Reserving Public Land?

W

wildhorseguy

Guest
LAST EDITED ON Jul-07-11 AT 05:57PM (MST)[p]Just want your thoughts about the two signs in the photos. Would you respect the wishes of these hunters or would you simply say it is public land and hunt there anyway? Both signs were located at the same place two seperate years.

Sign posted in July of 2009.
2356antelopesign1blackout.jpg


Sign posted June 2011.
195antelopesignblackout.jpg
 
What a joke. It is public ground, period.
If I scouted an animal that I wanted to try and harvest I wouldn't think twice about hunting there.
If I got there and someone else had beat me to the spot that day then I would obviously hunt somewhere else. I believe that is common courtesy.
 
Wouldn't discourage me. Just means I have to get there earlier than planned if this was my spot of choice to hunt. Then like said prior if someone else is there then i'd move on.


"Courage is being scared to death but saddling
up anyway."
 
The second sign pic is classic. You can tell the first sign dude knows he's got no business posting that. Where as the second dude is staking his claim and you'd sure as hell not be there or else! It'll do nothing but make people think you've seen something worth going to that effort and fuss about.
 
I'd consider both those signs littering and would clean up the landscape! Whoever gets to a place first should have the spot and anyone else should have the courtesy to stay the heck out of there and not screw things up. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen a lot of times because there are a lot of jerks out there, just like the ones stealing the trailcams.
 
Both U-tard area codes on the phone numbers. Idiots. I guess it is a polite way for them to try and tell people they will be there. I would probably respect their wishes and not show up on purpose right there, but not to get out of their way but to keep them out of MY way.


UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
 
Thanks for the comments. A little information, the sign owner with he 435 area code was contacted today and he informed me that "this is the way it is done and that if I was any real hunter that I would know that this is the way it works and that real hunters would have the courtesy to stay away. It is a hunting courtesy to do that." (not verbadum on the quote). I am of the same opinion as the other posts. It is public land and if someone gets there first then I would respect that, and the same should be if I was there first. If one wants to reserve a hunting spot, one should join a hunting club where land is leased and dues are paid and you sign in and out to ensure you have a spot to hunt without being walked on.
 
The way I see it, they saved you the trouble of wasting your time competing with them for that spot. You could still try it out, but if it was me I would find somewhere else. Doesn't mean they have exclusive rights or anything, but at least you know you have competition now if you want those spots.
 
I guess you could call them up and tell them you put a sign up about a month ago, but someone must have stole it.

Sheesh!

Eel
 
Come on guys! You can't help but laugh at that. That is too damn funny right there. At least they were polite about it.:D


It's always an adventure!!!
 
Or call them up and tell them you are the area F&G Warden and the sign better be gone tomorrow!!!
 
This is great to know! I will be out first thing in the morning to "claim my area"! Since I am not exactly sure where I will be hunting lope in my area, I think I will kindly ask everyone (even hunters who drew a tag as well), to kindly stay out of area 77 Aug 15 through whenever I remove the signs.These signs will be placed at all possible entrances in to the area. Then I plan on running over to the Big Horns and place signs at the foot of the mountain enforming all public (hunters, campers, ranchers, ect...) That i have claimed the mountain for the month of Sept. AND i also have some friends coming in Oct, so I will call dibbs on the mountain again starting the 15th. Thank you for being "true hunters" and respecting my "writes" as a hunter who was "here first"! PS.. sorry TOPGUN, I got there first :) And to all other hunters...... Better luck next year. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!!
 
i guess alot of guys do that in NV too on the archery hunts. I dont know because i dont bow hunt but most of the guys i talk to just put a little note in the blind with the dates that they are going to be there, and i take it that usually most guys tend to accomidate each other. I havent heard any of them complaining about it, they just get thier early in the year and hang thier notes and take thier turn.
 
If I am not water hole hunting, but running and gunning on my Sept. elk hunt, is it OK if I load up on those little utility company wire flags and plant them wherever I stalk? With a similar message, something like "I might be back tomorrow if I hear bugling"? I have about 200 leftover from tree planting. Thanks.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-08-11 AT 00:33AM (MST)[p]Myself, I'd leave their signs alone and look for a different place to hunt. Now, if i found the same sign at two or more water holes, then it would be looked upon with a different result.

Joey
 
Post the number so we can all give the individual a call and politely inform him he will be having some company at his watering hole.

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling
up anyway."
 
