Peeved

[kodiakfly]

I would like to delete every thread about a particular unit.

I'm all for helping people, but not on an open forum.

That information stays out there for forever and changes the unit pressure in those spots for sure. Use the PM feature people

Kodiak.

Everyone's favorite place to hand out free info on because no one lives here so it doesn't affect them.

 

[MTHunter20]

I think you have to go with your gut a little bit and common courtesy goes a long way. I still have yet to hunt out West, and have a gotten a ton of good info about gear and strategies from you guys that are out there doing it. That's what makes this place so great. But I would never expect someone to give more info on their spots. Especially with a low post count and activity. Also agree pms are definitely the way to go if you're going to give detailed info out. And it's just common courtesy to be grateful and follow up with anybody that gives you advice.

I think if I got one of those obvious "fishers" asking for info, I just might have to send email on a goose chase lol.

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[SheepDogRob]

I totally get being irritated by folks who are not committed to the site but, there are those like me who have only been members for a few months but in reality, I'm on the site every day. Haven't posted a bunch but I also get a lot of my info from my local pro shop and friends who hunt. We were all newbs to the site at one time.


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[orionsbrother]

It's not a matter of not helping someone. It's a matter of posting something up about a specific area for untold numbers of people to latch onto. Vette people how you wish. If they go bad on you, maybe they bring a half dozen to a dozen people to the spot. Post it openly, way more than dozens can flock into one spot.

 

[orionsbrother]

And respect the information that is shared with you. It kind of cracks me up when I've had guys start asking me about an area that my buddies brought me into. Some will actually get pissed when I tell them that I can't talk about the area because it's my buddy's spot, not mine.

 

[Gumbo]

I would like to delete every thread about a particular unit.

I'm all for helping people, but not on an open forum.

I've read a couple times on these forums where one of "my" specific spots was promoted. Really bummed me out, I spent years learning one of these areas for mule deer and then I saw some DB posted it, named "my" specific drainage with relatively tough access and said there were "lots" of mature deer and sheds, in a general Montana unit. I haven't been back since...but I will. Fortunately I like to explore and have lots of spots scattered across the state for muleys, antelope, and my elk spots are growing too. Anyway, I don't really blame the folks asking, especially in PM, it is the guys who TELL them in a thread where to go. Every time you give up "your" spot, or "a" spot, you are also giving up someone else's spot too. Fortunately, a lot of people that do share this stuff don't really know what they are talking about any way, and those that are asking on a forum thread probably don't have the skills/motivation to make it come together anyway.

But hell yeah, deleting these threads would be AWESOME!

 

[elkguide]

It's one thing to name a unit, like most states F&G Departments do but to name a specific drainage?????????????

Why would anyone do that unless they were never going back and wanted to spite someone else. Just ridiculous.

 

[sneaky]

I think you have to go with your gut a little bit and common courtesy goes a long way. I still have yet to hunt out West, and have a gotten a ton of good info about gear and strategies from you guys that are out there doing it. That's what makes this place so great. But I would never expect someone to give more info on their spots. Especially with a low post count and activity. Also agree pms are definitely the way to go if you're going to give detailed info out. And it's just common courtesy to be grateful and follow up with anybody that gives you advice.

I think if I got one of those obvious "fishers" asking for info, I just might have to send email on a goose chase lol.

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What part of TN are you from? Born and raised in SE TN myself.

 

[Superkodiak38]

I am planning on a trip out west next year, been a dream of mine all my life. If I wanted to have someone tell me where to hunt and when I would hire a guide. That being said, I am going with a friend I trust, who has experience in the area, hopefully he can cut my learning curve a little bit but I want to LEARN and EARN what I get to see, get close to and hopefully kill. He has as much invested in where we hunt as I do. I do not want to "cheapen my experience" or take a short cut, but those are MY standards. Anyone who takes the time to share any information with you, it should be appreciated. Little things guys who hunt out west take for granted as common knowledge might not be as common as they think for an easterner. I have picked up some precious nuggets in the subtext, it's out there if you look for it. I agree those guys who post once in a while or show up a month before the season starts with some sad story and try and bilk info out of the kinder folks who identify with them only to get taken advantage of sticks in my craw too but it's everywhere some people want as much as they can get while doing as little as possible to get it.

