WHY

[willybbig]

While I am not against helping people with places/areas to hunt, why do people openly post information on specific places to hunt? I know this is a site to share with, but I have seen more damage done to hunting places because of the internet that it just blows me away. I can only assume that people are more than willing to share info in a place they may not hunt anymore. There are places that people hunt year after year and sharing this type of information just kills those places. In alot of the cases, there aren't great animal populations anyways and then with the "new" or extra hunting pressure, it goes to crap thereafter. Like I said before, I will help with the "basics" but will PM people if they want more specific information. I certainly am not going to give info about places that I specifically hunt as most of those places just simply can't handle anymore pressure than they already have.

I guess my issue is that most of the places that I have found to hunt, have been FOUND by me. I went out, scouted, and spent the time walking gazillions of miles to find the best places. We on the internet are making it way to easy for people to find places to hunt, which in return may ruin a place that others have hunted successfully for years. I am selfish, I guess I am. I just would like to see less "where to" and more "get out and explore" info. Sorry for the rant.

 

[slamdunk]

I's say it's because this is an open forum where most people like to share and help each other be more successful. (IMO)

I really doubt you have "found" any place to hunt, there is nowhere that noone else isn't already hunting.
I'd say you "stumbled across" someone elses place by doing your homework.
Some places are just better than others, but someone is always there already.

If someone wants to help another member out, that's fine and noone should critisize them for that, that's why they have joined an informational public forum.

Granted most "honey holes" are PM'ed, i can attest to that by the hundreds i have in my inbox.
But i have given out plenty of info openly, especially on LE units where noone else can hunt at the time but the tag holder, and others have gave back info openly too me.

So on that note....where's your "honey hole" Lol ;-)

 

[coloradoman]

Ditto to Slam....well said

 

[legacy]

I think there has been plenty of "get out and explore" on this site. I agree with slam, most places to hunt aren't really to "secret". And if somebody draws an LE tag, why not help that person out a little? Only a certain amount of people are hunting specfic units anyway. I'm willing to give out information, but it's usually a little vague. It depends on the area and what not. If you want to know where to find a ton of small bucks in the northern region, I'll tell you right where to go. If I tell someone a place to hunt on a general unit, it probably isn't much of a "honey hole" for anyone anyway. What goes around comes around.

 

[out4elk]

A few years back I started scouting an area my dad told me about(him and my uncles hunted it years ago). I knew the area but never even thought about that drainage. I found it held its share of good bucks and even had one bruiser. I kept my lips sealed all summer long and was excited for the hunt to arrive because I didn't see any more than 5 guys in that area the whole summer. Boy was I surprised to see all the hunters on opening morning. The bruiser buck got shot by somebody else and I was so ticked I passed on every buck I saw that day.

It seems that no matter what we do and what precautions we take people find out about our honey holes and we find ourselves mad at whatever we feel contributed to the influx of people. How many of your honey holes have you actually found WITHOUT any outside influence. I say that because when I read your comment I pretty much agreed with your frustration but then started thinking about all my honey holes. Very few of them were found without some sort of assistance whether it was somebody on the internet with a loose keyboard, a friend or a conversation you overheard in town. A lot of them started with and idea I had that resulted in me asking questions and then later researching what I had learned or been told.

IMO we should remain willing to help while not posting info all over the place. I also feel the best way to keep the edge with a honey hole and ensure yourself better luck than the hundreds of other hunters that have somehow found our spot is to learn your spot better than the rest of them. Know the best trails, clearings and water sources and such. The truth is most of the hunters, at least in Utah, will never put that much effort into a honey hole.



?Here?s to the hero's that Git-R-Done!!?

