Consensus on campers at trailhead??

[Jeffro]

We have been running cameras and scouting a certain trailhead all summer. Drove by yesterday on a day hunt and there is 2 tents pitched. Which I have no problem with as we camped there ourselves during the summer. However, we really want to hunt this drainage next week during our elk camp. This is prime elk country and obviously without talking to them, we have no idea if they are hunting the area or just camped in a nice saddle. I at least want to get in there to pull the camera out next week. Do you park and hunt it anyway or wait until camp is cleared out?

 

[HighUintas]

It's a TH and you have no way of knowing where they would actually be. I'd hunt it and be really courteous if you put eyes on another hunter or run into one.

 

[WCB]

Hunt it. If I didn't hunt out of trailheads because there was someone else their it would be hard to hunt at all.

 

[CorbLand]

Go for it. Its a trail head.

We hunted a spot that you could park at the main parking lot and hike in or ride ATVs up the road another couple miles, then hike from there. We got in there early one morning, and there were a couple tents and a camper. We loaded up the ATVs and took off up the trail. We came back to a note on the pickup saying something to the effect of "that we needed to be more respectful of people and its obvious that people were hunting that area so we needed to find our own area." We laughed at the note. Camping in the parking lot to the trailhead does not give you full rein of the 100,000s acres behind it.

If you have the chance to talk to them, it doesnt hurt to have a conversation of about their plans so you aren't tripping on each other.

 

[SonnyDay]

Agreed. Hunt it! Assuming it is national forest or some other public land... so it's (partially) your basin!

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Most trailheads where I hunt have WAY more than just one group camped/parked there during hunting seasons. Really courteous of you to ask though. Unless this is a very small piece of property I think you'll be ok, apply golden rule if you see others.

 

[Laramie]

By all means hunt where you want to on public land. I would refrain from walking through their camp though. In most cases it is pretty easy to circle around the camp 50+ yards away to get on the trail.

 

[Rob5589]

I'd hunt it. Hopefully you can have a quick conversation with them about the direction they plan to hunt and adjust accordingly.

 

[Olsolitaire1]

You camped there why can't they? As others say it is a trailhead, public land? Why do you have to have cameras there? I guess I don't understand that... Watching game there?

 

[grfox92]

Go hunt. My truck never seems to stop other guys from parking right next to me after I've been hiking in the dark for an hour.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[Rich M]

Funny how folks try to c-block everyone else. Go hunt.

 

[Billinsd]

Camping in the parking lot to the trailhead does not give you full rein of the 100,000s acres behind it.

Luckily I haven't experienced this yet.

 

[Jeffro]

You camped there why can't they? As others say it is a trailhead, public land? Why do you have to have cameras there? I guess I don't understand that... Watching game there?

I am not concerned with them camping there at all. Just curious as to how others would handle the situation of hunting an area along the trail. As I stated, they might not even be using the trail at all. Game camera is several miles down the trail in a saddle and used for observing different game in the area. Lots of wolves and cats in the in the general vicinity.

 

[fulltiltaudio]

We had some people camp in the middle of a closed road one year. Multiple days they actually drove away from the road to go hunt somewhere else. I was just out glassing and not even hunting, so decided I was going out the road anyways. Ended up seeing them down the road and they got mad thinking they had full reign of everything behind them, I kindly told them I would walk behind them until they got to the point I was glassing, then I would be staying there. They didn't like it, but I did it anyways! I talked to multiple other people in the area that said it was BS that they camped there to begin with and that the campers thought that everything should exclusively be there's just because they camped there, there was literally THOUSANDS of acres back there and multiple differently directions to hunt. That said, if I know for sure where someone is, I will avoid it if possible, but Trailheads for sure I would go in if other rigs were parked there, there is just to much country to not go! I agree on if you can find out their plan...but some people are pissy about that and lie etc anyways so that makes it tough too!

 

[EdP]

It is unreasonable to think that you have claimed the hunting rights to a public area because you have a camp at the trailhead or anywhere else in the area. Go hunt it. Be courteous but don't be intimidated,

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I'd burn their tents to the ground, find their mothers and curl their toes.

 

[Erict]

I try to take a picture of the vehicles/plates if sharing an area with others, just in case I come out to 4 flat tires, or something similar.....

 

[MuleDeerMike]

Trailheads are 100% fair game.

 

[Super tag]

For sure it’s fair game but I’d skip it, just my way, Id rather hunt where I’ve got the place to myself and don’t need to worry about blowing a hunt for someone else.

 

[Jeffro]

For sure it’s fair game but I’d skip it, just my way, Id rather hunt where I’ve got the place to myself and don’t need to worry about blowing a hunt for someone else.

This is how I approach it myself most of the time. I arrived at a spot 20min before daylight the other day on my dirtbike to find a guy I met last year already there. We chatted for 10-15min while both listening to the early morning woods chatter, no elk though. I loaded back up and proceeded on. He is a hard guy to beat to the hunting spot!!