Treestand Etiquette

[talltine]

I am looking for some advice on this subject. I am a treestand hunter who has hunted many different stands over the years and pride myself on have secretive spots. Many of the spots have been perennial spots for years. No we don't pull an elk out of every location each year, but we do actively hunt most if not all at least once in a season. This year many of my stands seem to have been discovered by another hunter who decided to setup and hunt these locations. I don't know if this was sheer dumb luck or if someone gave them this information. Although the locations are on public land should the hunter show some type of etiquette to the hunter that has been actively hunting these spots for years. Or is it just a complete free for all out there. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears come from locating these spots and trying to keep them a secret! What is a fair thing to expect of hunters today?

[cnelk]

Seems like there is a lot of that going on lately...
Isnt that right Swede?

[Swede]

Cnelk: As a matter of fact, I did notice the problem. My spots are important to me as they are near where I rendezvous with family and friends. The problem was so acute this year that my son and his friend did not spend much time at all with me. Like Talltine, I have a lot of blood, sweat and tears invested in these locations. BTW: Isn't that close to what you were thinking about on the "yeah for me and screw you" thread? I would have to review the thread again, but it might be good information for Talltine.

[Olympus hunt]

I am looking for some advice on this subject. I am a treestand hunter who has hunted many different stands over the years and pride myself on have secretive spots. Many of the spots have been perennial spots for years. No we don't pull an elk out of every location each year, but we do actively hunt most if not all at least once in a season. This year many of my stands seem to have been discovered by another hunter who decided to setup and hunt these locations. I don't know if this was sheer dumb luck or if someone gave them this information. Although the locations are on public land should the hunter show some type of etiquette to the hunter that has been actively hunting these spots for years. Or is it just a complete free for all out there. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears come from locating these spots and trying to keep them a secret! What is a fair thing to expect of hunters today?

I also have wonderings of how to deal with individuals who encroach on others hunting stands. First of all I want to say this is federal land where I hunt, and I have zero ownership of it….and I will never claim it as MINE MINE MINE. I really don’t have a problem with a person making an honest find on their own and hunting a spot even if I have been hunting it. Especially if I am not there. Personally for me??? If I find a location and it has had a prior stand in it I might log that info in my information bank and monitor it from time to time and only after seeing nobody is hunting it for years I might set up on it...even if I do that. Is that excessive? Maybe….but that is just me. I really take the most satisfaction from taking an animal from an area I had ZERO help in. The forest is pretty big and I don’t need to have my hand held or worse yet crowd in on a guy who I KNOW is hunting there. This past season I got a tag for an area I have never stepped foot in. I never even got a chance to scout it out on the ground before stepping foot in it for the first time in mid September. But wow….it was one of my more rewarding bulls ever, even if it was not monster. It was hard for me to break away from the area I have hunted for the past 20 years to go somewhere I knew nothing about….especially after finding out the area I plan on returning to has been set up on by a guy who obviously didn’t find these spots on his own. I don’t even care the guy killed a big bull….it’s more the lack of respect this person has shown. They might claim they found it on their own even when their own dad said the spot’s GPS numbers were given to him…..and it is super obvious as pictures of a bull from my own game camera show this guy he is hunting somebody else’s stand spot. That is where I have a problem…..find your own places instead of shady tactics. I just don’t get why somebody would be happy with doing that. There are tons of places that would be just as effective if you are willing to put in the time. Where is their sense of pride they did it on their own???? So like I said….if you find your own places great, but don’t play it off like you did when it is clear as day you didn’t. So I feel your pain Talltine. I plan on hunting my tradition spots next year....win lose or draw. I've put in too many years to let a coat tail dragger horn in.

[Kleinpm]

Thats a tough call. How many stands do you have?

If someone hangs a stand over a wallow, is the proper etiquette to not hunt that wallow, ever?