 

[desertpointbrian]

this is a hunting forum and the info you give is most of the time greatly appreciated by others. i remember on the utah dwr forums before they did away with them. and i remember a guy that had a wasatch moose tag and was having a hard time locating some good bulls he reached for help and i gave him a spot where he iventionally killed a nice bull.in return he gave me an awesome southern deer spot tit for tat.the only problem i have is when new members hurry and log in just because they drew a tag and automatically want help.but even that does not bother me to bad if you do not want someone in your spot dont post or dont give it out but who knows one day you might be one of the guys asking for info

 

[skyline_driver]

I would have to say to I have never found a spot without at least a little help in some way or another. Even when I have taken roads I didn't hear about from others,the only reason I stumbled upon a place to hunt was because someone gave me an "idea" of an area to try out and I lucked out and came across a place to get out and hunt. I feel you though, I can't say that I like to see places I have fished/ camped for years without seeing hardly a soul, becoming overcrowded by everyone and their dog. It is a fact of life when it comes to hunting though, people talk, give ideas and eventually with habitat destruction, purchasing and the posting of private property, we will all be hunting a little more arm in arm with others here in the future. Personally I don't advertise my spots, but if others want to I cannot stop them.

 

[cohntr6]

I'll give you the answer my 8 year
old daughter gives me when I ask why she did something....BECAUSE!

I have to agree with slamdunk and your last comments
about being selfish.
You also need to realize that if people find out about your spot they may never even venture there because they live in another state or are lazy so just go and hunt it!


Jeff

 

[mtmuley]

I think helping someone that has drawn a tough to get tag when you know the area the tag is for, is the right thing to do. I'll help anyone that draws a tag that I wish I had if I know how to make them successful. How am I to know if I'll ever draw anyway? My normal go-to-fill-the-freezer spot is a secret I'll take with me. mtmuley

 

[eyecrazy]

we all hunt public land if someone kills in an area they always tell someone or people know where they hunt and the next year the secret is out so why not let people know. I have found that even if people know where you hunt they don't spend the time to know how to hunt the area or when to hunt the area. I hunt on monte cristo with everyone else and I do good but I spend the time to know how and when to hunt. good luck to everyone this year. some times I get a biger thrill leting someone else get the animal.

 

[mozey]

I'd echo what others have said about the LE unit. If I know of a honeyhole in a LE unit and the odds of me ever getting to hunt that unit are just slightly better than zilch, then what's the harm?

However, the easier the draw, the more stingy I get with my information; then it becomes a much less public "how-might-we-be- able-to-help-each-other?" discussion.

 

[YukonDall]

I'VE BEEN HELPED BY A FEW GOOD GUYS ON MM , AND I'VE HELPED A FEW GUYS WITH INFORMATION MYSELF. WHEN YOU DRAW THAT GREAT LE HUNT TAG YOU WANT TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT & HAVE A GREAT HUNT....EASY CONCEPT....BUT YOU MIGHT NOT TELL EVERYONE ABOUT YOUR BEST HONEYHOLE....BUT IT DONT HURT TO PUSH A GUY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION......YD.

 

[Elk_Nuts]

WillyBBig, you sound like all my Bass Fishing buddies, I fish Tourney's almost every weekend. We have fishing forums. When someone gives up too much info they act like it is the end of the world. hahahhahah Funny. I won A.O.Y. this year and I wont even go FUN fishing with anyone but my TEAM partner or my Kids. Because I dont want to give away any info that might help someone beat me in a tourney. It is differnt when it comes to my hunting, I will help someone out as much as I can. I guess because there is no $$$$$$$$$ involved.

_____________________________________
A Peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience, rather than that of onlookers. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this fact.- Aldo Leopold.

 

[nickman]

I seriously doubt that any "real" hunter expects someone to divulge a favorite hunting or fishing hole. That being said, if I don't draw an area and I know someone that did, I will generally tell them EVERYTHING I know.

If the success rate stays high then the tag numbers remain high, or even increase.

 

[sageadvice]

So, i'm reading that most of you will gladly point someone or outright tell them, where to go "if" it's not your own favorite honeyhole. It may be someone elses honeyhole you're telling about but that don't seem to matter. I think that's what the origional poster had in mind in his rant and i somewhat agree with him.

