Best Etiquette for a Squatter

[abovethecoues]

Lets say I was to find another fellow in my stand. What's the best course of action besides leaving him there to get himself unstuck?

[Scooter]

If it was on public land... get there earlier next time and hide your stand better. I know what that person is doing is lower than snake sh*t, but causing a big scene isn't going to enhance anybody's hunt. What I would do is ask nicely if he'd remove himself from your stand, if the answer was anything but apologetic I would probably (for a treestand) very quietly take the steps/ladder/climbing stick down and maybe that would provide him some motivation to relinquish his seat. If you call the GW, you'll probably have to wait longer and he's gonna tell you that if you leave a stand on public land anyone can use it. That is the risk taken whenever you leave gear out on public land. I've had folks (back in Texas) in my duck blind on a COE lake at 1:30am and I just left them alone knowing that they REALLY wanted to hunt there badly to get there earlier than I do. My advice is to have several back-up locations, get a climber, or spot and stalk to avoid this issue altogether. Sorry man, it's a bitter pill to swallow that there are lazy arse folks out there who don't give another thought to taking someone else's gear!

[abovethecoues]

Thanks for the good advice. Always looking for rational thoughts to keep me sane when i get pissed.

[Guest akaspecials]

If was heck bent on hunting from a tree stand and it was my only stand I'd politley tell him it's my stand and I'd like to remove it from the tree to relocate it to another area. I'd make it clear that this area was "his" though since he was there first. If he wasn't okay with that there would be a "scene" and I'd make sure that he was either stuck in the tree or no animals came into that area for a while. (I'm a vindictive sob.... sorry). However, I always have other blinds or glassing areas to check out, so since he was there first I'd probably move on and just come back in the middle of the day to take my tree stand down or beat him to it for the afternoon hunt.

 

The key thing (imho) is that the stand is your property but that area is his since he was there first.

[Non-Typical Solutions]

Check out Dillions first archery buck on in this same section..............they handled things pretty dang cool considering the circumstances............

[trophyhnter]

Tricking subject.....confronation is never a good thing especially if your both have sidearms like I carry. My first thought would be to remove me climbing ladder but that me be a problem:

 

Arizona revised statues

13-1203. Assault; classification

A. A person commits assault by:

1. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing any physical injury to another person; or

2. Intentionally placing another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury; or

3. Knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure, insult or provoke such person.

B. Assault committed intentionally or knowingly pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 1 is a class 1 misdemeanor. Assault committed recklessly pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 1 or assault pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 2 is a class 2 misdemeanor. Assault committed pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 3 is a class 3 misdemeanor.

 

 

My advice is avoidance: use a plastic covered long cable that you can lock the seat up and loop it through the foot stand so no one can stand there! Makes it a little tricky to remove the lock and cable every morning but it works!

[JLW]

I've thought about this for a while.......

While it is first come first serve you have a couple choices to prevent such happenings.

1) use a hang on stand and take the climbing sticks with you.

2) use a climbing stand and take it with you when you leave.

A ladder stand (which I have) is subject to someone else coming to sit it. You can take the seat but someone could bring their own.

You can do the same with a blind (Thanks to a tip from TJ)

build a brush blind big enough to pop your blind inside then take it with you.

I get mad at people who leave their stands up for years on end. in those cases (to me, others may disagree) it becomes public property.

those who do that make me feel like I'm invading if I were to put mine up next to theirs.

Pack it in pack it out... at least by the end of the season.

I know of about 10 stands that have been there for more than 3 years some even longer to me that is kinda lazy considering some of the are not that far in. I do my own thing to prevent confrontation but getting tired of some people staking claim to some areas I'd like to hunt with out someone acting like it's "his" area.

 

 

James

[Airbusdriver]

I've found that the sound of a chain saw brings them RIGHT down!

[huntlines]

I now lock the tree stand in a folded position so no one can sit in it. Other than that i would tell them to either get out of it or I would remove it with them still in it. I have yet to have someone say they will not get out when I tell them it is coming out with or without them in it.

[AZLance]

Always have a bag of cans in your truck, if they wont come down, have one heck of a target shoot below them.

