How much space do we need?

[Tom007]

Throwing this out there. Not for any controversy, just to get opinions on how much space do you give fellow hunters. Scenarios are pulling up to park and seeing/hearing another hunter in the woods. This is my guidelines:

If I pull up to a spot and there is another vehicle there, I keep going. I always have plan B, C, and D. I'll spend the month of March locating birds in my areas allowing me to avoid crowding.

If I come up to another hunter in the woods on public and they engage in conversation, I'll see what their up too. If they plan on staying, I'll relocate. If they say they are heading out, I'll continue hunting that spot. One season, this happened to me and an hour later I harvested a Tom. I'll never get into a heated confrontation, it's not worth it. Calm communication always works for me.

Finally, I believe at least a 1/2 mile or so is a good buffer between hunters. This is a guess of mine, fortunately I find enough spots to keep me away from hunter conflicts. Be safe, love to see you thoughts here....

[zelmo1]

I'm with you Tom. I move on if I get beat to a spot, but I never get beat, lol. If someone wanders in on me, I assess the situation and act accordingly. Too much space to waste time arguing about it. If I have my wife with me, its easy. We just relocate, she is non confrontational and if I stand my ground it will wreck her day/hunt. But I do file things away for future use, lol. Have fun, be safe. Z

[slave601]

If someone beats me to a gate I don't dare intrude. Cut my losses and relocate. It's just common courtesy that has slipped away from a lot of the new hunters these days

[CALLM2U]

Agree with the above.  The exception would be that I do think the size of the ground behind the gate matters.  I can think of a couple places I hunt where there are 10,000+ acres beyond the gate.  More than enough room for more than 1 guy.

I normally know the guys that hunt in there so I have a good idea of where they hunt, so I just stay away. 

[appalachianassassin]

i'm in the same boat as Mr. Z. I get there three hours early and never worry about getting beat.

[Greg Massey]

Agree with the comments above. Also sometimes later in the morning you can drive back to plan A and possibly that person has already left ... Some of the best turkey hunting is mid morning until afternoon if you can hunt all day in that state.

If lunch is stopping time always have several plans ... A B C etc.. Also if you get a chance to have a conversation with the other person who's already parked maybe you both can share the woods in that location.

It all depends on you, if your second to the spot ... IMO

[Bowguy]

I agree Tom. Id never pull to hunt in a spot with another guy there. I dont even pull into lakes with 1 boat on it.

[GobbleNut]

Good question for discussion, Tom. 

First off, I agree...get there first and you should not have to worry about it...assuming that the guy(s) that show up after you understand that principle...which is not at all guaranteed in today's turkey-hunting world. In addition, more and more, hunters are "reserving" spots by sleeping at gates or camping underneath roost sites. Being there several hours in advance is not necessarily soon enough.

As I usually state in most discussions of this sort, it depends on the situation and circumstances for me.  Fundamentally, if the area is not big enough for multiple hunters to spread out and not interfere with each other, there is no question...move on, and if there are no other alternatives, wait until the other hunter(s) leave the area. Even if the area is large enough for multiple hunters, however, there is always the question of where those other hunters are IF you decide to go ahead and enter...and that is always going to be a dilemma in those situations.

Not going into an area is a tough pill to swallow at times, especially if a guy has travelled a long way to get there and is on limited time...which is why I never travel to a location where I don't have several/many options on where to hunt (public areas, that is). Personally, I will choose a large public area with fewer turkeys over a small area with lots of turkeys...and the chance of having other hunters there...every time.

My rule of thumb in the areas I hunt regularly is that if someone is parked at a location, I will move a minimum of the distance needed to get out of earshot of any gobbler he might be able to hear from his location.  Where I hunt mostly, that is usually a minimum of about a mile or so. Simply put, any gobbler I hear that I think the other hunter might be able to hear and head towards is generally off limits for me...except in those rare cases where I am absolutely certain that (or another) hunter is not engaged with that gobbler.

If there is any doubt, I just move on. Of course, I have the luxury of hunting in a region where the above is always possible. I feel for you guys that hunt places where it is not and the kind of decisions we speak of here must be made.

[Tom007]

Great feedback! Thank you.

[NOmad]

I don't get beat in the mornings but if I pull into a parking area late morning, mid day, evening, etc... and there is a vehicle there I keep going to a new spot. Unless there is a barrier I can put between us that I know they wont cross (river, clear cut, etc...) I will try to find access on that other side and hunt my own "area". Other than that, people walk way more than most think these days - not worth having a hunt ruined because I want to hunt a specific place. I will keep moving. Maybe I am a weirdo but I like to put myself in places where I feel like my boots are the only ones that have been there in a while even if the property is "worse" for turkey hunting than more popular areas. That is rarely if ever the case but it does make you perk up a bit when you pull into an area with no tire tracks or boot prints... 

[Gooserbat]

If it's a large piece of ground I'm not opposed to stopping and asking how many guys are in the truck and what direction your going.  Case in point is a lot of walk in only areas around where I hunt and both sides of the county road are public.  You might have 2-3 miles of closed road on both sides.  If someone is walking in say a mile deep to the north side the south is still "open for business".  In short if you are in doubt don't, be courteous and respectful of others.

[Dtrkyman]

I wish the clowns I run into on public had the same attitude as the folks here!  If someone is there I will generally stop for a chat, even if I do not hunt there I try and see what there plans are.


I rarely hunt an area with others in it, but if I talk to a guy and he says he is going to somewhere specific I may enter at the same place and hunt an entirely different area.

On smaller tracts of public I will more likely just roll on by though.

I once parked at a spot with zero others there, came out early after being interrupted by some clown, walked the road back and there were 6 vehicles between me and mine, maybe a mile distance.

[ScottTaulbee]

I have two mindsets. If it's on most of our WMA's, 200 to 500 acres, I'll drive on. We have a couple WMA's that are 8,000 acres, spanning several counties with multiple parking areas, in that case, I'll move on to a different parking area. On our national forests areas, most are 6k+ acres with multiple areas to park as well, I'll move on to a different parking area.


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[CALLM2U]

I once parked at a spot with zero others there, came out early after being interrupted by some clown, walked the road back and there were 6 vehicles between me and mine, maybe a mile distance.

Opening day a few years ago, I got to the gate first (really only enough space for 1 truck)  Had a guy come in and blow a bird off the limb.  Walked out and found 4 trucks parked in ditches and basically behind me (I managed to wiggle my way out)  To say I was angry is an understatement.