Any thoughts on glassing etiquette ?

[Big Tub]

The bottom line is this, if you walk, drive or what ever into someone set-up, get out. I am sorry it is common courtesy that any Arizona hunter should do. I am a native Arizonan and I have always practiced that policy for many reasons, early bird got the worm, respect and just common sense. Bottom line use some common sense. It seems in the New Normal nobody give a F--- about courtesy and respect. Guess we can thank our elected political heroes for that.

 

Well ,,, I'm not sure. Happened only one time, but I hiked into a ridge and found somebody there. I walked over and explained that we could sit down and glass instead of walking out and spooking anything out of there with the understanding that they had first dibs on anything we found. I can't recall what happened but there were an awful lot of people in that area.

[BackwoodsHunter]

On my rifle hunt last October 2 site members and I were hunting a pretty popular area that is completely circled by a road. We hike out to the middle before sun up and start glassing. We notice people all over on the road above us glassing down on the same stuff we were. Little while in a guy walked 10 feet infront of our binos( he knew we were there) and continued over the backside of a ridge we were glassing. About a hour later we killed a buck off the ridge he was on because he was too busy talking on his phone. Lol

[Couestracker]

I've started down a road to where I planned on hunting, saw taillights ahead of someone who got there moments ahead of me. Knowing the road dead ended ahead, I chose to go elsewhere. Once I hiked in the dark, down a trail in a canyon while turkey hunting. I was about halfway to where I was going and ran into a couple of other hunters. About that time we heard a distant gobble above us up on the ridge. I talked to them and asked if they minded if I went farther down the canyon a mile or so, figuring they were going to work that bird. I think they were surprised at my offer, but said they didn't mind. Later, I ended up calling that bird in and killed it. I saw those guys later that day and they told me they saw that bird fly over them towards my direction, but they never heard me calling. They thought it was cool I was able to harvest him. Give people a chance, but it's aggravating when they blatantly move in on top of you and are disrespectful.

[bojangles]

There's a lot of days when i'd welcome the company.

 

I love hunting, and I want to see others succeed as well as me.

 

That said, i think it's rude and uncalled for to shoot an animal, or stalk an animal that someone else is on.

[shanehamblin]

Where else would you rather meet someone? A lot of good guys out there.

[Snapshot]

I would never stop and start glassing in a spot that was occupied. If someone did it to me, I wouldn't mind so much as long as they weren't idiots. I might chit-chat with them, or wish them luck, and then I would move on. One of the reasons I hunt is for solitude. hard to come by, with so many hunters being jammed into the units these days. I rarely run into anybody in the backcountry where I hunt, so I don't worry about it too much.

 

One time I was glassing off of a pullout on Highway 191 in unit 27, and a father and son hunters pulled over, and the kid ran over all excited "What do you see....What do you see"? Explained to them, I didn't have any deer in my binoculars, but I was looking for one a long way off.Gave them some tips on where to go, and wished them luck

[couesmagnet]

I always yield to the person that's already there glassing unless there's been a prior "sharing" agreement made and its the day off for the other guy, then I sit down next to them. I used to get frustrated with people glassing to close to me , but with time I learned we just had to glass harder and it didn't really matter how close they sat to us we always ended up doing the shooting. It really comes down to glassing ability , and not necessarily position to glass from.

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

I remember a bull we killed a few years back....

 

