Bow hunting etiquette

[JoeS]

Hello,

My name is Joe and new to this site and have only bow hunted a few years.  I finally got my first animal, which was a bear and on private land.  I am going to the east side (Rimrock) for late season and had a couple questions.  I found some good looking spots, but figure others will like them too and was wondering about hunting with others around.  If I see a vehicle parked nearby, what is a reasonable amount of space I should give (miles)?  If I am sitting on a spot and someone comes in do I let my presence be known and hope they leave?
I would appreciate any other suggestions.

Thank you

Joe 

[Sandberm]

This is a good topic and I was thinking of starting a thread about this myself as I am also relatively new to bow hunting. Last year was the first year that I really ran into a LOT of other hunters. I purposely hunt during the week to avoid this  and in the few years I have been hunting that tactic has worked well as i havnt seen too many people and those i did see i was able to avoid and each of us had our space a territory to hunt.

Last year was a joke, every time i turned around I saw another hunter close by. It was bad enough that i left my traditional hunting grounds for a different area. This year if i stumble upon another hunter I'm gonna go up and say "hi" and see if they want to work together or share info. I'm all for helping others and would gladly help another guy get his animal....if just so I didnt have to run into him the next day too.

[bearpaw]

Joe you deserve a word of praise for wanting to do the right thing in regards to hunting the same area as other hunters. 

I'm sure some hunters may look at it differently than I do but here's my thoughts! If you are hunting public land chances are you will be hunting in close proximity to other hunters, we all must share our public lands with each other, nobody owns any area. However, out of common decency I would try to avoid hunting right next to someone or pushing your way in front of another hunter, or ruining another hunter's hunt by hunting too close. If you see someone hunting an area give them room to enjoy their hunt. What you do may depend on how the other person is hunting, if they are hiking they will likely move through the area so you might try to go a different direction if you are hiking too, but if they are sitting then their hunt is focused on the immediate surrounding area, give them a little undisturbed room. Often times a few hundred yards is all it takes for you to be hunting completely different country and animals than another hunter. If the area gets much hunting pressure it may be hard to get a mile away from other hunters, but just try to not hunt within the same specific area that another hunter is hunting/watching.

Good Luck!

[huntingfool7]

Public ground is public.  Hunt your hunt, move if it suits you, don't expect others to do what you'd like.  It's kind of like driving on the freeway, you can't drive more than one car at a time.  Learn to deal with it.

[JeffRaines]

Hello,

My name is Joe and new to this site and have only bow hunted a few years.  I finally got my first animal, which was a bear and on private land.  I am going to the east side (Rimrock) for late season and had a couple questions.  I found some good looking spots, but figure others will like them too and was wondering about hunting with others around.  If I see a vehicle parked nearby, what is a reasonable amount of space I should give (miles)?  If I am sitting on a spot and someone comes in do I let my presence be known and hope they leave?
I would appreciate any other suggestions.

Thank you

Joe

Hey Joe,

I will share a story that happened to me and a friend during rifle season this year. I have a permit to hunt on Vail, but he does not, and I wanted to go out with him for a day so we decided on a piece of public land close to us. I knew of a decommissioned road leading up to a single clearcut about 3/4 of a mile in so we decided to go hit that first thing in the morning. We got in and there was no one, and to be honest we seen no one until we decided to walk out, and we seen a guy also walking back about 200yards ahead of us. Theres only room for a truck or two at the turn off, so this guy seen our rig. I'm sure the guy knew what was back there, and yet he walked back anyway. Did he ruin our hunt? Maybe not, but in my book thats crappy behavior. I absolutely would not hunt an area if someones rig is parked there.

Now, there are some exceptions... There are some roads around here that open to walk in, but gated. Some of these roads are 7-10+ miles long, with many areas to hunt. Parking and walking/biking in on these roads when other rigs are parked at the gate is acceptable in my book. Just know your surroundings(google earth!) and act accordingly.

During Archery I RARELY have the issue of someone parked where I want to hunt.

[DOUBLELUNG]

I try to get out of sight, or remain out of sight, of other hunters in the field.  However, where I hunt on Forest Service in Chelan Co., especially when we get snow/ice at higher elevations, it can be nearly impossible to drive the roads and not be near other hunters in a rig.  If you are in a truck, you aren't hunting in my book, and anywhere I want to park and walk in is fair game.  I don't get belligerent about it, and if they are parked I will ask their plans and make one that doesn't affect what they can see.  When I see another archer in the field, we are usually pretty close - I will raise a hand and wave until I know I have their attention.  It's usually pretty obvious if they want to talk, or just continue our separate ways.  I do avoid spots where I know there are stands or blinds if there's a chance they are occupied, but I have no problem hunting through if nobody is there. 

We do get some large aggressive groups of yaholes who try to prevent access on open roads to large areas, either by standing or parking blocking the road.  One I asked politely to move so I could drive through, they made frownie faces but let me through.  One refused, said it was "their" area, I said they were interfering with my lawful hunt and I could call the game warden to verify, they made frownie faces but let me through - that did affect my hunt, as I had to stay within line of sight across a valley to make sure my truck wasn't vandalized.  I've not experienced vandalism or threatening notes left on my truck but others have.

I think the Golden Rule is a very good one to apply on public land: don't do it if you wouldn't want it done to you.  I wouldn't go down a spur to a single landing or cut, if there was another rig there.  I have no problem though driving an open arterial road, passing the occupied spur, and going to an unoccupied spur.  If someone drives in, I'm usually not too concerned as I'm not usually hunting within line of sight of the road.  If they park next to me, and walk in and hunt next to me, I will probably just leave and drive somewhere else to hunt.  It's all situational.

