# Etiquette for hunting around tree stands and trail cams



## Honeydew (Sep 22, 2015)

I will start off by saying that I am not looking to start a conversation (argument) about whether or not trail cams or tree stands should be used or left in place throughout the hunting season. What I am interesting in hearing is what the etiquette is when hunting around said items. I hunt from the ground and don't use either and because of that I am unsure what the common code of conduct is when you run into either. I spend as much time as possible scouting pre-season (public land) but a fair amount of time when I go to hunt an area or water hole that I have been watching I run into trail cams, stands or both. My question is to those that use this equipment. If I come into an area that is set up this way and there is no one there can I sit the spot? A follow up to that question is, if I do hunt the area and the owner of the equipment comes in after me, am I obligated to move out? In the past I have just moved onto another area if I see equipment but it is getting harder to find a good water source that is not being monitored. I don't always have the time to hike out far enough to avoid someones set up. I don't want to ruin my day out or anyone else's by getting into a conflict. What are your thoughts on this?


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

Screw 'em. It is called public land for a reason. A trail cam or tree stand on public property is abandoned equipment not a ******g place saver. 
This thread -is- going to blow up for sure but the law doesnt say **** about keeping your spot for yourself if you put a stand or camera on it.

Having said all that, is it really worth taking a chance that someone will kill you or shoot you if they get mad enough?


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Your tax dollars pay for your opportunity to use public lands, you may hunt it as you see fit.


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

I don't hang a tree stand to save my place. I don't put a camera to save my place either. I hang both in places that very rarely if ever have a human walk by. If you found my stand and were sitting there I'd be 100 percent fine with it and i would go hunt elsewhere that day. If you found my stand and cam and decided to vandalize or take it down I'd understand but not be thrilled about it.


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## Billy Mumphrey (Sep 5, 2012)

I don't see a tree stand or a camera as a reservation on a hunting spot. I think it's first come first serve, but that's just my opinion.


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## phorisc (Feb 2, 2011)

I wouldn't feel wrong about sitting a waterhole that had an empty treestand on it. If they showed up while I was sitting the water hole they should be the ones feeling like their intruding...

As many have posted its PUBLIC land, he doesnt own that plot of land because his treestand is posted there. Now if I were placing a treestand and saw a empty treestand already nearby i'd probably consider posting mine elsewhere.


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## bekins24 (Sep 22, 2015)

I agree with everyone who has posted on here. Public lands means just that... Everyone can use it. If I were to leave a stand or camera out somewhere then I know that it is a risk that I am taking to leave it there. If someone were to take it I would be pissed off about that but I wouldn't be mad to find out that they were hunting in the same area. Respecting the property doesn't mean you have to give way and let them dictate where you hunt.


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## dham088 (Jan 11, 2015)

I agree 100% and I don't know that I've ever come across another hunter that feels a tree stand, blind, or trail cam reserves the spot as theirs. I would be disappointed to hike in and find someone in my stand, but I would back out and respect that they were there first. I'll be interested to see if this does blow up that way.


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## mjensen1313 (Jul 29, 2015)

lunkerhunter2 said:


> Screw 'em. It is called public land for a reason. A trail cam or tree stand on public property is abandoned equipment not a ******g place saver.
> This thread -is- going to blow up for sure but the law doesnt say **** about keeping your spot for yourself if you put a stand or camera on it.
> 
> Having said all that, is it really worth taking a chance that someone will kill you or shoot you if they get mad enough?


I've thought about getting some trail cams to put out...your post however is why I have not to this point.

After reading all the posts it seems you are the only one with the tendency to 'blow up for sure'

That said, I don't personally consider either abandoned unless they have been left for extended amounts of time and even showing being weathered and beaten just by the elements. If a stand has been up in a tree for years, looks horrible/broken, etc.. I would probably take it down to clean up the area. But a well-kept stand and/or camera is not my property so I'll just leave it be. If I'm in the area hunting well before them, I agree with others, they would be the one intruding. I'm not sure anyone on this forum would consider a trail-cam or stand a 'standing reservation'; however, I could be wrong...


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## Old Fudd (Nov 24, 2007)

Say it Again.. If you Trying to find a place to put down a 15 ft trailer and a 10x10 Springbar tent. You drive from Salina Creek to Spring City Horseshoe and any spot that is a spot or was a spot>> has been taken. SQUATTERS Since May. Never moved.. Public Land does that give me the right to hook up and move the trailer or haul A-- with it. Which I would never mess with other peoples stuff. Call the Manti Forest sevice office, AAA it's an on going problem and not alot we can do.. So We Drive 200 some miles and end up in Cedars>> Sage Brush and the Heat.,And not alot you can do? OK!!


