parking behind someone at a gate

[joey46]

 The guy regulated to weekends only on public land is truly screwed in most places now.  I have no real solutions only sympathy.  I spent years hunting mid season week days on public land and usually did ok with minimal interference.  Hunting non gobbling once pressured birds was always preferable for me than joining a race at the gate.  Different times - different game. 

[Tail Feathers]

Joey is right, things have changed.  The states could do lotteries for the days a person could hunt but who wants that restriction?  Common courtesy and handling ourselves with courtesy for others is the best solution.

[Paulmyr]

Rather than just joining in on lamenting the circumstances around crowded public land hunting, I will instead offer a possible solution or alternative.  If you are finding yourself consistently in situations where you are behind someone else at a gate, perhaps it would be a good idea to expand your horizons a bit in terms of finding more places to hunt.

If you are a public land hunter and do not have multiple options on where to hunt on any given day, you are putting yourself at a serious disadvantage. It would probably be wise to put more focus and effort into scouting and researching your potential opportunities.  The days of getting up and heading for the old honey hole and expecting that you will have it to yourself are becoming more and more scarce.  The more places you have to hunt when the season rolls around, the less likely you will be to have to deal with the gate keepers.

While what you wrote is certainly  true, some areas of the country have VERY little quality public land available.

There are multiple areas with great habitat and turkeys within an hour and a half from where I live. I will not hunt these areas, never even tried. They are to close to a major metropolitan area for my liking. I get up at 1am and drive at least 2 1/2 hours at an attempt leave the mob behind. I don't escape all the pressure it's just more manageable. When there I sleep in the truck. I don't want to get tied to a certain area. I like to stay mobile and not have to return to camp, a motel, or whatever. Pull over, get the truck as level as possible, hop in the back, formulate a plan of attack, scroll through the latest scuttlebutt on OG of course, and hit the sack. If I get beat to a spot it's on to the next. I don't care how many acres are behind the parking area. I'll take a pass. I'd much rather be by myself with the hopes of a gobble than in a zoo racing the monkeys to get to the gobbling.

I gave up on expecting to have a place to myself if I'm 1st. I been getting walked in on since I started hunting turkeys 30 some odd years ago especially if I choose the easy route.

I try not to choose small areas to hunt but sometimes it can't be helped. I look for places that are hard for the average lazy hunters to get to. Those 70degree 400ft or better climbs are getting more difficult being in my mid 50's. I just give myself more time and pace myself to "get er done!" I'm not a specimen of physical fitness. I used to smoke and now vape. If I can get there most able bodied people can they just choose not to.

If I'm in flat country than distance is my friend preferably and away from trails or roads if possible. They are good for travel but generally I don't hunt from them depending on location. I Don't get the chance to hunt week days often and they are priceless if I can pull time away from work.

For most hunters there are things that can be done to beat the the mob it's just more work. If your neck of the woods doesn't offer opportunities to get away no matter how hard you try, I surely don't envy you. It's something our gonna have to learn to deal with it because it's not going to get any better

[quavers59]

    The only good thing about Declining Turkey Populations  is with less Birds and less Gobbling- the also rans might not even bother to get up at 3am.
    So less and less people  parking behind me at a Gate.

[crow]

I would rather have lots of gobblers and just burn a truck or two...occasionally

[guesswho]

 

[sasquatch1]

Never understood it. Why I'm the world would someone knowingly want to go hunt next to someone. Even if it's a 2k acre block, the birds will be very concentrated to small areas mostly. They aren't deer


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[Hook hanger]

I just move on to another area if someone is already there. If you hunt public ground its bound to happen that someone comes in from a different direction. Best thing to do is be curious! I enjoy my private land spots the most but on occasion have had to run trespassers off. If I didn't have private land to hunt in some states I wouldn't hunt there especially if out of state because of the bs I see with some of the new hunters and how they act. Good hunters know how to secure private spots and stay in contact with the land owners to keep those spots. 5 of the states I go to every year I never have to worry about someone at a gate unless its a trespasser.

[Crghss]

Only public place I've ever hunted that I could pass parking spots is Black Hills, SD.

In PA or FL chances are you are going to have multiple cars at a gate. Where I hunt there just isn't  enough access to limit parking to one vehicle.

I am usually first one at trail head. I know there will be cars at the trail head when I exit. I hike in minimum of 2 miles so most places I can avoid people. But other places I know I'll cross paths with hunters. Public land in south Florida is tight.

[Kylongspur88]

The guy regulated to weekends only on public land is truly screwed in most places now.  I have no real solutions only sympathy.  I spent years hunting mid season week days on public land and usually did ok with minimal interference.  Hunting non gobbling once pressured birds was always preferable for me than joining a race at the gate.  Different times - different game.

I used to love running and gunning on public land mid week mid season but now it's crowded even then, and plus there just aren't as many birds and the ones that are around get really tight lipped after that first weekend.

[eggshell]

I figure this will all resolve it's self in time.....we'll all die and won't have to worry about it. Some of us sooner than others. So enjoy whatever life  you have in whatever circumstance. No amount of debate here will change anything in this matter. The butt holes aren't here to read your rants, but I understand it feels good to bitch