Most places, there's been some dandy's, that i have hunted were exposed to me thru a friend or family. I may only hunt the place once but soon learn how the area hunts and would be easy enough to pass on that info but, usually, i won't. The guys i hunt with know this and because i can keep my mouth closed, i often get the straight scoop or more invites. Always respect those that take, share, or invite you to join them in their camp or hunting spot by not freely giving out info learned while their guest. To do otherwise, IMO, is just wrong.

Joey

 

[RACKMASTER]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-18-08 AT 02:46AM (MST)[p]why ask why?
3 post and question why!! most with 3 post know it all already..
no one is giving up a spot.....its 99% general info!
tons of info is so much more than where and more about what expected like weather, privite prop, what was winter kill, camping, north south east west.
hell you should be whining more about HUNTING """""" mag than anything else..Garth needs to open a car wash to make a buck!
he alone can drasticly change draw odds in a premium hunting unit!
with gas being what it is and us being Americans (and at war!)and guys with a family to support and work 65hours a week just to keep his home and saves his vacation just for hunting which he or she looks forword too all year may not have the means to scout so why not help in a general sense?
I seen duck hunting web sites that guys posted refuge satelite maps with red "X" at best spots and that was a hornets nest...lol!!
that has not happend here yet so people ask for help they will get it in an open forum..PM's are privite and should not be part of this..
just my 2 sense
jack

 

[PleaseDear]

I offer to help on here and then go with PM's...if I am comfortable with the person I am helping, then I go to E-mails and maybe even mail out my maps with post-its of highlights and then get the map mailed back to me.....

Sometimes I even offer a spot in my camp if we have the same tag.

I have no problem helping fellow hunters out on our M&M site.

Robb

 

[completesportsman]

I don't mind giving people general advice if they ask. Slamdunk is right on, there is no secret honey holes anymore that haven't been hunted. But I think a good hunter doesn't tell everything he knows.

Around here people always talk of finding a farm to hunt that no one has hunted in several years but that is BS. If no one is hunting then the locals know this and they will sneak in and help themselves.

 

[YukonDall]

HERE'S ANOTHER TAKE ON THIS....SOMEHOW...WHEN YOU HELP SOMEONE (DOES NOT HAVE TO BE HUNTING) IF KINDA COMES BACK ON YOU IN A VERY NICE WAY.
CANT TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I'VE RUN INTO PEOPLE I'VE GOTTEN TO KNOW OVER CAR TROUBLE, BAD RELATIONSHIPS, ALCOHOL, HUNTING SITUATIONS ECT. AND THEY ARE GLAD TO SEE YOU .....BECAUSED YOU CARED JUST A LITTLE. ITS A NICE FEELING.
NICKMAN & PLEASEDEAR ARE JUST A COUPLE OF THE GUYS THAT HAVE/ARE HELPING ME AS WE SPEAK ON A DEER HUNT & A MOOSE HUNT,,,AND I DO APPRECIATE IT..........AND I WOULD RETURN THE FAVOR.....YD.

 

[caelkhnter]

For what it is worth, here is my position. I have advanced to the point that I now try to get drawn for a number of out of state tags each year. I would not say I am a true trophy hunter, but I am disciplined and very selective. As a result, I try to get tags in the areas known to generally be the home of the better quality deer and elk. As a result, more often than not, I do not get drawn. When I do, because it is for an out of state tag, I really appreciate the fact that I can get some pointers on where to start, from people who visit and share on MM. Consequently, I will do the same with the information I have about hunts I have made.

At the end of the day, the information provided is only a starting point, it will ultimately be up to the individual hunter as to whether they can effective;y use it. Just because you may have a general idea of where to start, does not mean you will be sucessful.

I have been on many hunts, where I see many hunters in the same general area, who are not seeing what I am seeing, nor doing what I am doing.

All in all, I know it can be frustrating to see a fellow hunter in a place you thought "was all yours", however many times I have used the presence of other hunters to my advantage. In addition, I think it is important for us as hunters to cooperate and generally help each other for the good of our beloved sport. With all the anit hunting efforts prevelant today, we do need to get along and protray a good image of hunting and hunters, so as to avoid the bickering and backstabbing which can and will be used against hunting by PETA and similar groups.

