What DO you talk about/share about your spots?

[Jasher]

Since I have put 0 tags on any animals while hunting out west I have no honey holes. So I tell the truth.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

I usually try to figure out their general plan and keep out of their way, etc. that’s about it.

 

[cedahm]

4-5 years back I ran into a guy and his wife from PA on the trail hiking out of my honey hole 2 days before opener. We chatted a bit, they were really nice folks, knew what they were doing, but I didn't mention that I'd just been standing 100 yards from a small herd of cows and calves and had a pretty good idea where some bulls were. We exchanged general pleasantries and high level information about that area.

Opening morning, I was very close to that spot as it got light watching 3 mature bulls feeding across an open slope 700 vertical feet and about 1/2 a mile above me and trying to figure out how to make a play on them without screwing it up and before the thermals started to change. Hear some rustling behind me and a "oh man!" and it's the same couple, 20 minutes behind At that point the jig was up so we discussed the two best plans and executed them. Both plans failed that morning, but we started to team up.

He actually arrowed one of the bulls a week later and I helped him on the last pack trip. We have become good friends and have hunted together ever since (he's insane and drives out to CO/WY 4-5 times a year). I helped him pack his bull in WY when he was up there solo last year, we've shared waypoints, meat, camps, meals, trail camera keys and waypoints, many days on the mountain, etc. Sometimes it works out.

But most of the time, I don't say much except 'which way are you headed'?

 

[EYJONAS!]

Give em the f$#@ you look and say this place sucks. Unless I know ya.

 

[Hawk Tuah]

I tell them to be careful because there are several marijuana patches around with some guys with AK-47s guarding them.

 

[ashersdad]

I had an interesting experience with one of my sons last year while bear hunting a new to us area. We were parked at a trailhead and just getting our stuff ready to start hiking and these 2 young guys pull up. Ask us if we've seen anything so I told them we had seen one bear the day before but it was on private. I don't know if they felt bad for us or were just super nice but they proceeded to tell me where they had seen 8 bears the day before but wanted to check out some new country. They even pulled up OnX and dropped me a couple pins. Long story short we ended up in the bears the next day. Now this was a draw unit so probably not someone's honey hole but I was super impressed with their friendliness.

 

[WyoDoug]

It all depends on the person. I am now 64 and like to see others be successful. If I saw something and passed on it, I am not beyond telling someone about it if they want to go for it. In 129 off the Bishop Rd access areas I was on some oil lease. Someone told us where a 4 point buck was (8 points for your eastern city slickers LOL) and my hunting partner got it I think after I left driving home with flu symptoms. If someone is road hunting or something like that, I am not going to be much help at all.

 

[Shangobango]

Not much of anything to anyone at anytime about sign or animal sightings. A lot of times I won't even tell someone the general area I am hunting if they ask besides "on the refuge" or "on the Forest". "The refuge" is slang around here for both the WMA's and the NWR's. There are about 240,000 acres of WMA or NWR and about 285,000 acres of National Forest within an hour and a half drive of my house so that doesn't narrow it down much.

I learned my lesson at a young age when I told a friends dad about the "huge" buck I had seen feed out of a thicket on my evening hunt. The next morning he cut me off and killed that buck on the way back to that same thicket. Never again unless I am trying to put someone on an animal intentionally.

 

[D_Walt]

I usually just ask where they are headed so I can go a different direction if feasible, or I’ll tell them in general where I’m going if they’re not to talkative. Usually I’ve seen “not much” but I will share info sometimes once I feel them out. One of my hunting partners though is the the type who just can’t tell a half truth and will dump way more info than necessary when asked. Hasn’t ever caused much issues though.