This subject kind of pushes a nerve for me. Not anything specific about your post, but I have put a lot of miles and time to find the few spots that I have reliably found elk. These aren't even real good spots. Every now and then I run into another hunter that obviously thinks I am hunting their spot, because their dad showed him where it was 25 years ago, or they killed an elk there 3 years ago etc.

If someone is following you to a spot then that is obviously wrong. If you hang stands in places that are likely to hold elk, then it is only a matter of time before someone else finds those spots too. If they find them legitimately, then the number of years you have been hunting there doesn't mean squat.


Patrick

[Swede]

Kleinpm: I assume you are asking Talltine about his stands, but I am not sure about the relevancy of the question. No offence intended. I know I have enough stands for everyone, who could be hunting with me at any one time, and maybe one or two more. When some of them leave, then I may have several empty stands. I have posted on this forum before that I have never asked anyone, that uses one of my stands, to leave.
In my way of thinking the question we need to discuss is, should you just take over a location that has obvious recent prior use? If you are the one getting pushed out, what is appropriate to do if anything? This past season I had several people set up at several of my old haunts. I met three of the persons who were basically taking over spots I have been using. They are all decent folks doing everything they can to get an elk. The question still boils down to what is appropriate for both the first user and the new comer?

[quarbles]

trying to understand, but is the original post suggesting that if an individual were to get in on an area they thought to be a good location and 'all of a sudden' noticed a stand in a tree that they should withdraw? understandable if there was someone in it, but would an empty stand be a way of putting "dibs" on a sweet spot? i can see being irrate if someone was hunting in your stand... but just by setting a stand you get to claim an area? and to do this to multiple areas? on public land? i understand there's work involved, but to claim public woods as private property seems almost presumtuous. i can see it being frustrating, but how is someone supposed to know that you've been there for years. if it's only possible that they found it cuz the spot got dimed out, i'd personally be more upset with who snitched. but how could you really ever know? i have no knowledge, experience nor education with treestand etiquette, but i'd suspect that as long as no one was in the stand it would be catch as catch can for the area.....
i think that you can have an expectation of ownership over your stand in your possession but perhaps thinking that that ownership extends out to a chunk of forest may be bold?
are these stands left for only a small window of time, such as a ten day hunt? out all year? on public property? obviously the stand has a purpose, but at what time 'limit' can someone defer that it is abandoned/ donated? can't really plant a bush in a public park and then get upset if someone picks a raspberry....
i'm just very curious at how something can be left indefinately on public ground (if that is even the case here, like i said i'm ignorant to treestands)and still be expected private? perhaps there are personalities out there that in their own way view that a treestand left on public property is something like a co operative effort? couldn't this be similar to leaving a piece of equipment at a gym indefinately and then getting upset that others are using it?

[Swede]

Quarbles: You make some interesting observations. Let me add that it is illegal to leave a stand permanently out on public land. I think tree stands may be similar to trail cameras or even camp sites. No one can legally hold claim to any public land. I take the original question as simply an inquiry into what is appropriate for both parties. Maybe another way of looking at it is by considering camping locations. Within the forest there are generally many places to set a camp. Should anyone come in and erect their tent right in front of yours? What if your tent was near a good spring, but there were other good springs in the general area?

[talltine]

I don't intend to say that by placing a treestand in a location on public ground makes that area mine! What I am asking is if you discovered an area that was established by another hunter what is the right thing to do? Do you claim the area as yours and try to beet the other hunter to the location or do you keep your eye on the area like olympus said. Then once you have found the spot to be empty hunt it at your own will.

I don't see why if I have 2 stands or 5 stands would be relevent to what actions should be taken by another hunter!

As treestand hunters go we typically hunt in a very small area, so it would not take someone too much time to find a stand if they know the vehicle we drive. Or if you notice a vehicle parked in the same location many days in a row. Is this wrong?

[realunlucky]

I would never hunt out of someone else's stand but would have no second thoughts hunting a water hole or a wallow if no one else was there. I put multiple stands out to have options some I never get around to hunting. What is fair I guess is up man standing in the woods

[cnelk]

Talltines
I see you are relatively new to the forum.
Not sure if I have greeted you yet!
Welcome!

