First off, I’d like everyone to know that I am one of the individuals who were accused of stealing the campsite. I also can give a more accurate account of what happened the day before opening day. My buddy and I showed up Thursday morning between 4 and 5 am. We were pleasantly surprised to find the camp site empty. We set up camp. Later that morning, we ran into Ryan’s father who asked us if we were the owners of the “red colored tent” in the oaks. We said no, however, we were camped there (our tent also happens to have red in it). Ryan’s father then gave us the same account that Ryan typed. He had seen the red tent. He noticed it was old, tattered and abandoned. He decided to camp nearby, leaving the tent there.
Thursday evening, we were walking back to camp and were confronted by an older man and his son while we walked past their pop-up trailer. He wanted to know where we were camped and what happened to his tent. We told him where we were camped and that we never saw any tent, even though we know that Ryan’s father had seen one there the night before we got there. We simply told them that there wasn’t a tent and that they were more than welcome to search our vehicle and campsite. After threatening us he’d call the ranger and sheriff, we asked him if he were accusing us of stealing his tent, and if so, he’d better be able to prove it. We then encouraged him to get LE involved, as we’d tell them the same thing. We were lectured on how he’d been hunting here 20 years (true I am sure) and how hunters should “trust and respect” each other. We whole heartedly agreed and even offered to share the site with them, due to its large size. They declined. We talked about hunting, conservation and family for awhile, and then parted ways. They let us know they’d be walking through the campsite early the next morning.
That evening, while glassing over Wood’s tank, we heard them coming down a canyon. They had harvested a small 2x2. The young man was exhausted and my friend and I dragged the deer out the ¾ miles to where they were parked. On the way out, they gave us some tips on where to glass the next morning. They were both polite and friendly, as were we.
Now on the “ethical” part of the discussion:
It is my opinion that simply dumping a tattered tent on a camp site does not constitute “occupying” it on a first come, first serve basis. By definition, in this context, occupying means to “live in”. According to Ryan’s father, the tent (only a tent, not a camp) was abandoned, tattered and empty. They weren’t even going to use the tent, evident by the pop up trailer they brought to sleep in. They openly admitted, per Ryan’s post, to have simply come up 4 days ago and dumping the tent. The 14-day max camping rule doesn’t apply if you aren’t there to “camp” in it. You are not occupying, but trying to “reserve” the spot. I speak from experience. In the same unit, 2 years prior, we had Muley tags. We found a nice spot. After arriving early a few days before the hunt, we discovered a tent and table there. As it turns out, a guy who hunted first week left the tent site up so that his brother-in-law could use it 3 days later during the second week’s hunt. Fair? Hmmm….don’t think so. We ended up camping out in the middle of the brush, leaving the campsite undisturbed. If we would have found the same this time, we would have done the exact same thing. After all, we would have concluded that they would be showing up in the morning anyways and why pick a fight? We did nothing wrong.
As far as doing our homework, we had scouted pre season 4 times at that spot and glassed several bucks. Our homework included GPS, satellite maps and a lot of reading. My buddy even bow hunted that exact same area with his son a few months before.
I find it hypocritical to lecture other hunters on trust, when you yourself were taking advantage of other hunters by trying to pull an underhanded scheme like that. I commend Ryan’s father for doing what he did. I still don’t feel guilty for camping at a site that we found empty, even after being confronted and subtly accused. As far as the tent, it sounded like it blew away or someone stole it. You can’t complain when you lose your stuff when you leave it in the desert for almost a week. Just a stupid thing to do.
Just my .02.
Ryan, tell your dad I spoke to his friend at work. Here is a picture of the buck I pulled out Tuesday night. We glassed from where you told us, but the wind was gusting all day to the point we couldn't stand up. We packed up camp and hunted off of the road on the way out. Kicked him out of a thicket. 200 + yd shot with my 300 RUM:
