Ground blinds and public land

[dylanvb]

So today is CO Antelope opener. I was driving along in a unit I could hunt that’s otc. Came across a good size buck, circled back and parked my truck on the other side of the hill where he was out of sight and I had good wind. Now when I circled back around is when I noticed the ground blind probably 300 yards from where the Antelope was bedded. Seeing as if anyone was in the blind their scent would have blown straight towards the buck I figured no one was in it. Long story short, buck spooked when I was 130 yards out and never had a shot but my question is was I in the wrong for hunting where a ground blind was without confirming anyone was in it?

 

[Traveler]

There has to be more to the story if you are asking the question…

 

[packer58]

In my opinion there are two scenarios in play here ......

1) There was a hunter in the blind and you wrecked his hunt

2) there was no hunter in the blind and you had a failed stalk

Personally, with that ground blind in place i would have to absolutely confirm someone is not using it at that time before putting any kind of move on that antelope ......that's just me ...

 

[Crowmangler]

When you say ground blind, do you mean one of those like a little tent you buy or just some brush that's been piled up?
If it was the store-bought kind & you can't see if there's anyone in it or not I'd probably move on but that's just me.
If it's piled up brush you should be able to tell if there's someone in it if they're wearing orange.

I have made ground blinds out of brush & used others I've ran across on public land but I always put a blaze orange beanie or something over it to make sure someone knows I'm there.

Either way it's public land & technically you'd have every right to make a move on it.

 

[dylanvb]

There has to be more to the story if you are asking the question…

No more to it, just was conflicted because I couldn’t confirm if the blind was being used or not. The buck never got into range of the blind. Moved out to maybe 400 yards of it when I was about 130 from him. I Guess it’s not too big of a deal but it was just the scenario I came across yesterday.

 

[Yoder]

In my opinion there are two scenarios in play here ......

1) There was a hunter in the blind and you wrecked his hunt

2) there was no hunter in the blind and you had a failed stalk

Personally, with that ground blind in place i would have to absolutely confirm someone is not using it at that time before putting any kind of move on that antelope ......that's just me ...

3) Some guy was claiming the spot with his ground blind on public land.

 

[packer58]

3) Some guy was claiming the spot with his ground blind on public land.

Valid point for sure, using a tree stand as an example ....... it's just a tool to facilitate a method of hunting. If nobody is in the blind or treestand for that matter it would be reasonable and ethical to assume you go right ahead and hunt that area without wrecking someones hunt. Iv'e run into this situation more times than i can count in N/W Nevada during archery antelope, once the draw results are out guys are headed for their water holes with ground blinds and or using existing pit blinds that have been out there for ever. They simply attach a note of some sort indicating the day or days the blind will be used for hunting purposes. It's basically an unwritten rule and is a generally except-able honor based method.

 

[dylanvb]

Thank you for the feedback as I am still new to most of this ground blind hunting. I definitely don’t want to wreck someone else hunt so next time I’ll take some more precautions to make sure no one is in there. Again I’m 99% sure no one was in there

 

[Rich M]

No harm no foul. Keep hunting.

 

[rob86jeep]

No more to it, just was conflicted because I couldn’t confirm if the blind was being used or not. The buck never got into range of the blind. Moved out to maybe 400 yards of it when I was about 130 from him. I Guess it’s not too big of a deal but it was just the scenario I came across yesterday.

1st. You mentioned the blind was 300 yards of the antelope with is defiantly within range for some hunters.

2nd. Was there someone in the blind? Seems like a strange question if you saw an antelope and blind, decided to stalk the antelope due to local conditions but weren't successful, and are not asking if you made the right call.

If you stalked the antelope but weren't successful but did interrupt someone else's hunt, why are you second guessing your decision now?

 

[dylanvb]

1st. You mentioned the blind was 300 yards of the antelope with is defiantly within range for some hunters.

2nd. Was there someone in the blind? Seems like a strange question if you saw an antelope and blind, decided to stalk the antelope due to local conditions but weren't successful, and are not asking if you made the right call.

If you stalked the antelope but weren't successful but did interrupt someone else's hunt, why are you second guessing your decision now?

1st It’s otc archery season. If you can hit an animal at 300 I’m gonna question what you’re shooting it with. Im also just guessing the range because I didn’t go to the blind and range it to where the buck was. I was never in view of the blind and the buck was feeding away from the blind not getting any closer to that area.
2nd I asked the question considering I’m new to this hunt and was wondering what other hunters would do in this situation.

 

[dylanvb]

1st. You mentioned the blind was 300 yards of the antelope with is defiantly within range for some hunters.

2nd. Was there someone in the blind? Seems like a strange question if you saw an antelope and blind, decided to stalk the antelope due to local conditions but weren't successful, and are not asking if you made the right call.

If you stalked the antelope but weren't successful but did interrupt someone else's hunt, why are you second guessing your decision now?

I also went back to the same spot yesterday and can confirm no one was in the blind. Both times. I was just curious to what you more seasoned hunters would do. After all this is a learning game and since I’m still new at it I’m going to ask all the questions

 

[lak2004]

If no one was in it, you can use it on public land. Thems the rules.

 

[dylanvb]

If no one was in it, you can use it on public land. Thems the rules.

I didn’t use the blind, had my own decoy on my bow. But this does answer another question I was trying to get answered so thank you

 

[wyogoat]

I know a lot of guys who put the blind out a few weeks early so the antelope get used to it leading up to the season, myself included. I accept the fact that someone may use it. Sounds like you did everything you could but just because there’s a blind there with no one in it doesn’t mean those antelope are off limits. Now if someone was in it and you could see their vehicle or whatever then different story.

 

[wytx]

The fact that you're conflicted about messing up someone hunts speaks about your character.
Personally I would try to determine if anyone was in the blind and if so stay clear, if not then hunt the area.
They don't get to reserve their spot but I wouldn't mess up a hunt if they were sitting in the blind.

 

[dylanvb]

Yeah, I went back to that area yesterday and can confirm that the blind wasn’t being used due to the fact that when I started my stalk the first day I was the only truck out there. I was just conflicted at first because I truly don’t want to intentionally mess up anyone else’s hunt. If I would have seen a truck in the area of the blind I would have moved along.

 

[loganwayne]

Yeah, I went back to that area yesterday and can confirm that the blind wasn’t being used due to the fact that when I started my stalk the first day I was the only truck out there. I was just conflicted at first because I truly don’t want to intentionally mess up anyone else’s hunt. If I would have seen a truck in the area of the blind I would have moved along.

not having a truck in the area doesnt always mean there wasnt someone there. I know deer and Antelope are different but when we hunt out of state there may 2-3 of us in the same truck and we will hunt in the same general area and get dropped off and picked up by whoever is the furthest from camp that day.

Ive had people walk in on me because of it but its part of the deal.