Rant - What happened to respect for other hunters???

[ztc92]

I understand that hunting public land in the west generally means you will be near other hunters but I was always taught to keep your distance and avoid ruining opportunities for other hunters who may have gotten there first. Apparently some hunters never received this teaching, or chose to ignore it tonight just to piss me off.

Tonight I hiked my ass off to get up to a ridge top by 4:30 PM so I could glass and hunt until dark. The spot I initially wanted to go to had 2 hunters posted on it glassing, so I went to an alternate ridge instead. After glassing around 30 minutes, I noticed another hunter coming towards me climbing up the same ridge, about 1000 yards away. I told myself this was no big deal, he obviously saw me and would hopefully keep his distance.

I checked on him again about 15 minutes later and he was still coming directly at me, now about 500 yards away. “Okay, he hopefully will drop off soon and give me some space but at this point he’s getting a bit close for comfort”.

15 minutes later he stopped about 200 yards short of me on the same ridge and as I stared at him, he sat down and looked to be glassing. “Okay, this is getting a bit annoying, but at least I’m higher up and have a drainage in front of me I can focus on.”

Nope, apparently that wasn’t good enough for him. 15 minutes later, now getting into prime hunting in the final hour of shooting light, HE WALKS DIRECTLY TO ME. He says, “Hey bro, would it totally screw you if I drop down this ridge to your left? That’s the best way back to where I parked”.

Trying to stay civil, I replied, “You know, I generally don’t make a habit of bothering other hunters, let alone hiking through the area they’re clearly glassing and hunting.”

Despite this and a few more brief words, he proceeded 10 feet in front of me, then dropped down into one of the two drainages I was actively hunting and proceeded to walk right through the middle of it, spoiling any potential deer hunting in that entire area.

Can you guys give me a sanity check? Is it too much to expect another hunter who arrived well after me to keep their distance, let alone not hike right next to me and then continue hiking through the middle of the area I’m actively hunting? Especially when there are multiple other routes to get to the vehicle that wouldn’t interfere with my hunting at all.

 

[199p]

Its a di*k move forsure

 

[AZ_Hunter]

Meat Eater and the like has brought bro culture to hunting.

 

[hunterjmj]

That sucks. Had 3 dudes follow me for like 2 miles one morning. This was in eastern Montana where they had the choice of hundreds of ridges and coulees to hunt but decided to follow me all morning. I finally sat down to start glassing and they just kept coming. These guys were from Minnesota and asked if they could push on in front of me since it was there last day. I suggested they go to the right and I'd go to the left. I asked why they didn't just go another direction when they saw me and they said because it was where they planned to hunt. People do weird things in desperation to kill a deer I guess.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Hunting in Co during second rifle eh? Yeah it’s not cool. It happens all the damn time…

 

[velvet muley]

It is fully out of control at this point, this weekend in Montana I was stalking a nice buck so my kid could take a shot, 2 guys that clearly saw me made a run for this deer in the wide open East of me and blew him out from a ways away. There are so many people with 0 curtesy or hunting etiquette, this crap never used to happen to me until the last few years.

I don't believe 99% of these guys are people that grew up hunting, it is these adult onset hunters that don't give a shit and/or have no respect for hunting/hunters as a whole.

It's not about a passion or the love of the hunt for these guys, its about trying to kill something at any cost so they can feed their ego and brag on social media about how badass of a hunter they are.

 

[Ucsdryder]

4 years ago I was set up on a buck and a handful of does. They were on public, but I didn’t like the proximity to private so I waited. They ended up jumping the fence. I was confident they’d come back so I set up, prone, gun and spotter facing them. Some guys walked into the basin around 11am or so, a couple of hours after I found the deer. They glassed me, then glassed the direction I was set up. The deer were all bedded in the sage and it took them a while to find them. They immediately got out their rifles and set up for the shot.

After an hour, one of them worked into the bottom of the bowl, almost between me and the deer, and draped every piece of orange he could find on the sage all around him to let me know he was there.

Unfortunately for them, he couldn’t see the deer because he was too low. When the buck jumped the fence, well you know what happened. Of course I broke the front shoulder and that buck jumped back across the fence. I called the rancher to ask permission and the warden called me a bit later. Apparently the hunters called him to let him know I was shooting over their heads and something about being unethical. The wardens accusatory tune changed when I told him the story.

