who should leave

Did you have a stand up? If not its hard for someone to tell that is your spot. No matter if you where there first or not , if you where on the ground and he walked in to get in his stand he probably is wondering why you are standing so close to his spot.

on public land

had a similar situation happen to us.  got permission on a property and guys from pittsburgh leased the property next to it. made a big heavy portable for my buddys dad to hunt out of and had to use a fourwheeler to pull it up.  came back a couple days before the season and the people from pittsburgh where there small game hunting and saw me check and were real rood and saying his dad hunted under that tree for yrs and i told him we had permission to hunt there and i couldn't move it by myself anyway.  we didn't hunt there the first couple days since they said they are only there the first three, so to avoid trouble didn't go in to the second week and they had the straps cut and the stand was down and broken in peaces.  After that happened i wish i would of left my little brother at home and went in really early on opening day and had a bunch of ppl drive the property out with me sitting under the tree.  they had no respect and no permission to be on that property, they didn't even hunt the property they leased but had it posted.

That's a tough one.  Personaly, I would like to see it illegal to set up stands prior to the season at least on public land or say they have to be removed every night.  Since there is this unwriten rule to stay away from other people's stands we feel obligated to do so.  But on the other hand it is PUBLIC land, and anyone has the right to hunt where ever they want. 
 
I have had that problem in the past and I just walk away.  There is just no point in getting into an argument in the dark when both people are carrying guns.  Similar situation to what happens opening day of duck every year.  Guys think they can take all their gear, boats and lights into the swamps the night before to "save" the spot, and go home and get a good nights sleep.  By 3:00 in the morning there are already 10 groups of guys standing there that got up at God knows what hour to get to that spot.  Who gets to hunt there?  Let me just say, duck hunters don't put up with that kind of crap.  This is the main reason why I only hunt private land now and have gotten out of waterfowl, it's just too competative and a lot of the guys now are jerks.
 
Let me ask you this.  If I were sitting in "your spot", on the ground, when you walked in what would you say?

You know bings, I don't hunt along the his property on public land.  Never have.  Out of respect.  Never asked to hunt his property either.  To summarize, he owns about 15 arces surrounded by public property.  Last year, his clan went into a prime area that he knows is my golden area, and I told him about, and did some driving in rifle season.  It is public property.  He actually jumped a big one too.  I never said anything.   I just figured he'd stay out of the area I told him about if I stayed away from his property line.   Apparently, that unspoken conversion never really existed like I thought (and hoped) it did.   I suppose it doesn't apply now either that he has a stud close to him ?? .. but I get the sense that he thinks it should.   Like I said, I have zero intent to hunt the buck, but I do have a spot I hunt about a half mile away, that does historically get cruising bucks.  He knows it, and he knows I know it.  This spot is outside of this "unspoken" zone, at least I feel it is.  I feel what we have as a friendship may be hanging in the balance here and it shouldn't be.  I've found plenty of huge bucks that have gotten killed by friends.   We work as a team.  There's little jealously, sure .. but more of a celebration when the big one falls.  The guys that put their time in will get their turn.  I always enjoy watching the seasons evolve.  Perhaps this year, a closer friendship will be made by him inviting me to hunt the deer with him or a potential strengthening friendship will be lost.   He is the only reason I'm not hunting that deer on the public property.  I value friendships, even just hunting season friendships, more than antlers.  Those that don't, I don't hunt with.  Guess we'll see..

ORIGINAL: gotanitch2fish
 does having a tree stand reserve you a spot.

I say ya it kind of does in a way. The guy was looking for a good spot and he found yours, there is no way he knew it was your unless you had a treestand up. Mabey you should start putting signs up to reserve your spots. lol

Simple, first one to the spot hunts it (Assuming proper permission).  Can't understand anyway else of looking at it. Oh, I forgot were talking about PA...lol.

Seems like a pretty easy solution. Public land, first one in the woods gets the spot. Ganted, the second guy isn't going to be thrilled but a sportsman would walk away & find a different stand until his was open. I know I would...if I wasn't in the woods first.

build a nice fire with lots of smoke and guys in tree stands will hit the bricks..tree standers have no idea that is your spot..first  day just don't make any concrete plans for a stand , just keep moving until no lights or orange..has to be other spots close to where yu wanted to stand.."duck hunters" are the most ignorant hunters in the world of hunting. Had a  ****ula with 8 guys and 200 decoys out for 200 yards,, and a hunter came in with 6 decoys and crowded between our group, threw his 6 ducks out and sat there 25 yards between 2 groups of our gang, now that takes gonads..after we all stood behind him and told him he wouldn't get a shot at a duck,he packed up and left.."why hunt ducks???? there aren't any..

