interesting question

[bnsafe]

in the new bugle magazine the question was, if you got to your spot and somebody else was there would you wait for them to go then go or put your stuff on and try and get in front of them. and if they were slow on the trail would you pass them or lollygag along. personally i would ask them which direction they were headed and head in the opposite direction, so i might leave before or after, but i wouldn't be going to the same spot. my feeling is if they got up and got there before you they get to choose where they go, but don't have exclusive rights. and how does that change your plans, say you were gonna hunt west of a trailhead in the morning then go sit on a stand east of the trailhead but they choose east.

[Backcountry]

Typically if I am at a spot first and someone pulls in I will approach them and promptly tell them where I plan on going, then let them make their move. Vice versa if I show up second. This is where having an intimate knowledge of your area comes in handy.

I do not like hunting when I know others may be around.

[eltaco]

That's always a tough one. I hunt from a base camp at a trailhead and discuss general plans with any neighbors before hand. Generally speaking, I'm the only one that knows the area well and has scouted... so I try to steer clear of others without telling them exactly which direction I'm going. Mostly, guys are quizzing me trying to figure out where I'm headed and if they run on bad luck for a couple of days I end up finding them in areas that I'd brought up in previous discussions. I now tend to keep pretty vague and go a different direction if they have plans.

Its nice to get with people the night before so we're not running into each other at daybreak the next morning... it hurts to put in that much effort before daylight and stumble upon each other right when shooting hours start.

[cnelk]

In a popular area, I have been known to go in early, get to the first fork in the trail, slip just into the timber and wait for others hunters to come by with their headlamps on.
If they take one fork, I take the other.

[Vanish]

Reminds me of mule deer hunting last year. We were hunting the heavily trafficked Boulder hiils, unit 29, second season.

Opening morning my father was working up one ridge, we were across from him. Another couple of guys had pulled up as we started, so they knew where we were headed. Once they were finally suited up, they started running up the hill my dad was on (could see their headlamps), until they finally passed him and slowed down. That really pissed me off.

Its one thing to unintentionally cross paths with someone, but another to intentionally cut them off.

Then, of course, a guy that came in even earlier from a different parking lot was the one that got the deer in that drainage that morning.

Won't be hunting that unit again!

[RockChucker30]

Vanish, that would tick me off. My Dad gets around pretty slow these days.

I didn't see a person outside a half mile from the road last year, and only one set of week old boot tracks, even though I was hunting off a hiking trail. Love having places to myself....I feel crowded easy.

[elkmtngear]

I hope I never have to answer that question. I've never had this problem where we go...seeing other hunters is pretty rare

[Jaquomo]

Last season a young guy pulled up and parked behind me in the dark. Real "go-getter", pretty inexperienced, new to bowhunting elk. I'd figured out a herd and was going in for the kill on the herd bull. We talked awhile and I asked him where he planned to hunt. He said he was going to charge way around the mountain to get up on top to cowcall at first light. (Top of the mountain with a hard descending thermal, when the elk typically come up to cross into the bedding areas from below? Oh well). I told him I was old and would meander my way along up the drainage above us. He said he hadn't hunted the spot for a couple weeks and was going in blind. We crossed the creek together and off he went at a 90 degree angle at a rapid rate of speed.

I carefully poked my way up the draw, listening. Just before shooting light the herd bull sounds off. I'm hanging on the edge of the herd, waiting for it to get light enough to see. The plan is coming together. Suddenly cows start running toward me from the other side. Kid didn't go where he said he was going, but instead circled back down the mountain and ran right toward the bugle, not even considering there might be cows scattered around in the timber. Off they went, over the top and into a ranch.

He knew I was in that drainage because I went exactly where I said I'd go, and he charged in there anyway.

Next time I saw him he was perched on a little rock outcrop on top of the mountain, squeaking rythmically on a Hoochie Mama like a metronome. I would've liked to have talked to him but I never saw him again. I think he may have stayed up on that outcrop all day.

I think I did the courteous thing by offering him first choice. I suppose I could have invited him to hunt with me, told him about the bull and the herd, but I'd busted my butt all season, figured these elk out, and he was the kind of kid who would blow up a double-team setup with impatience and by being overeager.