When to give info

[madtinker]

I was out rucking with my dog this morning. I went early, because we have family stuff today. On the way down it was just getting light and I saw a herd of three deer. A closer to the trailhead I saw a group of hunters heading out (going the opposite direction from the deer) then another group just unloading their truck. I bid them good luck and was getting in my car when one of them asked me if I came often and did I ever see deer. He also added that they had never been to this spot before (it is the first day of the season). I said, yeah, I am there regularly and I see deer occasionally, and left it at that.

I didn’t mention the deer I saw this morning, or that the biggest buck in the area likes to hang out in the backyard they were parked next to. Or the house down the street that had three bucks in the yard.

I went home and had fresh venison sausage for breakfast.

Is it wrong to not give any info? On one hand, if I gave them any info and they used it, either they will kill a deer they didn’t earn, or they won’t, and they could blame me for giving them a bum steer. I wouldn’t lie about where the deer are. I think the only circumstance in which I would help would be if there was a youth hunter involved, but that’s only a maybe. If they want to kill a deer they should do their own homework, and especially in a trailhead in a neighborhood they can’t use remoteness as an excuse to not scout. Also, I can’t imagine trying to hunt deer but waiting until after sunrise to leave the trailhead.

Under what circumstances would you share info with strangers? In this case, I’d probably never hunt this area. It’s a hard tag to draw and it’s archery-only, so I don’t have a stake in saving a honey hole or anything. I just think they should figure it out themselves.

 

[goalie]

I do my own work. I expect the same from others.

So, no, you're not wrong to go on your way without volunteering information

 

[Ucsdryder]

Never. Well almost never. If there’s a kid with a tag he gets all the info.

 

[rclouse79]

My son has a draw elk tag and we ran into a guy with a draw deer tag. This odds on these tags will land you one about every ten years. I had no problem swapping info with somebody like that.
I never give out specifics on my over the counter areas unless you are related to me, or are one of my two or three best hunting buddies.

 

[ktm450]

I don’t know why adult hunters even ask anymore. I’ll help my friends on occasion, but I generally just outright lie when asked directly “see anything”. I won’t point people in the wrong direction, but will absolutely deny seeing animals. Multiple times I have been hiking in from a trailhead with a frame pack and no gun to get quarters from something I shot. When asked if I got something and where. I generally say “just training”.

I put in a lot of time and effort and hunt public exclusively. People are blabber-mouths and social media whores…not interested in rolling the dice.