MD public land etiquette

[scorpaenichthys]

I'm visiting a friend in Maryland next weekend. We have a spare day to kill, so we decided to do a late season whitetail hunt. Plan A is to saddle hunt a chunk of public land that my friend has scouted. Plan B is to still hunt the same area if nothing's moving by mid-day. This particular chunk of public is an island. Access is by boat only, which limits hunter density. I would expect we can still hunt without bumping into too many folks, and that we could give anyone we do see a wide berth. But I've never hunted whitetail, and I've never hunted anywhere where tree stands are the norm. All my hunting has been on the west coast, where we just kind of expect to bump into other folks on foot.

Obviously public land is public land, and I'd be within my rights to still hunt it. But I don't hear about folks still hunting whitetail a lot, and I don't want to be a dick if there's some unspoken rule/expectation about it. So my question is, is still hunting public land whitetail frowned upon out east, or just not that common? And would you have any qualms still hunting public land during firearms season?

 

[Mosby]

I would not have any qualms about hunting public land during firearm season. Nothing wrong with still hunting either. Some areas can have a lot of laurel and that can be difficult to walk through...especially quietly. Hard to see anything too which is why people tend to hunt out of tree stands in those areas....at least that's what I do.

 

[Yoder]

I wouldn't worry about it. Especially if you are doing it mid day. The season has been open a while. If anything you would be doing guys a favor by possibly bumping some deer. If you are still hunting, you are moving slow and being quiet anyway. I hunt in PA and the only time I wouldn't do it is opening morning.

 

[Ope]

I agree, I wouldn't worry about it. I've never ran into a problem while still hunting on public here in Va.

 

[Swamp Fox]

If you slip around outside the mid-day period, let us know how many people you piss off.

Although it would be interesting if you piss off anybody mid-day, too... LOL

I would love to have people push deer around for me if I were doing an all-day sit on an island. How likely that I would still be in the tree at noon in January in Maryland is the stuff of fiction, though. People up there might be crazier than I am, though.

Shortcut: If there's a time to stomp around mid-day and me be semi-okay with it, it would be post-Thanksgiving.

Outside mid-day any other time of the season, it's bad form. And mid-day early and mid-season can be prime time to sit a stand when you wouldn't want to be walked in on. So, in eastern whitetail hunting, to "give people a wide berth" once you've busted in on them or to "just kind of expect to bump into other folks on foot" is no bueno.

Good luck, good hunting and safe travel.

 

[loganwayne]

Another option depending on how big island is and how many people you bump into. Make a plan with them and do a drive and slit the island so both groups are the pushers vs standers