I had been watching this bull for a week or so every day... never saw another person. Opening morning I was sitting on a rock that gave me best angle to kill the bull... and two other hunters walk up on us... they start telling me about all the giant bulls below us that they had been seeing for a month. LOL... I told them (In my opinion) there was only one bull worth packing outta there and I thought he was possibly over 350... they insisted there was a 400''er and several 350's... anyway they sat with us, but we were fogged in. we were watching a bedded and broke 330-340 bull right below us and talking back and forth between my hunter and I about his size and that it was opening day and that he wasn't that big... All the while these guys still hadn't seen him... finally knowing that we weren't gunna shoot him and that our bull wasn't near him I ask the guys if they wanted to shoot this bull? They look at him and call him one of the "bigger" bulls they had seen in there and ask me how big? So I give them my opinion and they pass. LOL. Not 15 minutes later I hear them whispering back and forth and point like they are plotting a way down... so I ask if they are gunna go after the bull and they say no that they are planning to hike off below the fog and set up on rock pile below. I asked them if they had ever tried that before and they said no. I told them that if they tried they would blow the bull right below us out and likely run him right past the others we couldn't see and it would be game over. Not to mention that there are some places that are stupid to go unless you are forced too, LOL! I explained that I had been to their planned vantage point before and about the brush, winds, and view in detail to them along with my true opinion that I would not undertake their plan if they begged me to....They took my advice and chose to rim around... we never say them again. That evening right at dark that big bull stood right where I had expected him to be and those guys would have blown him out. The next morning we were on the bull at daylight and my hunter got bull fever and locked up tight as a drum with the bull in his scope at 168 yds and we blew him out!! dang!!! Well it took me 3 days to find that bull again, but when I did I was all alone (my hunter had to run to Phx for the day on business)... I was sitting on the same rock I had been opening morning and I had a Very talkative DYI guy sitting literally Right next to me with a gun and a tag when I spied the bull a mile away up feeding in the Wide Open!!! I about had a heart attack... but calmly kept glassing... and soon found myself videoing a bull in the opposite direction! LOL!! I stayed a little longer that morning and followed my new comrade all the way out of the woods that midday just to be sure he wasn't "playing me".... I am chuckling out loud as I type this... We killed that bull 40 minutes after daylight the next morning... all alone in the woods a Long way from where everyone was looking for him... He taped and 346" broke and over 366" with the tines repaired... We had hunters near us or on top of us almost every day and killed on the 6th morning of the hunt... and we killed one of the largest bulls taken in that unit that year that we know of... gotta love Public Land Hunting!!

[bonecollector]

I would never do it intentionally. On my coues hunt in early Dec we were glassing and didnt see anybody around. After a while I glassed up a ranger but didnt see anybody. After just a little bit my uncle glasses up some does and calls me over. I glassed for a bit watching these does and up comes a buck out of the canyon chasing these 2 does. We took off after them to get a closer look and possibly a shot. Probably 500 yds down the ridge we were on someone is sitting there. I thought well game over. I was wrong and that gentleman was courteous and a class act and I ended up tagging that buck.

[Flatlander]

First, if you are parked on the side of a road, expect company. But when I have hiked in a ways and run in to somebody, I don't expect them to spend hours hiking back out. If they made the effort to get there I can make the effort to work something out with them. Many times that has meant working together. Since I hunt alone a lot having a little company doesn't bother me. And sometimes they can add a lot of info about the area that I may not have known.

[PRDATR]

I've started down a road to where I planned on hunting, saw taillights ahead of someone who got there moments ahead of me. Knowing the road dead ended ahead, I chose to go elsewhere. Once I hiked in the dark, down a trail in a canyon while turkey hunting. I was about halfway to where I was going and ran into a couple of other hunters. About that time we heard a distant gobble above us up on the ridge. I talked to them and asked if they minded if I went farther down the canyon a mile or so, figuring they were going to work that bird. I think they were surprised at my offer, but said they didn't mind. Later, I ended up calling that bird in and killed it. I saw those guys later that day and they told me they saw that bird fly over them towards my direction, but they never heard me calling. They thought it was cool I was able to harvest him. Give people a chance, but it's aggravating when they blatantly move in on top of you and are disrespectful.

Your Welcome at my campfire anytime.

