For most of my life I've hunted public land 90% of the time. I've met alot of great fellow hunters in the woods who are courteous and very polite. I have, however, also met quite a few inconsiderate idiots. The first deer I ever shot was taken by a hunter who decided to sit down in a shooting lane about 80 yards downhill from me. My brother and I both shot deer out of the same herd, his dropped and mine took off downhill. The other guy had it gutted and started dragging it before I could even get to it. Two weeks later two hunters finished off a deer my father shot, while he was helping me gut my first deer. We tracked it to where it died and then found the gut pile and the brains from where they shot it in the back of the head (
). My first year hunting we were about 200 yards from private land that runs through the middle of the WMA. A man and his son who were hunting the private land set up a stand about 50 yards inside the game lands in front of us. His son shot a 5 point above us, and he shot a spike crossing down below us. My father helped him track the spike and congratulated his son on shooting the buck. Probably the worst thing I've ever seen happen is when my uncle shot a nice 8 point. A man came out of nowhere as he approached his deer and told my uncle that he was the one that shot it. When my uncle opposed him he pointed his muzzle at my uncle and told him that he had "better just let him take the deer". My uncle promptly backed away and let him have the deer. The thing is there are alot of ignorant, idiotic, and arrogant individuals carrying loaded weapons around the woods. Common sense says, in public land, if you are their first you get to hunt it. Most guys will agree and are polite, but be careful how you approach situations because some people are just too arrogant not to put your life in danger.