Treestand placement etiquette on PRIVATE LAND???

[regulat0r]

I recently bought a house that backs up against a very large piece(42 acers) of wooded property. The property consists of wooded areas and 2 abandoned farm fields. I introduced myself to my neighbor/landowner and asked if i could hunt the property. He said I was more than welcome. i asked if any other guys had permission and he said NO. I scouted the property this afternoon and found 2 treestands on the property. One was a handmade wooded stand (this one looked it decent shaped and may have been used recently.) The other was an old hang on with an aluminum ladder tied to the tree. The hang on looked very old and like it had not been used for a while. I spoke to the landowner again and mentioned about my discovery. He didnt know anything about them and to be honest he didnt seem to care too much.

My question is...would it be wrong of me to set a stand in close proximinty to one of these stands? They are both in great locations (near funnels,field edges, food sources etc) If the land owner said other guys had permission then i would not think of it but if what the land owner has not given anybody else permission, technically these guys have no right to have stands there. Im not quite sure what to do. Any thoughts/advice would be helpful. Thanks!

[mxsmitz201]

Sounds like the landowner doesnt really care one way or the other who hunts his land.

Im in a similar situation. Neighbors are 94 yrs old, land isnt posted people been hunting it for years with no permission. I have permission and have since made it clear to other hunters ive run across that i do, luckily they seem to be understanding and havent seen them since or had any sign of other people back there.

So if it were me, and i was the only one with permission to hunt the land, id set my stand up wherever i wanted, regardless if those stands look like they are in use or not.

[PREDATE]

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So if it were me, and i was the only one with permission to hunt the land, id set my stand up wherever i wanted, regardless if those stands look like they are in use or not.

I agree. You could leave an FYI note in a ziploc bag and attach it to the stands.

Simply write that you're the only one with permission to be there and any trespassers will be reported. Whether the landowner will actually file a report or not, it should keep them from returning. You should also lock your stuff up if there are violators lurking around.

[Five Seasons]

leave a note. the question you should ask youself is "how would you feel if someone put a stand up near you". sounds like they're gun stands. might not be a big deal during bow?

in addition, if you're looking for exclusiveness, i'd recommened asking the owner if you can lease and that you will post it for him as well.

[outdoorstom]

leave a note. the question you should ask youself is "how would you feel if someone put a stand up near you". sounds like they're gun stands. might not be a big deal during bow?

in addition, if you're looking for exclusiveness, i'd recommened asking the owner if you can lease and that you will post it for him as well.

If I was trespassing, I guess I wouldn't have much to say about it!

I'd hang my stand in the next tree over and hope they show up when I'm there!

[Five Seasons]

If I was trespassing, I guess I wouldn't have much to say about it!

I'd hang my stand in the next tree over and hope they show up when I'm there!

im not sure they're tresspassing though if the land owner doesn't seem to care.

[Doc]

im not sure they're tresspassing though if the land owner doesn't seem to care.

That's the thought that came to me. These other hunters may know that the land is basically wide open to public hunting. They may not consider their hunting to be trespassing, and in fact the landowner may not consider it to be trespassing. If you begin hostilities and the landowner gets involved as a peacemaker, you may all of a sudden find that the landowner develops problems with hunters on his land. If he is not concerned about people that hunt on his land without permission, it probably is wise for you not to be concerned either.

[G-Man]

Set your stand where u want if you happen to see another hunter in the other stand, tell them you are the only one with permission as far as you know according to the landowner. I'd also lock your stand. You might find out it is another neighbor that hunts there knowing that the owner doesnt care or maybe they asked years ago and the owner has forgotton. Some times its better to make friends than enemys. You may need to recover your game from another property and it would burn the bridge before it can be built.

[mark3885]

Set your stand where u want if you happen to see another hunter in the other stand, tell them you are the only one with permission as far as you know according to the landowner. I'd also lock your stand. You might find out it is another neighbor that hunts there knowing that the owner doesnt care or maybe they asked years ago and the owner has forgotton. Some times its better to make friends than enemys. You may need to recover your game from another property and it would burn the bridge before it can be built.

exactly what i was thinking

[ATbuckhunter]

Like other people stated i would take down the one stand and bored up the other leaving a note to call you and you could talk or refer him to the land owner.

