Hunting Etiquette

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This is a topic I don't see discussed all to often and one I feel is extremely important. Many of the public and private areas that I hunt have required a ton of work to acquire, lots of gas burned and miles of hiking. I bring this up because I get a ton of emails and messages from people asking me to disclose my hunting locations, I'm happy to always give advice but to give up one of my spots is a bit much. Years ago I made the mistake of taking someone that I didn't know to well to one of my prime locations that I did lots of filming. After taking this guy he decided he was going to bring others and even went as far as to make a public invitation including a MAP!!! Needless to say I was very irritated by this but my part is I didn't make it clear that this was not ok, since then I have learned my lesson. I keep my locations to myself other than a few very close friends that I trust enough to follow what I call "respect". Obviously I have no control over "public" land but can be as discrete as possible when showing these locations in video or my written articles. Beyond the public lands I have a good handful of "private" permissions that are sacred to the fact they took lots of work and trust to find and maintain. Out of respect to the land owner I always call ahead and ask if and when I can hunt the property, I do this each and every time I visit. Sometimes it's not good just to show up, they might have work going on that makes it unsafe to shoot...this is my responsibility. If I bring someone else I always ask if that's ok, I would want to know if the tables were turned. Over the years I have encountered many who simply don't think the same way I do, curious to hear what others think??? Enclosed is a video discussing this topic along with a two day adventure into the mountains where I did some scouting for a future trip. Hope some may find this topic interesting and I look forward to hearing some thoughts.

https://youtu.be/IEY1-vSDkqA
 
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For sure,hunting and Fishing spots are sacred grounds.
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+1

I hunt on my own land that I never disclose the location of. It backs up to another 150 acres I can hunt on, but usually just stick to my 80 acres that has trails for the 4-wheeler. I have had to involve the law and the game warden a couple of times due to trespassing issues from other hunters that decided to get ugly instead of showing respect for another's land and getting gone. At least the law was on my side. People still surprise me sometimes even now at 60 years old.
 
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I agree with your perspective and practices 100%.

Hunting and respect should be duct taped together in one inseparable package: Respect of the law, respect for the land and the game you are hunting, respect for your tools of the trade and respect for your fellow hunters and your brothers who share the passion for hunting.

Also, there’s no escaping those sorts of bad mannered people that take well-intentioned gestures for granted. Just gotta try to purge the bad apples and cherish the good ones in your life.
 
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Dana, I totally get what you’re saying. I used to be more willing to share hunting and fishing spots with friends until exactly the same thing happened to me a while back. I took a friend of a friend who I trusted, to one of my favorite spots and told him please don’t go sharing this spot with a bunch of people. A while later I was walking in there and he was on the trail out with his brother and two of his brother’s friends. His brother’s friends ended up sharing the spot with everybody they knew and ruined the spot. In the internet age, so many feel they have to share everything with everybody and there just aren’t enough hunting and fishing spots for every person on the internet to frequent. Nobody wants to put in the time, they just want to reap the rewards! 

Stoti
 
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I've been on both sides of this question. I'll never divulge my fishing or hunting areas again. Did it once and paid for it dearly.

A good friend made me swear to not tell ANYONE about his great crappie fishing spot, where he could catch his limit every trip, before he would take me with him. After experiencing the catch at that spot, I never told a soul. That was over 20 years ago. To this day, I have never told anyone and I never will.


 
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proper hunting etiquette when it comes to places to hunt is to be a completely selfish individual and not tell anyone your spots!"…….. Seriously!

i have too many years of experience of working my butt off to find a good spot whether it is a hunting or fishing spot to just tell anyone. its too easy to just go on the internet now days and learn of good spots. they become easily exposed and overpressured. In alot of cases this results in places being overrun by people who come and go and really dont appreciate preserving a good spot for years to come.
 