There has been a lively discussion on a thread I started that may touch on some of the topics in your thread
You can view it here

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3035&p=36383&hilit=yeah+for+me#p36383

[Olympus hunt]

Thats a tough call. How many stands do you have?

If someone hangs a stand over a wallow, is the proper etiquette to not hunt that wallow, ever?

This subject kind of pushes a nerve for me. Not anything specific about your post, but I have put a lot of miles and time to find the few spots that I have reliably found elk. These aren't even real good spots. Every now and then I run into another hunter that obviously thinks I am hunting their spot, because their dad showed him where it was 25 years ago, or they killed an elk there 3 years ago etc.

If someone is following you to a spot then that is obviously wrong. If you hang stands in places that are likely to hold elk, then it is only a matter of time before someone else finds those spots too. If they find them legitimately, then the number of years you have been hunting there doesn't mean squat.


Patrick

I totally agree with ya Patrick. Don't know ya but I concur. It is silly/ridiculous to claim "spots" because "I saw it first!" Sounds like my 4 year old.
Exactly right....if it is a half way decent elk area other hunters are going to find the spots I like to sit and wait on. I just personally won't sit on a spot if I know it is being hunted by another hunter. To each his own though. I can find my own dang spots really and I don't get any satisfaction from horning in on some other guys area. I just have a problem with others following my group (as apparently we do) because of our success. Sheezzz....where is your own sense of accomplishment? I think there is gray area in what some are comfortable doing and some are not. It is just sad to see people crowding you because they can't find their own place. You take some of the most respected hunters out there. They don't need handouts, follow others or get told of another's stand and use it. They can do it on their own.

[Washington Wapiti]

Quarbles: You make some interesting observations. Let me add that it is illegal to leave a stand permanently out on public land. I think tree stands may be similar to trail cameras or even camp sites. No one can legally hold claim to any public land. I take the original question as simply an inquiry into what is appropriate for both parties. Maybe another way of looking at it is by considering camping locations. Within the forest there are generally many places to set a camp. Should anyone come in and erect their tent right in front of yours? What if your tent was near a good spring, but there were other good springs in the general area?

Good comparison Swede! And going even further, would you USE someone's already erected tent because no one had been in it for a day or two? Probably not. Then why would ANYONE sit in a stand that is already set up by someone else??? Typically stands are set out 2-4 weeks (perhaps a little more depending on laws, etc) prior to the season. This lets the area sit for a while after creating a disturbance while setting up. It should be assumed that someone is probably going to be back to use that stand during the season, and you should move on.

[quarbles]

i think etiquette is a poor standard, or only defined by what you hold yourself to... to me it depends on the level of grit an individual was raised (or allows) to adhere themselves to. thus, i can't rightfully expect others to think my way of thinking because chances are we were raised differently with different sets of values on different scales of importance punctuated by different life experiences and decisions. we all steer ourselves in the direction we think we should go. some peeps wouldn't think of following or horning in on, while it doesn't even occur to others that what they are doing isn't savy. then there are a few whom to them it is just another opportunity to capitalize on and they play that game.
some peeps cheat on math tests.
i liked the analogy of camp sites, as this is easier for my brain to digest due to my lack of exposure to stands. hmmmm. if i was returning to a spike and there was another tent there, i'd like to think that i'm the kind of person that would wait to see the group and judge whether to stay or not based on my read of them. they could be very cool and it could be a very amicable experience. then again, they could suck at which point i'd leave. i wouldn't expect to be able to 'push them out' nor would i attempt to soil the area. but these are decisions based on -my- standards and values.... if i had invested a lot in scouting i'd be sore, but in the end it would be my own fault for putting all my eggs in one basket. i'd like to think that i already learned that one.....

