What constitutes your hunting area/spot?

[treillw]

How about if you are new to an area and go somewhere with somebody initially, but later discover the same place through other people and/or realize that you would have found out about it by yourself just by the nature of the location.

Who are you loyal to? Everybody? Anybody?

 

[TheCougar]

I’ll speak from the other side of the coin. I drew an elk tag last in an area I knew nothing about. I happened to meet up with a group of guys who had a honey hole and they invited me along. I have no idea why... for the first day I was watching my cornhole being in the middle of nowhere with guys I barely knew. It turns out they are just great guys. I shot a nice bull and had a blast. That spot will go with me to my grave. Not even my best hunting partner is privy to that spot, nor would I ever ask to share it. I wouldn’t even apply to that unit again unless they invited me to. They didn’t ask me to not apply to the unit or never hunt there again - I set that limit based on my perceived value of what they shared.

To answer your question: it depends!! I think the berth you give a hunting area is relative to the value of the sacrifice of telling you about it, and within reason, the expectation/agreement of the person sharing the information. There are limits - I don’t think it is reasonable to tell someone that they can’t apply to a unit or hunt near an area. It is reasonable to expect that they would keep their mouths shut and not hunt the area again without at least giving a courtesy notice.

I include those guys in my hunting circle now and I am always trying to get them on a hunt where I can help them. None of that would have been possible if they hadn’t bucked convention and invited a near stranger to roll with them. There was a mutual understanding when they took me to their spot and respecting them is the least I can do. When I take people to areas I know, I try to set the expectation the same way. I have been burned with one guy, who only got access because he is my best friends brother... I didn’t have a choice. Otherwise, I won’t hesistate to take someone on a hunt because the odds that I might gain a friend or new hunting partner are higher than the odds than them ruining an area.

 

[johnhenry]

If you don't trust someone enough to keep their mouth shut or to respect your wishes then don't tell them a thing and if yoiu do trust them then trust them to do the right thing - the people that deserve that kind of trust are frew and far between these days unfortunately. I am lucky enough to call a few of them friends.

 

[unclericco]

My thoughts on this topic is, if I take you to my spot then I've decided I'm okay with you hunting that spot. It's ridiculous to think your hunting buddy won't hunt in there again. I wouldn't want my buddy going in there with his buddies and their buddies though. I actually experienced a bit of this with a hunting friend I'll be meeting for an archery elk hunt in Sept. It's just him and me and some rugged country so I asked him what he would think of a friend of mine tagging along and he'd be able to help us pack meat out. Bigtime rejection but I'm fine with it because he showed me this area so it's his technically. Just gonna suck packing all the meat out lol

 

[Ross]

A drainage where I have killed many critters and only share with those in tight ️ I’ve been very selective on this and over almost four decades no worries s.....now my fathers crew has many stories of things of this nature almost fist fights and no further communication with those that broke the agreement

 

[BradNSW]

Public is public. I've got a spot in an area with a 12% success rate for deer where I've taken 7 deer in 5 years. Never told a soul where it is and never seen another human in 100's of days hunting.

If another hunter was in my "Secret spot", I'd move over the next ridge...first come first served. Wouldn't make a big deal out of it, hoping he'd be gone the next day. If I took a buddy to this spot, he'd be free to hunt it but as a courtesy, I'd tell him I'd like him to check with me before going to deconflict...

Met a guy on a public land elk hunt who wanted to use his horses to pack me into another drainage (with lots of elk) because he and his sons hunted this one. I politely explained I was on foot, already set up and would be there for a week. While still hunting the thick stuff, heard hunters calling the rest of the week but never ran into them again...although they pushed some elk my way

Bottom line: Public is Public and there is lots of it and "early bird gets the worm".

 

[Beendare]

Lots of beating around the bush on this, we are talking a guys spot....not point on a map type stuff.

If a guy takes you into one of his spots....a spot you would have never found on your own.....and tells you, "Don't hunt it without me"

Thats pretty clear to me... But I still hear stories of guys totally disregarding their friends wishes.


The whole, "what if I hunt closeby" is crap....and being a total Douche Bag.

My buddy showed me a fantastic carp shooting spot 15 years ago- public.....and said, don't shoot it without me. I never would have guessed it was a great spot....and never would have found it on my own. We never saw anyone else in there...until just recently.

Another buddy in the midwest spent an inordinate amount of time researching some whitetail spots.......no way I would have found them...but even more important....no way I would have known how to hunt them.

I would never go to those spots without them or without asking their permission.....only DB's do that.

