Ok, just wanted to get some feedback about a situation I had this week on some public land.

A group of 3 of us arrived at location at approximatly 4:30 am. This location is a small lake. Pulled up and seen 1 truck parked. Seen 1 group setting up near truck and far from where we planned to hunt. So, we unloaded our gear and walked to a blind that my buddy built the night before. I realize this gives no precidence on public land. Anyway, we we got to the blind there are 2 chairs still in bags, a small bag of dekes, and a small canvas blind laying on ground all covered with frost. Nobody around. We assumed someone tried to claim spot by leaving stuff thre. We proceeded to move the stuff away and set out our spread. At approx 10 min before LST a guy comes up obviously ticked off asking why we sat there. He claimed he sat it out at 2 am. Apparently he was sitting in the truck that we pulled up to when we unloaded. Nobody got out of the truck when we unloaded our stuff so we naturally assumed it was the guys setting up at the other spot (turned out it wasn't). Despite the guy being pissy with us we offered to share the blind with him. He continued to say that he is waiting on 1 more person. Remember this is approx 10 min before LST...

It's my impression that on public land its first come first serve. If he had told us that he was setting up there when we were unloading we would have set up somewhere else without any complaints. He beat us to the spot...but by not doing so then I think he was wrong for not sitting in the blind or hanging a light or something like that since it it a bit a of walk to get to the spot.

What do ya'll think of this? Were we wright or wrong to set up there?

You were Right. Public land spots are only held by Live Bodies.

I don't think he beat you to the spot since he wasn't there when you arrived. Who knows, he might have put his stuff out there the night before.

I dont think he did either- I would think so if he was waiting in the truck and got out and told us where he sat his stuff or something like that...and let us know he was simply waiting in the truck after setting his spot. He obviously knew that he needed to get their early to get his stuff if he in fact did put the gear in the blind at 2 am...

So what was end result? Did yall hunt together or tell him to hug a root?

He was mad and let us know. Despit that we did offer to share the blind but he didn't like that idea and proceeded to tell us that he is going to set up 60 yds down from us. He ended up more like 125 yds. Figured he would sky blast any ducks working us and not him, but I'll give him credit, he let the birds work us.

The hunting was very slow that day and birds shut down early so it wasn't a very productive hunt anyhow...

There is no reserving a spot on public. If you want it, you need to be set up and in the spot. Sleeping in your vehical, while your gear is down there is not being set up.

Hats off to you for offering him the opition to hunt with you.

No doubt you were in the right

You handled it perfectly, IMO. I've slept in blinds on public plenty of times. Once with my teenage daughter when it was in the upper teens. So, I don't want to hear some puss try to tell me he was there first.

Handled correctly...remain calm...hats off to you for offing him to hunt with you...these situations are not that hard if you have your head on your shoulders.

What would be so bad about hunting together why would anybody move down that short of distance. Isn't it better to have one bigger group of hunters rather than try to split like that. Does it ever work out better to split? Could a couple of guys be so bad that it would be better to move less than say 200yrds. One reason I ask is being new to duck hunting and having to hunt public how likely are the chances that I'll be invited to hunt with someone. Should I ask to join if I find someone in the general area or avoid them all together? If someone want to hunt with I'd be glad to have them.

I think you made a mistake, albeit an honest one.

Shoulda acted deaf

?????????????It aint high school... you cant save a spot in line unless your there........ i have gotten out at midnight to get a awsome spot... its all on how much you love to hunt............

The stress and bs of hunting public has to take a lot of the fun away from the hunt. Props to all of y'all that deal with that crap and still make it a good hunt.

