Public Proximity
- fauxfly
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Re: Public Proximity
My second year bowhunting...(did'nt know which end was up at that point) I had scouted a pretty good ridge on public - up from a bean field which would have the deer pause and study the field for a few moments before continuing down the ridge to feed for the evening...I got in about 4PM for the hunt - plenty of time to get the full ghillie on and climb into the end of a thick dead fall brush pile about 25 yards away from the trail. An hour or so later I hear crunching - getting louder and closer - lots of noise now - I'm getting pretty pumped and remain frozen. Seconds later I see what is making all the camotion - two Amish boys out squirrel hunting. They walk right over to me and one stands in front of me - unzipps his blue denims and you quessed it - takes a leak almost right on me!! The other kid sits down on a stump and takes some stuff out to eat , the whole time I'm grinning ear to ear. I know I cant make a sound or say anything now - I'd litterally give them both a massive heart attack!! 15 minutes of this and the 'ol man shows up - takes a leak about 1 yard from where the first kid does and says lets move on...
What the heck is with the Amish and peeing on my sets??!!??
A word of advice on a ghillie suit - use them at your own risk!! They are absolutely deadly!!
What the heck is with the Amish and peeing on my sets??!!??
A word of advice on a ghillie suit - use them at your own risk!! They are absolutely deadly!!
- ozzz
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Re: Public Proximity
Ive had people walk up on decoys a couple times.
One time with a deer decoy a guy rides up on his 4 wheeler to about 70 or so yards, sneaks to within 30 yards before I break the silence with "Its a decoy" from 20 feet up and darn near kill him.
Another time last spring with a hen and jake decoy. Walked to within like 25 yards of my set before I got out of my blind which wasnt hidden AT ALL and like 10 yards away from the decoys.
Amazing some people.
One time with a deer decoy a guy rides up on his 4 wheeler to about 70 or so yards, sneaks to within 30 yards before I break the silence with "Its a decoy" from 20 feet up and darn near kill him.
Another time last spring with a hen and jake decoy. Walked to within like 25 yards of my set before I got out of my blind which wasnt hidden AT ALL and like 10 yards away from the decoys.
Amazing some people.
If it bleeds, we can kill it . . . .
- Singing Bridge
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Re: Public Proximity
Some good experiences for the upcoming season!
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Re: Public Proximity
Last season was my first season hunting public land. Is deer hunted for about 15 years prior to this but never on public land.
Opening day was awesome..... For stories like this.... Lol
Scouted a place in August prior to opener that was a slam dunk, or so I thought. Hunting in a river bottom between a slough and a marsh, on a little point of willows that jutted into the marsh. First one there. No cars in the parking lot. Settle in and quiet an hour before light. Right at legal light I see a flash light about 100yds out. Guy sets up. No biggie.
Shortly there after, from a different direction I'm about rattled out of my stand by a shotgun blast, seconds later it's raining pellets litterally on me. Youth duck day and there's a dad and a kid behind me 75yds or so shooting passing woodies.
That afternoon, go way out to a piece of public about 500ac out in the middle of nowhere, so I thought. Wind drops out dead calm. I get "set up panic" due to the silence and set up about 75yds short of where wanted to be. 45min later here comes two guys around me, set up, and hunt. Not sure where guy #2 went.
Well right about 15min before closing I hear steps down the woods in the thick stuff, a thwack, then running. Unmistakable sound of an archery shot. Guy starts hollering to buddy that he shot one, and they proceed to start packing up and looking.
Ironcically, other than one other instance, I never saw another guy in the woods the rest of the year. Did see one guy that beat me to a killer looking island with fresh rubs coming off of it back to the mainland. I snuck in with a slight off wind, and started to unload.... And he's set up in the middle with wind blowing right down into the willows and dogwoods where the rubs led in to. Chalked that evening up to scouting.
[ Post made via iPhone ]
Opening day was awesome..... For stories like this.... Lol
Scouted a place in August prior to opener that was a slam dunk, or so I thought. Hunting in a river bottom between a slough and a marsh, on a little point of willows that jutted into the marsh. First one there. No cars in the parking lot. Settle in and quiet an hour before light. Right at legal light I see a flash light about 100yds out. Guy sets up. No biggie.