 

[sasquatch]

saw a guy once offering elk/deer info for Colorado in trade for turkey info in Kansas. Told him specific areas!!! Then I asked for pointers in Colorado for elk/deer. The reply I got was, to make a long story short, was "look for areas away from roads and check the harvest reports"

 

[Kevin Dill]

I try to be as specific as possible without getting really specific about exact locations. I mean...I go hunting to escape human contact and to have (hopefully) good hunting. It should go without saying that putting out info which leads people to directly compete with me is counterproductive. This is why I am absolutely never going to be found asking someone for their specifics. Even if someone told me 'go to x coordinates and have at it' I would be concerned about affecting their hunt quality. They would need to convince me it's a non-issue for me to go in there. Generally I consider anything narrower than a GMU or zone to be a pretty good start. Heck...I want to go hit Arizona exclusively for high desert mule deer on a completely solo diy basis...and yet I can't bring myself to ask for the inside track to a location.

I know the internet is the great reference encyclopedia of our time. Of course some guys see the forums and websites as their source for info...puzzle pieces...which eventually lead to the completed picture. Some guys want the whole completed puzzle given to them up front and they're just short-changing themselves. Anyone can catch fish if they park over the school and use the right bait. It's the process leading to that which is missing and it's the difference between a guy who goes hunting and a guy who is a complete hunter in all respects. Maximum satisfaction for me comes from knowing I'm responsible for all aspects of my hunt, including the research and 'social work' (not social media) that may help me decide a good place to begin my hunt.

 

[Ben]

I've received and given information. I've even mailed someone maps of an area with notes and x's that I used to hunt but have since moved.

 

[5MilesBack]

Public information really does blow, even if it isn't specific. One of my OTC units was mentioned in Huntin Fool one time.....I didn't know that. I showed up to hunt and I had no idea what was going on. It was like someone brought up busloads of people and dropped them all off to scatter across the unit. This is an area I had hunted a lot, and had never seen more than a few camps within miles of mine. That year, people were making camps literally on the road. I counted 93 vehicles one day. I packed up and left after one day of attempted hunting. It wasn't until about 6 months later that I was talking to someone and they told me that Huntin Fool had done an article that mentioned that unit. That's just mentioning a unit without specifics.

 

[Historybuff]

Wow, I understand the frustration of the guys who put the blood, sweat, and tears into their units and areas of choice. That being said haha. I certainly have a ton of questions being new to western backcountry hunting. I've read every forum and post on hunting dating back to 2010, I've google earth, read multiple books on bear and elk(about a dozen). I've read maps and squeezed all the info I can out of podcasts with aron Snyder on them. Dumped a grand on kifaru and taking advantage of the firstlite sale this weekend as well. So a guy coming out of state does put a lot of work in, just not boots on the ground. I've hunted all my life in Nebraska big game and Wyoming antelope and have never laid eyes on any thing in Idaho. But I'll be there in the spring hunting out of my backpack for a week chasing bears. Guess my point is that I see both sides. So a big thanks to the gentleman sharing knowledge and really sorry to the guys that are peeved. I would love to answer any questions by a pm, about hunting and fishing Nebraska. Thanks guys.

 

[MTHunter20]

What part of TN are you from? Born and raised in SE TN myself.

Cool sneaky. I grew up in middle TN near Franklin but I'm in Giles County now. It's changed a lot here since I was a kid.

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[IdahoElk]

It's one thing to name a unit, like most states F&G Departments do but to name a specific drainage?????????????

Why would anyone do that unless they were never going back and wanted to spite someone else. Just ridiculous.

F&G is now giving out specific drainages. Last season I had three different out of state hunters pm me about hunting the same area recommended by F&G,this area use to be very good,last year there were hunters everywhere.

