parking behind someone at a gate

[turkeyfool]

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Hi guys,

Been wanting to make a post about this for a while. Not intended to be a controversial topic or blame the Youtubers lol. I've had a real issue this year with people walking in behind me. More often than not, they park behind me at the gate (so they know i'm already back in there). Other times, there's multiple gates in a small area, so I may have to give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know I was already in an area.

But it's actually pretty dangerous, in my opinion. I had someone do it in NC, I had 2 or 3 diff guys try to stalk a gobbling bird in MD and slip in right next to me. The worst was in Maryland this year. I had 2 birds gobbling on private for an hour. I saw 3 guys walking down the trail and I flagged them down that I was there and waiting on these birds. They proceeded to acknowledge me and instead of hunting anywhere else in this giant SF, decided to go back 200 yards and continue calling (couldn't believe it).

The very next Sunday, these same guys pull in at 5am and see my truck. Park down the road and while I'm sleeping in the back of my truck about to get out, I look out the window to see they're 5 yards from the truck. I open the door and these guys are startled. They either KNEW the wrong thing to do was park down the road and walk in behind me or they were going to try to see if my truck was open to rob it. Not sure which. Can't believe how F***ing dumb people are.

That is all

[Turkeybutt]

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Maybe both, ya never know these days.

[shatcher]

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I love the sport and don't want to say all turkey hunters are derelicts, but more and more are getting that way.  A reflection on society as a whole, I suppose.  Unfortunate.

[bigriverbum]

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i didn't realize sleeping in your vehicle at an entrance gave you dibs to the place

[Greg Massey]

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It's just all part of hunting the public ground, you have to take the good with the bad some days...

[Master Gobbie]

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It's just all part of hunting the public ground, you have to take the good with the bad some days...

Very true!

I ran into a lot of guys this year on public, both at the gate and in the woods. And every single encounter was extremely pleasant,  actually restored a little faith in me.

I personally don't go in behind someone, for me it takes away from the quality of the hunt, knowing someone is out there and most likely on the same bird. There's always more land where I'm at.

[turkeyfool]

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Honestly, when you're hunting a SF that's thousands and thousands of acres and there's a single gate that walks you into the back corner of a 75-100 acre public piece (up to private) and you're sleeping at the gate, it's yours. I don't care what you say.

But that's actually not the point at all. They didn't know I was sleeping. They were slipping in behind me very-well knowing where I was. If they knew what they were doing wasn't wrong, they would've parked behind. Not a mile down the road and walked up. I do think they were trying to rob my truck because they didn't have their guns with them. Probably should've mentioned that

[Mountainburd]

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You guys seem really hung up on these gates, and that only 1 hunter can hunt that area. I guess it depends on the size of piece. I hunt some parcels of public land that are 10,000 plus acres. Once you pass that gate there are a lot of options and directions you can go.

[turkeyfool]

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I'm referring to an area that's so thick, you have to walk in past the gate on the trial. I'm not trying to turn this into a pissing match. What i'm saying is, if I pull up and someone's parked where I want to be, I move on. No reason to go in behind someone/ruin their hunt or potentially get shot

[Dtrkyman]

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I am not going in unless they are there at the time and I can have a conversation with them!

[Gooserbat]

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So does the access road go 1/2 mile or 3 miles.  Is parking in a spot suddenly giving or denying access to 200 acres or 1200.its all about the reality that some people try to take advantage of the situation from opposite ends.

[g8rvet]

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I'm referring to an area that's so thick, you have to walk in past the gate on the trial. I'm not trying to turn this into a pissing match. What i'm saying is, if I pull up and someone's parked where I want to be, I move on. No reason to go in behind someone/ruin their hunt or potentially get shot

It is real simple.  99% of the time, the late arriver knows the deal (how much access there is, how many acres, etc).  When you post on here, it is 100% guaranteed that someone will tell you it is public and you don't own the land.  But only you (and they) know if what they did was unethical.  It is not about ownership, rights, who got there first or claiming a spot.  It is about treating others with respect and it is also 100% that some folks just don't care about that.  It is what it is and there is nothing you can do about it.  Walk around crow calling for an hour or two and ruin both hunts or move on and find another spot.  Either is a valid option, depending on your mood.  The best option for your sanity is just move on.  It is highly unlikely you will teach them anything their parents were unable or unwilling to.   

[Brian Fahs]

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I've been hunting turkeys on public in the mountains of Maryland for 35 years. If you don't want parked on or run over better find another state, it is the norm there.

 I usually truck camp at or near the gate or area I intend to hunt. Not to reserve a spot but just to maximize my sleep time. It really simplifies things.

 The biggest problem hunting big public is the pressure can come from all directions and usually where you least expect it. Every step you take from the road puts you one step closer to the next one.....

[Tom007]

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All this boils down to sportsman ethics, overall human morals. Public land, public body’s of water are all open to all persons properly incensed to utilize these resources. It reminds me of trout fishing in public stocked waters. I would get up early with a group of fisherman and get to the stream to get a spot to fish. We would have coffee on the stream bank getting ready for the season opener to kick off. Other fisher-persons would walk by and say “Hello” and move on to another part of the stream to fish. Turkey hunting requires more “room” to work a perspective bird, but the same ethics apply. Not everyone understands the ethics of hunting public areas, thus conflicts occur. I was a hunter-education instructor for many years and look back on the curriculum and realize that this topic did not get enough attention. Bringing an over-all ethics awareness to our new hunters might help in the future.

[Howie g]

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I am not going in unless they are there at the time and I can have a conversation with them!

This ^^