Shortly there after, from a different direction I'm about rattled out of my stand by a shotgun blast, seconds later it's raining pellets litterally on me. Youth duck day and there's a dad and a kid behind me 75yds or so shooting passing woodies.
That afternoon, go way out to a piece of public about 500ac out in the middle of nowhere, so I thought. Wind drops out dead calm. I get "set up panic" due to the silence and set up about 75yds short of where wanted to be. 45min later here comes two guys around me, set up, and hunt. Not sure where guy #2 went.
Well right about 15min before closing I hear steps down the woods in the thick stuff, a thwack, then running. Unmistakable sound of an archery shot. Guy starts hollering to buddy that he shot one, and they proceed to start packing up and looking.
Ironcically, other than one other instance, I never saw another guy in the woods the rest of the year. Did see one guy that beat me to a killer looking island with fresh rubs coming off of it back to the mainland. I snuck in with a slight off wind, and started to unload.... And he's set up in the middle with wind blowing right down into the willows and dogwoods where the rubs led in to. Chalked that evening up to scouting.
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- bowhunter15
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Re: Public Proximity
I've had a couple times where people have nearly walked underneath me in the dark before I could find my flashlight in my pack, and vise versa. I can't think of any times when I've been set up too terribly close to someone without either of us figuring it out until after light. Maybe 50 yards or so is the closest.
Was that one of the islands we looked at while scouting last winter?
Justin85 wrote:Did see one guy that beat me to a killer looking island with fresh rubs coming off of it back to the mainland. I snuck in with a slight off wind, and started to unload.... And he's set up in the middle with wind blowing right down into the willows and dogwoods where the rubs led in to. Chalked that evening up to scouting.
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Was that one of the islands we looked at while scouting last winter?
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Re: Public Proximity
bowhunter15 wrote:I've had a couple times where people have nearly walked underneath me in the dark before I could find my flashlight in my pack, and vise versa. I can't think of any times when I've been set up too terribly close to someone without either of us figuring it out until after light. Maybe 50 yards or so is the closest.Justin85 wrote:Did see one guy that beat me to a killer looking island with fresh rubs coming off of it back to the mainland. I snuck in with a slight off wind, and started to unload.... And he's set up in the middle with wind blowing right down into the willows and dogwoods where the rubs led in to. Chalked that evening up to scouting.
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Was that one of the islands we looked at while scouting last winter?
No this was on the refuge. Not hard to get to but most everyone walked past it because it was so close to the parking area and access deeper in was easier than stopping off there. Still haven't ever went in to see if there was a bed there.
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- Singing Bridge
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Re: Public Proximity
Justin85 wrote:Last season was my first season hunting public land. Is deer hunted for about 15 years prior to this but never on public land.
Opening day was awesome..... For stories like this.... Lol
Scouted a place in August prior to opener that was a slam dunk, or so I thought. Hunting in a river bottom between a slough and a marsh, on a little point of willows that jutted into the marsh. First one there. No cars in the parking lot. Settle in and quiet an hour before light. Right at legal light I see a flash light about 100yds out. Guy sets up. No biggie.
Shortly there after, from a different direction I'm about rattled out of my stand by a shotgun blast, seconds later it's raining pellets litterally on me. Youth duck day and there's a dad and a kid behind me 75yds or so shooting passing woodies.
That afternoon, go way out to a piece of public about 500ac out in the middle of nowhere, so I thought. Wind drops out dead calm. I get "set up panic" due to the silence and set up about 75yds short of where wanted to be. 45min later here comes two guys around me, set up, and hunt. Not sure where guy #2 went.
Well right about 15min before closing I hear steps down the woods in the thick stuff, a thwack, then running. Unmistakable sound of an archery shot. Guy starts hollering to buddy that he shot one, and they proceed to start packing up and looking.
Ironcically, other than one other instance, I never saw another guy in the woods the rest of the year. Did see one guy that beat me to a killer looking island with fresh rubs coming off of it back to the mainland. I snuck in with a slight off wind, and started to unload.... And he's set up in the middle with wind blowing right down into the willows and dogwoods where the rubs led in to. Chalked that evening up to scouting.
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More than once I've had duck hunter shotgun pellets raining down on me- good post.