 

[philos]

I have been on both sides on this issue as well and have been burned on occasion. I play it close to the vest even with good friends if I know they hand out the information to others too readily. I had one friend that actually took a relative stranger to spot I told him of. While we are still friends I will be less likely to share information with him on things like this in the future. He did not see this as a problem probably because he is too trusting to others and assume this guy he hardly knows will not tell other friends of this spot. Sadly you cannot have blind trust in others you do not know very well and even then you must use good judgment.

On the other hand I have been given very good general information for which I was very grateful. I will absolutely not repeat or share such information as I have worked hard to be responsible and deserving of such trust from others. Frankly I would not expect exact details such as GPS coordinates but more info like "look to the southwest part of the unit near so and so river".

Unfortunately there are info mongers everywhere but don't think all new members are like this. If you have concerns but still want to help make that person give them you their name and phone number-that way they are more than a screen name.

I remember a local hunt/fish magazine that did an article on a fishing spot that few non locals knew of. I hate they did this as it is too well known now. I was a bit surprised that a magazine would do this.

 

[JollyRoger]

Good thread. As a local guy who lives in a 'great western destination state' I have some pretty strong feelings on this matter. For me, if you're coming from out of state, you do the same thing I do. Scour the maps, read up on the animals, make a plan and a few back-up plans and then go do it. The only difference is I can put boots on the ground all year, but that doesnt necessarily mean squat. After not having any luck for the first two weeks I went to a totally new area in the unit, basically starting with zero information.

Decide what time of year and what animal and method you want. Use the F&G website to see what's available that meets your criteria. Google earth those places to see what looks good. If I was heading to another state or Canada that's what I'd do combined with read up on the blog posts and see where the guides are operating.

I'm not going to be a jerk to anyone from out of state should I run into them in the mountains or on the forum. But, as a newer 'serious' hunter I"m in the same boat as the out of state guys and I'm making it work one learning event and failure at a time.

 

[the_bowhunter]

I've always come at it with the attitude of trying to help as many people as possible because only a few people will actually take you up on the offer. I've talked to a few guys on here about hunting an area that I know very well. I told them that i would let them know about specifics if they asked about certain areas. Sure enough they started naming a few areas that they had scouted that were some of my best places to hunt and I let them know that haha. If they are going to go to the trouble of hunting those places, I'd rather someone hunt them right and have a good chance of killing something then just blowing the whole area because they didn't have any info.

I was bear hunting in New Mexico and was seeing more elk than bear. I stayed in for 3 days and when I got back to the truck, there was another truck with a nra sticker and camo in the back. Left my name and number on the windshield, and sure enough got a call later that day. He was scouting for elk and so I let him know about a few bulls I had seen in the area. I shared my coordinates where I had camped and sent some pictures of the glassing areas I had. I had some guys help me out in finding the area so I figured it was the least I could do to help someone else out.


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[R_burg]

As a new guy, I try not to hit too many people up directly asking questions as I feel like I am stepping on toes, but I do love to talk to people with experience. Its why we are all here (at least I think). I have had some guys be of great help on this forum, so thank you to all those people. I guess it goes without saying its easier to get people to PM you about gear than areas to hunt, but I have had people hit me up to discuss both.

I do wish it was a little easier to have those types of conversations. As I said I love to learn and talk to people. I legitimately am not looking for *your spot*, but helping me out with general areas to hunt in a unit, ingress/egress, camping spots, etc is huge. I take part in the forum and would hopefully be able to help others in the future. I wish some of you guys were local, I'd be glad to pay for the conversation by having it over some beers and picking up the check, haha... in fact I would prefer it. And to those that are local (I'm lucky enough to be in AZ), maybe that will happen eventually.

But I also understand where others are coming from, they dont want the spot they have hunted for the past 10 or 20 yrs to all of a sudden have a ton of other people hunting it, and its the internet, so you never really know.

To the OP's point, I would also be frustrated if someone joined just to ask for locations to hunt and I helped them, and then they never really took part in the forum. That is pretty shitty IMO.