Public Land Ethics

[MuleyFever]

Interesting read. In this day of forums and everyone asking for help it is good to remember there are ethical and non-ethical ways to use that knowledge.

http://www.grandviewoutdoors.com/big-game-hunting/public-trust/

 

[Jason Snyder]

I agree completely with Bob Robb. I quit hunting with a good friend over differing views on this subject.

 

[5MilesBack]

IMO if someone is going to share their knowledge, then it's no longer private knowledge and it's open to public use and ethics really don't apply to that. That's why I'm pretty secretive about locations.......even general areas, and also techniques and strategies.

 

[Jason Snyder]

So you don't think ethics apply to our own personal actions? Private knowledge or not, if you don't respect someone enough to respect the place they shared with you then it doesn't speak very highly to your ethics and/or character.

 

[timberland]

It makes it hard not to go solo all the time. If I can't find anyone to respect the time and effort to find these spots either fishing or hunting, I would rather be by myself and take selfies to show them later.

It took two years for a friend to find the stream I am catching 20-24" browns, but at least now we can fish together. He has did the work and appreciates it more, so now if he does pass out the info, there is nothing I can say about it.

 

[realunlucky]

Knowledge is like money if they earn it themselves very less likely to just blow it.

 

[kpk]

Different ways to look at it. If everyone carved out their own "spot" on public land eventually "spots" overlap and people get pissed off because now someone took their go to killing hole. I've gotten pissed off about family friends tromping through the woods a week before gun season to find my treestands though. On two occasions I've walked out to a stand to have my hunt blown before I even climbed up. Once there was a truck parked 30 yards from my stand on a field edge, the other time someone was actually sitting in my stand. However, I won't hesitate to let a friend that's having a rough year sit in my stands during peak rut.

For me it really comes down to who you're dealing with. I've killed enough big bucks that for me it's equally exciting to help a friend get their first big buck or even their first deer.

 

[MattB]

I completely agree with Bob Robb, and I will flatly require that of people that I take into or tell about some places I hunt. Only once have I been burned - after telling a friend about a place so he and his younger son could hunt together and then reading about that spot from him on the internet a few weeks later. Thanks goodness he didn't work hard enough to get in far enough to where the hunting got good and then complained the hunting in that area sucked.

 

[xziang]

I've been burned on some public areas before for both deer and waterfowl. Sad but I won't take some people to some locations I waterfowl at due to the word getting spread out. Loose lips sink ships and some people are more apt to talk than others. I've taken a friend who recently got into bow hunting to one area I hit and I've made it perfectly clear that the area is not to be shared with anyone, Not even family members for all it takes is one person to let the information out and it spreads like wild fire.

Funny for my Dad always knows where I hunt but didn't tell mom before for fear of her telling people. She has finally gotten wise and just says oh he hunts all over. Sucks when you hunt an area for 10yrs and one person can ruin it by posting it on the interweb.

 

[back country]

I agree with the author's comments. Just because someone lets you in on a honey hole of theirs doesn't mean they're extending the invitation to come back whenever by any means. Just my opinion but only going back with them, or at least once having obtained their permission, is the courteous thing to do. The person extending the invitation and knowledge will probably want to continue hunting that spot as well, and even if they don't plan to, I would think it unlikely that they wouldn't care if the spot became overrun with hunters and the game eventually gets pushed out due to much more traffic in the area. With great power comes great responsibility.

This type of situation is one that can easily turn one hunter against another, or one group against another, and such situations can only further the destruction of the hunting community from within. The phrase that we are our own worst enemy rings true in regards to this stuff I think.

As mentioned already, knowing who you're sharing the info with and how they will respect it will go a long way towards keeping the area a secret or exposing it, but then again people are very predictably unpredictable.

 

[bbrown]

Agreed - took a "buddy" into an area once and on the drive back into town he had to call into work and I hear him telling a coworker exactly where we just came from. Sad part is he did not understand why I was so pissed. Last time I took him into any of "my" spots.

 

[ChrisS]

I won't post location information online. Absolutely not. I've done the bushwhacking to find out if the pond or lake holds fish. I'm not going to spill that info so that every tom dick and harry with an internet connection can leave their trash all over the place. Then again lazy people are lazy people. For every forum member that replies to a thread, there are another 40 that read it, and another 1,000 that find it from a google search. If someone is looking for information that may be general or good basic info to know (is it loaded with birdwatchers or is there a back road - it sucks hiking in 3-4 miles to find out that there's a road 1/2 mile from where you planned on hunting), I 'll respond in a PM. Secret sometimes just means keeping the yahoos out.