[JoeS]

Thank you for the replies.

Joe

[jstone]

Hunt the swakane late archery. Back in the day it was uncrowded. now that its getting crowded there is the Good, Bad and the Ugly up there.

[DOUBLELUNG]

Hunt the swakane late archery. Back in the day it was uncrowded. now that its getting crowded there is the Good, Bad and the Ugly up there.

The more crowding and competition, the worse the etiquette.  It was definitely better when I started, but still pretty good once you get away from the roads.

[UBA]

 
I always hope for really crappy weather and slick roads. That thins out a lot of people.  Although running four chains isn't any fun. It really depends on the experience u want.  U can find a place where 200 yards of space is ok for that area or where 1/2 mile is to close. Just kind of depends

[UptheCreek]

Bow hunting generally is a whole different ball game when considering most archery hunters are not out putting miles in on the ground.  Especially if you're hunting whitetails in thick woods, most hunters are hunting out of a tree stand or ground blind.  A few hundred yards is way to close in my opinion but on public ground, you can't control what another hunter does.  You can talk with them and maybe come up with a strategy that works for both of you to get the best results but who knows.  I know I got a couple dudes a couple hundred yards from one of my setups and they know where I'm at and chose to set up that close anyways.  We are basically on the same ridge and getting the same pictures of the same deer.  Way to close for me and as a result, I'm not hunting an area that I have been in for 20 years.  I always look to avoid other hunters.  If I move into a new area and later realize I'm encroaching on someone, I move or figure out a new gameplan.  Lots of area out there to hunt without giving somebody a high five on the way to your stand.

[pianoman9701]

The deeper in you get, the less chance other hunters will be coming into your area. 90% hunt within .5 mile of the road, 95% within a mile, and 99% within 2 miles. I came up with those statistics through intense study and pulled them out of a dark place. They should be 100% accurate.  Have fun.

[Vandal44]

This is an interesting topic, when you hunt public land you are going to run into different individuals with different attitudes.

This year I was hunting elk out of a tree stand on public ground,  I heard some noise to my right and saw a group of little trees start moving. I grabbed my bow to get ready for some elk to through, nope it was another bow hunter.  I climbed out of the tree to talk with him, he was apologizing for coming through the area.  I told him its public land and you have the right to be hear.  I hiked out with him traded cell numbers and talked elk hunting and tactics. 

He sent me a text just the other day asking if I would be hunting out of my tree stand during late archery.  I told him I shot a cow and was tagged out.  I also let him know that my tree stand is there and I am still running cameras and if you would like to hunt out of my stand he was more than welcome.  I am going to check the camera this weekend to let him know whats on it.

We run into a lot of jack @$$ at work and I don't want to run into them in the wood.  We owe it to one another to be respectful.  

This goes for the people that suck at elk calling, if you suck practice before the season.  Practicing how to bugle and cow call during the hunting season is not good. 

[REHJWA]

I guess I'm different. As long as its archery only. When I'm in the woods or on my stand I will not give away my location unless the other hunter sees me. I like to think I have the woods to my self so unless they see me I let them think they have the woods to themselves too. However, at the trail head or on a road I try to find out where others plan to be so we can give each other their space.

As said before treat others with respect and it usually works out well.
Good luck.

[pianoman9701]

This is an interesting topic, when you hunt public land you are going to run into different individuals with different attitudes.

This year I was hunting elk out of a tree stand on public ground,  I heard some noise to my right and saw a group of little trees start moving. I grabbed my bow to get ready for some elk to through, nope it was another bow hunter.  I climbed out of the tree to talk with him, he was apologizing for coming through the area.  I told him its public land and you have the right to be hear.  I hiked out with him traded cell numbers and talked elk hunting and tactics. 

He sent me a text just the other day asking if I would be hunting out of my tree stand during late archery.  I told him I shot a cow and was tagged out.  I also let him know that my tree stand is there and I am still running cameras and if you would like to hunt out of my stand he was more than welcome.  I am going to check the camera this weekend to let him know whats on it.

We run into a lot of jack @$$ at work and I don't want to run into them in the wood.  We owe it to one another to be respectful.  

This goes for the people that suck at elk calling, if you suck practice before the season.  Practicing how to bugle and cow call during the hunting season is not good. 

It's all part of the learning curve, though, isn't it; learning what's polite, effective, ethical. When I started bird hunting, I didn't know about sluicing. I shot a pheasant on the ground and the person hunting with me educated me about it in a kind and meaningful way. When I first started elk hunting, I bought a bite call just before going into the woods and sounded like a cat in heat using it. A hunting partner educated me about practicing calling before the season and doing so each year. Learning about public land hunting and what to expect and how to be a good fellow hunter takes time and mentoring and multiple experiences. We all make mistakes; I still do. We should assume the best intentions of others until we have evidence to the opposite. And even then, carry on in a way that will make us proud of our actions going forward. Still working on this.

[blindluck]

Its tough just when you think you got it dialed in you don't. My elk stand is 1 mile off the road, usually I may see one or two guys, Last year on the opener I had 18 people walk by me and a couple of the small groups sat on the same log at different times throughout the day and decided to have a BS session. Then on my deer hunt 1.5 miles off the road I sat for 50 hours over 5 days and only had one hunter walk by.