distance between blinds

[mac]

on public land, what is the consensus on how far your man made blind should be away from others who have also used tree, limbs, branches to build their own spot ? the hot spots seem to be just a few so I can see a bunch of hunters facing each other at 50yd distances !

[A Sportsman]

I think the details of the spot itself should dictate how you approach setting up in the area. For instance, if you are in big public woods that can be easily shared amongst hunters, you could just let him have the set up and find another area for yourself. If you are on a small woodlot somewhere, you may have no choice but to "share" that location with him. On long Island, this kinda thing is relatively common. I've never knowingly set up a stand/blind within 50 or 60 yards of someone elses stand. But twice in the past few years I've had people set up stands VERY close (within 30 and 20 yds, respectively) to me. Does it suck. Yes. But do I own the woods. No. I tend to camo the heck out of my stands. So who knows, maybe they didn't see my stands. When I hunt those stands, I get in wicked early. If the guy comes into the woods and I am there already, I win.

One thing to consider if you want to set up near someone elses stand, is perhaps you can determine what wind that hunter would like for that stand and try to set yours up for a different one. (I realize this may not be practical though).

Whatever the case may be, treat the other hunter with the respect that you would like to be treated with. If you run into him, talk it over.

[NYbuck50]

Its unavoidable on some state land.. I bowhunted one spot last season that i know a few other guys hunted as well.. I was in the woods about an hour before light each day i hunted there, and never had problems.. I talked to one of the guys who had climbing stick near my ladder stand late in the season and he goes,"what do you sleep in the stand? you beat my everyday!" We eventually worked out schedules so we could both get in there, but it never hurts to be the early bird

[A Sportsman]

Totally! If you know other guys could be hunting in a particular spot, you owe it to them to at least get in early. It stinks when you are on stand and you have a guy walking under your stand at prime deer movement time.

[crappyice]

I hunt with the same partner all the time. When we hunt, especially with bow, we are often within 100 yards of one another. But, we ae hunting together often trying to cover one area completely. as opposed to you trying to hunt near someone from another group or another single. That's much harder since you don't know wha the knows or has seen. You may pick a spot far enough away from him but select an area that he was purposely leaving vacant. All that being said, if its state land, first come first serve.

[growalot]

With that many ppl hunting close...do you guys ever worry about shooting "the Big One"....to find some one else gutting him on recovery?

[sits in trees]

Hot spots on public land all tend to change when hunting season starts and hunters are stomping thru the woods, so it doesnt pay to be too close to another hunter just to be near a perceived hot spot, especially during rifle season. Deer tend to take a day by day approach once they realize they are sharing the woods with humans...

[WNYBuckHunter]

My version of a hot spot on public land, is the spot with good sign and no other hunters near it.