[Washington Wapiti]

To me it is pretty straight forward. Activities on public land - just like anything else without a specific, individual ownership - IS typically conducted on a first come, first serve basis. Even the rules of conduct for most land management agencies will say something to that effect in talking about recreating on those lands. I also agree it isn’t cool to have a mock blind or other place holder in a spot all season, year after year. Maybe a good rule of thumb is to take it on a year by year basis. If you know of a previously used area, show up there and a stand isn’t set, then it is yours. Have a ball. I think many of us on here believe in "the code" and the specifics of how that is defined may vary slightly from person to person. Even if differences exists, I'm sure most of us can agree that "horning in" or piggybacking on someone else's effort and hard work, sitting in another's tree stand, getting invited to hunt a particular site, and then showing up in that site the next year with a baker's dozen of your other buddies - lies OUTSIDE of that code. At best it is just simple honest, lack of knowledge . . . such as someone being new to the game and inexperienced. At worst it is pure desperation and laziness, which isn't going to win a person friends. For a lot of folks hunting is many things, including a chance to break away from the crowds and the "go, go, go" of everyday life; myself included. I hunt probably 25% of my total hunting time throughout the year with my brother, and the other 75% solo. That's my get away, what "centers" me if you will. I enjoy conversation on the trail, but If I can go without seeing another hiker or even one of my bowhunting brothers or sisters (no offense guys!) . . . all the better. It is important to respect everyone's wilderness experience and right to be there. Pick people’s brains, come to this forum and ask questions, get out into the woods and do your OWN homework and leg-work. And please don’t be a stand-swiper (We need a good official term for this LOL) or horner . . . for the love!

[Swede]

would you USE someone's already erected tent because no one had been in it for a day or two?

I was thinking about, just maybe, eating their groceries, and then enjoying a little sack time in their sleeping bag. LOL Boy, we could take this to an extreme. I think by talking to one another many of these so called problems can be worked out. Of coarse it may be a little difficult for me if I snooze too long and the owner finds me in his bag.

[cnelk]

Many years ago I came back to my wall tent and found a written note on the camp kitchen.
(I had left the tent for a few days and returned to hunt some more)

It seems as tho a couple hunters got in a bad way and stopped and used my tent for the night.
They thanked the owner (me) with the note and left a $20 bill too.

Not so sure that would happen like that these days.

If my tree stand was used, that's cool, I hope the hunter enjoyed it.
A $20 bill would be cool too

[Washington Wapiti]

would you USE someone's already erected tent because no one had been in it for a day or two?

I was thinking about, just maybe, eating their groceries, and then enjoying a little sack time in their sleeping bag. LOL Boy, we could take this to an extreme. I think by talking to one another many of these so called problems can be worked out. Of coarse it may be a little difficult for me if I snooze too long and the owner finds me in his bag.

lol! I literally laughed out loud . . . I'm so going to do this.
"I think by talking to one another many of these so called problems can be worked out." I agree with this. I've met some real good guys out there, including the younger gents that hunt close to me. They know my stand/blind location and are always respectful. Any one of them, if they asked, or the situation lent itself . . . I would offer them the use of my stand . . . or sleeping bag . . . or tent LOL

[Washington Wapiti]

Many years ago I came back to my wall tent and found a written note on the camp kitchen.
(I had left the tent for a few days and returned to hunt some more)

It seems as tho a couple hunters got in a bad way and stopped and used my tent for the night.
They thanked the owner (me) with the note and left a $20 bill too.

Not so sure that would happen like that these days.

If my tree stand was used, that's cool, I hope the hunter enjoyed it.
A $20 bill would be cool too

I can always use a twenty! What did they call that in Goodfella's when they slip each other a $20? LOL
In my early years of mountaineering/backpacking/orienteering I made A LOT of stupid mistakes. Most of those when I was by myself. I have felt the panic and desperation - bordering on terror - of being in a bad way out in the wilderness. Those folks were lucky to stumble onto your abode . . . and what a cool gesture with the note and money. if I'm ever lost or out of food in Colorado, I hope I come across your vacant camp Brad!