[tjhunt2]

This same scenario occured a few years ago and this is how I handled it. I had put up two tree stand on a game&fish trick tank so no matter which way the wind was blowing I had it covered. I had left a note that I would be hunting it on opening day of elk season but you were welcome to sit there during any other hunt. I approached my tree stand an hour before daylight, opening morning, and someone was sitting in my stand. He said he would get down and I said I would just go over to my other stand which was on the same tank. He said his buddy was sitting there. He offered to get down and he and his buddy would leave. I told them to hunt out the morning but expect me hunting here for the rest of the season. I went to my backup spot and killed a nice 5x5 that morning. I never saw them hunters again.

 

TJ

[BASS]

I'm all for revenge (akaspecials and I would probably get along well together!) but when both parties are wound up with weapons, and they have the high ground it won't end well for anyone. I'd move up a game trail from the stand, and hope that what ever was coming into water would use that trail first!

[azffhunter]

Ya know...it's knuckleheads like this that just ruin a lot of what hunting is supposed to be about. In my opinion, these are the same type of hunters who hunt in people's back yards (literally) making them hate ALL hunters, the same type of hunters that piss off open ranches to the point they consider closing it, and the same type of hunters who poach. Yes it's public land and they have the right to hunt there, but I don't think that gives them a right to use something that doesn't belong to them. If they would have put up their own stand...well I think it's still BS and cowardly but at least they would be using their own equipment. I'm adult enough to not be confrontational, but I would absolutely ask him to get out of MY stand and I would remove it. If he refused, I would contact GW and would stay there until they arrived so I could retrieve my equipment. Neither one of us would be hunting while we waited...that's for sure. I once found a water hole with 4 blinds on it...that's just dumb. No one is going to have any luck with a new housing unit in place. This is why I spot and stalk. To me it's more rewarding and I feel like I earned the animal I harvested. I'm definitely not implying that those who use blinds or stands don't earn their animals because I recognize that using those tools is an acceptable strategy that obviously works. I have sat in a blind before...but it just wasn't fun for me. To me...if its not fun them I'm gonna find something else to do.

 

And if anyone who reads this acts like a knucklehead and reaps the benefits of others' work and tools...you should be ashamed of yourself. Do your own work or stay home and quite ruining it for everyone else.

[reganranch]

Ya know...it's knuckleheads like this that just ruin a lot of what hunting is supposed to be about. In my opinion, these are the same type of hunters who hunt in people's back yards (literally) making them hate ALL hunters, the same type of hunters that piss off open ranches to the point they consider closing it, and the same type of hunters who poach. Yes it's public land and they have the right to hunt there, but I don't think that gives them a right to use something that doesn't belong to them. If they would have put up their own stand...well I think it's still BS and cowardly but at least they would be using their own equipment. I'm adult enough to not be confrontational, but I would absolutely ask him to get out of MY stand and I would remove it. If he refused, I would contact GW and would stay there until they arrived so I could retrieve my equipment. Neither one of us would be hunting while we waited...that's for sure. I once found a water hole with 4 blinds on it...that's just dumb. No one is going to have any luck with a new housing unit in place. This is why I spot and stalk. To me it's more rewarding and I feel like I earned the animal I harvested. I'm definitely not implying that those who use blinds or stands don't earn their animals because I recognize that using those tools is an acceptable strategy that obviously works. I have sat in a blind before...but it just wasn't fun for me. To me...if its not fun them I'm gonna find something else to do.

 

And if anyone who reads this acts like a knucklehead and reaps the benefits of others' work and tools...you should be ashamed of yourself. Do your own work or stay home and quite ruining it for everyone else.

 

Well said man that is exactly the type of hunter that gets all our privileges revoked on property in various units. There also the same type of bastards that check/steal trailcams.

[Coach]

This same scenario occured a few years ago and this is how I handled it. I had put up two tree stand on a game&fish trick tank so no matter which way the wind was blowing I had it covered. I had left a note that I would be hunting it on opening day of elk season but you were welcome to sit there during any other hunt. I approached my tree stand an hour before daylight, opening morning, and someone was sitting in my stand. He said he would get down and I said I would just go over to my other stand which was on the same tank. He said his buddy was sitting there. He offered to get down and he and his buddy would leave. I told them to hunt out the morning but expect me hunting here for the rest of the season. I went to my backup spot and killed a nice 5x5 that morning. I never saw them hunters again.

 

TJ

 

I think TJ perfectly summarized the best approach. Yield to experience, friends.