Stand on Crown Land

Gilroy, I have to agree with you on that. But I think many hunters will pass on a stand if they don't think it's be used at the time. At least that has been my experience. I have never had someone take my stand during the period of the first week of shotgun (another area I use to hunt for 15 years) but once I went out in the middle of the second week and found someone in my stand. I didn't bother them but ran into them later, they didn't know me but knew I hunted from it the first week and said so. They didn't expect me out the second week as I never had before in that area. I like to think most hunters will respect others if they realize someone is actively there.

Since my stands are permanent (Yes CO's have even seen them) I do have to keep in mind that someone might take them, but everyone I have met seem to be very respectable (maybe I am just lucky)

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

Ok I will play the game with you, I put up my ladder stand at the start of Spring Bear hunt and hunt out of it a few weekends.

Is this the end of the hunt OR CAN I leave the stand there until the start of bow Season for deer several months later?

Is the stand abandoned property between Spring Bear and fall deer season and can be removed.

It is my belief that a tree stand is "any thing" under the public lands act and the 21 day rule applies for its removal.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

Ok I will play the game with you, I put up my ladder stand at the start of Spring Bear hunt and hunt out of it a few weekends.

Is this the end of the hunt OR CAN I leave the stand there until the start of bow Season for deer several months later?

Is the stand abandoned property between Spring Bear and fall deer season and can be removed.

It is my belief that a tree stand is "any thing" under the public lands act and the 21 day rule applies for its removal.

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Prior to 2017, the MNR had a “Free Use Policy” and the 21 day rule was contained within it. That policy was replaced with Regulation 161/17. The “21 day rule” still exists but applies to Crown land camping. Here’s a link to the Reg in case your interested. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/170161

The reg allows the stand to remain as long as it’s required for hunting. An argument could be made that it should be removed between seasons since it is no longer required for hunting then. Because the reg isn’t crystal clear in this regard, it will be up to the courts to come up with “case law”.

Great reply Sam I think its not a great policy to leave things so open ended. The case law that might get decided in the future
could be a hunter seriously hurting themselves in a fall from a tree stand and a civil litigation lawyer making an argument that the Crown had a duty of care to inspect/remove/police stands left on Crown land.

But I imagine like every where else the Crown exempts itself from such prosecutions.

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

The law allows you to leave a treestand on Crown land. The stand belongs to you and you have the right to use it. It is not abandoned, so no one else should use it without your permission. It’s no different than parking your car along the side of the road.

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Well said!
I hunted Moose with a Game Warden for years and built dozen of stands with him.
He basically said the same thing you just did.

Years ago I was hunting a 150 acre private farm out by Dunnville and before turkey season I set up a pop up blind and cleared shooting lanes and camo'd it up nicely. I knew there was another guy that hunted this farm as well and the deal was if you saw a car parked in the field laneway keep driving. I had 3 other farms in the area so I had options. After each hunt I turned the chair upside down and left a window open to get in and out of it. One morning I get to the blind and the window was closed and the chair was upright. After my hunt I left the blind the way I like it chair upside down and window open. 4 days later I am walking past the stand and the window is closed!! I was angry so I walked over and the chair was upright and has a note on it from another hunter thanking me for the use of the blind as he was hunting with his young son and was a friend of the landowner. My initial response was to leave him a scathing note but after calming down I left him a note and said glad to hear you are getting the boy out hunting........told him where I saw the birds roosting and their schedule from what I have seen.

This went back and forth the entire season and I even mapped out my other blinds for him to try. At the end of the season I go by the farmers house and drop off a bottle of wine and some flowers for his wife and she sends me to the barn to see her husband and when I get there he introduces me to his younger brother (the other hunter). We had a good laugh and fast forward 10 years - the brother does not hunt turkey anymore (busy with work and family) and has his own hog farm down the road and I also have permission to hunt there as well.

I know that this is NOT the same as crown land but diplomacy is an artform.......I figure these situation will become more common as land in S Ontario gets more scarce and more people want to try hunting.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

Great reply Sam I think its not a great policy to leave things so open ended. The case law that might get decided in the future
could be a hunter seriously hurting themselves in a fall from a tree stand and a civil litigation lawyer making an argument that the Crown had a duty of care to inspect/remove/police stands left on Crown land.

But I imagine like every where else the Crown exempts itself from such prosecutions.

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I was thinking the same thing - risk of litigation! I have seen some pretty rickety looking stands while out on crown land and would not chance climbing many of them. Even the stands on the farms we hunt on are checked and inspected each year and the old/unsafe ones are cut down and replaced with new ones.

