Public Proximity

[Singing Bridge]

more great stuff on this page, I see...

there are places here in Mich, and I'm sure many other states, that receive tremendous pressure. When I'm hunting heavy pressure public I'm not very far from my stand when the flashlight starts swiveling a bit, to make sure I'm visible in more than one direction.

[dan]

bump

[Singing Bridge]

I was trying to recall some of the other public proximity encounters I've had, there have certainly been a few. Most of the time I hunt cover that is really awful, nasty enough so that no one else will hunt there. But sometimes I hunt close to a road or some other feature that draws in other hunters when buck sign and visual sightings tell me its worth a shot. A few years ago I located a good buck bedding area on Michigan public that consisted of a few young conifer trees on a small hump of dry ground. the rest of the area was an old beaver flooding that had filled in with marsh grass and tagalders. The creek that had been dammed a long time ago still ran through the spot and crossed a woods road about 3/4 a mile from my stand. On public land, less than experienced hunters use rivers and creeks to keep from getting lost... they won't leave sight of the creek, but as long as they can see it... here they come! (and yes, they have a compass and/or gps... they are very afraid inside swamps). I was hunting the stand when, sure enough, here comes another hunter following the creek. I was hunting Beast style, and my stand was only about eight feet off the ground. The guy snuck up close and paused about ten feet from my tree... he had no idea I was there. I could tell by the way he was looking around that he liked what he saw and was trying to pick a spot to hunt from (he had no treestand with him). In a calm voice, I said, "how's it going?"??? He jumped a foot in the air and a few obscenities came out as he told me I scared the Bejesus out of him.

He went right back to the creek and walked out. I never saw him in that area again.

[Bigburner]

This year was the first year in a long time I ran into another hunter. On a weekday no less. I don't usually hunt on the weekends unless a freind invites my along to a piece of private which is hardly ever. I woke up super early. Drove to my spot, moutain biked 2 miles to the proximaty of the area I was going to hunt. This place was destroyed with rubs and scrapes and I thought for sure I'd see something on its feet. I waited all week for the right wind and was pumped. No sooner did I get to the spot where I had to cross a tax ditch to access the other property and I see a flash light bobbling all around coming in with the wind to his back walking down the edge of a private corn field so he could access the state land. I went so far out of my way to enter this place clean. Then he just sat on the ground on the field edge and lit a smoke. That spot was officially burned. Finally gave it some time and set up a few weeks later about 200 yards from that spot near some doe bedding in a pinch point with a really defined transition line and nada. I had the satifaction knowing that there was no way that guy didn't get skunked as well as get skunked the 10 other times he probabley hunted that spot.

[wmahunter]

awesome story.

[whitetailassasin]

A few years back, I was sitting in my stand settling in for an evening hunt on public land. It was getting where the sun was just dipping behind the tree line and I heard something walking. I turned slightly to see a guy coming my way. He walks right up to my tree, ties his bow to my pull rope and grabs a bag of lettuce out of his pocket and starts spreading it around my stand about 10 yards out. I almost fell out of my tree laughing. So he comes up to my tree and starts his ascent up when I politely cleared my throat and peered over my stand. He almost feel flat on his back. I laughed and said i take it you have been here before, and asked if he'd seen anything. He was so embarrassed he literally hung his head and scampered out of there. Never hunted there again. But I seen that guy a few times later that season.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[checkerfred]

LOL did he not realize that wasn't his pull rope? And what was the deal with the lettuce?

[ Post made via Android ]

[whitetailassasin]

I have never heard of using lettuce as bait. I had this stand hung and trimmed early. It was locked in, I'm thinking he found it and had been hunting it before. I thought it was quite comical.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[checkerfred]

Lol the lettuce just gets me.... I keep. Laughing about that

[ Post made via Android ]

[dan]

I have never heard of using lettuce as bait. I had this stand hung and trimmed early. It was locked in, I'm thinking he found it and had been hunting it before. I thought it was quite comical.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Another good reason to be mobile... I remember a stand I had on private land many years ago that I hunted one day and found cigarette butts put out into a crotch in the tree... I was the only one with permission there. Putting a stand in a good spot and leaving it there makes it pretty easy for a lazy guy to just walk out and sit in it.

[whitetailassasin]

Yes sir, good points. This was in the early years of my hunting before I started hunting mobile and spot to spot lol

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[justdirtyfun]

I confess that I was the idiot on my public ground in the past. And deserved to be smacked for it.
Once, I scouted and preset a ground blind near a great trail on a flat wooded area. The wind was right and I was soo focused on MY hunt.
The woods were quiet and I made my way into this ground blind for an evening hunt but didn't know I came in alongside another guy. He was 35 yards away at most up a tree. He coughed for me. A few times.
So I start playing mental games such as ...the wind will be ok for both of us...and its here or nowhere.
I WAS WRONG.
He was there first and I should have left but didn't. And when he gave up and left I felt an inch tall.....or less.
Those deer cause us to do DUMB stuff sometimes.

[ Post made via Android ]

[JoeRE]

This wasn't on public but when I was a kid, 13 I think, I was squirrel hunting on a farmers land who I knew well and spotted a guy on stand bow hunting ahead of me. Being a stupid kid I decided to sneak up on him....I came up behind him slow, there was a good wind that helped conceal any noise I made and it was pretty thick cover, and I got within 30 feet of his tree as it got dark. He started to climb down and I said "see anything?" He about fell off the tree - like I said it was really stupid and inconsiderate to do.

I have had people walk by within 30 yards of me while I wore a ghille turkey hunting in the spring. Invisibility is a pretty cool feeling

[briar]

Last year turkey hunting I snuck across a field and was just sitting on the edge listening for a gobble. I was wearing an orange hat and a fella pulled up, got out, walked at most 3 yards behind me and set out his flock of decoys...never even had an clue I was there.

[Singing Bridge]

Last year turkey hunting I snuck across a field and was just sitting on the edge listening for a gobble. I was wearing an orange hat and a fella pulled up, got out, walked at most 3 yards behind me and set out his flock of decoys...never even had an clue I was there.

Let's be careful out there, people want to shoot a turkey awful bad. An acquintance from my hometown was shot two (2) different times while turkey hunting... he passed away a few years back. He told me the first time he got shot he realized that he was calling to another turkey hunter, as he spotted the guy trying to sneak up on him. He was in full camo, so he stood up and waved to the guy... and the guy shot him. He was shot again by another hunter a few years later (you can't make this stuff up!).