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## Honeydew (Sep 22, 2015)

Thank you for the responses. I have zero interest in messing with other peoples property. Legal practice is legal practice, end of story. If I see something off I will contact a LEO and if I have an opinion on what should be legal I will voice it in a survey or public meeting. I am only concerned about what other hunters feel is common courtesy. I have only had one experience running into someone that had a camera set up. We bumped into each other at four in the morning dropping into a small canyon. I knew there was a camera set up in the area and asked the general location he was going to hunt so I didn't step on his toes. He was hunting elk and I was hunting deer. We exchanged info on where we had seen game and went along our merry way. I rarely get a change to talk to equipment owners...therefore the question.


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## goonsquad (Sep 15, 2010)

Common courtesy to me is first come, first served. I hunted a water spot this fall that had a camera on it. The hunting party came in, I introduced myself and told them where I was setting up my blind. 
They weren't exactly happy but they moved on.


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Every day is a new beginning. And I agree that first come first served. Anyone on public ground that thinks differently is mistaken.


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## elkfromabove (Apr 20, 2008)

Honeydew said:


> Thank you for the responses. I have zero interest in messing with other peoples property. Legal practice is legal practice, end of story. If I see something off I will contact a LEO and if I have an opinion on what should be legal I will voice it in a survey or public meeting. I am only concerned about what other hunters feel is common courtesy. I have only had one experience running into someone that had a camera set up. We bumped into each other at four in the morning dropping into a small canyon. I knew there was a camera set up in the area and asked the general location he was going to hunt so I didn't step on his toes. He was hunting elk and I was hunting deer. We exchanged info on where we had seen game and went along our merry way. I rarely get a change to talk to equipment owners...therefore the question.


From the tone of your posts, it looks to me like you've answered your own question! And not only for yourself, but for many of us as well! Thanks!

It makes absolutely no sense to me to get into a confrontation with a fellow hunter about occupying a particular spot at a particular time when there are hundreds of other places we could occupy and other times we could occupy them. Individually, I no more "own" a spot on public land than the person who sets up a camera, stand or blind and visa versa (And that goes for the animals as well.) and to think otherwise could lead to trouble.

Several years ago, I was physically checking out some likely funnels (per GoogleEarth) for deer and elk, when I came upon a guzzler at the end of a rough road. There was a camera set up and a blind. There was no note on the camera, but there was a note on the blind stating the owner's phone number, so I called the number and it turned out to be my pharmacist's number, camera and blind. I asked of I could hunt the waterhole and since neither of us was necessarily after a particular trophy, he was more than happy to allow me not only to hunt the guzzler, but he said I was welcome to use his blind any time he wasn't using it. Since then, I've been the one to set up the blind and he's now the one who shares it.

I've been there when other hunters and ATVers have shown up and I've only had one hunter who got off his rig to check it out after seeing the blind. And when I waved to him from the blind, he waved back and promptly got back on his ATV and left. Afterward, I got to thinking about it and wished I had motioned him in and had a chance to meet him and make some kind of arrangements for him to use the blind when I wasn't using it. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've set up the blind before archery season and taken it down after for the last 4 years and I've never had it messed with or taken/stolen. I don't think there's very many hunters who are prone to disturb other hunters.


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## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

I believe that leaving a blind or camera does not reserve a spot for a person, but have had the unfortunate experience of people thinking such-- multiple times. I'm not much to sit anyway, so it has never caused me to argue over their "claim".

There are many posts on these sites which complain someone hung a tree stand over a water hole even though there was already a tree stand there. Best story I know of comes from a buddy who hung his stand and then someone else hung a stand over the same waterhole. My friend decided to get there early, so he slept in his stand (belted into the chair). When he woke up the other stand had a hunter sitting in it. haha 

Respect others, expect the same.


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

elkfromabove said:


> From the tone of your posts, it looks to me like you've answered your own question! And not only for yourself, but for many of us as well! Thanks!
> 
> It makes absolutely no sense to me to get into a confrontation with a fellow hunter about occupying a particular spot at a particular time when there are hundreds of other places we could occupy and other times we could occupy them. Individually, I no more "own" a spot on public land than the person who sets up a camera, stand or blind and visa versa (And that goes for the animals as well.) and to think otherwise could lead to trouble.
> 
> ...


I think most hunters are a heck of a lot more cooperative and civil than the few who get all the comments on here.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Ya I mean no need for etiquette. We are all out there after the same thing and have equal rights to each step we take on public land. This morning I took my oldest daughter out deer hunting and was stoked to find no one at the parking spot. We hung out and shot the breeze until close to shooting light then headed off. 5 minutes down the trail my daughter says "Hey dad there is people right there" I look back and two hunters are literally following us down the trail. While I thought it was odd they would just be following us I decided to make the most of it and we cut off the trail down a gully and let them continue on. (Use them as pushers) It worked and we had an exciting encounter with a doe at about 15 feet that never knew we where there (Would have worked better if it was big ole buck). Maybe we pushed them a deer or two? Ive been setting cameras for awhile and only seen one person on my camera and my thought is that if I saw too many people on my camera I would just move it to another spot and let them have it if they like it that much. Plenty of places to hunt out there..


