What to do?

[Lefty]

Over the years Ive ended up at dozens of places to hunt and had other hunters or groups show up. .
If On private land, for geese, often we join up. I also sometimes had a backup field , so seldom a problem.
Depending on the trailhead Ill go other places,.. Sometimes we work things out,.. We go one way, they go another ,Simple courtesy or ethics
This morning it was snowing/raining early.
Stayed in camp until 30 min before legal shooting. Parked near a road in the truck listening to bugles. Off in the distance 3 miles headlights from three pickups.
And they parked 60 yards in front of us.

Today was unique, the way it worked out.
After a few minutes We drove up and I asked a simple greeting,.. "How you doing this morning!"

"Get your own damn binoculars and look" (still to dark to see).
Then from another some snarky comment " You the guys hunting this yesterday?" More of an insinuation than a question.

They really appeared to be normal guys,.. maybe not big archers but a group that were going to hunt together today and we messed their whole life up.
I was at a loss about what to do.
Then a bugle 300 foot down and close. Mr snarky respond, " guess we know where were hunting."
Its been a long time since Ive had a similar situation.
I drove the pickup back to camp,.. 400 yards.
Andrew and I dove off the hillside by camp and covered ground as fast as we could , putting last nights plan into hyper drive. And me going down hill way too fast. The last we saw , one truck parked on the hill and two leaving the area.
Andrew went into the area we hunted yesterday,.. I tucked in on the hillside.
Every few minutes there were mews and bugles from the hilltop pickup group. They sounded fine,.. but I dont know the purpose of their calling.

From camp Andrew and I ran down the hill through the timber to hunt, without them knowing.
An hour after this all started some of the group drove up from the bottoms on ATVs, Andrew could see people spread out along the ridge.
We assume their "spotter saw the elk go the other direction and shortly after; ATVs were loaded and they were gone.
I certainly could have worked something out for hunting, apparently their purpose was to rally the elk over the hill. My biggest mistake was not getting plates

What have you Wapiti talkers done in similar situations
I know years back as a Saturday warrior hunting was limited, and I get the being upset that other where there.

[WapitiTalk1]

Way too many places to hunt elk than around A-holes. I’d look elsewhere, that’s just me...

[Billy Goat]

I dunno.

in all my hunter-encounters over the years (some on the road, and fewer in the field), it's always been a peaceful exchange. not "heated". Sure.... neither of us wanted to run into each other, but no need in getting testy about it, either.

Sorry it went that way. some folks have an immovable chip on their shoulder.

shane

[Indian Summer]

I usually say hello to other hunters. When I do... and I taught all my guides this, I don’t say a whole lot. Instead I let them do the talking. I pay attention to every detail. Their gear, their physical appearance, their attitude, which way they are looking, everything. I rarely let them change my plan. If they seem nice and honest I’ll talk more. If not I couldn’t care less what they say or do I’ll stomp on their plans like an elk turd on a trail! I love to see the look on their faces when they drive by camp and the antlers of the bull they claimed rights to is leaning up against a tree beside my tent.

Little do they know that if they were nice I would have gone the other way and maybe even told them a good way to get on that bull. I can’t imagine being an idiot right from the start to people you don’t even know! Go back to the city where you came from!

[Lefty]

I usually say hello to other hunters. When I do... and I taught all my guides this, I don’t say a whole lot. Instead I let them do the talking. I pay attention to every detail. Their gear, their physical appearance, their attitude, which way they are looking, everything. I rarely let them change my plan. If they seem nice and honest I’ll talk more. If not I couldn’t care less what they say or do I’ll stomp on their plans like an elk turd on a trail! I love to see the look on their faces when they drive by camp and the antlers of the bull they claimed rights to is leaning up against a tree beside my tent.
Little do they know that if they were nice I would have gone the other way and maybe even told them a good way to get on that bull. I can’t imagine being an idiot right from the start to people you don’t even know! Go back to the city where you came from!

Joe I would like to think Ive always been cordial.
That group like us; I assume had plan for yesterday morning. We didnt expect others, nor did they.
Not one of them looked like even lightly seasoned hunters. Their Pickups and ATVs,.. well they appeared to lack Idaho use Their gear incomplete. . All new camo,.. not dressed for the mornings hunt. All were mumbling about the cold.
And maybe what puzzles me. How did they know those elk were in there,.. We spent Thursday evening watching the herd. We never saw anyone else.

