5000 acres, and...

[buck460XVR]

Wow Buck! The vociferous pontification you provided proves to me a couple things...

First, you have never hunted outside your own woods and think everyone operates by the same rules as yo

I could say I've gotten the same feedback from your posts.

I am fully aware that other public lands do not always go by the same rulebook as my state does, never said they did. I do think my state has one of the best philosophies on public land access tho. I also do not consider Military bases as Public because they are under their own rules and enforcement and give privileged access(and rightfully so) to military personal over the general public. At least the 60,000 acre base next door to me does. I hunt it, but mostly for grouse and woodcock. A $20 permit for every game species and different permits for bow and gun. I am also blessed with hundreds of thousands of acres of state, federal and county land within a half hour in all four directions. I also have a thousand or so acres of family land I am privileged to hunt. My woods is quite large. Guess that's why I don' t have a problem with walkin' to another spot if somebody beats me to one. Since the areas you hunt allows stands to stay all season, must they be tagged? Does the law also state that no one else can hunt within a certain distance at any time? I guess some of the confusion comes from when I say someone beats you to your stand, I mean that specific spot in the woods, or the tree, not the stand you put up.


Grouchy? Yeah maybe a tad. Old farts generally are for one reason or another. Comes with the territory. Iffin you're still in a unit, then I was probably huntin' public land for many years before you were born. Even with having private land to hunt, I still enjoy bein' able to put a day pack on and sneak hunt in the big public woods from sunup to sundown and never cross my trail. In that half century I have yet to tell someone else they need to leave when they were there first. While I may have been irritated they were there, I still moved on. I may have been there first and when they showed up and whined they had no place else to go, I moved on. Grouchy? Maybe, just a tad. Most folks out there are just trying to have fun. Maybe life don't give them the time to scout and learn woodsmanship, so they only do have one place to go on a tract of land consisting of tens of thousands of acres. Probably why they feel the need to put out bait as opposed to using and trusting learned skills. I give those folks a break. They generally don't get that many opportunities anyway and are appreciative of bein' given a chance. But I don't have time for those that think that somehow they are special and that particular spot is theirs, just cause they say so. Or they trimmed a shooting lane or dumped some Deer Cain on the ground. The can beller, scream and get red in the face all they want. Even if it's an empty hole, I'll stay there just to irk the 'ell outta 'em. I tell 'em I'll leave, when they show me the deed.

[tahoe2]

well said Buck, I do hunt public land in Western Washington, lots of Timber Companies out here, they allow access (foot, bike, or horse) during hunting season, behind locked gates.
The gates used to be open for vehicle entry, but due to campers (brush pickers) leaving trash again and again, the timber companies have limited access over the years.
I ride my mountain bike in, usually a few miles or more, haven't scored this year yet (still have 2 weeks left) but that's hunting on public land.

not whining, just accepting the challenges, life does not always allow scouting as much as I'd like, so;

There are other ways to increase your odds;

research game taken in previous years (fish & game reports)

Topo maps, etc... take advantage of the tools you have at your disposal and make the most of it!

May not get a deer this year, but I will give it my best shot!! (pun intended!)

[Art Eatman]

Enough grumpiness...