Blind Etiquette

[JakeL]

I've been scouting a desert area for hunting this coming fall. Its public land, with no roads nearby. Today I found a great little (very little) canyon, and smack dab in the middle of it was a pop-up blind. It has been sitting there for at least a month by the look of it (could have been much more for all I know), with no signs of people coming or going. I sort of doubt it gets used much, if at all.

 

Heres my problem. I don't want to just assume its empty all the time, because one of these days there may be somebody in there and I don't want to find that out once I've hiked through the area they're hunting. But I can't just make the area off limits because somebody left their blind in the middle of it and might use it 5 days in a year.

 

What practical ways do you guys all deal with this? This is the first time I've encountered this sort of thing in this neck of the woods. Usually, forest service removes these. But I am pretty confident it will be a long time before anyone with authority (govt or owner) removes the blind.

[ForkHorn]

Leave your name and number on the blind with a short explanation. Worst case scenario the guy is a complete jerk and you go from there.

 

Either way a respectful, level headed discussion (at least on your part) is probably gonna happen eventually.

 

Most likely you won't get a response for awhile. It's public land, so I would continue scouting as you have been and don't discount the area because of the blind. As the season gets closer and you haven't heard anything, hunt the area. At least you tried to contact the guy.

 

I'm curious as to what others would do.

[Guest akaspecials]

I would leave my number and a short note asking him to contact me. If no one touches it or contacts me for a few months, I would take it home for my future hunts. I wouldn't move his blind and hunt from it in the same area because there may be a confrontation if he finds you in it.

 

I know some people will lambast me for this, but as far as I'm concerned it is abandoned property on public land. Attended blinds are one thing, but left out there for months, it is abandoned property.

 

If he contacts me I would try to work with him so we could both hunt the area. Heck, I'd even try to trade pictures of bucks in the area because you both may know something the other doesn't. Just take any info with a grain of salt.

 

Good Luck!

[cohofishing]

Kind of dealing with this myself. Scouting for my spring archery bear hunt, I am finding a lot of trail cameras and tree stands already put up. Some of the stands appear to be ones I saw the last time I had this tag. The Fish and Game covers this topic under "ethics" page 10 of last years fall regs.

 

• Waterholes on public and state lands belong to everyone, and everyone should

enjoy free and equal access;

• Responsible hunters should respect other

hunters’ privileges. They should leave the

area if another hunter gets to a waterhole

first;

• Ethically responsible hunters will always

yield to another hunter who has reached

the waterhole first on any given morning

or evening during the hunt;

• Simply posting a sign/notice on or near a waterhole does not give anyone

the exclusive right to hunt that waterhole; the hunter

actually needs to be present;

• Hanging a tree stand or setting a blind near

a waterhole does not entitle a person to

exclusive hunting rights to that waterhole.

Depending on the location it may be unlawful to leave tree stands hanging or blinds set

for extended periods of time. They may be

considered abandoned property and subject to seizure.

 

“First Come – First Serve” is a

common courtesy that should be used when more than one

person wants to hunt the same area or waterhole, regardless of who has a tree stand or

blind in the area. The Arizona Game and Fish

Department reminds all hunters that confrontations

in hunting situations can involve firearms

and hot tempers. Whether you are in the city or

next to a waterhole, any threats, intimidation,

assault, or disorderly conduct can result in citations, arrests and/or jail time. Please refrain

from confrontational behavior — ethical hunting is everyone’s business.

 

That gives you idea on how the Fish and Game feels about the issue. Not everyone feels the same. I have had hunters set up a blind right beside me at a waterhole and ignore me and I have had hunters wave and walk away. Last fall on the strip, there were ground blinds and cameras on almost every waterhole. Some of them never saw hunters at all. Most of the water holes in elk country have ground blinds built out of branches yet it is rare that a hunter draws the same tag two years in a row. On public land, there will always be people coming and going; scouting and prepping for the coming hunt. If you like the area, hunt it. Ignore the ground blind. You may never see anyone use it.

[reganranch]

This is not really germane to your question, but is the blind in southern arizona or northern arizona? Is it on a natural spring or game trail?

[reganranch]

If it was me I wouldn't touch the blind, sit in it, move it anything. Just set your own up come opening day of August. An archery area is a lot smaller then a rifle area. 60+ yards in either which direction would be plenty of leighway.

[BML]

I would leave my number and a short note asking him to contact me. If no one touches it or contacts me for a few months, I would take it home for my future hunts. I wouldn't move his blind and hunt from it in the same area because there may be a confrontation if he finds you in it.