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- john1984
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Re: Public Proximity
once I was ground hunting, a few minutes after sunset I hear the sound of a bow and arrow hitting a deer about 45 yards above me on a hillside. I waited until it was totally dark and walked up to where I heard the sound, the hunter was still in his stand and was pretty surprised to see me. He claimed to have shot a doe. Another time I went to some bigwoods to hunt a ground blind I made, I seen no other vehicles around, there is thousands of acres of public on each side of the road. as I get close to my blind in the early morning darkness I hear a strange sound above me and it totally freaked me out for a couple seconds. The hunter was like, "oops sorry dude". I got out of there wondering where this guy parked,. well He had parked a 3rd of a mile away on the other side of the road. thousands of acres out there and only one other vehicle besides mine and I somehow run into him.
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Re: Public Proximity
I was hunting once during gun season (I would later be thankful that I had a gun). On my way back from my hunt I ran into what at first looked like a large scrape that grabbed my attention. But as I looked up ahead I noticed there were lots of these "markings" on the forest floor, and there weren't any tracks in any of them. I was very curious what was doing this and began to move through the trees looking at more and more of these markings. After about 50 yards I ran into a middle aged man sitting up against a tree. He began to rebuke me for being on his private property as he showed me his pistol. I knew I was nowhere near any private property but I didn't see any need in an argument with the guy who was gripping his pistol rather tightly. I agreed not to come back to this are and backed out. I later found out that he was busted for growing weed out in the national forest and selling it.
- headgear
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Re: Public Proximity
Singing Bridge wrote:More than once I've had duck hunter shotgun pellets raining down on me- good post.
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I've been there a few times, sometimes not even raining down but getting peppered at a distance. Mostly my mistake for hunting near the Mississippi on duck opener. It was so loud I started to get a headache and got the heck out of there after an hour of shooting.
- Jackson Marsh
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Re: Public Proximity
headgear wrote:Singing Bridge wrote:More than once I've had duck hunter shotgun pellets raining down on me- good post.
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I've been there a few times, sometimes not even raining down but getting peppered at a distance. Mostly my mistake for hunting near the Mississippi on duck opener. It was so loud I started to get a headache and got the heck out of there after an hour of shooting.
I had pellets raining on me last year on one hunt. They were clinking off the lone wolf...........must not have had enough stealth strips on it
- C&T Archery
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Re: Public Proximity
checkerfred wrote:Lol the lettuce just gets me.... I keep. Laughing about that
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Before my dad passed he always told us the story f his friend Francis Grafe. Looking back he was probably one of the original beast style guys. Now this was back in the 1950's, but he would get dropped off in the early am and picked up after dark. He would crawl back into the nastiest swamps, but he always brought a loaf of bread. Back in old days they sat on the ground and watched a single trail. So he would break off bread and throw it out, to keep the birds a small animals around. He felt he could get away with more movement with all the other animals around. I know the lettuce wasn't for that, but it was always a cool story. Seems like a lot of old timers had it figured out.
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Re: Public Proximity
I've had two close calls on public land both during gun season.
My dad and I were the only ones in the parking lot and me being a kid and not a morning person we were running late, walked in 200 yards to the edge of a corn field , hung a left and went maybe 20 yards and sat down in the trees over looking it. Heard a deer walking on the other side (maybe 6-8 rows of corn) crunching in what little snow was out in the field. All the sudden BLAM BLAM BLAM another hunter started shooting. Found out he walked in about 5 minutes after we did and sat right on the edge and got that buck. Scared my dad enough he hasn't been deer hunting in 15 some years now.
Last time was couple of years ago, sitting on a log overlooking a creek bottom during gun season and all the sudden I hear gun shots then bullets whizzing by me, its a sound you never forget. Literally fell off the log and was hugging the ground behind it as close as I could until the shooting stopped. Waited 10 seconds then ran out of there back to the truck. Never did see the guy shooting at me but again, found another truck parked next to mine that had come in after the fact. Its part of the reason I took up bow hunting after that happened.
