Shameful

[Pilchard]

Have been at williamsport on the draw hunt the last day and a half and had a rough first morning. I got setup on a crossing with plenty of time before daylight and luckily didn't bump any deer on the way in. About 15 minutes before shooting light I had two adults and a youngster walk in behind me and by the time they saw my light flashing they were within 50 yards. Instead of turning around or continuing out the ridge they decided to sit down when they saw my light. Dad and son sat down immediately and the other adult went about 75 yards out the ridge and set up directly across from me in the hollow.

They effectively set up between me and where I expected the deer to come from and eliminated my ability to shoot safely in most of my field of view..

Fast forward 45 minutes and a deer pops out about 25 yards from the father and son and they shoot. They wait about an hour before they get up to look and their attempt to find evidence of a hit was pitiful... they looked for all of about 30 seconds before giving up and leaving the woods

Not upset that they walked up on me... stuff happens... but could not believe that they would sit down so close... and the poor kid thinks what they did is normal...

 

[hunter0925]

Sadly that is what a lot of people do. The animals we hunt deserve more respect than what a lot of "hunters" give them. Also the respect level shown to other hunters is pitiful.

 

[TreyB]

That is pitiful... if I had walked in on u, I would at least come sit beside u. :tu:

But seriously. I would have eased back the way I came and found somewhere else to hunt. Sorry I hear this. Public land can be frustrating.

 

[HuntingDicksonDTC]

The reason I don't put in for Williamsport anymore.Had same thing happen 2 years in a row.. guy came in smoking right at first light and sat down less then 100 yards away.

 

[catman529]

Saturday's are the worst on those Williamsport draw hunts. I've had a guy set up right across the holler from me one time as well. Elmer Fudds in the thickets mid morning, etc. most of my deer I kill out there are the 2nd or 3rd days especially the evenings. Did you happen to look for blood from their deer?


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[Pilchard]

Saturday's are the worst on those Williamsport draw hunts. I've had a guy set up right across the holler from me one time as well. Elmer Fudds in the thickets mid morning, etc. most of my deer I kill out there are the 2nd or 3rd days especially the evenings. Did you happen to look for blood from their deer?


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No, I didn't look although looking back I probably should have.

 

[larry ipock]

That's worse than shameful. That they set up on you, no apology offered, and then, after shooting, didn't even look for signs of a hit. I'm sorry 30 seconds does not qualify looking for signs of a hit deer. Makes you want to make enough noise that no deer would show up. Very sorry that it happened to you. We've all mistakenly blundered in on other hunters, always made my apologies as quietly as possible, and leave as quietly as possible.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

After a conversation I had today with several "hunters", I am left in awe at the idiocy among us. It is literally no wonder much of the general public sees hunters the way they do.


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[ImThere]

That's probably pretty normal. They don't scout so they just said hey let's park by another hunters truck and then walk in the woods till someone flashes us and just sit down.




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[FLTENNHUNTER1]

Sorry you went through this. The MAIN reason I bought my own land and glad I did.

 

[catman529]

Sorry you went through this. The MAIN reason I bought my own land and glad I did.

not every acre of public land is like this... I have access to some virtually unhunted private land, but I love the challenge of getting around the crowd and finding the deer on public land. It's not for everyone, and I'm glad it isn't, or the hunting would be even tougher. [emoji1]

And buying my own land is definitely one of my main goals in life, and I will gladly hunt and manage my own land someday. But I still enjoy the challenge of state land, for whatever reason.


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[ImThere]

Sorry you went through this. The MAIN reason I bought my own land and glad I did.

not every acre of public land is like this... I have access to some virtually unhunted private land, but I love the challenge of getting around the crowd and finding the deer on public land. It's not for everyone, and I'm glad it isn't, or the hunting would be even tougher. [emoji1]

And buying my own land is definitely one of my main goals in life, and I will gladly hunt and manage my own land someday. But I still enjoy the challenge of state land, for whatever reason.


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^^^^^^^^^ Don't believe him public land is horrible


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[FLTENNHUNTER1]

Sorry you went through this. The MAIN reason I bought my own land and glad I did.

not every acre of public land is like this... I have access to some virtually unhunted private land, but I love the challenge of getting around the crowd and finding the deer on public land. It's not for everyone, and I'm glad it isn't, or the hunting would be even tougher. [emoji1]

And buying my own land is definitely one of my main goals in life, and I will gladly hunt and manage my own land someday. But I still enjoy the challenge of state land, for whatever reason.


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That is a great goal to have Catman. You look young and have many years to work on this goal. I hunted public land exclusively for 30 plus years, never leased any land. Owning your own land is much better but also has it's challenges; i.e., trespassers and thieves to name a few. I have lost several game cams in my first 3 years of land ownership, but it appears to have stopped. I think one of the nearby landowners trespassed, saw the cameras, and cut the cables and stole them so I wouldn't catch them. Next time it happens I will invest in a cellular camera and let law enforcement handle it. I haven't had any issues for two years now, knock on wood.

The fun of having your own land is you can do whatever you want whenever you want, and even if I did not kill any deer at all, the freedom is worth the money in the long run. Plus, my land value has increased 20%, which is a plus, and you can harvest timber if it is available. I am thinking about a select cut in the next couple or years to open up the canopy for more security and browse availability.