I can’t stand hunting close to other people. Even seeing someone while glassing annoys me. I’d never hunt the same 1/2 mile bowl as another hunter, let alone set up on a buck that he obviously found. They were typical bro hunters with their heads to toe kuiu and flat brims.

 

[taskswap]

I mean... would I do exactly what he did? No. But was it public land? Yes? This might be an unpopular opinion but there's no "dibs" there. Getting there earlier doesn't grant more of a right to glass or hunt it. I've had plenty of hunters walk very close to where I was on their way to who-knows-where and I wouldn't personally "mark off" some random half-mile of land in my mind just because I saw another guy standing on a ridge looking at it.

That guy was awful close to you. But to look at another viewpoint, I'll regularly walk up to other hunters if I find them in the field. I consider it a courtesy - I'm very quiet, and getting close lets me have a brief chat about what they're up to without the sound carrying to any game. I usually ask what direction they're focusing on, and if they're staying put (glassing/sitting) or moving (which way?). I make a point of exiting the area in a direction totally away from their goal. But I consider that me being polite - a kindness, not an obligation.

Then again, I hunt very pressured areas. Running into other folks is common and plenty of folks I talk to will very openly share what they've seen, what they're after, and whether that pond I'm headed towards still has water or not. Despite the stories on forums like this, very few lie - I've always found these brief encounters to be helpful more often than not. Maybe he was hoping he would, too. You never know...

 

[ztc92]

Hunting in Co during second rifle eh? Yeah it’s not cool. It happens all the damn time…

Sadly, this was in eastern Wyoming. Huge parcel of state land that borders national forest. Only 3 hunters in view counting myself. Despite that he came right to me…

 

[Hnthrdr]

Sadly, this was in eastern Wyoming. Huge parcel of state land that borders national forest. Only 3 hunters in view counting myself. Despite that he came right to me…

I expect that down here in greenie land not in God’s country up there

 

[Jason Snyder]

Meat Eater and the like has brought bro culture to hunting.

I’ve seen poor behavior like this LONG before Meateater.

There are rude and disrespectful people everywhere. It’s not just bro culture either.

 

[Steve300xcw]

On the flip side... He straight up asked you if it would mess up your hunt. And you gave him a smart ass answer.

Not saying I'da done it, but I Bet he was chuckling to himself about it.

 

[BBob]

It's nothing new but it has become much more common. Lot's of people just don't care anymore and are just going to do what they want to do regardless of others.

 

[ztc92]

I mean... would I do exactly what he did? No. But was it public land? Yes? This might be an unpopular opinion but there's no "dibs" there. Getting there earlier doesn't grant more of a right to glass or hunt it. I've had plenty of hunters walk very close to where I was on their way to who-knows-where and I wouldn't personally "mark off" some random half-mile of land in my mind just because I saw another guy standing on a ridge looking at it.

That guy was awful close to you. But to look at another viewpoint, I'll regularly walk up to other hunters if I find them in the field. I consider it a courtesy - I'm very quiet, and getting close lets me have a brief chat about what they're up to without the sound carrying to any game. I usually ask what direction they're focusing on, and if they're staying put (glassing/sitting) or moving (which way?). I make a point of exiting the area in a direction totally away from their goal. But I consider that me being polite - a kindness, not an obligation.

Then again, I hunt very pressured areas. Running into other folks is common and plenty of folks I talk to will very openly share what they've seen, what they're after, and whether that pond I'm headed towards still has water or not. Despite the stories on forums like this, very few lie - I've always found these brief encounters to be helpful more often than not. Maybe he was hoping he would, too. You never know...

I won’t argue that what he did is perfectly legal but also very crappy in my opinion.

I actually would have gladly participated in a conversation about my experience hunting the area and what I was seeing glassing. I’m generally a very nice person and enjoy seeing others be successful. That said, his greeting of, “Hey bro. would it totally screw you if I hiked down the ridge to your left” told me everything I needed to know about why he approached me. He may has well have said, “You’re hunting the area I planned to hike through when I left my truck 3 miles ago and even though I could go lots of other routes to avoid you, I have my heart set on this route and even though I know it will screw up your hunting, I’m going to do it anyway.”

 

[ztc92]

On the flip side... He straight up asked you if it would mess up your hunt. And you gave him a smart ass answer.