[stringunner]

I'm in great conversation with a couple guys on here via private message currently about hunting spots and these are in no way meant to derail those but these questions have come to mind in the past several days while reading over this thread so I'm throwing it out here.

1. Can we be just as "territorial" (I don't mean that in a negative sense) over ridge lines, saddles, bowls, basins, etc. as we are over our super secret tree stand spots? When answering, think of those areas as being 1 square mile or less, so not a huge area by any means...I'm anticipating someone saying a tree stand spot is a very small area thus it must be ok to be territorial, but even if you are sitting in a treestand you will probably not want some yahoo blowing his bugle over and over again within a 1/2 mile of you.

2. Are tree stand spots any different than guys staking claims to water tanks in Arizona? I have read a ton of forums on other hunting sites that rip on guys over and over who assume "hunting rights" to water tanks in Arizona areas? It is always first come first serve I believe when there is consensus of the group on the threads. Yet I'm not seeing consensus here yet so I pose the question...

3. Camping spots (taking Swede's idea but twisting it), can you claim rights to a camping spot every year? Expect everybody to drive past it over and over and not use it thinking you will be there by opening weekend? It seems for tree stands it has been said if it appears someone is using it (a ladder left, a tree limbed, perhaps tree step holes visible from previous years present) or has used it recently then it becomes good hunter etiquette to leave it alone. So you use a camping spot over and over again (my hunting party does this) and leave a fire pit and meat pole from year to year (indicating continual use) does that spot now become yours? Not "yours" in the sense that you own it, it is public property we know this but yours in the sense that any other hunter should use proper etiquette and camp elsewhere?

We work hard for our tree stand spots, we create memories year after year killing things in them, blood sweat and tears most definitely are shed, but can the same not be said for saddles, bowls, basins, ridglines (again thinking small areas or pockets hunted year after year, I hunt areas like this), water tanks in AZ or campsites?

Just a side note....Don't laugh about campsites, some are near and dear to us. Where our party camps every year and has for many now, my boys have experienced many "firsts" and we have created a ton of memories as a family, as friends and with my dad and I, thus we might have a hard time thinking about camping elsewhere because of the many memories created so far. I'm sure others can relate

[talltine]

Yes, I would agree we all get very protective of our hunting spots! Some may even take this too far. This is why I started this forum! What is proper? Do we just conceed that since most of us don't have the luxury of hunting private land that public land is truly just first come first serve? My only problem with this is some take this also to an extreme. Maybe the easiest way that I can get the answer to this question is to set up situation that may have happened to many of us.

Situation 1
I set up a camera in a spot two weeks before the season starts. I return to this spot two days before season to evaluate if I should hang my stand. But to my dismay when I arrive I find a stand already in that location. (Of course not my stand) What do I do at this point? Do I pull my camera and walk away! Do I hang my stand in there also? Do I just write this spot off as a loss (FIRST COME FIRST SERVE RULE)?

Situation 2
I have a spot where I have set up a stand. I choose not to hunt this spot for a couple of days and when I return I find another hunter has set up a stand in the same location. THIS ACTUALLY DOES HAPPEN! Do I remove my stand? Do I try to talk with the other hunter (which can always be interesting)?

For me;
Situation 1 becomes a loss as am not a confrontational person and I only have a limited amount of time I can hunt. So I am not going to waste my time arguing with someone who was first!

Situation 2 again will most likely be a loss also because again I do not want to waste time!

So does that mean the intruder does not have any etiquette.

Stringgunner I don't think the same thing for hunting spots in general. The only reason is because a stand hunter will not typically hunt a big location, where someone who is walking will cover much more territory. I personally have heard bugles from other hunters from my stands. I don't think it affects my stand that much unless they are a couple hundred yards away or if their wind is blowing in my direction. This is another aspect of hunting I cannot control. THE HUMAN FACTOR.

