Camping in someone elses camp!?

[JRMiller]

If i was just backpacking i’d say its public land go for it, but if its hunting season id’d get a ways from it as they obviously will be hunting in that general area and you’ll be competing for the same animals.
Best case they bump some towards you, worse case they ruin your stocks

 

[TheGDog]

The Golden Rule - "Do onto others, as you'd have them do onto you."

 

[corey006]

I would set up between that camp and where the Elk are....

 

[eyeguy]

I would set up there if it was a good spot. That way I dont disturb other ground and flora. If they show up I would offer to move and I would only burn their fire wood if I was wet and hypothermic and needed it for my health.

 

[5MilesBack]

Someone's in my spot right now.......and I can't head up and set up camp until they're gone! We are set in our ways.......but this is why I'm more anxious about my camping spots than the actual hunt itself. The hunt is easy.....getting the right camping spot......not necessarily. But when you're very high functioning autistic, OCD, ADHD, AAA, and analytical as heck.......these types of things can really throw a wrench into things. OK, I'm not that bad.........unless I am.

 

[Savage99]

Plan to go in a week ahead and do this exact same thing. Cut up wood, clear the site, maybe stash water, etc. We plan to go back in the day before to hopefully claim it, but aware we might have to make plan B.

It’s a good spot, so someone may beat us there… If someone is there we may chat and see where they plan to hunt and make a decision from there as to where to go.

I wouldn’t camp there if it was obvious someone just came in recently and set it up. The caveat is in a survival situation, but… that’s not what we’re talking about. The post that said do unto others nailed it.


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[WoodrowCall]

I generally agree with this... BUT, just to play devil's advocate, what are the odds that the outfitter shows up and claims it is his hunting area and tries to intimidate you out of the area? A lot of them seem entitled to an area of public land... which can be the reason that DIY hunters develop a distaste for outfitters.

Playing devil's advocate here doesn’t do anything but continue the outfitter vs DIY conflict. There is always a chance the other party could do the wrong thing after you tried to do right by the situation. Happens every single day, not just hunting. That doesn’t mean we should be the first to do wrong, because of a chance they may act like that. If they were to come in and act unruly, disrespectful, and aggressive then I would change how I approached that particular situation. But we can’t just blanket assume they will come in and try to intimidate.

An old saying comes to mind “Two wrongs don’t make a right”…..

 

[rideold]

I would set up between that camp and where the Elk are....

Nah, I'd set up on the other side of where the elk probably are. Let the big noisy camp drive them your way....wake up the next morning with them bedded down outside your tent door

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I personally would avoid it. And if someone asked me if they should camp there, I’d tell them go ahead as it is public land and the previous campers clearly took the “ leave it better than you found it” mantra to heart.

Hated seeing tons of RVs, tents, “kitchens”, ground blinds, tree stands, etc all staged and prepped for the upcoming hunting season here in AZ. Outfitters and DIY hunters doing their part to claim their territory on public land. And all are technically abandoned…

 

[butcherboy]

I’ve been on the receiving end of someone taking my camping spot. I had tents, shelters, tables, water jugs, a couple of vehicles all set up. I left for about 2 hours to scout and do some fishing. When I came back someone had set up two tents right in the middle of my camp! I walked over and asked them to politely move over a little ways. They became angry and said that this was where they wanted to camp. I became a little more aggressive with them moving over to the other side which was about 100 yds away. They moved begrudgingly and the next day some wiser members of their group came over and apologized for the others. Apparently, they came up later after this all occurred and heard the story and promptly set things right the next morning which I really appreciated. Things were great after that.

 

[Helge23]

This past week I spent four days scouting a unit for deer and elk. When i arrived to spots we had found on OnX, I realized this spot was someone's designated camp spot. What I mean is I found multiple meat racks, hitching posts, split firewood, fire pits, even multiple toilets(wooden box with toilet seat). So my question is what do you do if this is the area you found elk? Do you set up camp and use it?

Like the others stated, I'd avoid the spot but find something close by where you can still access the area you want to hunt within reason.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Do unto others rings a bell......Find a nearby area and if you run into those fellas, let them know you respectfully left that spot even tho you planned to use it. It will go along way and possibly deter the "who set up camp right near us" situation.
Only an idiot would burn their wood.

Exactly!

 

[Grzybow]

I’d go find a different spot……..even if it isnt too far. Not worth the confrontation for the limited time i get in the woods.

 

[HOT ROD]

I would never camp in sum one else spot go find Ur own.... This is the problem with todays society its all about me screw the other person...

 

[Lelder]

I would get away from that camp because in my experience if it’s an outfitter there is probably going to be LOUD nights of drinking and hunting taking a back seat. Let them push the elk to you when they leave there camp hungover and late lol

 

[Rock-o]

What happened to leave no trace??

 

[wyoguy]

If its public and they aren't there I would use it, there are places like that everywhere in the mountains who knows when they'll be there or if they allready left. There are meat poles in camp sites i put up years ago and have never been back but they're still there, I've cut and split wood and left it there for the next guy.

Let me know where it is so i can use it 2nd season before you . I might of already used it a couple weeks ago, or maybe plywood shitters in Colorado are a thing at all campsites because i saw a few.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I would choose a different spot, out of sight and out of sound of the camp you found. I sure wouldn’t use their firewood.

I had a camp set up in a wilderness area last year during bear season. When I got back in the afternoon, some people from the Baltimore area had come in and set up two tents 80 yards away from mine (I used my rangefinder). We were in a big opening and there was not a tree between us. It sure took away from my camping experience.

 

[Red Letters]

You couldn’t do that with just about any other activity, concert tickets are going on sale and somebody comes early and sets a chair up to reserve a spot then goes home until its time for the tickets to go sale and there’s a line a mile long. Restaurant, theme park, race track…whatever, arbatraily reserving a spot on public land seems sketchy as hell. Should be first come first serve, but I wouldn’t try and root them out of it just because it could only go one way.

 

[Life_Feeds_On_Life]

I feel like a lot of assumptions are being made here that it's an outfitters spot. I say if there's no tents/trailers camp there. I've camped at plenty of places with cut wood, meat poles and even toilets nearby and never once have I had a person try to tell me it's there's. In my experience primo spots on public land often have these sort of "improvements" just from people frequently camping there. I know I've left piles of wood I split never expecting it to stick around after I leave.