Michigan deer hunters never cease to amaze!

[wolfie729]

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.

[Bonecrusher101]

Go elsewhere is the easiest fix for me. Good luck!

[wolfie729]

Go elsewhere is the easiest fix for me. Good luck!

Thats the problem were driving everywhere (within 30 minutes) up there and there are guys everywheres. We get great summer pics of nice bucks then baiting starts mid september and they scatter.

[Hawthorne]

Go somewhere with bigger swamps that are hard to access.

[Rutnstrut]

If it's illegal to leave stands up, turn them in.

[Dewey]

If it's illegal to leave stands up, turn them in.

Yup. This is a perfect example of what happens when everybody looks the other way. Before long it gets out of control and the woods are full of illegal stands. Funny how quick word gets around to the violators that stands are being removed and fines are getting handed out. Tends to stop it all real quick.

[Ack]

Only illegal from March 1 to Sept. 1.

[seazofcheeze]

If it's illegal to leave stands up, turn them in.

Yup. This is a perfect example of what happens when everybody looks the other way. Before long it gets out of control and the woods are full of illegal stands. Funny how quick word gets around to the violators that stands are being removed and fines are getting handed out. Tends to stop it all real quick.

It would be a full time job for 100 wardens year round removing all the illegal stands on MI public. I've personally seen HUNDREDS in the past few years.

Also hard to ticket guys when they aren't following the law that says your name and address are supposed to be on your stand.

[whitetailassasin]

Pretty easy to tell an old stand not in use, but if the areas good im hunting the area still. Also if your only willing to travel within 30 mins, you might be in trouble. Broaden your horizons in that regard.

I'll give you an example. The spot my daughter killed her buck in yesterday morning, had 5 ladder and stands hanging within 150 yards of either direction she was in. In fact I'm including it for video purposes to demonstrate what Michigan can be like. But I did my homework, and I know the area. Those deer avoid those stands, those stands don't get hunted as much during bow compared to gun. We had the place to ourselves opening morning. Saw 6 bucks and 12 does. Not only do you map out the deer and what they do, but also do that with pressure and the people around you. Because of Michigans public purssuee spots i hunt rotate with shooters based on pressure and kills, it's my job to find the shooters still around and then hunt them the best I can, with what I have available. Good luck.

P.s. Took my brother back to one of my spots, killed a real nice Michigan 3.5 old for public, don't know how to do the new photos yet so I haven't been able to upload my daughters, or my brothers, and I don't think anyone wants to see the doe I shot

[wolfie729]

If it's illegal to leave stands up, turn them in.

Yup. This is a perfect example of what happens when everybody looks the other way. Before long it gets out of control and the woods are full of illegal stands. Funny how quick word gets around to the violators that stands are being removed and fines are getting handed out. Tends to stop it all real quick.

It would be a full time job for 100 wardens year round removing all the illegal stands on MI public. I've personally seen HUNDREDS in the past few years.

Also hard to ticket guys when they aren't following the law that says your name and address are supposed to be on your stand.

Exactly! None of them have any information on them. I will tho if I see screw in steps remove them and throw them away. As those are also illegal.

[wolfie729]

Pretty easy to tell an old stand not in use, but if the areas good im hunting the area still. Also if your only willing to travel within 30 mins, you might be in trouble. Broaden your horizons in that regard.

I'll give you an example. The spot my daughter killed her buck in yesterday morning, had 5 ladder and stands hanging within 150 yards of either direction she was in. In fact I'm including it for video purposes to demonstrate what Michigan can be like. But I did my homework, and I know the area. Those deer avoid those stands, those stands don't get hunted as much during bow compared to gun. We had the place to ourselves opening morning. Saw 6 bucks and 12 does. Not only do you map out the deer and what they do, but also do that with pressure and the people around you. Because of Michigans public purssuee spots i hunt rotate with shooters based on pressure and kills, it's my job to find the shooters still around and then hunt them the best I can, with what I have available. Good luck.

P.s. Took my brother back to one of my spots, killed a real nice Michigan 3.5 old for public, don't know how to do the new photos yet so I haven't been able to upload my daughters, or my brothers, and I don't think anyone wants to see the doe I shot

Ya the area we're hunting has good bucks 3.5yr olds we have many summer pictures and the cabin is 2hrs from home and we are traveling 30min from that. I will travel a fair distance from home too.

[oldrank]

You have to work around them. There are ways. Access areas differently. Use them and their wind. It may seem like people are everywhere but once you focus more on where the deer are n not worry about people they seem to disappear.

There are areas I hunt and have killed bucks that visually most would never give a look at. All have some little secret to them. All are surrounded by treestands and hunters. Some are only good on certain days depending on pressure n weather.

There are areas only a few acres in size that I know hold a buck right now. Guys have them surrounded up in the woods. The buck is right there living amongst them. It seems impossible to hunt but with some planning n breaking it down it is very possible.

[Bonecrusher101]

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!

[Greenbriar]

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.

[Hawthorne]

"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