[stringunner]

Talltine, I think in both of your situations I would say yes you were there first and first come first serve rules apply ( however as you stated now we have extremes and potentially guys leaving their stuff up all year, not legal but not off the mark as extreme either). I think your perspective as to how you would handle that is totally up to you, to confront or not to confront that is the question. No saying how that ends, I would say it depends upon what Roy d mercer always said... "How Bigga boy are ya." Lol. The hunter choosing to set a stand where a stand currently exists and or set a stand where a camera already exists I think goes back to cnelk's thread yeah for me and screw you.

I think we have consensus that hunters willing to do things like that specifically are how out side of the rules of etiquette.

I think the bigger questions come back to a comment swede made earlier... What do we do when some one new finds our traditional spots, no stand currently in place at the time however, and found not by shady tactics, what does this now mean for the hunter who has been hunting the spot in years past and what does it mean for the new comer....

Olympus hunt said previously he would not set up on a spot for a couple years until he new for sure no one was hunting it, he also admitted that might be extreme....but we haven't heard other responses yet to that type of scenario...

[talltine]

This is always a tuff one for a dedicated treestander. I have found many spots in the past that have old builtin stands. I have hunted these areas right away because I could tell the stands were no longer safe. Atleast for a sane person! I found no sign of current activity. Also I have discovered locations that have a modern stand in place. Sometimes I will mark and come check these locations the following year, but not that year because I feel someone has already put their effort in that year. Now I will also be honest that there are times I will never go back because I don't see what the individual sees in the spot.

For me I also would treat a camera in the same sense. If I find a camera without a treestand I would not set a stand in that location. I also would not return to that location that year even to see if the owner hung a stand, unless it was a location I had previously hunted in the past.

This is just how I would treat a spot.

[Olympus hunt]

Yes, I would agree we all get very protective of our hunting spots! Some may even take this too far. This is why I started this forum! What is proper? Do we just conceed that since most of us don't have the luxury of hunting private land that public land is truly just first come first serve? My only problem with this is some take this also to an extreme. Maybe the easiest way that I can get the answer to this question is to set up situation that may have happened to many of us.

Situation 1
I set up a camera in a spot two weeks before the season starts. I return to this spot two days before season to evaluate if I should hang my stand. But to my dismay when I arrive I find a stand already in that location. (Of course not my stand) What do I do at this point? Do I pull my camera and walk away! Do I hang my stand in there also? Do I just write this spot off as a loss (FIRST COME FIRST SERVE RULE)?

Situation 2
I have a spot where I have set up a stand. I choose not to hunt this spot for a couple of days and when I return I find another hunter has set up a stand in the same location. THIS ACTUALLY DOES HAPPEN! Do I remove my stand? Do I try to talk with the other hunter (which can always be interesting)?

For me;
Situation 1 becomes a loss as am not a confrontational person and I only have a limited amount of time I can hunt. So I am not going to waste my time arguing with someone who was first!

Situation 2 again will most likely be a loss also because again I do not want to waste time!

So does that mean the intruder does not have any etiquette.

Talltine, I would say the intruder is lacking some serious etiquette as you were OBVIOUSLY there first. Sheez...that to me is a no no and a no brainer. But I admit I may be more extreme as Stringunner pointed out. Wow...I wouldn't leave your spots.....but you are right, what is it worth?
We have had confrontations before...some good ones too. Some we lost, some we won. Winning and losing are subjective too....may be poor choices of words. But if I did that to somebody, I wouldn't be shocked if my stuff was gone...or worse when I came back. Maybe a Baby Ruth loaf in my seat? LOL.
Stringunner, I don't think it's right to be territorial over an area, no matter how small. It's public land. Right?
I do think your Arizona scenario is applicable. It should be first come first serve really. We all just need to play nice and if I realize I am in the wrong, I will apologize like a man and move on. I try to teach my kids right and I can't do a good job of that if I don't practice what I preach.
Your camping spot example hits home to me too. My wife's fam and I camp at the same spot every year but in the past few it has been taken. It stinks but......we have found others as a result that I actually like better. Give me lemons....
My only gripe is hunters moving in on spots they have a feeling might be somebody else's spot they have put a lot of blood sweat and tears into as Talltine put it. I don't like doing that and it is not a great way to make friends. That's a shame too since some probably are pretty darn good folks.