This is something I've learned from a very young age. When I was in 8th or 9th grade, I got access to a farm pond that had 18-24" rainbows in it. I let word get out and within a few weeks, a guy and his (extended) family was at that pond every night getting shit-faced and filling up their buckets. I hunt whitetails at a buddy's property with a few other people, but I don't care there. I don't expect much privacy and only look to harvest a few does for the freezer quick so that I can concentrate on finding the big bucks on the expansive public land that no one wants to walk 5 miles to see without being guaranteed something.

 

[MuleyFever]

I have been burned by taking my own brother to my spot. Next thing I know he is taking others there.

 

[5MilesBack]

So you don't think ethics apply to our own personal actions? Private knowledge or not, if you don't respect someone enough to respect the place they shared with you then it doesn't speak very highly to your ethics and/or character.

I'm saying that if someone is willing to share all their secrets on an open forum, then they aren't secrets anymore.......they are public knowledge and fair game. Now if you know someone that takes you to his spot and shares that with you, then yes, you absolutely had better keep the trap shut. I don't really consider that ethics either, more like "an ass-beating prevention methodology".

I made that mistake several years ago. I took a buddy fly fishing to a spot that my dad and I had been fishing since I learned to walk. He blabbed, and now I haven't been back there in over 10 years because everybody and their brother has been in there since.

Just keep the trap shut and all is fine........no need for ethics there. My wife doesn't even know where I hunt. Is that unethical?

 

[eLightfoot]

I don't even like to mention what wilderness I hunt. Give no information.... I had a coworker heckle me about a location and all I told him was how many miles I was in and what direction. He went home and got his map out and started scaling it to find the potential location lol. Then you have to give misinformation to throw them back off. Its the cell phone pics that get tossed around too. My buddy killed a huge buck and I sent the pic to a couple people. Months later I was out of town at a BBQ and showed the pic to a guy I was talking hunting with. He proclaims, " yeah I've seen that one". I was like..... WTF?

 

[Johnson27]

I agree with Bob Robb. Keep your mouth shut. If a friend shows you a spot, do not go there without asking them first and don't tell the world.
Last week I purchased an elk cart from a local hunter (getting up there in age and slowing down) and we started talking about whitetail hunting (ILLINOIS - go figure). We discussed how he hunted in 5 counties and 20-30 stands a year and how I had 1 small 15 acre area to hunt that was 6-7 miles± from his house as the crow flies. He asked who owned the property and all I would give him was the general location, once I did that, he said he respected that and asked if I wanted to see something. Him and his wife took me into their home and showed me the greatest trophy room I have ever seen (granted I have not seen a lot). I spent over an hour talking hunting and LIFE with this family. My birthday was the day before and it was a terrible day due to work. This made up for that and more. My wife was getting concerned since this was a Craigslist deal, but once I told her the story, she was happy this made up for a bad birthday.

I realize this a long way to get to my point, but last year my best friend took me elk hunting for the first time. During a divorce his now ex sold a bunch of his hunting gear and "misplaced" a bunch more, including key parts to an elk cart. I bought this cart and plan to give this to him this year while we're hunting again. Some of my friends have asked for specific locations, coordinates where we camped, etc... And all I will tell them is Colorado. Take care of those who trust you and keep your mouths shut!!!

 

[NDHunter]

Good read for sure. It's amazing how many people will just babble on and on about a spot you showed them.

 

[orionsbrother]

I'm saying that if someone is willing to share all their secrets on an open forum, then they aren't secrets anymore.......they are public knowledge and fair game. Now if you know someone that takes you to his spot and shares that with you, then yes, you absolutely had better keep the trap shut. I don't really consider that ethics either, more like "an ass-beating prevention methodology".

I made that mistake several years ago. I took a buddy fly fishing to a spot that my dad and I had been fishing since I learned to walk. He blabbed, and now I haven't been back there in over 10 years because everybody and their brother has been in there since.

Just keep the trap shut and all is fine........no need for ethics there. My wife doesn't even know where I hunt. Is that unethical?

Same here. Hunting my buddy's area, my wife didn't know where I was. I told her that if she needed me, to call my buddy's brother, that he'd know where to find me in an emergency.

I don't care much for the gum flapping crowd, but I have a particular disdain for the entitlement crowd...I explained once that we're hunting my buddy's area and I can't/won't talk about it. Asking me again won't change that. Badgering me only pisses me off. Cajoling, bargaining, demanding, it doesn't matter. The answer isn't changing.

 

[njdoxie]

100% agree with Bob, very well said

 

[trdhunter]

I agree on most these points. But there are times on a hard to draw limited entry tag or someone from out of state wants some ideas on where to start the search. I will not give coordinates or honey holes, but try to offer general help or give someone a enough info so that if they are inclined to do their own research they can avoid some dead ends.
I used to not ever think of helping people at all, but after receiving some info on a limited entry hunt from a few guys who told me "chances are slim Ill ever draw again so might as well help someone else have a good hunt."