[RTF]

Like other people stated i would take down the one stand and bored up the other leaving a note to call you and you could talk or refer him to the land owner.

Ya OK, lets do that. NOT. I dont recall the land owner leaving him in charge to police his property. Thats the land owners problem. He only has permission to hunt the land. He informed the land owner of the situation and as clearly stated the land owner didnt seem to be too worried about it.

[bubba]

here is the funny thing. The land owner gave one guy permission. He did not give anyone else permission. Since the land is private it is trespassing if you do not have permission. It is not open public hunting land. I would sit down again with the property owner and get into specifics. Ask what do you want me to do if I find others there things like that. If the land owner truly does not care, and does not plan to follow through, move a stand else where and enjoy your hunting. Otherwise all you are going to have is headaches all season chasing away people the land owner is not going to do anything about. If the people go to the land owner and complain you are giving them a hard time, he may tell you to stay out. It is his land ask him what he wants. Otherwise give him a buck to lease it and lock it down.

[tughillhunter]

i wouldnt get involved hanging stands near the other ones. people can get vindictive. however, set one up in cover a fair distance away, and watch to see who shows, just to see if they actually are being used. But like others have mentioned, dont confront the other hunters. Go speak to the landowner. Wear orange! thats a sketchy circumstance, and its better to be safe then sorry.

[Five Seasons]

While he only gave one guy permission, when the hunter brought up the other stands the owner didn't seem to care. I think this is painfully obvious that the hunter shouldn't be self-policing the woods without consent.

Again, if it's good land I suggest you offer to lease it and post it for exclusivity. Offer a $100 and maybe some venison. That's $100 the owner didn't have before vs him just letting everyone hunt it for free. If he doesn't like venison, get some jerky, sausage or slim jims made up. Everyone loves those. My father and I do this for a 60 acre parcel that butts up to our 30.

Edited November 6, 2012 by Belo

[arrow nocker]

set your stand on the same tree.Facing the other direction.When the guy shows up just say in a freindly chipper voice."hey whats up bud.Just watching your back.you watch mine.Ok."Maybe they will just think you are crazy and leave.

[crappyice]

I know this is not the point but on 42 acres there must be other funnels, edges, beds, etc. for my sanity, I would be looking to avoid those stands since the landowner does not seem to care. I agree big time with the blaze piece. If these guys have been using this land as their own, feeling they are alone, they will not be expecting anything else walking in the woods except game. My guess is if they are willing to hunt property they don't have access to, they are not going to be overly concerned or conscientious about ethics and safety. I know that's a broad stereotype, but stereotypes happen for a reason..they are usually true

[koot]

The land owner made it clear he does not care who hunts there. It would be great for you if he did and allowed you to post the property, try tossing him a few bucks. Not sure I would go around throwing people off without the landowners ok, they may take it out on him.

[josephmrtn]

i'd leave a note for the other guys.... and DEFF lock you stuff at least untill you meet the other guy

[Doc]

I always consider that it is a first come - first served situation. If there's anyway that you can ascertain whether the stands are currently used, that would be a better way to figure out the answer to your question. Even better is if you can have a face to face talk with any other hunters that are using the land and work out some agreement.

Here's the deal, ask yourself what you would do if you ran into this situation on state land. When you have a landowner that just doesn't care, the same rules would apply as a state land situation or any situation on wide open land.

[WNYBuckHunter]

koot is gonna dig up every old post on the site today lol

[Doc]

koot is gonna dig up every old post on the site today lol

Yeah, I recognize some of those ...... lol. Actually I can understand how some of the new guys might have missed having had a crack at some of those oldies-but goodies. We have had some good ones. Maybe it's good to have a brief break from some of the Cuomo/Obama gun-grab subjects, as long as we don't let those slide too far into the background. Actually, as the next elections get closer, I'll guarantee that I will be doing my best to resurrect some of these gun law threads .... ha-ha-ha.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Oh I agree, i just thought it was funny