I Don't get it.

[pikemaster]

I went up for the short 4th season elk hunt this past weekend. The trip was fun in all but had some things happen with other hunter I just don't under stand. Three times in two and half days we had other hunters sit and watch the same small areas that we were watching. These were small areas that we were hunting hoping elk would funnel through. all 3 times they sat with in 100 yrds of us, they all knew we were there ( little hard to miss 3 pumkins sitting in sagebrush). I just don't get why you would knowingly sit on top of other hunters like that, it wasn't like they were watching different areas that we couldn't see they were watching the same country that we were. It would have been real interesting to see what would of happened if an elk did show up. One thing I do know is I would have been the first one to shoot. End of rant!

[kevin_t]

I've seen 15 guys sitting same meadow before. I thought if an el came through a fight would break out

[Swede]

Approximately 15 years ago my friend and I were at a water hole, (the middle one Stringunner and his dad sat at this year) and were getting ready to hang our tree stand. We had hiked in an old logging road to get there. We had not been there long when a man and his wife came riding in on an ATV with their stand. I told them we were setting up our stand, so he said "that is OK, but I will be here too." I reminded him we were here already, so he tells me I will have company as he has no other place to go. To top that off he said, I could take my stand to a water hole back where he parked his pickup at the junction of the old logging road we were near. So much for that being the only place he could go, I thought. Anyway we left that place to him.
In a crazy bit of irony, another hunter killed a nice bull on opening morning where the intruder suggested I go, and the intruder never got anything that season.

[>>>---WW---->]

Hmmm Pikemaster! Did you ever happen to wonder if maybe the other hunters might be thinking the same thing about you? Not much you can do about it if it was on public land. They have as much right to be there as you do. But it sure isn't worth making a big stink about or fighting over.

Things such as this are why I bowhunt! Colorado is a big joke during rifle season unless you are on private land.

[pikemaster]

WW

Sure I understand that it is public land. But I would be hoping that there thought process would have been, Man there is someone here already lets move to the next valley or area instead of, hey look other hunters lets sit 100yrds from them and see if we can shoot quicker then them if something steps out. Guess I am just not that kind of hunter. If I walk into a spot and see other hunters I move on and find a different place.

[AmericanBwana]

Things such as this are why I bowhunt! Colorado is a big joke during rifle season unless you are on private land.

+1

My elk was taken on a RFW property. Other than that I avoid the sea of orange whenever possible.

[WapitiTalk1]

I call it the "hey mister" syndrome. "Hey mister, mind if I fish/hunt here"? I see it all the time in WA state on the rivers when the salmon/steelhead are running. Them buzzards will wade out right next to you and start casting their drift rigs out. It's ugly but seemingly, somewhat acceptable here. Years ago I had parked at a gated road on the WA penninsula during the early archery elk season. I finished gearing up right before daylight and was just heading in on the 3 mile dead end, walk in road (I was heading to the end of the road and would hunt a draw at the upper end) when I heard a rig pull in by my truck. I walked the 75 yards back with my headlamp on and observed 3 hunters unloading their mountain bikes out of the back of a truck. I waited until they were geared up and had pushed their bikes up past my truck to the gate and asked them "hey guys, what's your hunting plans back up the road"? I wanted to see where they would be going to and perhaps, we could all hunt this large area together and never even see each other. Their response was something like "none of your business" . I left and hunted somwhere else that morning. I felt like putting a dead skunk carcass on their engine block but discretion got the better of me, and, there were no dead skunk carcasses handy .

[>>>---WW---->]

Well RJ, there's always the old fresh cow paddy splattered all over the windshield trick. Did I say that?????? LOL!

[ishy]

We've had some of those warshingtonians put a bear bait on top of us. At first if was like O.K. they don't know we are here, but they put their bait 5 yards off the logging road we hike in on (they road the wheeler as far as they could go). So we politely confront them and address safety issues of walking through a bait site in the dark next time we see them. They do nothing...address them and second time and they agree to move it. Next time we are there they had moved the bait 100 yards past the first site and about 30 yards below the road which puts them closer to us. So courteous! They did finally confess after the fact they had pics of a 500 lb bear and they just couldn't bring themselves to move any farther knowing he was in the area. One in our group should have had him, but made a fatal mistake of trading seats with his son who was filming. You guessed it Dad missed his stool and the blind they were in went kettle over teapot. No bear, but great footage. Not sure he's 500 lbs. but you won't see any bigger spring bears than this guy. They got a 350 lber and comparing pics they figured he's all of 500 lbs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlVEbgqFGPg‎

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

It's strange. I hear these stories a lot, but have yet to have this issue. Maybe the lack of game has cut the number of hunters down to size here in Montana. Or maybe I just hunt hellholes... I will admit that when it comes to fishing I will run on 3 hours of sleep just to have the spot I want. I am also plenty willing to tell people I DO mind them fishing so near to me. When it comes to hunting though, I think I just hunt difficult spots, from unusual approaches. It keeps me free of the orange (mostly) and I generally know my area well enough to use other people to my advantage.