So, if I have a favorite glassing spot,
with a high advantage point, to start spotting
deer on opening morning, I guess there is
no need for me to get up the extra hour in
the morning to sit there in the dark for an
hour so no one gets there before I do, which
has happend because of over sleeping, now I
can just put a sign up reserving that spot!

Awesome!!!

What a joke!! It's Public Land People!!!!
 
Here's one for ya:Someone built a ground blind out of plywood and covered it with sagebrush after digging it out near my home in SW Wy.A lot of work was put into this permanent blind.He placed a note on the blind that read something like this:You are welcome to use my blind,but I would like to hunt here on the weekend of blah-blah-blah.That blind has been there for many years.
 
If I found a sign like this, I would think: "bummer, someone else is going to be hunting here". I would not want to hunt there because I don't like seeing people where I'm hunting. If I wanted to see people, I would stay in the big city. I have been known to post a sign on my vehicle stating that I am hunting in the area and would appreciate some consideration. I wouldn't expect this to work in a popular hunting area, but in a secluded spot, maybe. I knew there were a bunch of inconsiderate jerks out hunting, but I didn't realize the majority are. I'm not hunting anything this year, and I might give up altogether the way things are going.
 
A lot of inconsiderate hunters out there after reading the above replies. I'm assuming most of you haven't been on a hunt where water holes are the main area hunted? I have seen these same type of signs before. The ones posted even left a phone number to talk it over if you had issues with it.I have chosen in the past to not leave a sign up and have been lucky, but if I came across these I would keep walking. It just goes to show you that some would rather spend opening morning ruining someones hunt than actually hunting. Me, "I'd rather be hunting".
a20792b12a43280588e9ae_s.JPG
 
I would call the Forest Service and have him cited for littering. We don't need a bunch of vigilante property-claimers on public land.

A hunting spot belongs to whomever is there first on that specific day.

Grizzly
 
ELKAHOLIC---I completely disagree with you and feel that the person that puts a sign up like that on public land and thinks he has that spot reserved for himself whenever he feels like gettig there is absolute BS. He is the one that is inconsiderate for thinking he owns that land and if he wants that kind of control he can do what someone else said and either go buy his own land or lease some property. Grizzly is right on the button as far as I'm concerned and what I stated earlier. If the guy wants that spot for sure, let him get there at midnight to claim it and I won't bother him at all. If I'm there at daylight and he comes in at noon, then he better promptly vacate the area just like I would do if I found him there at any time.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-08-11 AT 11:36AM (MST)[p]We all might biotch about the sign and It's impossible to "reserve" public property but flip it aroud a bit.

Story time: I was in a pop-up blind in NV on a pronghorn hunt and had just settled in for the day when a couple guys came and plopped down right next to me. I told them I would be hunting the hole all day and their response was the same as some comments which I've read in other posts.

"it's public land and we're going to sit right here whether you like it or not *&^J%$".

I didn't like it BUT they were right. The outcome was poor for hunting and the hunting experience.

What do we do boys?

Zeke
 
Although the signs are tacky and by no means would it entail the person ownership of the waterhole. I would have to agree with some of you and it would just mean I would go find a spot farther away from people. Why try and compete or ruin another persons hunt if there is plenty of other spots to hunt.

If you tried to "beat" the guy to the spot, it will just ruin the hunt for both of you. I wouldn't waste my time.
 
This is not a new thing. Back in the early 90's I was sitting in a pit blind in the west desert of utah. Twice on opening day I had guys in a vehicle wait until the pronghorn buck I had targeted to kill approached for a drink.They would then drive off the hill as fast as possible to scare the buck away.After the second episode I hada few words with them. They claimed that it was public land and I had no right to claim this waterhole. I went to camp after that for a water refill and when I got back these clowns were set up in the blind I had dug and constructed....with my pack and cooler setting on the outside. Unfortunately the attitudes of some when hunting on public land can be amazing. Realizing you cant argue with idiots I picked up my stuff and left.
 
If everyone took this approach, there would be so dang much garbage everywhere. It would be like the "YARD SALE" posters seen on every street corner.

Why should anyone change their hunt just because they see a sign like this? What if no-one really showed up on the stated days???? What if they only hunted in the evening, morning or afternoon? What if only on the first day stated? The sign is meaningless to me.

I can understand one's "good" intentions to try and communicate that there MAY be someone there at some point in time, but it would in no-way deter me from hunting unless I actually saw someone there when I came into the area. Then I would quietly and politely move out and on.
 