 

[Buckmania]

>While I am not against helping
>people with places/areas to hunt,
>why do people openly post
>information on specific places to
>hunt? I know this is
>a site to share with,
>but I have seen more
>damage done to hunting places
>because of the internet that
>it just blows me away.
>I can only assume that
>people are more than willing
>to share info in a
>place they may not hunt
>anymore. There are places that
>people hunt year after year
>and sharing this type of
>information just kills those places.
>In alot of the cases,
>there aren't great animal populations
>anyways and then with the
>"new" or extra hunting pressure,
>it goes to crap thereafter.
>Like I said before, I
>will help with the "basics"
>but will PM people if
>they want more specific information.
>I certainly am not going
>to give info about places
>that I specifically hunt as
>most of those places just
>simply can't handle anymore pressure
>than they already have.
>
>I guess my issue is that
>most of the places that
>I have found to hunt,
>have been FOUND by me.
>I went out, scouted, and
>spent the time walking gazillions
>of miles to find the
>best places. We on the
>internet are making it way
>to easy for people to
>find places to hunt, which
>in return may ruin a
>place that others have hunted
>successfully for years. I am
>selfish, I guess I am.
>I just would like to
>see less "where to" and
>more "get out and explore"
>info. Sorry for the rant.
>

then don't share and don't ask....one or two cases that you've "seen" damaged by the internet does not carry across the board to destroying numerous peoples hunting grounds...

 

[deserthorn]

I'm not one that will give away honey holes but helping out another hunter is what we are here for so giving out good advise on were to start is always a good thing. this year I have been helping out a guy with his kids youth elk tag here in Utah. the area that I am told him to go check out was actually one of my honey holes. and I hunt it with my bow every year. But I felt that by helping him out hopefully some day when i need help some where that he knows very well he will return the favor. but thats just how I am i love to help people and watch them and to see there excitement when they harvest that animal and I helped them do that. its a great feeling.

Jake

 

[drophorn]

willybbig have you ever seen the movie {pay it forward} maybe you could learn something from it !!!!! it never hurts to help a fellow hunter in need, maybe you will be the one asking someday and somebody will tell you to pissoff.

 

[huntjock]

Over the years I have spent countless time with maps, on the road, in the mountains - scouting. I'm glad I did. No, not because I've found some "honey holes." I really haven't. In retrospect, there is simply something about being "out there" that cannot be put into words. Its great when your scouting pays off in terms of filling a tag with a nice animal, but I don't mind not filling my tag.

There are a couple of guys who have responded on this thread who have been gracious enough to provide info to me via PMs. Not honey holes - I have never asked for that info and I wouldn't. Its probably like respect or trust - its not just given to you, its earned. I dunno.

I consider MM a great resource. If we can share info that helps others out and that is done with good discretion, then that's a bonus.

p.s. I'm look for a 350+ bull for my son in WY this year - anyone? (just kidding)

 

[264X300]

First of all great string. I have never seen a string where the posts were all more than four lines long.

I have had no trouble giving out information on the PM to those who ask and most of my info has been learned first hand. I know no one in CO and have been hunting there for the past three years (this will make four). I learned areas by searching topo maps, Google Earth and taking a few extra vacation days to walk the area three or four days before the season. (which can be dangerous if you bump elk unintentionally)

My only complaint is I gave specific info on the deer area in AZ that I have hunted a lot to a guy last year who was persistant to have someone give him instead of going to find on his own. Someone else also helped him and even took him around personally. Then he takes a great deer and all of a sudden he becomes secrative. Wants to post the pic's and "receive once again" all the "great pictures, thanks for sharing" comments, but didn't even have the courtesy say thanks in the PM until I sent him repeated requests and then it was a general "thanks to all who helped" comment. A personal thanks for your help does not cost anything, but of course he already had his deer.

I still do not have problems giving info, but will be more selective in the future.
264X300

 

[smokepolejohnson]

Willybig, Could it possibly be that on some occasions people on these open forums that post pics are completely full of sh@t. I'm guilty. I've posted buck pics on this site and have made up a bogus bull sh@t location.