The thing I don't get is why would someone knowingly put their stuff in a blind someone else made the night before. It is pretty obvious that it was just built.

with your exact details, you are in the right. if some information is wrong, the other guy may be right. such as: if there was no frost on his gear and he was just back at his truck getting more gear.

one thing im always afraid of when public hunting is if i have to make two trips, whats gonna happen if i return to my stuff and someone else moved in.

also, if he really was waiting on someone else, and he was waiting for them back at the truck, it kinda sucks that he dropped his gear off, went and picked up his buddy, and you moved in.

but, let me repeat myself, if you gave accurate details, you are in the right.

Im thinking that if he actually got out there at 2am that he should have put out some chem lights or a light at that spot so someone could see from a distance; that would have been the proper thing to do.

ishootspoonies- my details are accurate. frost was covering everything, so we assumed that someone just dropped it there the night before. He was not waiting outside of his truck or getting any gear. We pulled up, seen another truck but assumed it was the guys setting up nearby. Nobody at the truck and it was all dark. If he had stepped out and told us that he was hunting the spot and had dropped his stuff off and was waiting on a friend then that would have been fine by me and we would have gladly hunted a different spot.

bhunter- I agree about the lights...he obviously is aware of the pressure to get a good spot on public land because he said he put his stuff down at 2 am.

tx_basser- being on public land i have came across many blinds. Some nicer than others. Cant always tell how long they been there. And I build em realiziing that if i dont get out there early enought someone may just beat me to it...all part of the JOYS OF HUNTING PUBLIC...I think it is all part of it. I have used other blinds that I have came across. I usually always try to improve the blind a little bit each time I use it, whether I built it or not.

Moe#2- the guy was being a jack@ss by trying to sit that close. By sitting where he did and getting there so late (right at LST before throwing his first decoy out) he eneded up sitting up directly across another group that was out there and setting up the same time we did. They eneded up packing up 30 min after LST (I assume mad b/c of those guys sitting up right across from them).

Duckslapper- can you explain why?

sorry for thread jack... whats a good rule of thumb on how far you should hunt from other hunters on public land. with out interupting theyre hunt?

Moving someones stuff would be out of bounds for me, i was taught from a young age that if its not mine...... dont touch it. From what the guy said he was waiting on a friend and was probably waiting in the truck for two reasons, cold and so he could meet his friend in the parking lot and walk to the blind together so the friend knows where the blind is. From what your OP says i think you just wanted to hunt the blind you built and used the fact there was no warm body in it to take it over. I totally undrstand where your coming from, if i built a blind the day before i would be ticked if some one was in it the next morning. Unfortunatly when hunting on public land thats what we have to deal with. Niether of you were in the right and niether were in the wrong, not trying to slam you for what you did at all. Although it wouldnt have killed you to walk a little further to set up and avoided the confrontation all together.

I dont think it is right to set your gear out the night before by any means either. However if i went to a spot and found someone elses gear in place..I am going to move on to another spot. Yeah, they may have put it out the night before..but getting into an argument with the owners of the gear right before LST is going to take the fun out of the morning for me. I too was taught if its not mine..dont touch it.

I certainly dont know all the circumstances of the owners of that gear you mention, but if I had gone out and set my gear up at 2 am...and my buddy called and said he was on his way out to meet me and i decided to run back to the truck to meet him so he would know where the blind was...i dont see a problem with that either. Id probably be upset if someone set up on top of me too.

I do know that it only takes a short time for frost to form on your gear. The day before yesterday i set up at 3 am. When i first got into my spot..the Temp was still above 32 degrees and nothing had frost on it. The dewpoint was high enough that dew began to form on my gear. By LST the temp had dropped below 32 degrees and everything around me and my gear had frost all over it. You could not tell any difference between the gear and the surrounding plants...etc. Looked just like my gear had been out all night. It only takes a short time for frost to form if the dewpoint was reached and then the temps drop below freezing.

x2 my thoughts exactly

Thanks for the reply on blinds. I try and avoid others blinds unless it appears to be a community type of blind. I haven't duck hunted much in 20 years, but I did run into a guy like that at Fork that felt he could dump his stuff off in a blind then wait in the car napping until shooting time.