[ElkNut1]

Jarod, in a nutshell yes I agree with you, makes no sense at all that other hunters would not move on to a more safe & secluded spot. I know I would not camp out over an area that was already occupied, not a chance!

ElkNut1

[twinkieman]

I have had the same thing happen to me while deer hunting in a wilderness area in No. Cal., when I asked the other hunters why they would " camp out" right on top of another hunter. Their response was most times they did this, hunters would pack up and leave the area, getting the spot for themselves.

[Still Hunter]

As was said already. It might have been a spot they scouted, and planned to go to that day. They might have thought that you were in their spot.

I'm lucky being retired, and loving the mountains. I scout 300 days a year, and have 30-40 spots to hunt now. If I see another hunter I just head for another spot. Most of them are in wilderness areas, but not all of them. Switching to the muzzleloader season has helped a lot too. I won't hunt the rifle seasons anymore.

[Jaquomo]

Once I was guiding a guy on BLM (rifle hunting) and took him to a spot with a trail crossing a fence from adjoining private land. We were sitting in the open, against aspens, about 70 yards above the trail. After about an hour, two other guys showed up, acted like they didn't see us, and sat RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, about 30 yards away.

I was really hot and wanted to go sit 10 yards in front of them, but my hunter didn't want a confrontation so we moved to a different spot up the mountain. These are the kind of jerks who linger around and cut in line at event openings and buffets.

I think twinkieman is spot-on in his assessment. Whenever people cut in line somewhere and I'm around, even if they don't cut in front of me, I have words with them and make sure everyone else around knows what jerks they are. Sometimes they just ignore me (or look blankly ahead), other times they shrug and move to the back of the line. But I've never had anyone come back at me about it, other than an occasional "Hey, what's your problem?" To which I calmly explain that they, and people like them are the problem..

[easeup]

I don't get it either.

but I can guess that because they have made the decision to act in that way, they don't have a lot of to work with

[Indian Summer]

I don't try to get it. This day in age NOTHING surprises me. I think tv hunting shows are partly responsible for bringing every low life and desperate city slicker into our world.

I was sitting in a tree stand on the gun opener years back. Pa had just changed the season structure and for the 1st time hunters could shoot does during buck season. Use to be 2 weeks of bucks only then doe season. Obviously opening day was a massacre. Deer weren't spooky yet and any nimrod with a scoped rifle had a good change of shooting something.

These two guys come over the hill on the opposite side of a little valley I'm watching. They spooked 3 does bedded on the other side and the deer ran up my side and stopped directly under me. I was hunting bucks only. These guys wanted to shoot so bad but there was no way with me perched 15 feet above the does. They got so mad they started yelling at me and asking "what the hell is the matter with you why don't you shoot those damn deer?" Really??? I mean do you want to take a deer or do you just want to see them die even if some else kills them. WTF!

I never said a word and eventually they walked off the way they had come. 3 hours later I shot a nice 10 point buck standing exactly where those 2 knuckleheads were having their temper tantrum. ha ha

Lou I would have plopped my butt 10 yards in front of those dudes! Too bad for the passive client.

[JGH]

I've never had the trouble some of you have ...

My suspicion is that they "do it" because "it is effective."

I mean, instead of scouting, just know who the good hunters are ... better yet, know what kind of rig they drive and what kind of camper they have. Find that, and you're in business without any more work.

I've know guys who always seem to get big bucks and bulls ... "Where do they hunt?" is a fair question, but -- of course -- one that they'll never answer ...

But it is difficult to hide a full-size pickup, more so if it has a 5th-wheel camper attached!

Animals do this, too. My old dog will watch the young one digging a hole, and wait until the poor little ground squirrel or whatever is about to get caught, and then she swoops in and -- after Dog #1 did all the digging -- takes the prize!

So ... get "back to nature" ... and cheat!

(LOL)

[Trophyhill]

I hear your frustration. one of the reasons I started Bowhunting. if I know there are other hunters in the area I go somewhere else and hunt. if I see a truck parked near where I want to hunt I go somewhere else and hunt. the reason for plan a, b, c, d etc

[Swede]

A lot of times people think a hunter has a great area, but the truth is that he/she just knows how to hunt it. When the intruder goes in this "elk Mecca" he finds it is just another hunting place. Then the successful hunter is just considered lucky. I had a friend who claimed I could kill elk in the Safeway parking lot, and I hunted the stupidest places on earth. I had invited him to hunt my areas and put him onto my best spot. It was a waste of time for both of us to send him there.

[cohunter14]

If that happened to me, I would be furious. But honestly, I think it is even more of a reason to hike in farther from the roads. If you are over a mile off a road, chances are you won't come across this type of a hunter who is looking for the easy route. At least that has been my experience