunt and kill big bucks on without tipping off any good details? People all the time ask me where I hunt. Since I was lucky to kill a buck this year and some deer in the past seasons, people at work or at the dinner table are always asking me where I killed the deer and so on. I like to think I can trust the people who ask me, but reading some of your guy's experiences, its a bad idea to give in on details. People in my parts know all the lands, landowners and public areas where Im from so lying about where I hunt really doesn't jive well. What do you do?

[Dewey]

Loose lips do sink ships but how do you guys go about telling people about the areas you hunt and kill big bucks on without tipping off any good details? People all the time ask me where I hunt. Since I was lucky to kill a buck this year and some deer in the past seasons, people at work or at the dinner table are always asking me where I killed the deer and so on. I like to think I can trust the people who ask me, but reading some of your guy's experiences, its a bad idea to give in on details. People in my parts know all the lands, landowners and public areas where Im from so lying about where I hunt really doesn't jive well. What do you do?

People that know me know better than to ask that question. Others get the standard answer........it's a secret! I learned over the years to keep my mouth shut. Don't mind sharing with very close friends I trust but it's the losers that are too lazy to do the hard work themselves that bother me. I have no problem helping somebody out that proves to me they are willing to do the work.

Even if somebody did figure where I kill a buck good luck with that because I am always on the move and rarely hunt the same spot twice in the same season.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[JROD157]

Concerning your "best" friend, why not fully divulge how you hunted their land, set him up in the right spots, offer to help prep stand sights and recover deer. Help your friend move up the next level in his career...
I believe most serious hunters have more fun scouting, learning, and prepping new spots to hunt, figuring out new bucks to hunt, etc. Remember that they own the property and pay taxes on it. Just my advice for your situation. To me it isn't worth losing a best friend over...help him out and you'll be rewarded 3 fold in the future.

You make a good point and it is well taken. That was my entire thought process years ago when I taught him the layout and the "how to." I left my stands there and he currently hunts them with limited success.
We are still friends, but that is a topic that is uncomfortable.
Another great friend I introduced to the sport has the exact opposite ending. Him and I enjoy many turkey hunts and an occasional deer hunt. I am not sure if this is the right way of thinking or not, but once I feel an individual is suited to start deer hunting solo, I kind of let them be. For two reasons:1) I take it too serious to have someone tagging along on the regular 2) There comes a time where you need to figure out some success and defeat on your own. I guess a third 3) you gotta have some land and time to yourself.

[Mibowhunter91]

Concerning your "best" friend, why not fully divulge how you hunted their land, set him up in the right spots, offer to help prep stand sights and recover deer. Help your friend move up the next level in his career...
I believe most serious hunters have more fun scouting, learning, and prepping new spots to hunt, figuring out new bucks to hunt, etc. Remember that they own the property and pay taxes on it. Just my advice for your situation. To me it isn't worth losing a best friend over...help him out and you'll be rewarded 3 fold in the future.

You make a good point and it is well taken. That was my entire thought process years ago when I taught him the layout and the "how to." I left my stands there and he currently hunts them with limited success.
We are still friends, but that is a topic that is uncomfortable.
Another great friend I introduced to the sport has the exact opposite ending. Him and I enjoy many turkey hunts and an occasional deer hunt. I am not sure if this is the right way of thinking or not, but once I feel an individual is suited to start deer hunting solo, I kind of let them be. For two reasons:1) I take it too serious to have someone tagging along on the regular 2) There comes a time where you need to figure out some success and defeat on your own. I guess a third 3) you gotta have some land and time to yourself.

I totally agree on this my best friend got involved deer hunting with me a few years ago I was a short distance away when he got his first deer and buck with a gun and was about 50 yards away when he got his first bow buck even called it in for him but now we don't hunt together much only 1 time all year

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[john1984]

My lips have been somewhat loose over the years , but oh well, I don't kill anything big anyways, so I might try to keep these things tight when and if I find a good spot in the future

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Rutnstrut]

Family and friends know better than to ask me WHERE, or if they know where I am hunting I will usually lie about what I have seen. There are 4 people I trust with that info, one is my mom and one is my wife. So you can tell I'm not real big on sharing;)

[JoeRE]

I think Stan's point is one that everyone should keep in mind. If its not your land then you will loose access to it. Its not a matter of if its a matter of when. I lost access to most of the farms I grew up hunting because I killed big bucks on them and was dumb enough to tell people about it. I used to get all bent out of shape over loosing hunting privileges to a farm too then realized what I thought meant nothing no matter how unjust I thought it was because I was not the owner. If you hunt someone else's land you are completely at their discretion and that is how it should be because its their land. Get over it and find another spot trust me there are plenty more.

Regarding friends becoming jealous - might want to re-evaluate your friendship criteria if that's the case, a jealous "friend" is worse than no friend at all. The same with family. Only when rules are bent and leeway is given to people based on status do things become complicated.