 

[ccc23454]

You guys are pricks...lol. i am usually open and happy just to see a person, i get lonely...lmao

 

[antlerradar]

First I ask how many years they have been hunting the spot. If it has been a long time I ask about big deer I saw in the past just in case they might have taken him. Some people are real coy about talking about anything but after a few minutes of talking they come to realize that I know far more about the spot than they ever will and open up. If the hunters are newbies I talk about how good the hunting was in the 80's and even 90's and how much it has slipped just to let them know what they missed and could have again with a little different management.

 

[Scrappy]

Every single person I run into had just fought off a grizz in whatever direction I'm heading in. Im starting to get the feeling I'm being lied to.

 

[ccc23454]

Every single person I run into had just fought off a grizz in whatever direction I'm heading in. I starting to get the feeling I'm being lied to.

If your in NW wyoming thats actually possible, best to stay away...lol

 

[Mallardsx2]

I went to where I had planned to camp last year in the flattops and people were set up there so I stopped to chat for a minute. Not to even ask about the hunting but to just ask about setting up my camp nearby but far away enough to not bother them. None of them wanted to talk so I asked them if it was ok that I set up about 100 yards away with my camp. The older guy (Who was clearly the ring leader of the posse) said that would be ok and he had a bunch of guys with him from Illinois that just snubbed me and didnt want to talk. The one guy from Illinois turned to his buddies and said in the most smart ass way possible "Well it looks like the Calvary is here!" lol

Well, "The Calvary" walked 2 loads of elk meat and a 5X6 set of horns past his camp a day later...my wife's 1st bull.

PS: If your on here. We killed that bull 3 hours after I spoke to your posse leader and I also saw the trash you left (Snus containers and beer cans) I cleaned up your mess in your camp when I left.

Also is should be noted that Camel Snus if for sissy's. Real men chew Copenhagen.

And this right here is why I typically dont talk to anybody when I am out hunting......

 

[KB_]

You guys are pricks...lol. i am usually open and happy just to see a person, i get lonely...lmao

I'm with ya there. I'm a chatty kathy sometimes. I also try to be honest, but just not give to much info if i'm immediately in that area. But i like to see people be successful. But I get it that people dont wanna share their spots. I only share with people I trust.

 

[gouch]

I don't usually give out much information to anyone I may run into in the field. As a matter of fact if I see them before they see me I usually hide to avoid any conversations at all. When I do give out information as a result of a direct question more often than not what I say far less than the whole truth. I remember on evening when a friend and I were fishing our "secret salmon hole" The hole was full of fish that night and we already had two in the canoe. The fish were going crazy, jumping and splashing all over the place when a boat came by. One of the guys in the boat asked "what kind of fish are those?" We both answered in tandem, "carp" In our defense, we did see a carp jump that night.

 

[88man]

It all depends on the feeling and connection you get with the other guy. Are they viewing you as competition or do they want to be friends and partner on a hunt or hunts? I enjoy others successes in the field as much as my own at times. No different than offshore fishing its typically better when you have others who work with you rather than against you. Besides after discussion you can be surprised at the different goals people can have who are hunting the same area.

 

[Valley1320]

I tell them I usually see elk in a different area but decided to look into a new area

 

[JLS]

I’ll offer bear safety information as well. I don’t give elk information. I warned a few nonresident hunters about a grizzly I had run into up the trail they were hiking up and they laughed it off like I was trying to scare them out of my spot. I wonder if they ever figured it out...

Yeah, in fairness though I’ve had guys try and pull the grizzly fear factor card on me in the Gravelly and Snowcrest Ranges. I too share bear information. We had a pretty tense moment in the Gravellies with a grizzly on an elk carcass we stumbled into. Fortunately we were downwind and made a post haste exit.

 

[Carnage2011]

I don’t share much other than asking where they are headed and what their plan is.

A couple days ago my cousin took a pic of some nice bulls while he was driving down the road headed to work. He posted it on IG and tagged me in it. I got 3 different DM’s from guys saying they now know where I hunt. Those bulls are over 150 miles from the closest place I’ve hunted. It’s crazy that guys spend so much time trying to figure out where others are...