You can bet there will be several different hunters wanting to hunt that waterhole if there is goats coming into it. I'm sorry did a bunch of you miss the fact if you are the first hunter to the waterhole on opening day or any day YOU have first rights to hunt and not the guy who posted a sign a month before, So if any one should keep walking it should be the guy who showed up in second place. The same goes for the guy who puts up his treestand the month before the hunt to claim a waterhole sorry BUT if I'm there before you are in the morning, You need to go looking for another spot.

The guys who would remove my stuff from inside a blind would have that blind torn down around their ears.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
 
I have never seen this tactic successfuly used in Utah however where i hunt in Nevada the unit is desert and the water is scarce all of the water holes have water bottles with notes and people saying when they would like to hunt it and there contact information and what they are hunting. It seems to work well out there everyone seems to work togeather and respect other peoples wishes.

Not sying its right or wrong, just that I have seen it work.
 
ARROWHNTER,
I too have seen the signs during my two years of NV antelope hunting. One guy didn't "reserve" the spot but simply put a sign up on the trail leading to the water hole.
It read: "archery hunting in progress"
I respected his sign since I didn't want to go in and find him there already.

I WOULD NOT HAVE TRIED TO DISRUPT HIS HUNT JUST BECAUSE HE WAS ON PUBLIC LAND.
I don't think reserving the spot, in advance, is the answer either.

A little thing called "respect" comes to mind.

Thanks for all the cool comments. Jim, that was me in that truck! LOL JK bro.

Zeke
 
Hi folks,

Have been following MM for quite a while but mostly a lurker...

I thought this was a very interesting topic.

In general I agree with the majority of opinions. It's public land and first to the spot gets the spot. Others should respect that and move along. Just because you CAN crowd others doesn't mean you should. Especially hunting a waterhole. Competing, or being an arse about it as with a previous poster's story, just ruins the hunt for everyone involved.

And I read the two notes very differently. The first one is polite and requesting others to respect and/or work with him around his specific dates. It looks to be a "heads-up" and is using the term "reserve" in a respectful way. I would honor this note and not barge in on him during the dates he posted. But if I was him, I would still be at the spot early and have a plan B, C, etc. He shouldn't $itch if the spot is taken.

The second note is a guy basically telling everyone that ths spot is his - reserved for the season. NOPE. That's not how it works. Even if this wasn't in my original hunting plans, it might be now. ;-)

It may be splitting hairs a bit, but how I'd handle each of these situations.

Gomer
 
Call the guy up & say "Well I know where you'll be on that date so I'll be at your house with yer wife & drinkin all yer booze" or just crank call him at all hours.
 
Gomer,

I think you might be on to something there. It really does matter HOW we say things, not just WHAT we say.

I would probably be inclined to take a peek and see if either water hole was occupied. It would pique my curiosity if I saw either sign! LOL

Zeke
 
It was posted in JUNE! I think a note the day you are hunting it is reasonable, but not JUNE when the hunt starts in August. This whole "entitlement" mentality is killing our pastime.

Hey everyone= I plan on drawing Region G next year. I call Strawberry Ridge. So let it be written, so let it be done.

Last year, on the general deer hunt in Utah, we hiked 3 miles in and set up glassing a basin. About 30 minutes after light a couple guys show up, walk 50 yards behind us and then set up 100 yards up the ridge. Guess what? It is public land and they can do what they did and we were fine with it. We just went to the next basin. Almost the exact same thing happened to us in Colorado (2 miles in) and in Wyoming (9 miles in). Better have thicker skin than the sign makers if we hunt public lands.

Courtesy goes both ways.
 
Inconsiderate hunters? Come on! The inconsiderate ones are the ones that come plop their butts right next to you at the water hole a half hour after light and say "we are hunting here and there is nothing you can do about it". And they are right. However claiming a water hole months ahead on time? Ya right! Get your lazy A@$ out of bed and beat everyone there!!! If there are five water holes in an area and you can't make it there on the day of the hunt before someone else gets there, then you better get good at spot and stalk! What are we teaching out kids by doing this??? "Well son, it is June and we just got our tag so lets go claim our spot so we don't have to scout and we can sleep in on opening morning and then go hunt". And I am sure they will gather their signs when they are done! Just tell me, what right do they have to claim a water hole, ridge, river, lake, or what ever it may be, over someone else who paid the same about of money for the tag or license? Blows my mind. If i get beat to a spot that i wanted to hunt... my bad, plans just changed. I always try to have at least one if not two back up plans. I have no problem being courteous, but I draw the line at the "claiming" idea.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-08-11 AT 06:02PM (MST)[p]Its illegal to post public land in any way here.Id tear em down before some other moron sees it and thinks its an OK practice.Looks like the same tactics the Mossback goons use,I wouldn't be surprised if its a POS outfitter putting them up.