 

[BCSteel]

Being new to hunting I don't know a lot of hunters but the ones I do know like to hunt with other people, with easy access. I'm more of a solo guy that's into back country hunts. Even so, I'm very vague about where I hunt. I love to get out and explore but I'm not about to hand deliver great areas to people who think scouting is only about reading harvest reports.

Ironically enough, the guy who I share the most info with is the guy I know the least well but we both share common outdoors ideas and understand how finding amazing areas without people takes a lot of work.

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[skaldugwas]

I think the trailhead to a spot is off limits. I have beaten the hell out of many a vehicle just to try out where a random trailhead leads. Let your buddy find his own spots at the expense of his own vehicle and boot-leather, time and gas money... he might be a little hesitant to share them too after working so hard for one.
Often its just a matter of semantics because If a friend asked if I minded them going back to a spot I took them, of course they would have my blessing, it takes integrity to do that. If I showed up at said trailhead and saw my soon to be exbud’s rig parked there (like a sneaky f$&@) I might be inspired to deflate his tires or worse.
Its the unwritten code of hunters, if you don’t get it, you must be thick. Of course I don’t own a piece of public land anymore than the next guy , but I own the experience, the effort, and the resources to find that spot and uncover it’s secrets. Its a crummy way to let the cat out of the bag for a good spot but worth it to learn someone who you thought you knew well enough to share that spot with is really just a spot poaching jerk.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I would like to get some feedback on what folks consider to be the spatial extent of a spot or area they hunt. In other words, if you brought a buddy to an area one year, how close to that spot could your buddy return in subsequent years without you while still keeping the sacred oath of not hunting in your spot? I have some friends who say, the entire unit is my spot, some say the trailhead or road access point, some folks say the drainage or drainages you hunted. I think the entire unit is a bit broad to lay claim to "as your spot", but the trailhead or road access point, maybe not, and definitely a specific drainage would constitute my spot...

Here's my spot...for now.

 

[H2PVon]

I'm just hoping to shoot an elk sometime so someone actually wants to know one of 'my spots'.

 

[S.Clancy]

I do a lot of research on the hunting areas that my brothers, a few buddies, and myself enjoy and I take great satisfaction in finding an area that very few people either know about or are unwilling to hunt. This comes down to hours and hours of being on the computer, taking notes, and then actually traveling to the areas to hunt or scout. I will not take somebody who has not shown to me that they are, 1. Willing to grind a hunt out and work as a team instead of working for themselves and, 2. Keep quite/ keep sacred the spot. All the people I have taken to my "secret spots" are current hunting partners, which usually takes several years of knowing/working/hunting other places with someone to gain some trust. I have a ton of areas I hunt that I don't care if anyone else goes in there, but a few areas are just too good to be careless. Also, most of my "secret spots" are heinous pack in/outs, which cuts down the rif-raf.

 

[bowieknife50]

I think it all depends on what people agree to ahead of time. Although I can't understand why a person would show another person a spot and expect them not to go there again.

Also extremely aggravated when people ask about where I shot something expecting the actual location. Asking once ok, but when I reply "in the head" and you go on for five more minutes trying to figure it out.... Not cool dude.


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[Jaquomo]

I met a NR guy in the elk woods a couple years ago who had never hunted there before. Figured I'd rather have him hunt it right than blow the elk out that I was hunting. So taught him the spot and called in a big bull for him. We've been phone friends since.

This year he drew a tag for the unit and called me to ask if I was going to hunt there, and when I told him I was in a different unit he asked "permission" to hunt that basin. This is NF. I thought that showed a lot of class.

 

[H2PVon]

It's a lot different for someone out east that is driving 20 some hours to get to a place than it is for residents or within a few hours drive. It's not like if I show someone a spot I won't know if they are headed back to that state. This isn't a weekend trip. They aren't 'sneaking' that trip through and there are only so many that are willing to put in the effort to even get there to begin with.

 

[TrailDog]

This is a fantastic thread...

I have learned time and time again that if I don't want someone hunting my spots, don't take them there.

Working for the Montana DNRC I've learned about TONS of nondescript access points and public easements into otherwise landlocked parcels of state and USFS lands. OnX mapping has made the spots easier to find, but they're still pretty "secret". I had a buddy, Chris, recently get into hunting and so I gave him a few tips, sent him some way-points to access good whitetail ground around town...you know, "park here, hike behind the north gate 1.5 miles to the creek crossing, etc." At a dinner party recently I overhear three other dudes describing the spots this Chris guy had showed them...my spots nonetheless. Lesson learned, just glad I didn't give away any true honey holes.

There are unspoken rules of hunting spots, which aren't written anywhere but otherwise respected amongst hunters of similar ilk.