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Originally Posted by 410001661

Years ago I was hunting a 150 acre private farm out by Dunnville and before turkey season I set up a pop up blind and cleared shooting lanes and camo'd it up nicely. I knew there was another guy that hunted this farm as well and the deal was if you saw a car parked in the field laneway keep driving. I had 3 other farms in the area so I had options. After each hunt I turned the chair upside down and left a window open to get in and out of it. One morning I get to the blind and the window was closed and the chair was upright. After my hunt I left the blind the way I like it chair upside down and window open. 4 days later I am walking past the stand and the window is closed!! I was angry so I walked over and the chair was upright and has a note on it from another hunter thanking me for the use of the blind as he was hunting with his young son and was a friend of the landowner. My initial response was to leave him a scathing note but after calming down I left him a note and said glad to hear you are getting the boy out hunting........told him where I saw the birds roosting and their schedule from what I have seen.

This went back and forth the entire season and I even mapped out my other blinds for him to try. At the end of the season I go by the farmers house and drop off a bottle of wine and some flowers for his wife and she sends me to the barn to see her husband and when I get there he introduces me to his younger brother (the other hunter). We had a good laugh and fast forward 10 years - the brother does not hunt turkey anymore (busy with work and family) and has his own hog farm down the road and I also have permission to hunt there as well.

I know that this is NOT the same as crown land but diplomacy is an artform.......I figure these situation will become more common as land in S Ontario gets more scarce and more people want to try hunting.

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Well done! Keeping a cool head, acting with common sense & curtesy is always a winner.

Wild…. Built stand or store bought? I have recently been leaving a couple stands out on public land year round. I’ve been pulling my steps every season though and don’t put them back in until just before. I’m also replacing straps every year. I wonder if they thought your stand was abandoned. Mine are pretty obviously in use. I’ve just recently started putting out ladder stands out on our private property. Talk about way easier to deal with than climbing steps.

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Originally Posted by 410001661

Years ago I was hunting a 150 acre private farm out by Dunnville and before turkey season I set up a pop up blind and cleared shooting lanes and camo'd it up nicely. I knew there was another guy that hunted this farm as well and the deal was if you saw a car parked in the field laneway keep driving. I had 3 other farms in the area so I had options. After each hunt I turned the chair upside down and left a window open to get in and out of it. One morning I get to the blind and the window was closed and the chair was upright. After my hunt I left the blind the way I like it chair upside down and window open. 4 days later I am walking past the stand and the window is closed!! I was angry so I walked over and the chair was upright and has a note on it from another hunter thanking me for the use of the blind as he was hunting with his young son and was a friend of the landowner. My initial response was to leave him a scathing note but after calming down I left him a note and said glad to hear you are getting the boy out hunting........told him where I saw the birds roosting and their schedule from what I have seen.

This went back and forth the entire season and I even mapped out my other blinds for him to try. At the end of the season I go by the farmers house and drop off a bottle of wine and some flowers for his wife and she sends me to the barn to see her husband and when I get there he introduces me to his younger brother (the other hunter). We had a good laugh and fast forward 10 years - the brother does not hunt turkey anymore (busy with work and family) and has his own hog farm down the road and I also have permission to hunt there as well.

I know that this is NOT the same as crown land but diplomacy is an artform.......I figure these situation will become more common as land in S Ontario gets more scarce and more people want to try hunting.

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This is how I roll. If someone is in my stand, I need to get there earlier. Good luck, heres my number, let me know how you made out. If someone is in my duck blind, same deal. I know not everyone is like me, but its about bulding a relationship, and not being an idiot more than anything.

If you want to pick apart the rules and regulations down to the dotted I's, your over thinking it and being an idiot.



S.

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Originally Posted by Sinker

This is how I roll. If someone is in my stand, I need to get there earlier. Good luck, heres my number, let me know how you made out. If someone is in my duck blind, same deal. I know not everyone is like me, but its about bulding a relationship, and not being an idiot more than anything.

If you want to pick apart the rules and regulations down to the dotted I's, your over thinking it and being an idiot.



S.

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I couldn't agree more Sinker :goodstuff:!

It's much harder to turn the other cheek than be aggressive as your first instinct is to kick the guy out, but it's a much better thing to do to take the high road in these situations. You make a lot more friends this way instead of enemies.

The other guy will be grateful, and is more likely to help you one day if you need help, like loading an animal on your truck or giving you a boost when your truck wont start.