Tree stand etiquette in 410
 

Trying to get an idea of where to put my tree stand in 410. I have some rifle experience but new (and excited) about bow in 410.

Walking around there are alot of tree stands that get left out year round. I don't want to be too close for safety and general manners.

Questions:

1. How close to existing tree stand can I put mine?

2. If there is a really old looking tree stand, made from wood, that looks like it hasn't been used in years....can I put mine near there? Can I use the old one?

I know there are probably no definite answers to these questions but looking for general ideas. I realize that solitude is part of the appeal for hunting and trying to avoid being "that guy".

:party0051:

You are opening up a heated debate here - some will tell you "it's public land and first come first served and to heck with whomever left it there" all the way to the polar opposite of the argument which says "move far away from this sacred ground and keep walking".

Personally, I wouldn't set up too close to any active stand, nor would I use another stand unless it's very clear this stand hasn't been used in a long time - even then, I'd feel kind of strange - and likely set mine up a distance from there anyways - but hey, that's just my opinion.

Just because it’s made from wood that has aged doesn’t mean it’s not being used. If it has fallen into disrepair that’s another thing but normally when you build a tree stand it’s meant to be somewhat permanent. Don’t have stands in that zone but I have wood stands that I’ve built on private land, I have to kick guys out on a regular basis that think they’re up for anyone who has permission to hunt on the land. It’s always frustrating when they have a hissy fit when you tell them to leave, like you ruined their hunt when they really have no right to be in there, they didn’t buy the materials, build it or trim the lanes.

Buy 10 or 20 cheap stands, hang them all over , leave them up for years, and claim a quarter section or 2 as your personal scouted spot that nobody can hunt. You will fit right in.

This is just my opinion.

1) If it is not mine then I won't use it.
2) I would not set a stand closer than 250 yards to someone else's when bowhunting

Put the stand in where you want in a good location you have identified. try not to be too close but if it happens it happens.

If you see someone else out get down, have a chat, be respectful to each other. I like to respect an others right to be there the same as mine. If Ive been in the stand for hours and you show up I don't expect to be asked to leave but might do so if im nearing the end of my sit and want to extend the courtesy.

Dont act like petty children ( Happens way too much ) and everyone can get along in the woods.

I dont use others stand without permission and if I use them (very rare) at all it kind of feels like Piggie backing someones else's effort for the game im chasing.

I have a stand near someone elses. Ive gone 4 years and never seen someone use the other stand the same time as me. I bowhunt alot too.

Are permanent stands allowed to be left on crown land year round? How do you prove you built it? Do you leave a name and contact number? If not why not?

A 2 X 4 stand on public land is a different matter and I believe that is what the op is asking about. You don't build a permanent stand on public land and have the gall to think no one else can hunt that location. I'll put my portable stand anywhere I want on public land because I don't know when some homie will be in his stand...……..although I tend to avoid a location where I know that someone's portable stands are being used regularly.

200 yards or one bow shot.

The very small amount of huntable land in 410 is full of new and old tree stands. It’s also full of hunters, anglers, dog walkers, hikers etc. Just do what you want, you will have company no matter where you set up. One of the f&w guys commented that wherever they set trail cams in that zone, they get pictures of people. Doesn’t matter where, when, how close or how far.

I agree. Nothing winds me up like getting to my stand that I scouted, set up, and find someone sitting in.

What's the difference if they're sitting in your stand or beside your stand?
I dont think you can claim a spot as yours on land you dont own.
I think hunting public land would get tiresome.

I agree. If its clear the stand has recently been used or put up (fresh tree scrapes, obviously new, etc) I'd give it space, but if its been there as a means to "claim" that area and I've seen it unused for a few trips, forget it. If you want to get good spots to hunt on public land, bow or rifle, get up early and you'll always have a good selection.

I always try to put my stand at least 10 ft above the next tallest stand in the tree:)

X2 and if you put your ladder up in front of the other stand it almost guarantees you will obstruct the guys vision allowing you to get the first shot.

I put a stand up a few years back in an area I hunt Whitetails south of Fort McMurray. It’s in a pretty out of the way spot that I hadn’t seen any sign of 2-legged activity in, so I thought it was as good a spot as any.

