Nunyacreek
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2013
- Messages
- 279
So first off, this is in MT, not Arizona, where this is a more settled question, I think...
I found a wallow in a secluded meadow on GOogle Earth. While hiking in on a game trail I was surprised to find a game camera in what I thought was an unlikely spot. 400 yards later I came on an atv trail that was mapped as a snowmobile trail. The trail is several miles from a trailhead on public land and appears to dead end on some inaccessible private close to where i was. I can’t tell if it’s a legal trail, but it probably is.
When I found the wallow it was gorgeous, quite close to the ATV trail but not visible. However, there was a camera on it. I have occasionally used cameras, though I’ve never actually hunted in a spot that I used one. My inclination is to avoid the wallow and consider setting up a couple hundred yards away on a game trail leading to it, if at all. I probably will abandon the spot altogether, but there is no guarantee that the camera owner will hunt it or that my presence walking in will matter anyway. Also, I feel a little more justified because I found the wallow with no help from anyone, and I walked in. This might be snobbishness on my part, I dunno.
I think that this will be more and more common in the future and I wonder what to do about it. If I turned around every time I saw evidence of someone else in the woods I’d run out of spots pretty quickly, but I’d like to respect the person that found it first. I’m sure people have strong opinions, I’d like to hear them. Thanks.
I found a wallow in a secluded meadow on GOogle Earth. While hiking in on a game trail I was surprised to find a game camera in what I thought was an unlikely spot. 400 yards later I came on an atv trail that was mapped as a snowmobile trail. The trail is several miles from a trailhead on public land and appears to dead end on some inaccessible private close to where i was. I can’t tell if it’s a legal trail, but it probably is.
When I found the wallow it was gorgeous, quite close to the ATV trail but not visible. However, there was a camera on it. I have occasionally used cameras, though I’ve never actually hunted in a spot that I used one. My inclination is to avoid the wallow and consider setting up a couple hundred yards away on a game trail leading to it, if at all. I probably will abandon the spot altogether, but there is no guarantee that the camera owner will hunt it or that my presence walking in will matter anyway. Also, I feel a little more justified because I found the wallow with no help from anyone, and I walked in. This might be snobbishness on my part, I dunno.
I think that this will be more and more common in the future and I wonder what to do about it. If I turned around every time I saw evidence of someone else in the woods I’d run out of spots pretty quickly, but I’d like to respect the person that found it first. I’m sure people have strong opinions, I’d like to hear them. Thanks.