Ladder stand forest

[AMonroe]

I’ve been scouting public land and I’ve seen nothing but ladder stands littered across the majority of the property. Although I’ve never used one, my question is if another hunter uses one of these stands. It can’t be considered personal property right?


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[WI in the west]

Id guess its a state by state basis so you should just call and ask, or mention what state your talking about so you get better info

 

[Btaylor]

I’ve been scouting public land and I’ve seen nothing but ladder stands littered across the majority of the property. Although I’ve never used one, my question is if another hunter uses one of these stands. It can’t be considered personal property right?


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If you set up a stand, hunt the morning, go out for lunch and come back for the pm hunt to find someone in your stand would you consider it your personal property? Have you considered how you would handle that situation? Have you fully considered to what level you would be prepared to escalate such a situation or respond in kind? I have just never seen the rational justification for climbing someone else's stand but that's me.

 

[Macintosh]

In my state it is ILLEGAL to use an unmarked stand regardless of who owns it, and I think it may even be illegal to use another persons stand. I have a hard time thinking you'd get dinged for it, but technically it may be illegal and you never know--best to check regs in your state. Also, hunters here are required to have to have name and address clearly readable on the stand, and on most public land have to take their stands down a couple weeks after the season is over, cant have them up until a couple weeks before, to avoid having a stand left in the woods be a "territory" that one hunter claims, or for the stands to become unsafe litter left in the woods that prevents others from accessing the area as they might have otherwise. If your state has similar regs it may very well be that you are seeing stands illegally left in the woods, which really galls me since they are essentially claiming an area outside the rules that are set specifically to prevent any one person from claiming an area on public land. I think leaving stands up like this outside the hunting season is really lame and truly inconsiderate.
Personally, If its a spot I like I usually call the hunter if the stand is marked and just touch base--never had anything but a good response to this--although I've never asked to use their stand, I have often been told that they only hunt the rifle season and that outside of that time they definitely wont be there, and so I've hunted nearby a couple times if the location is good. once I talked to a guy who was clearly going to be using it a lot, in which case I probably didnt want to be there anyway. However, I would say 95% of the stands I find are completely unmarked and most appear like they've been there for a couple years. I mark them on my gps and more or less ignore them unless in-season I see a car or some reason to think it is in use--9 times out of 10 those stands when I find them dont get used much (or at all), and I have yet to see a person using one of them. I saw a great idea (maybe here?) that I've been using for a couple seasons. I now will hang a fallen branch on the ladder or steps, so if someone uses it they have to remove the branch. That way if I go by again and the branch has been removed its likely someone is actually using the stand at least occasionally. If I'm hunting an area and know there is a stand there I'll be real careful not to screw up someone else's hunt, but since so many of these are just abandoned around me that most times they just get a careful look and then ignored once I can determine no-one is in it.

 

[cross timber]

I do feel your pain. The public I have hunted seems to have ladder stands multiplying. It is against the rules to leave them out more than 7 days past season but people leave them out year round. As frustrating as it is I don’t hunt out of them. They are usually in awkward places and I’d rather hunt out of my own mobile setup anyways. But I don’t feel bad about hunting within eye sight of another stand when I know it’s been there for years and it’s not supposed to.

 

[wind gypsy]

My experience in MN is ladder stands on public get left up illegally more than they are legally used. Most sit for years unless taken down by authorities.

Per the OP, if there are ladder stands spread across the majority of a chunk of land, the people who put them there shouldn't be able to defacto claim a spot and I dont think putting another stand in the same tree or the one next to it is an improvement over just using the existing stand. I see nothing wrong with sitting in someone elses stand if left on public but one doing so should also be ready to be civil and de-escalate if necessary if the owner shows up.

In MN, the USFS lands allow folks to leave stands out all season but they must come down out of season. The WPAs/WMAs dont allow people to leave stands out overnight even. So if someone is seeing stands out of season on public I'd have little regard for "wronging" anyone by sitting in them.

 

[wind gypsy]

We typically have 1 ladder stand on USFS land that gets 1 or 2 sits a season. I would be unhappy if I came upon someone using it due to the additional pressure on the spot but I wouldn't hold it against the person or even ask them to move.

I'd feel different about it if it were a hang and hunt and I was just down for lunch for an hour but i don't know anyone who hang and hunts with ladder stands.

 

[Macintosh]

Agree^^. I think the regulation regarding name and address ont he stand is where I make that determination. No name/address, its an illegal stand, end of story--I have no qualms. Name and address, legal stand--I aint bothering it. I have never had occasion to set up nearby to a legally labeled stand that looked like it was likely to be used anytime soon, but I guess condition of the stand would tell me--its fairly easy to see how fresh the marks on the tree from climbing steps are, for instance, so I'd determine whether to hunt in the area based on that. If it looks really, really fresh, then in most cases I'd likely move on. That could get hard early in the season though... You're heading into a spot you've scouted during the early afternoon on opening day of archery season (oct 1) and find a stand near where you had intended to set up that looks like it's pretty freshly hung, possibly that day...is it a guy who set it that morning and will be back in an hour for an evening sit, or is it a rifle hunter who hung it yesterday and wont be back until mid november? To me that's the harder situation to make a solid call on what to do.

