Hawthorne wrote:"If you can walk in an upright position all the way to your stand it's probably not worth hunting on Michigan public" John eberhart
I'd add to that if your feet will stay dry in muck boots, it's also probably no good.
Hawthorne wrote:"If you can walk in an upright position all the way to your stand it's probably not worth hunting on Michigan public" John eberhart
Bonecrusher101 wrote:I know it must be frustrating to see stands everywhere. I can only imagine. I think a positive attitude would really play a huge part in this scenario. You've gotta want it more than everyone else too.
If the woods are littered with deer stands, deer have to be walking by a few of them. I would not think twice about hunting another guys stand on public. Like others have said before though, is that deer may avoid them by 50 yards or so, or slip by them unseen. You may only have 4 or 5 other regular hunters on the property most days. But each of those guys may all have 4-8 stands apiece out there. They can't be everywhere at once and just because you see tons of stands doesn't always mean tons of hunters daily.
It might take you a few seasons of talking to other hunters and learning their patterns. Try to get their phone numbers and text them the night before maybe if they are friendly. I would learn all I could about that property and the hunters who are on it. You might be able to let the other hunters push deer to you if you know where they are setting up.
I like to hunt mobile out of my own stands. It's safer and works best for me. However, if I had stands all over to hunt out of there is nothing quieter and easier than easing up into a preset location. While you are scouting I would mark all stands found and if it works hunt them.
It can be tricky if the owner shows up and you are in his perch, so it helps to be tactful and polite while handling it. Never admit to knowingly hunting another dudes stand. Tell the owner that your buddy described this stand and gave you permission to hunt it and told you where it was. Play it as Honest mistake climb down and move on. Try to chat him up if you can and find out how many stands he's got on the property and the whereabouts of the stands so you know that they are his.
Who knows you could make a friend out of the deal. Or he could be territorial and thinks he owns everything cause he's been hunting there since '87. If he goes that route ask him how many good bucks he's killed off the property because he wouldn't keep hunting there if there were no good bucks!
You can play your hand however you like, but enjoy it! Good luck!
wolfie729 wrote:Guys a close friend and I have been hunting the northern public of michigan which is very little swamp and lots of more or less flat hardwoods with much of it looking the same. Today we did some mid day scouting and it never ceases to amaze me how we will go to the end of the earth and then some and still find treestands. What are you guys doing to combat this? There are hunters it seems on every sq inch of ground.
Greenbriar wrote:Ah, where you show up opening morning to find 3 full bunkhouses and a tent village within a half mile of where you were headed – for a Sunday bow opener. These rigs won't be there when you're scouting in January and there's seemingly a skid road every 1/4 mile so you can't lose the crowd.
IMO these aren't urban deer, they aren't accustomed to humans being around 365 and they won't accept this sudden invasion with a slight adjustment. The summer patterns are gone and the yearlings are already being taught to j-hook the j-hook, 80 yards downwind of the X might not be enough. Daylight feeding and movement is going to be a fraction of what you saw on camera so you'll likely have to pinpoint and target bedding that may well have relocated. Be aggressive and bounce around.
Important to stay portable with your sets but only sometimes using wheels. If there's an imported crowd like above, those guys are also going to get disillusioned and will likely move around in the middle of the day – particularly as their trip winds down. Never hurts to say hello and pick up little nuggets. The advantage of a fixed stand is they're probably not going anywhere (a baiter is most assured to sit tight). Look at their access/egress trails and play the wind to your advantage. Learning the terrain in January has its merits but the hunter sign you see/don't is unreliable.
In the above scenario I moved on. Important to have options and leave time to exercise them. I came back at lunch and now I know where 3 of their stands are, what they drive, and which RV is theirs. I'm in the NW13 and around here this is the new reality. They'll be gone in a few days – maybe they take the stands, maybe they'll be back, maybe someone else will fill the void. A water or elevation barrier may thin the crowd but I fear you'll still find stands. Overlooked to me seems like a fleeting condition.
Singing Bridge wrote:wolfie729 wrote:Guys a close friend and I have been hunting the northern public of michigan which is very little swamp and lots of more or less flat hardwoods with much of it looking the same. Today we did some mid day scouting and it never ceases to amaze me how we will go to the end of the earth and then some and still find treestands. What are you guys doing to combat this? There are hunters it seems on every sq inch of ground.
If you can't get your feet wet hit the densest cover / thicket in your area. It's still early season and the Bucks in that dense cover will move for a while yet. A young deer hunting protege friend of mine arrowed a 3.5 year old last night doing just that on Michigan heavy pressure public land. He isn't old enough to drive yet and is getting an impressive wall of Buck and bear.
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