I walked in one morning and low and behold there is someone sitting in it. I waved from a hundred yards away and turned around to walk into another spot. As I started walking I heard a fawn bleat so I turned around. Buddy in my stand was waving and started to climb down. I waited a bit and he walked over to me. He asked if it was my stand and I said it was. He said he had walked in from the other direction the day before and busted a decent buck out of his bed, right in the middle of the small cutblock we were in. He then saw my stand so he decided to come back the next day and hunt from it, hoping the buck came back.

I figured he had a plan so I told him of another area not far away that I’d walk into and sit for the morning if he wanted to go back up into the stand. I let him know I wouldn’t come back through that particular cutblock again that day.

I was gone an hour or so when I heard a shot coming from the same direction as my stand. I wondered if buddy got his buck but didn’t run into him again that day. The next set of days off I was back in to pull my stand out and there was a ziplock sandwich bag taped to the seat with $50 bucks in it and a short note saying that buddy shot a nice 4x4 Whitetail not long after I left. He thanked me again for letting him continue to hunt the stand and noted he was leaving $50 so that I could buy a bottle of my choosing in return.

I could have chosen to just be pi$$ed off that day, but why? I don’t own the area and if anyone deserved that deer it was the guy who got it after busting him the day before. Life’s too short to worry about such things.

A tree stand does not make that your spot forever. I built a tree stand a few years ago and set up a bear bait. I have never been back to that in my life. Ended up putting one in another spot. I sure hope someone used it.

410 would be the last place I would consider leaving a tree stand unattended. :D

Grizz

Good for you on at least 2 counts. You intended to remove your stand and you recognize public land is public land. A lot of entitled slobs dont bother with either.

I wouldn’t ever hang a stand in granola munchers land :)

I’ve hunted 410, it’s easy to find a decent spot and hunker down behind a log or in a bush. Advertising to the granolas that hunting is happening by hanging stands just puts that area on the road to being closed to hunting.

I live in 410, I have crawled all over the zone. I have never hung a stand, but I would definitely say there is a good buck to doe ratio in the area. You asked about etiquette though, I have found most in 410 pretty good at avoiding each other, and just go the other direction. If you're going to be hunting weekends you're going to see and bump into people though. I can think of a few places where I never saw a stand within 250 m of a good trail. Oh and someone stole my trail cam, it was even locked with a Master cable lock, another hunter I spoke to had the SD card taken out of their cam. Good luck, hopefully you post your success!

Also, have you heard of a tree saddle, it might be what you're looking for.

If it’s not yours, don’t touch it. It’s called common curtesy.
 

This is the first season I’ve set up a portable ladder stand on public land. I expect to see other hunters and hope to have some good experiences. I scouted the area several times and didn’t find anything that would make me think someone else was in the area for the last 5 weeks. No one on my trail cameras either. I did find a tree, in a good spot, that has lag bolts left in it from previous year(s), and a bow hanger up in the tree. The lag bolts are pointed downwards on a 30-45 degree angle as the tree has grown (obviously) and they didn’t take their lag bolts out at the end of the season. It’s not climbable. And there’s no stand/climber in the tree. I set up my stand in the same area.

Personally, I think it’s wrong to use someone else’s stand without permission, regardless of where it is. I wouldn’t lean on a strangers vehicle in a parking lot or on the street either. I wouldn’t get on a bike laying on public land and go for a rip. I don’t touch anything that doesn’t belong to me, because that’s how I was raised.

If I end up hiking in to my stand and find someone in it, I’ll have a laugh and ask them to kindly swap me places. Or it’s gunna get pretty crowded up in my single seater because that’s my chair and I’m sitting in it. If there’s a problem after that, Since it’s my stand, I guess I’ll start to take it down and move it somewhere else then, and the ****** is gunna get down one way or another.

I’ll add this... my name and phone number is on the stand, as is a tag labelling it’s an active stand 2019/2020. If someone was to call me and ask to sit in it sometime, I’d be more than happy to let them.

What happens when you show up to your stand, and theres someone sitting under it?
Would you still go sit in your chair, or would you leave that spot for the guy who got there first that day?

Early bird gets the worm
Climbing in a stand in that scenario would be a dick move.

Absolutely it’s his/her spot for that sit! I’ll keep trucking and burn some boot leather. I prefer to hunt on the ground, just going to try something new this year with the tree stand.

I don’t own any part of the land nor do I have any say. It’s just curtesy to not sit in someone’s stand, using their things without first asking permission.

I’m in the bush early. If someone is there before me, they are there reeeaaaalllllyyyy early. They earned it lol