 

[LWright]

I’m in Iowa and in my part of the state I see a ton left year round. I’ve never set in someone else’s but like someone already said I drop a pin at the location. I’ve seen the DNR confiscate a few that have been left past the allowed time. The DNR left orange tags at the base of the trees to let the owners know how to get the stand back. Lately I’ve seen more and more trail cams, it’s almost like you can’t get away from them.

 

[AMonroe]

So far in Oklahoma, there is no specific regulations on tree stands. The local rule from what I understand was to remove after season. But the area is somewhat remote so no one really checks. I’m pretty sure these stands are mostly for gun season. After mapping out the stands to avoid other hunters, I realized the stands are all setup in which you cannot enter or leave the area without possibly blowing someone’s hunt. I’m not interested in using a ladder stand, better yet someone else’s. I was curious on how you could resolve a situation if someone was on a stand they did not put up. I do need to figure out which ones are abandoned to find a safe route in and out. I’m not a tree hugger, but seeing these stands all year around just makes the woods look like a junk yard. On my last trip a couple of weeks ago, I finally saw what could be an adult buck in velvet. I watched as he peeked out of the wood line with another buck and checked out where one of many ladder stands stood. He eventually came out and weaved a route behind all the stands. This guy is still going tactical in June!


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[MallardSX2]

Retrofit your latter stand to make the the bottom 5 rungs removable......

At a minimum it keeps the fat asses out of your stand. Trust me.

With a mig welder, chop saw, and some scrap lawnmower blades it only takes about an hour....

 

[Lowg08]

I just don’t use others stands. I leave stands at random. Once a lock on and twice a climbing stand but only during during season.

 

[timekiller13]

It’s public property if left on public land. If the stand is in a good spot and it’s safe/sturdy and I get there and no one is hunting it then I will hunt it. But 99% of the stands I find are in crappy spots. Most people ain’t hauling a ladder stand very far. I’ve found lock on way back in the woods, but i won’t sit in a lock on for a million bucks.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

In texas it is illegal to leave a stand of any sort overnight on public land.
I have property in OK and didnt know you could leave stands on public land. I try to be cognizant of any hunters around my property, but fortunately i don’t have a lot. And i am a ways away from any public places in OK.

 

[49ereric]

Find the ladder stand sites and look for cover @100 yards or more off and sit there on a stool with a cushion. Deer gets spooked by someone in the stand at some point they will avoid that site and perhaps walk up to you.

 

[ArrowForester]

It’s public property if left on public land. If the stand is in a good spot and it’s safe/sturdy and I get there and no one is hunting it then I will hunt it.

If I park my truck on public land at the trailhead, and it’s in good/safe condition, should I expect you to be driving it when I get back from my hike?

 

[Brillo]

I try not to think about stands and empty beer cans left in the woods illegally because my blood starts to boil. Instead I bring a trash bag to clean up and send stand coordinates to my local authorities. Not much else to be done. Obliviates will always be with us.

 

[timekiller13]

If I park my truck on public land at the trailhead, and it’s in good/safe condition, should I expect you to be driving it when I get back from my hike?

As long as it’s not a Chevy, then you dang right I will drive it.

But that’s a bit of an apples to oranges comparison there now isn’t it.

Public hunting land is first come first serve. People that put up stands often times see that as “claiming” their spot. Sorry, that’s not the way it works. Whoever gets to a spot first is who gets to hunt it.

I’ve hunted out of someone else’s stand 2x on public land. I’ve left stands on public before and I know others have used them. No harm no foul. I left a climber one time and found it on another tree with a note taped to it that said “You can see better out of this tree.”

 

[Macintosh]

point youre making is good--a legal stand left in the woods inside the allowable window is not public property and many states have laws allowing them to be left like that, and even regulating other people using them. Other states prohibit this or have restrictions on it. Regardless, a better analogy for the actual situation I and others have routinely found is: "If I find a 1994 kenmore in the national forest parking area, can I do my laundry there?"

To me, a stand that isnt legal in the first place due to not being marked with owners name and addy, left for a couple years while the straps rot and the whole thing gets torn apart by the growing tree, that's useless garbage left illegally in the woods that are mine too, and is nothing short of littering--the majority of stands I find aren't getting used at all, either that or the owner is carefully replacing the cobwebs and leaves and sticks fallen onto the stand after every use. Frankly, even before the stand is too rickety to use, that's literally the exact same thing as dumping an old washing machine in a pulloff.

but hey, I drive a chevy, so what do I know.

 

[ArrowForester]

I agree, the parked truck is not the perfect analogy but it’s a lot closer than “apples to oranges”. Truck or tree stand - both personally owned pieces of equipmen. Leave a stand legally and I expect it to remain unoccupied just like my truck. Leave either illegally and I expect it to be reported, ticketed and/ or towed/removed.
When I park in a public area I know full well that Joe Public can park right next to me or just across the lot. If I left a stand on public hunting land I know full well that Joe Public can put a stand in the next tree over, or sit against the base of the tree my stand is in. I don’t feel like I have claimed the hunting land around my stand just like it doesn’t become my parking lot.
If I go out to hunt and somebody else is in the same location I will steer clear and let them enjoy their hunt, can’t imagine thinking I could run them off because I had a stand in the area. But if they are sitting in my stand I will ask them to please stop using my equipment.

Furthermore, where does the liability fall? If you judge my stand to be safe and climb in who is responsible when the strap breaks? Do you blame me and try to recover medical expenses? Do I blame you for breaking my stand and try to recover damages?