In MN its illegal to leave a stand out over night on WMA's and one of the spots I had been hunting I climbed a tree and then at first light spotted a tree stand someone had left overnight about 50-60 yards away. The guy came out about 9am, I whistled at him and he climbed out. Came back with a buddy and a deer cart and took it out making all the racket they could.....nice thing about that was the deer must have thought the danger was gone cause I pop'd a doe about 15 minutes after he left.
I dont run into a lot of people but it seems like during gun season when I do its always a scary experience.
My dad and I were the only ones in the parking lot and me being a kid and not a morning person we were running late, walked in 200 yards to the edge of a corn field , hung a left and went maybe 20 yards and sat down in the trees over looking it. Heard a deer walking on the other side (maybe 6-8 rows of corn) crunching in what little snow was out in the field. All the sudden BLAM BLAM BLAM another hunter started shooting. Found out he walked in about 5 minutes after we did and sat right on the edge and got that buck. Scared my dad enough he hasn't been deer hunting in 15 some years now.
Last time was couple of years ago, sitting on a log overlooking a creek bottom during gun season and all the sudden I hear gun shots then bullets whizzing by me, its a sound you never forget. Literally fell off the log and was hugging the ground behind it as close as I could until the shooting stopped. Waited 10 seconds then ran out of there back to the truck. Never did see the guy shooting at me but again, found another truck parked next to mine that had come in after the fact. Its part of the reason I took up bow hunting after that happened.
In MN its illegal to leave a stand out over night on WMA's and one of the spots I had been hunting I climbed a tree and then at first light spotted a tree stand someone had left overnight about 50-60 yards away. The guy came out about 9am, I whistled at him and he climbed out. Came back with a buddy and a deer cart and took it out making all the racket they could.....nice thing about that was the deer must have thought the danger was gone cause I pop'd a doe about 15 minutes after he left.
I dont run into a lot of people but it seems like during gun season when I do its always a scary experience.
- Liberty-Hunt
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- rizzo999
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Re: Public Proximity
My story is kind of the opposite!
I was hunting opening day of IL gun season last year on public land with my 70 yr old Dad when I was fortunate enough to put down a decent buck in the AM. I had my Dad remain with the buck to reserve his energy for the crappy uphill drag we had remaining to get the buck up to the field edge while I walked back to my truck to grab my deer cart. I got back to my truck in the parking lot with 8 other trucks and shed a couple layers about 7:30-8:00 AM. As I walk to the back to grab the cart I noticed blaze orange at the edge of the parking lot out of the corner of my eye. Initially, I just assumed it was from one of the other trucks. I get the cart set-up and take another look in that direction. There is a guy sitting on a folding outdoor chair right off of the parking lot so I walk over to see if he had luck also. I walk up to him and I can hear him snoring! I tapped him scaring the crap out of him. He then tells me he saw a doe out in the field when they pulled into the lot in the dark so he decided to set-up right there. The best parts were that he was a lot younger than me (I'd guess around 30) and that the only thing he had seen since the sun came up was the inside of his eye lids cause he'd been sleeping all morning! Then the young dude refused to help me get my buck out of the woods even though I offered to show him where I killed the buck and saw 8 other deer including another 2 decent bucks that morning alone.
I was hunting opening day of IL gun season last year on public land with my 70 yr old Dad when I was fortunate enough to put down a decent buck in the AM. I had my Dad remain with the buck to reserve his energy for the crappy uphill drag we had remaining to get the buck up to the field edge while I walked back to my truck to grab my deer cart. I got back to my truck in the parking lot with 8 other trucks and shed a couple layers about 7:30-8:00 AM. As I walk to the back to grab the cart I noticed blaze orange at the edge of the parking lot out of the corner of my eye. Initially, I just assumed it was from one of the other trucks. I get the cart set-up and take another look in that direction. There is a guy sitting on a folding outdoor chair right off of the parking lot so I walk over to see if he had luck also. I walk up to him and I can hear him snoring! I tapped him scaring the crap out of him. He then tells me he saw a doe out in the field when they pulled into the lot in the dark so he decided to set-up right there. The best parts were that he was a lot younger than me (I'd guess around 30) and that the only thing he had seen since the sun came up was the inside of his eye lids cause he'd been sleeping all morning! Then the young dude refused to help me get my buck out of the woods even though I offered to show him where I killed the buck and saw 8 other deer including another 2 decent bucks that morning alone.
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