[Antmo23]

I've started down a road to where I planned on hunting, saw taillights ahead of someone who got there moments ahead of me. Knowing the road dead ended ahead, I chose to go elsewhere. Once I hiked in the dark, down a trail in a canyon while turkey hunting. I was about halfway to where I was going and ran into a couple of other hunters. About that time we heard a distant gobble above us up on the ridge. I talked to them and asked if they minded if I went farther down the canyon a mile or so, figuring they were going to work that bird. I think they were surprised at my offer, but said they didn't mind. Later, I ended up calling that bird in and killed it. I saw those guys later that day and they told me they saw that bird fly over them towards my direction, but they never heard me calling. They thought it was cool I was able to harvest him. Give people a chance, but it's aggravating when they blatantly move in on top of you and are disrespectful.

Your Welcome at my campfire anytime.

Heck yeah, mine too.

[muledeerarea33?]

Heck, one of my best friends to this day, was met after he peppered me with shotgun bb's. he was dove hunting, I was archery deer hunting. Like I've said in the past, I'm still getting used to hunting in the new age and within 80 miles of a major city.

[mc68]

My thought is if someone is ahead of you in a spot, then that is theirs for that day. I have had many occasions that I was going to hunt a certain area and when I got there someone else was already there. I backed out every time and went somewhere else. The way I look at it, I should have been there earlier...I think etiquette is something that is being lost in outdoorsman. I hate it when people don't respect your being in a spot first. A few years ago while archery elk hunting, I parked my truck well before light on a little tiny two track and it was the only road up into this country. About 45 minutes after light I had several bulls going good and one that was coming to me on a string. As I was sitting there bringing him in, I heard a loud noise coming closer and closer. Pretty soon the bull hauls butt and a truck comes bouncing up the road right too me. I walked to the road with my hands in the air asking them WTF and they drove right past me about 200 yards or so and stopped, got out and started getting all of their gear out to go hunt. I was in disbelief. I walked up to them and asked them if they were seriously going to do this to another hunter. They had literally drove off road around my truck and plowed straight into the hunting area. It was honestly the most rude and ridiculous lack of etiquette I had ever witnessed. Weird thing was they had absolutely no remorse or thought that what they were doing was wrong. I know the whole public land speeche but as sportsman we need to show each other respect and when someone beats you to a spot, tip your hat to them, wish them well and go find yourself another honey hole for the day.

[Flatlander]

/>My thought is if someone is ahead of you in a spot, then that is theirs for that day. I have had many occasions that I was going to hunt a certain area and when I got there someone else was already there. I backed out every time and went somewhere else. The way I look at it, I should have been there earlier...I think etiquette is something that is being lost in outdoorsman. I hate it when people don't respect your being in a spot first. A few years ago while archery elk hunting, I parked my truck well before light on a little tiny two track and it was the only road up into this country. About 45 minutes after light I had several bulls going good and one that was coming to me on a string. As I was sitting there bringing him in, I heard a loud noise coming closer and closer. Pretty soon the bull hauls butt and a truck comes bouncing up the road right too me. I walked to the road with my hands in the air asking them WTF and they drove right past me about 200 yards or so and stopped, got out and started getting all of their gear out to go hunt. I was in disbelief. I walked up to them and asked them if they were seriously going to do this to another hunter. They had literally drove off road around my truck and plowed straight into the hunting area. It was honestly the most rude and ridiculous lack of etiquette I had ever witnessed. Weird thing was they had absolutely no remorse or thought that what they were doing was wrong. I know the whole public land speeche but as sportsman we need to show each other respect and when someone beats you to a spot, tip your hat to them, wish them well and go find yourself another honey hole for the day.

So you parked your pickup in the middle of a two track and blocked access for everyone else? Then you established an area with a road in the middle of it as your "hunting area"? Honestly I think you should be happy they didn't flatten all of your tires like I would have done. I will always defer to a guy who was there before me, cause if that's the case you got up pretty dang early, but at least give me the opportunity to make that choice. Nothing gives you the right to block access to every other red blooded American with a gun and a tag.

 

I have had plenty of good experiences by just being reasonable. That's how Antmo23 and I got to know each other and I would say we are both better for it.