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## Huntin8 (Jul 15, 2013)

Sound like everyone is pretty much in agreement for once. If I wanted to hunt a spot that had a stand or a camera and nobody was there, I wouldn't have a problem hunting it. Only problem is you don't know if the owner is going to come crashing into the spot at shooting light.


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

Just a common courtesy to hunt another location, but not required. I know it's happened to me before - you show up to your spot and someone else is there or they hung a stand (built a blind) at the same place as you.

USFS rules are technically you have to move your property after 14 days. That's the only legit requirement...


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## Sawbillslayer (Oct 24, 2013)

I have actually had other hunters sit in my tree stand. Doesn't bother me at all I move on and hunt somewhere else. My brother, dad, and I have about four or five tree stands up every year and use them to rotate areas so we are not putting pressure on one area constantly. One of our tree stands sit on a very well known wallow and I find another hunter in it almost every year. The other tree stands I have never seen another human being in those areas. The only reason we even set one up on the known wallow is because we have had great success out of it and so have other hunters.


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## Old Fudd (Nov 24, 2007)

Manti>> Skyline Drive Area.. If your local you put your trailers down in May.. The rest of we poor guys that head that way to camp and hunt 14 Days and a ticket.. We had a local guy from Fairview. drive into R camp and ask us to move because he had been doing a family get together there for 40 years. We had been there for 4 days archery hunting Elk. Still had 10 days to go,.Told him we were staying. You talk about one PO'ed 72 year old cowboy.. This makes me wonder what would have went down if we had been out hunting?


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## CaverSpencer (Oct 13, 2015)

I am getting into this thread late and haven't read all the responses but it does appear they are many from people without stands. I figured i should chime in from the stand hunters side of things. My dad gave his ladder stand to my son this year and it is our first year with one. We also got a few trail cameras. 
We tried to find a spot without much human traffic for both. If someone is still hunting and walks through our spot no big deal. If you start messign with my stuff I am going to get a little upset. 

I was sitting in my stand a few weeks ago and watched a still hunter come through, he got to the base of the stand looking in the direction of my trial camera and stopped, you could tell he knew something was off about the area, I am not sure if he spotted the camera or not, then he saw my ladder and looked up. He apologized which I did not feel was needed, he did nothing wrong and I felt just as bad about interrupting his loop. 
My opinion of the whole thing is to respect things. I don't own the spot, it doesnt bother me if a still hunter walks through. But if you come across someones set up or stand do whatever you can to not leave you scent there, don't mess with there stuff. I am not sure I would feel good about sitting nearby either, unless it was a spot I was looking at. I am not going to take advantage of someones hard work at trying to find and scout that perfect spot. I didn't do the work to set it up so I am not going to mess up what they did. 

Water holes on the other hand are free game. If you are setting up on a water hole you should probably expect company. That is why I try to find travel paths instead and do what I can to sway the animals along the path I am watching on the way to that water hole.

just my 2 cents.


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## CaverSpencer (Oct 13, 2015)

3arabians said:


> Ya I mean no need for etiquette. We are all out there after the same thing and have equal rights to each step we take on public land. This morning I took my oldest daughter out deer hunting and was stoked to find no one at the parking spot. We hung out and shot the breeze until close to shooting light then headed off. 5 minutes down the trail my daughter says "Hey dad there is people right there" I look back and two hunters are literally following us down the trail. While I thought it was odd they would just be following us I decided to make the most of it and we cut off the trail down a gully and let them continue on. (Use them as pushers) It worked and we had an exciting encounter with a doe at about 15 feet that never knew we where there (Would have worked better if it was big ole buck). Maybe we pushed them a deer or two? Ive been setting cameras for awhile and only seen one person on my camera and my thought is that if I saw too many people on my camera I would just move it to another spot and let them have it if they like it that much. Plenty of places to hunt out there..


agreed, especially on the camera thing. I put up cameras to learn patterns and what is there when I am not. If i see a lot of hikers or hunters I know thats not my spot.


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## CaverSpencer (Oct 13, 2015)

Sawbillslayer said:


> I have actually had other hunters sit in my tree stand. Doesn't bother me at all I move on and hunt somewhere else. My brother, dad, and I have about four or five tree stands up every year and use them to rotate areas so we are not putting pressure on one area constantly. One of our tree stands sit on a very well known wallow and I find another hunter in it almost every year. The other tree stands I have never seen another human being in those areas. The only reason we even set one up on the known wallow is because we have had great success out of it and so have other hunters.


I did this as well. We got our two deer on the extended then I posted the offer on a facebook group to tell someone else where it was at. It took a lot of work to haul that thing up there, might as well others use it.


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