Not saying I'da done it, but I Bet he was chuckling to himself about it.

This is an interesting take. Considering how it played out, I think I did a good job not getting angry or being overly rude, though it didn’t matter.

i didn’t see my answer as smart assed but perhaps it could be taken that way. Maybe I should have just told him, “yes, it would, I’m hunting that ridge, please go back the way you came”. I can’t imagine it would have made much difference but maybe I’ll try to be more sincere next time and see what happens.

 

[KenLee]

4 years ago I was set up on a buck and a handful of does. They were on public, but I didn’t like the proximity to private so I waited. They ended up jumping the fence. I was confident they’d come back so I set up, prone, gun and spotter facing them. Some guys walked into the basin around 11am or so, a couple of hours after I found the deer. They glassed me, then glassed the direction I was set up. The deer were all bedded in the sage and it took them a while to find them. They immediately got out their rifles and set up for the shot.

After an hour, one of them worked into the bottom of the bowl, almost between me and the deer, and draped every piece of orange he could find on the sage all around him to let me know he was there.

Unfortunately for them, he couldn’t see the deer because he was too low. When the buck jumped the fence, well you know what happened. Of course I broke the front shoulder and that buck jumped back across the fence. I called the rancher to ask permission and the warden called me a bit later. Apparently the hunters called him to let him know I was shooting over their heads and something about being unethical. The wardens accusatory tune changed when I told him the story.

I can’t stand hunting close to other people. Even seeing someone while glassing annoys me. I’d never hunt the same 1/2 mile bowl as another hunter, let alone set up on a buck that he obviously found. They were typical bro hunters with their heads to toe kuiu and flat brims.

Good ole Aram would have jumped the fence chasing your buck!

 

[Ahlongslide]

My first year hunting public land, I went in to the forest around 2pm, found a straight tree, climbed it, got settled, looked around, and there was another hunter in another tree about 60 yards away that I couldn’t see from the ground with the underbrush. I decided to stay there so as not to ruin his hunt further and just sat the hunt out, watching him hunt.
My point is, maybe they are just clueless new hunters like I was. Someone has to coach them on proper etiquette

 

[ztc92]

My first year hunting public land, I went in to the forest around 2pm, found a straight tree, climbed it, got settled, looked around, and there was another hunter in another tree about 60 yards away that I couldn’t see from the ground with the underbrush. I decided to stay there so as not to ruin his hunt further and just sat the hunt out, watching him hunt.
My point is, maybe they are just clueless new hunters like I was. Someone has to coach them on proper etiquette

That’s actually what I hoped to accomplish with my response. That’s why I didn’t see it as a smart ass reply, I thought he genuinely didn’t know how disrespectful he was being and told him how I approach these situations. Sadly, it didn’t really matter.

 

[Steve300xcw]

If you said what you typed out. I would have formed an opinion of you rather quick

It honestly sounds like you got up on the hill a lil late. Hell you mighta set up in the middle of his loop..

A simple "yea thats going to screw me up. I'm hunting this drainage" mighta ended up different for you...hard to say.

Folks dont seem to like to hash things out in person anymore.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

4 years ago I was set up on a buck and a handful of does. They were on public, but I didn’t like the proximity to private so I waited. They ended up jumping the fence. I was confident they’d come back so I set up, prone, gun and spotter facing them. Some guys walked into the basin around 11am or so, a couple of hours after I found the deer. They glassed me, then glassed the direction I was set up. The deer were all bedded in the sage and it took them a while to find them. They immediately got out their rifles and set up for the shot.

After an hour, one of them worked into the bottom of the bowl, almost between me and the deer, and draped every piece of orange he could find on the sage all around him to let me know he was there.

Unfortunately for them, he couldn’t see the deer because he was too low. When the buck jumped the fence, well you know what happened. Of course I broke the front shoulder and that buck jumped back across the fence. I called the rancher to ask permission and the warden called me a bit later. Apparently the hunters called him to let him know I was shooting over their heads and something about being unethical. The wardens accusatory tune changed when I told him the story.

I can’t stand hunting close to other people. Even seeing someone while glassing annoys me. I’d never hunt the same 1/2 mile bowl as another hunter, let alone set up on a buck that he obviously found. They were typical bro hunters with their heads to toe kuiu and flat brims.

You probably interrupted a very important YouTube video. How dare you!