Oh damn. There is orange ahead

[Doc]

So you have gone a long way out of your way to get the wind just right to set up a stretch of ground you intend to still-hunt through. Now you have the wind right in your face where you want it and you're starting to slow right down to a super careful, slow, still-hunt at a painfully slow pace. You have hours invested approaching this favorite area from the right direction and have had your still-hunt in progress for another hour or so. Then all your cautious scanning brings up a flash of blaze orange way out ahead in the area you wanted to hunt through. What is your next move? Do you continue to move along ahead at your normal still hunting pace, guaranteed to piss off the hunter while you slowly sneak through the area that he is trying to hunt? Do you pick up the pace so as to not be lingering around the area that he is trying to hunt and hurry up to get by him? Do you just hang a hard turn and get the hell out of his hunt completely, but wrecking the hours of set up that you have invested in setting this all up. It may even be a rare wind direction that is perfect for this area. It becomes a case of how much damage to your own hunt you are willing to incur in the name of trying to hunt with the maximum amount of etiquette to preserve the hunt of others. It also becomes a question of what reaction on your part will cause the least disruption to the other guy's hunt. It's not a rare happening in some of the more densely hunted areas of public land. What do you do???

[Steve D]

I just try to skirt around them with a watchful eye to see if they see me. If I know they see me I let them know I see them with a simple wave and keep moving. You would be amazed how many times you can walk by unnoticed. It never fails to amaze me how many don't have a clue.

[Bigfoot 327]

Depends on what the guy ahead of you is doing. If he is also still hunting move 100 yards to the left or right (depending on the cover) and continue your hunt. You will see deer that he moves. An amazing number of deer will simply move out of the path of an approaching hunter and circle back after the hunter passes. They will concentrate on him and be inattentive in your direction. In addition, most still hunters move way to fast- he's probably going to walk away from you and leave you in the dust anyway!

If the guy is on stand then you need to skirt the area he is in and continue on.

[Rattler]

I'd stop where I am, use the binocs to be sure it's a hunter, then stay right where I am for a good while to see if the hunter stays put or moves on.  Chances are they won't stay long, and I can just continue on after they have left.  They might even push a deer to me that's downwind of them.

If they stay for more than an hour,  I'd approach them until they see me and see if they want me to leave or are willing to talk.  I often get useful info from other hunters I run into and many don't mind the conversation after a long time alone in the woods.  On public land you expect to see other hunters and they really aren't messing up your hunt if they just pass through, as deer are used to people passing through all areas on public land all the time.

[grampy]

Anytime one hunts public land, they must expect and accept the fact, they are likely to encounter another hunter. This is true of the hunter sitting, or still hunting. The ethical hunter will always go out of their way to treat the other hunter, like he would like to be treated.

The still hunter should change course and give the sitting hunter a wide berth. The sitting hunter will hopefully see the moving hunter move out around him. And hope a deer gets pushed to him.

Both hunters then continue their hunt, with the least amount of disturbance from the other.

[ATbuckhunter]

Id try to circle around him at a good distance. I actually would do it so he would see me and not shoot in my direction. I might even bump some deer to him. 

[Water Rat]

Exit stage left

[Doc]

What I have done in the past is simply to pick up the pace and get by him as quickly as possible and when out of sight I resume my painfully slow pace and finish out the original hunt. I have had it happen to me before where I was on stand and another hunter comes through still-hunting. They can spend an hour or more getting by you. That's all time that you can sit there freezing waiting for him to just get out of the area you are trying to hunt. I would really appreciate it if they would just increase their pace to a good brisk, fast walk and get out of the area. But unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. I know how much time can be invested in setting up a good still-hunt, so I really don't expect them to trash their day's plans and clear out of the area completely just because I am there. I just would like them to do their best to minimize the impact on my hunt and get past as quickly as possible.

[Merlot]

49 minutes ago, Doc said:

So you have gone a long way out of your way to get the wind just right to set up a stretch of ground you intend to still-hunt through. Now you have the wind right in your face where you want it and you're starting to slow right down to a super careful, slow, still-hunt at a painfully slow pace. You have hours invested approaching this favorite area from the right direction and have had your still-hunt in progress for another hour or so. Then all your cautious scanning brings up a flash of blaze orange way out ahead in the area you wanted to hunt through. What is your next move? Do you continue to move along ahead at your normal still hunting pace, guaranteed to piss off the hunter while you slowly sneak through the area that he is trying to hunt? Do you pick up the pace so as to not be lingering around the area that he is trying to hunt and hurry up to get by him? Do you just hang a hard turn and get the hell out of his hunt completely, but wrecking the hours of set up that you have invested in setting this all up. It may even be a rare wind direction that is perfect for this area. It becomes a case of how much damage to your own hunt you are willing to incur in the name of trying to hunt with the maximum amount of etiquette to preserve the hunt of others. It also becomes a question of what reaction on your part will cause the least disruption to the other guy's hunt. It's not a rare happening in some of the more densely hunted areas of public land. What do you do???

Book a hunt in Montana for next year.

[Nomad]

10 minutes ago, Merlot said:

Book a hunt in Montana for next year.

Our river bottom you may see two,other hunters in 4 days .

After  I  got home I went on a Montana hunting forum to,ask questions about the area , and how they hunt , I was asked why I would hunt such a high pressure spot ! Lol