[Vanish]

There's a whole lot of "it depends" here.

I think there is only one hard and fast rule: If someone is physically hunting a spot, give them their space.

There is so many ways to blow out of proportion anything else. What if they never saw your camera / treestand? I know I try to camouflage my cameras. What if they knew about the spot before you? ... then they are feeling the same way about your stuff being in their spot.

This year while elk hunting, I was hanging at spike camp at lunch when I heard a funny noise. It was three guys coming in on horses. They were from out of state, heading in to the same camp they had used in previous years. We had been hunting the area for a couple weekends. I had no idea they were coming, but I knew exactly where their camp would be, about 1/2 mile further in ... and we had NOT set up our camp there because it was right smack in the middle of the elk and we didn't want to push the elk out. I was upset, but what could I say / do? They had come a long ways and it was public land.

Yes, I would agree we all get very protective of our hunting spots! Some may even take this too far. This is why I started this forum! What is proper? Do we just conceed that since most of us don't have the luxury of hunting private land that public land is truly just first come first serve? My only problem with this is some take this also to an extreme. Maybe the easiest way that I can get the answer to this question is to set up situation that may have happened to many of us.

Situation 1
I set up a camera in a spot two weeks before the season starts. I return to this spot two days before season to evaluate if I should hang my stand. But to my dismay when I arrive I find a stand already in that location. (Of course not my stand) What do I do at this point? Do I pull my camera and walk away! Do I hang my stand in there also? Do I just write this spot off as a loss (FIRST COME FIRST SERVE RULE)?

Situation 2
I have a spot where I have set up a stand. I choose not to hunt this spot for a couple of days and when I return I find another hunter has set up a stand in the same location. THIS ACTUALLY DOES HAPPEN! Do I remove my stand? Do I try to talk with the other hunter (which can always be interesting)?

For me;
Situation 1 becomes a loss as am not a confrontational person and I only have a limited amount of time I can hunt. So I am not going to waste my time arguing with someone who was first!

Situation 2 again will most likely be a loss also because again I do not want to waste time!

So does that mean the intruder does not have any etiquette.

Talltine, I would say the intruder is lacking some serious etiquette as you were OBVIOUSLY there first. Sheez...that to me is a no no and a no brainer. But I admit I may be more extreme as Stringunner pointed out. Wow...I wouldn't leave your spots.....but you are right, what is it worth?
We have had confrontations before...some good ones too. Some we lost, some we won. Winning and losing are subjective too....may be poor choices of words. But if I did that to somebody, I wouldn't be shocked if my stuff was gone...or worse when I came back. Maybe a Baby Ruth loaf in my seat? LOL.

I don't think I agree here. How do we know which person is "the intruder" ?

Situation 1: You put up a camera on public land. It entitles you to take photos, nothing else. You can certainly hang your own stand, the first person to get in the stand on any given day deserves the right to hunt that spot. Why? 1.) Who is to say who had the info on this spot first? Just because another person's stand is there doesn't mean it is because your camera is there. They could have been placing a stand there every year for the last 20 years. They may never have seen your camera. I could go on.

Situation 2: Just because you put up a stand doesn't mean you claim the spot ...How is anyone supposed to know you are ever going to hunt this stand? Just because there is another stand nearby doesn't mean they saw your stand and assumed it must be a good spot. They could just have easily hunted this spot in the past, had a trail camera you never saw, etc.

When I used to hunt stands, we would hang 6-8 stands for 2 of us, and hunt each depending on the conditions. Some stands rarely got used.


EDIT: My own personal beliefs do not reflect the way I hunt. I pretty much try to avoid hunting any area with other humans. If I happened to be hunting a spot near someone's public land treestand and they came in to use it, I would just leave. I don't think it is my responsibility to do so, its just what I would do.