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Since I've been lucky enough to acquire permissions at a # of private properties I've NEVER gone without first checking with the owners (even when being told I can just show up) & ALWAYS inform them of whether or not I'll be alone. This, for me, is a rule written in stone! It's only common decency & respect for the owners & appreciation for the use of the land.
 
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100% agree you can't share your prime hunting locations with others and if you have private locations you always need to call ahead to ask if everything is good for a visit and not invite too many guests. Just this year I acquired access to some nut orchards to help the owner ( a fraternity brother of mine) control his ground squirrel problem just a hour from my place instead of the 4 hr trip to my other spot. It took me no joke 25 years to find a spot that close to me so ya keep your good spots close to your vest!
 
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It seems as though it’s assumed etiquette everything you’ve mentioned, however, the truth is there’s always a few bad seeds that mess it up for everyone else. It would be great if you could show someone a place you found to hunt in return for them showing you a honey-hole fishing spot or something. This practice is rarely seen nowadays and it’s because of people who are either oblivious to common sense when it comes to hunting etiquette or maybe they are just new to it and they don’t understand the problems with bringing other people to a spot they were shown without getting permission from the person who brought them out…? I’d like to think it’s the latter and that people aren’t that inconsiderate. I think you said it where you need to make it clear the expectations you have for them before bringing them to one of your spots this way if they do not respect it, there’s no question as to their intent and you’d know they are just an a$$ and can quickly write them off from anything in the future. I enjoy hunting and fishing with company so long as that company is like minded and knows how sacred these spots can be and they show the appreciation and respect that comes along with being introduced to them.. You’d think it’s common knowledge and that even brand new hunters would know, but it’s not unfortunately, so like I said make it clear of your expectations and then there’ll never be a question of their intent… Or if you enjoy hunting solo then keep it to yourself and you’ll never have to deal with the issue that way as well.. 
 
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Dana, I totally get what you’re saying. I used to be more willing to share hunting and fishing spots with friends until exactly the same thing happened to me a while back. I took a friend of a friend who I trusted, to one of my favorite spots and told him please don’t go sharing this spot with a bunch of people. A while later I was walking in there and he was on the trail out with his brother and two of his brother’s friends. His brother’s friends ended up sharing the spot with everybody they knew and ruined the spot. In the internet age, so many feel they have to share everything with everybody and there just aren’t enough hunting and fishing spots for every person on the internet to frequent. Nobody wants to put in the time, they just want to reap the rewards! 

Stoti
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Spot on, looks like you have encountered the same experiences I have. Besides the hunting I have a few fishing spots that are my own personal honey holes. Lol
 
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It seems as though it’s assumed etiquette everything you’ve mentioned, however, the truth is there’s always a few bad seeds that mess it up for everyone else. It would be great if you could show someone a place you found to hunt in return for them showing you a honey-hole fishing spot or something. This practice is rarely seen nowadays and it’s because of people who are either oblivious to common sense when it comes to hunting etiquette or maybe they are just new to it and they don’t understand the problems with bringing other people to a spot they were shown without getting permission from the person who brought them out…? I’d like to think it’s the latter and that people aren’t that inconsiderate. I think you said it where you need to make it clear the expectations you have for them before bringing them to one of your spots this way if they do not respect it, there’s no question as to their intent and you’d know they are just an a$$ and can quickly write them off from anything in the future. I enjoy hunting and fishing with company so long as that company is like minded and knows how sacred these spots can be and they show the appreciation and respect that comes along with being introduced to them.. You’d think it’s common knowledge and that even brand new hunters would know, but it’s not unfortunately, so like I said make it clear of your expectations and then there’ll never be a question of their intent… Or if you enjoy hunting solo then keep it to yourself and you’ll never have to deal with the issue that way as well..
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Unfortunately I've had to now assume the worst of people until they prove me wrong. It's a bummer the world has become this way but it is what it is. I prefer hunting by myself with an occasional friend that comes once in awhile. Thankfully over the years I've acumulated some amazing properties to spend time on. Like I said, always happy to help but will never provide a map. Lol 
 
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