"I actually agree with NONYA on this."
MTMuley
 
Guys that try to claim public ground are azzhats in my book. I was hunting public riverfront for ducks several years ago. These a-hats kept leaving their decoys out so they could claim the best spot. I went out in the middle of the week one day and no one was around. Most of their decoys were floating down the river before I ever tossed out my first deek. If I saw signs like that where I hunt, they would've been trashed...
 
The first sign, I would paint over explaining I was Gay and wanted to meet some "hunky hunters".

The 2nd one I would change to say that I had an animal fetish and that since the Pronghorn was the only animal on the continent, that I have not had sex with......where can I find a slow one?

"What's good for me, ain't necessarily good for the weak minded"
 
For Pronghorn on Parker Mountain this is a common practice and has been going on for decades. I see why someone would want to hang a sign and why someone would want to tear it off. One thing you will also see in the picture is a blind that has been built and fixed up for the hunt. There is a blind at almost every water hole on the parker they have been there for years. Tag holders have worked hard to keep them and maintain them. My brother and I went up there four years ago and spent the better part of the day repairing one so we could use it for a couple days during the hunt. We left a note in a bottle and hung it on the blind. He killed a nice buck out of it. I would feel dumb going into a nice fixed up blind that someone else worked so hard on during the time they reserved. If you want to have a good hunt on the parker you'd better do some scouting, and put in a little work. Most of us can relate to this. You spend a day setting up a tree stand just to have someone sitting in it when you get there. Good experience for both of you eh??
 
Around here Brant hunting is a huge deal. Limited public land. If you want to get a spot you better go out the day before and spend the night. A sign would get you a few chuckles, but not a place to hunt.

Eel
 
Looks like littering on public land to me. I think I would contact the federal L.e.o.'s and let them write a few citations.

Reserve public land ha WAJ.
 
If it is a violation to post public ground..call the guy up and tell him what he's doiung is illegal and refer the case to the BLM or Forest Service to take care of...thats what we as the public pay them for... right???...and if they don't do nuthin...FIRE THEIR ASSES!! and get somebody who will...
 
Not sure how to approach this I dont think i would intentionally hunt his water hole and If I talked to him face to face I would respect it alot more to know what days he was gonna be where but if I had the tag I would hunt the water but I would be fair about it and let him have his fair share I hear more and more about these types of things If it were an elk hunt and I knew about a monster bull and someone else did to I would still hunt him but if that person beat me to the stalk then Ill just sit back and let the camera roll. Honestly dont know how to approach this situation cause what if the guy is a total ##### about it to.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-10-11 AT 03:21PM (MST)[p]wstrntines---The simple answer for you is that anybody that puts up a sign like that second one basically stating that he owns the place and to stay away is an #######!!!
 
I would have to scout it a few days to see what the most used travel routes were coming into the water hole, then call the # with plans of cutting them off prior to getting to it and wishing no hard feelings. Don't want folks walking up on you, find some place where the odds are in favor of it not happening or hunt private. The ability to stake claim to a plot of dirt costs a little more than a cheap tag.
 
Reserving a hunting place is redundant. I say pack it in - pack it out. What I mean is that if you are there, it is one thing and bring it with you, but if you leave for any reason, pull the sign and take it with you or it is littering. Can you imagine trying to save a place at a waterhole on the Henries or the Pauns. It is being done, but shows no sportsmanship or ethics. These same people are the ones who save a whole section of chairs for their relatives, way before a popular free concert starts only to have them empty to the conclusion of same concert.

Sad part about it, is that certain Hunting Guide Services use this tactic.

Sportsmen are sportsmen what ever they are doing - - and then there are the many others!!
 
Wow, The sign thing is a good idea. I would like everyone to know that I am putting in for the Wasatch area for early rifle elk next year and that no one should apply until after I draw my tag. I am giving you all plenty of warning so respect my decision and let me get my tag! The year after can be your turn.

What a worthless bunch of people to go and claim public land. they are the type of people that butt in line at the movies, grocery store, stop light, etc...
 

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