What would you do?

Leave it alone and move on.

A few years back three of us had really good baited setups on public land. Winter had come early and the bait was being hit regularly. If you sat for 3 or 4 hours on one of these spots, chances were good that you would see some deer. It was a lot of work... we were going in on snowshoes, carrying our gear and pulling bait behind us on a sled. Took about 1.5 hours to drive there and get set up. We were only hunting these stands once or twice a week to keep pressure minimal.

A couple of weeks into it, it became apparent that another group was using our stands when we weren't. They were going in on a snowmobile and usually sitting at the base of the stand so they could make a quick exit if we showed up. Sometimes even when we were there, they would come in after us and hang back on some of the trails that were leading to the baits. We would see their tracks afterwards. One day I went in and found some blood and a frozen gut pile and backtracked the shot to my stand.

It was frustrating but what can you do? There was nothing illegal about what they were doing, but they were putting added pressure on our spots and basically reaping the rewards from our hard work. In the end I left a note on my stand in a ziploc bag. Sort of not-so-politely pointing out the fact that it's a large tract of public land and obviously you have the use of a snowmobile, so go and set up your own bait site somewhere else. Nothing really came of it. They continued the cat and mouse act of hunting our setups and our deer sightings became less frequent (we were down to buck tags and many bucks had already dropped their antlers that year). If I remember correctly, I believe that in the last days of that season my BIL (who did still have an antlerless tag) managed to arrow a good sized buck that had already dropped his antlers

Yes, public land is first come first serve and there to be used by all, but that's no excuse to be a lazy, inconsiderate jerk. I leave others' active spots alone and sort of expect that the same will be done for me, but that's not always the case. Mutual respect goes a long way.

Well said.

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Originally Posted by GW11

Leave it alone and move on.

A few years back three of us had really good baited setups on public land. Winter had come early and the bait was being hit regularly. If you sat for 3 or 4 hours on one of these spots, chances were good that you would see some deer. It was a lot of work... we were going in on snowshoes, carrying our gear and pulling bait behind us on a sled. Took about 1.5 hours to drive there and get set up. We were only hunting these stands once or twice a week to keep pressure minimal.

A couple of weeks into it, it became apparent that another group was using our stands when we weren't. They were going in on a snowmobile and usually sitting at the base of the stand so they could make a quick exit if we showed up. Sometimes even when we were there, they would come in after us and hang back on some of the trails that were leading to the baits. We would see their tracks afterwards. One day I went in and found some blood and a frozen gut pile and backtracked the shot to my stand.

It was frustrating but what can you do? There was nothing illegal about what they were doing, but they were putting added pressure on our spots and basically reaping the rewards from our hard work. In the end I left a note on my stand in a ziploc bag. Sort of not-so-politely pointing out the fact that it's a large tract of public land and obviously you have the use of a snowmobile, so go and set up your own bait site somewhere else. Nothing really came of it. They continued the cat and mouse act of hunting our setups and our deer sightings became less frequent (we were down to buck tags and many bucks had already dropped their antlers that year). If I remember correctly, I believe that in the last days of that season my BIL (who did still have an antlerless tag) managed to arrow a good sized buck that had already dropped his antlers

Yes, public land is first come first serve and there to be used by all, but that's no excuse to be a lazy, inconsiderate jerk. I leave others' active spots alone and sort of expect that the same will be done for me, but that's not always the case. Mutual respect goes a long way.

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Originally Posted by patvetzal

Maybe its my age or my location, but I would probably unload my gun, leaving the action open and have a seat while I waited to see if anyone showed up. If so it would give us a chance to chat and compare hunts if they were so inclined. I can always leave after they show up if I'm not welcome.
Most of my life I have fished and hunted lonely areas where strangers normally stop and chat, comparing and learning about the area.

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Where's the like button.... good post

Should I also throw in the fact this particular parcel is only about 50-75 acres...

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Originally Posted by topher

Should I also throw in the fact this particular parcel is only about 50-75 acres...

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I suppose if they set up a spot on a parcel that small, they would have to expect a certain amount of hunter traffic. It's still big enough to find another place to sit, and it sounds like you did.

Yup just walk on by.

I would also just keep on walking. If I was there everyday and nothing looked like it was being used after a few weeks-month then maybe take some other action.
Active bait pile, could be doing a early morning then a evening hunt and not taking their stuff with them.

Not mine to take or use, but may put a waypoint in my GPS for future hunts


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Has any body said this is an active hunt sight/spot by the people that have set up there? If you frequent the area and it's not being used, I would use it, and not get into a pissin match if they show up, just move on, public land yes, private use of it no....

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Originally Posted by patvetzal

Maybe its my age or my location, but I would probably unload my gun, leaving the action open and have a seat while I waited to see if anyone showed up. If so it would give us a chance to chat and compare hunts if they were so inclined. I can always leave after they show up if I'm not welcome.
Most of my life I have fished and hunted lonely areas where strangers normally stop and chat, comparing and learning about the area.

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not enough good spirited folks like you in the southern ontario public lands. these days i've switched my game to waterfowl and small game for that reason. better to have a chat and not take life so seriously.
although i'm sure the best move is to keep going as to not get beat up by a group of hunters assuming that spot belongs to them.

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Originally Posted by bdog

Has any body said this is an active hunt sight/spot by the people that have set up there? If you frequent the area and it's not being used, I would use it, and not get into a pissin match if they show up, just move on, public land yes, private use of it no....

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Bait pile looked fresh... trail cam appeared dead.(did not open to check. Just no counter).. there was no one else in the bush when I got there (parking lot) and none else when I left... I frequently this Parcel.. and haven't seen this before... although it's not an area I go often... I just had coyotes walking at my more normal spot so decided to so some still/walk hunt.

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