Giving up the special spots - Forum etiquette

[merkelman]

Gentleman,

I know this is probably going to incite a riot, I mean no disrespect, nor do I mean to insult any of you out there.  When I moved to this state I was an avid bird hunter.  I worked very hard for the spots I enjoyed for years in California and Arizona.  It took patience, burning boot leather, getting to know my local and regional biologists and giving back to organizations like the now defunct QU and other smaller regional organizations as such.

I knew that I was going to have to essentially start over once I settled into the state.  I used the same methods in WA as I did in Cali, and in the first year I was not only successful hunting Chukar, but quail as well.  From there, I reached out to public resources, burned the boot leather and continued to grow my knowledge of great upland habitat, which lead to successful hunting areas.  I have also had the good luck of meeting a few folks in my travels that have been very helpful showing me new areas to invest in.  I came across the forum about 5 years ago or so.  Since then I have met a few great people and created a relationship with them.  However, I am not hounding folks on this forum for their hunting spots.  Yes, I have been approached over the years on this forum, and in most cases will be cordial with my responses, but am not going to spill the beans.  Please be respectful of those on this forum and just because you see success being posted, does not mean we will give away the farm.  I know some people out there have tried to be generous and it has burned them.  This state has done such a good job with providing good information, use it before you automatically hit us up for spots to hunt. 

[Special T]

Lots of people want the info but not the work required to get it... I know of a couple of extremely successful hunters who now rarely post pics because of this issue.

[follow maggie]

Good post. It's the exploring around & burning the boot leather & tire rubber that's 1/2 the fun. At least it is for me

[PolarBear]

Lots of people want the info but not the work required to get it... I know of a couple of extremely successful hunters who now rarely post pics because of this issue.

I have been burned several times and no longer post pics or stories. I will send pics and info to select folks on here through pm.

[Naches Sportsman]

It took patients,burning boot leather.

I burned the boot leather and continued to grow my knowledge of great upland habitat, which lead to successful hunting areas.  I know some people out there have tried to be generous and it has burned them.

Had to disect your post Merkle.

It takes a lot of time and boot leather to find chukar honey holes. A few of us probably scout for chukar and huns harder than most people do for deer and elk. I put 250 miles on thr boots this spring in bird country alone. I drive to areas in the evening during the spring and summer and listen for birds.

Been to friendly a few years ago about a spot and it bit me in the ass.

 I am done helping people find chukar.

[rtspring]

Chukar?  Man I know where a ton of them dang birds are!  Never hunted one in my life.   Didnt know it was such a secretive thing

[Jonathan_S]

Glad some of you guys are into the chukar thing. Hard for me to get amped about a non-native bird that I can order from a catalog 

Maybe not chukar specific info but this is how I feel about "spots" or "honey hole". I could post exact GPS coordinates to a place I consider a honey hole. Maybe even the exact spot I have killed an OTC elk. 50% of the people wouldn't go for lack of physical shape or lack of desire/confidence. 40% might go but wouldn't know how to hunt it enough to distinguish it from any other area. The final 10% wouldn't go because they have better spots already 

Point being, your spots are your spots because you know something about them that nobody else knows. And if it's for chukar, well I suppose it's good clean fun but I don't get why folks get riled up to hunt them. All I know is shoot them the first time because all they do is run uphill after that.

[Dan-o]

Over the years, I have received a ton of help form people on this site.....   and I have tried to reciprocate.

Honey holes are a sensitive thing..........   Obviously, people don't tend to give them up.

But, helping people is part of the journey.

[Bango skank]

Hard for me to get amped about a non-native bird that I can order from a catalog 

Look at how many people drive across the state to hunt turkeys.

[jackelope]

One thing I've learned is that it is easy to help people without giving away the farm. 

[ghosthunter]

Well I never hunted chuckar.

But I try to help out new hunters as best I can. I guess I don't have the honey holes most of you have to give up.

Most places I hunt someone else was there first. Hunting is so much more than harvesting things.

Like we say "If you came for the meat,you came for the wrong reason."

Most folks who know me or our camp know where we hunt.
The difference in success is commitment. 

[predatorpro]

Some of the best times I have in the woods is doing all the work to find those spots....not once do I ever regret being in the woods

[Forks]

Loose lips sink ships. Pretty simple, if you want a spot to yourself or family, keep mouth closed.

[GBoyd]

When you guys say that you shared information and were "burned," what are you talking about? Does that just mean that you told someone about your spot, then saw them hunting your spot?

I guess I've never had a bad experience sharing hunting information. I have a select few guys that I share all of my scouting information with and they reciprocate with me. If they kill something in a spot I found, good for them. It lets me take credit for a buck even if I wasn't hunting that day.

[SteelheadTed]

I am sorry to hear that people withhold good stories and photos because they are afraid to lose a spot.  It seems to me you can still tell your story without giving up your spot and if people ask you just decline to give specifics.   Maybe they are tired of the hassle?  I don't know but sorry to hear it has to be that way.

I know some folks object to photos being posted by someone else of a spot they also know to be good.  I've always thought that if someone can recognize where you are, they already know the spot, so you aren't giving up anything.  For the rest of us we just enjoy the photo and the story and hope to find a spot like that someday.