 

I know some people will lambast me for this, but as far as I'm concerned it is abandoned property on public land. Attended blinds are one thing, but left out there for months, it is abandoned property......

 

 

Good Luck!

 

For real man? You don't have any idea why it's been left out for so long. Maybe there is a legitimate reason the owner can't get back into the field to retrieve it? Maybe an injury or severe illness or whatever. There are lots of unexpected things that could happen to prevent a hunter from returning to the field to get his/her blind.

 

Justify it as "abandoned" or any way you like to make you feel better, but bottom line is you just admitted that you will take something that is not yours with the intent of using it at a future date as if it was yours. That's theft and that makes you a thief. Period.

 

I see more and more hunters with this "f-you" mentality towards their fellow hunters every year and it's disturbing.

 

 

[Critter]

"If no one touches it or contacts me for a few months, I would take it home for my future hunts" aka

 

Akaspecials... are you kidding me? I dont care how long its been out there you have no right to take that blind. Leave it alone and set up your own blind, even if its right next to the other blind if no one is hunting there that's fine go ahead and hunt that spot but you dont have the right to take a fellow hunter's blind, no matter what. As the prior commenter said you dont know why its been there so long and really who cares. Leave other people's property alone. Two things I hate most in this world is thieves and hackers... oh and terrorists.

[BML]

To answer your question, Jake, I would still scout and hunt the area. Leave a note if you want, but don't base your decision on a response to the note.

 

I've had this happen to me one time. On my elk hunt I sat in a natural ground blind that I built on a tank during a hunt a couple years prior. Someone put 2 blinds, one on each end, of the same tank. One of which was inches from the ground blind I built. I got to the tank first and since the blinds were empty I sat in the ground blind. I never touched either blind, even though the one next to me blocked a good portion of my view.

 

Those hunters showed up and it got a little testy at first, but we agreed that I would sit in the ground blind and they shared the blind on the other side of the tank. The tank was 80+ yards long and I had no intentions of shooting to that side anyway.

 

IMO where I made the WRONG decision was after that night, I decided NOT to return to that tank. That tank was getting hammered with elk every evening and I chose to let someone else change my hunting strategy.

 

The regs clearly state it's first come first served and that's how you should approach the situation you are in. Keep hunting that area. If whoever owns that blind is there when you show up, then respectfully leave. If they aren't, well then you have the area you've spent all that time scouting all to yourself!

 

Good luck to you!

[reganranch]

"If no one touches it or contacts me for a few months, I would take it home for my future hunts" aka

 

Akaspecials... are you kidding me? I dont care how long its been out there you have no right to take that blind. In fact I despise that very quote from you and anyone caught taking my blind gets their A** kicked just like that. Leave it alone and set up your own blind, even if its right next to the other blind if no one is hunting there that's fine go ahead and hunt that spot but you dont have the right to take a fellow hunter's blind, no matter what. As the prior commenter said you dont know why its been there so long and really who cares. Leave other people's property alone. Two things I hate most in this world is thieves and hackers... oh and terrorists.

 

Indeed +1

[AZHUNTER05]

I would just put my own blind up and hunt out of it. If he's in his blind before you are on opening day then it's his spot. If you happen to be sitting in your blind when he comes to sit in his oh well you were there first. If its a natural blind made out of trees and brush its fair game, but if its a store bought blind leave it alone.

[Guest akaspecials]

I've had a few conversations with other hunters and public lands users since this was posted and now I'm intrigued. I've heard well rounded logical arguments on both sides. The best argument I heard was in the case of duck blinds that are left season after season on public lands.

 

I propose this question to the people that disagree with me: At what point is it stealing and at what point is it removing/reclaiming abandoned property? Or at what point is it removing litter?

[bonecollector]

This happened to me at a water hole last year during the aug archery hunt. I left my number to the hunter to contact me and the very next day he contacted me. We agreed on what days he was going to be there and what days I would be there. We were in contact everyday when someone was sitting the water hole. Good luck

[ThomC]

In order to access the situation we need more info. Are there signs of use? What is the condition of said blind? Does it look abandoned? Who owns the property? Want more advice, ask the WM for the area to access the site. Or, send the location to some trusted people to help access the situation. The best way to safely ruin it is to post the location on the World Wide Web.

[Becker]

I have had this happen to me as well. I kept an eye on a blind that was left up from end of december until the next august season. No one ever showed up to the blind as I had a motion camera there all late summer. Only thing there was the blind and the bag to put it in. When hunting season came I simply put the blind back into the bag layed it up under the tree it was by with a note inside stating what i had done and why. I placed my blind there and hunting the said spot. To this day I think that blind is still there I have not been back in awhile but no one ever came!!!