ORIGINAL: Pork

Seems like a pretty easy solution. Public land, first one in the woods gets the spot. Ganted, the second guy isn't going to be thrilled but a sportsman would walk away & find a different stand until his was open. I know I would...if I wasn't in the woods first.

Thems tha "rules"...and I'm always in the woods first, that's never an issue. I'll sleep at my tree if nessacary. However....If the other "sportsman" don't wanna respect the "rules".....I'll leave...after I pee a circle around the tree, and have a couple of smokes.

ORIGINAL: Mr.Slickfish


Thems tha "rules"...and I'm always in the woods first, that's never an issue. I'll sleep at my tree if nessacary. However....If the other "sportsman" don't wanna respect the "rules".....I'll leave...after I pee a circle around the tree, and have a couple of smokes.

Good plan of attack.

The first year I hunted my 15 acres I was out before anyone else. Sat up along the edge of my field, which was still standing corn, with only one good shooting lane down the edge. I could see into the wood for a good ways, but had only 1 good shooting lane. Well, just after daybreak some yayhoo from the hood comes walking down past me on the farmers right of way. He nods, I nod. He proceeds to walk right down to the end of my shooting lane & plop down about 300 yards infront of me. Leaving me in effect without a safe shot to be had. MAN I was steamed! Didn't know what to do, just knew my chances of bagging a deer were gone. So, I got to thinking about all the work around the house that needed done....and all the trees that had fallen around the edge of the field that could use cut up. Took my gun to the house, got my truck & chainsaw & went out and started cutting tree tops. The other guy lasted all of 45 minutes. Took the truck & saw back home, got my gun and went to my spot.

I was there first. My land.

No holds barred.

I never had such a situation till last archery season. third week of October about 5 P.M. on a weekday evening, It is extremly thick where I hunt, I can hear someone but cannot see them after about ten minutes of them bumbling around I see a ladder stand go up in a tree about 60 yds away from me. The guy gets in it to put on the straps, i wistle and wave at him, he does not see me, I yell at him, he just continues to put the stand in. I get out of my stand(A climber) he is already on his way out and I did not catch up to him. I have killed some very nice bucks out of this area and it takes me minutes to get there so it is great for afterwork hunting, so I go back the next night.

Next night he shows up again same time, gets up in the stand and starts cutting down branches. Before he showed up I had seen a few bucks already so it seemed like a promising evening, so I was extremly ****ed off.I yell at him again, this time he acknowledges me and keeps cutting down the branches. I start to pack my things and drop my bow down and he gets out of the stand walks up. It is a guy who I knew hunted the area andhe knew where I hunted(his brother helped me drag a couple 100+ inch bucks), once I realize this I ask him if he minds staying out of the area, since I stay away from the area he is usually in. He tells me he has been hunting that property(private owned open to the public) for years and was not moving. after some mouthing back and forth, I know I can't say anything because I do not own the property but I asked him why he is doing this at prime hunting time when he knows I am usually in the area, he did not give a reason just says I will not be back till next week see you then.

I did not have to work the following day so I thought I would get one more day in that stand before he showed back up, this time in the morning. Sure enough the guy was back the next morning about 8:30 to cut more shooting lanes. I got out of the tree, went home and called a buddy. We blew the area up. Dumped bags of human and dog hair in a about a 50 yd cirlce around the stand, hung scent pads soaked in **** everywhere and got up in a couple of trees and tied metal pie plates with fishing string from branches the same height of his stand. I hate to act like a Richard but this guy knew I was usually there and ruined three hunts for me. Can't wait to see him this year.

Mabey the guy knew there where some crazy people (you and your friends) hunting in the area so he wanted to wear some orange to feel safer. Sounds like he had a pretty good blind since you couldn't find it till he showed it to you. Also sounds like you approached him first looking for trouble. What do you mean by he didn't know the orange and quitting time law??? Do you think it is against the law to wear orange when you don't have to??? Do you think it is against the law to quit early??? Or mabey you think it is against the law to talk on the phone in the woods..Sounds like the guy could of had been more courtous in the woods but did nothing illegal. You on the other hand went out of your way to make trouble.... Just sayin

roll, how can you stik up for a ignorant hunter unless you might be him..you see a guy in a tree, you go to another area like sportsman do..did not say anything about legal, just morally..he was ignorant and if you don't think so, so be it..let someone do it to y ou..and see how you cry and wine..why would youcall me and my friends crazy?????...what evidence do you have of that..

glad you see it that way, because if i waded down in front of you in your favorite trout hole, its legal, but i am sure you would say something other than "catchin any"..if more people stood up to ignorant hunters because some of them don't even know that they are ingorant, maybe we would all have it better, hunting and fishing..yes, i did go out of my way, but he needed to hear it.words only,..some people don't take to that, look what happened in wisconsin a few years ago..mass murder in the woods over a tree stand..