There were plenty of elk, but it needed to be hunted,.. not driven like a Wisconsin farm grove.
Unfortunately the first hour while they were setting up the " drive" We didnt make it happen .

Once the ATV's came into the bottom, 100 head left the basin
It was the best action for me all season till 8:45 AM

Maybe Im upset I did get a text that morning asking to goose hunt on the same field with me from a young fellow who has a history of running towards goose flocks and shooting. Flock shooting geese 120 yards up. One of those desperate hunters

[Lefty]

Way too many places to hunt elk than around A-holes. I’d look elsewhere, that’s just me...

Generally I even leave if they are decent,..
We have never seen others hunt or even glass this place ever Very limited viewing.

Can I blame Covid!!

[Swede]

The intruders try to stay downwind and will call. I had been working a herd for over an hour calling and creeping close to a large bull when some rascals tried to butt in. They had heard the bugling back and forth. I talked to them, but they wanted me out of there and were going to continue trying for the bull. Hunting in some cover, I stayed out of sight, and passed by upwind of the elk. The obnoxious hunters never knew what spooked the critters. After that I left the area and went somewhere else.

[7mmfan]

I've approached situations just like you did and had the same reactions. In that case I usually go about my day as planned. If they are willing to talk and compromise, I usually let them have it and go elsewhere. I can't say I've ever killed an animal out from under someone who has been a jerk to me, but I've caught a lot of fish under those guys! Luckily I haven't had enough bad situations hunting to formulate backup plans.

[Roosiebull]

Way too many places to hunt elk than around A-holes. I’d look elsewhere, that’s just me...

anymore, if people are that hell bent on a spot, they can have it... i agree Rory. i used to get worked up over that (still irritates me) but they are a percentage of the population that are just that way, cannot be helped, they think they are important..... aka: in denial they aren't

if i play into that, it will ruin my day...... the world sorts these things out for us, i just don't play into that anymore.

[wawhitey]

Best just to move on. Even if the other party is clearly in the wrong. No critter is worth a confrontation between two armed parties. Besides, 95% of guys out there are grossly incompetent, and will liely move along in a day or two anyway. Go explore plan b for a day, forget about the dickheads, then come back and do your thing. They likely didnt get your bull, buck etc anyway.

[Lefty]

Best just to move on. Even if the other party is clearly in the wrong. No critter is worth a confrontation between two armed parties. Besides, 95% of guys out there are grossly incompetent, and will liely move along in a day or two anyway. Go explore plan b for a day, forget about the dickheads, then come back and do your thing. They likely didnt get your bull, buck etc anyway.

It wasn’t going to escalate

Last night 6-7 bulls and 50 cow calves , same place
No way to make a playin the open as it got dark

I’m kind of holding off
I have elk in threeloocation , waiting for an evening hunt for my daughter
This morning sat on the hillfor 45 minutes before they began talking
Minutes before shooting time I could hear a pick up.
And no door shutting
Shortly I hear a bugle up the hill.
Dang

Morning”

Ok. I jumped
A fellow a bit older than me.
For the next couple hours we listened to that herd and watched and talked elk
We both knew the wind was wrong and every approach otherwise was in the open

He mentioned he was had an Idaho A tag
But no elk was worth going “down there”

He did say he was spending the grandsons in on Thursday ( bull tag opener)

He did share two grizzlie stories , both were a bit unsettling

[Roosiebull]

Best just to move on. Even if the other party is clearly in the wrong. No critter is worth a confrontation between two armed parties. Besides, 95% of guys out there are grossly incompetent, and will liely move along in a day or two anyway. Go explore plan b for a day, forget about the dickheads, then come back and do your thing. They likely didnt get your bull, buck etc anyway.

that is exactly why it doesn't bother me much anymore.... they aren't gonna kill the critter i'm after, people that act that way are in some way desperate. i have had some weird people encounters over the years, but the vast majority work out ok..... it bugs me if someone shows up where i am and doesn't communicate, then tries to race me.... i will at least confront them, and put them on the spot, and go from there..... usually they have a completely different plan than i do anyways.... if they are hell bent on the same plan as me, they can have it, and it's probably not gonna work out for them anyways, that mindset doesn't coincide with doing good in the woods...... if i want a spot bad enough, i will be on scene before they can show up to race me..... half of the OTC hunting strategy is strategy dealing with other hunters..... there will always be "that guy" though