Backcountry Rant: What Not To Do!

[Justin Crossley]

I'm currently sitting on a ridge glassing with my buddy and @Jordan Budd and we've been laughing all afternoon about the dumb things people do.

Okay, here's my rant for the day. This morning we hiked to the top of a knob overlooking an awesome basin where we've been watching some bucks. An hour BEFORE daylight we watched a headlamp below us going right through the area the deer had been feeding in the last few days. Dude walked all the way from the bottom of the basin to the top and then across the entire top. Needless to say all the deer were pushed out of the area.

Ok, what dumb stuff have you seen out there?



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[mtjimbo]

You mean you aren't supposed to walk up the center of the basin you are hunting in the dark? I've been doing this all wrong

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[Salmon River Solutions]

Talking to a father/son hunting an extremely good archery bull elk draw tag while we were scouting for a later elk season. They had hunted an entire week and had not gotten closer than 100 yards to an elk. While scouting we called a little bit (I'm terrible with mouth reeds) but we still got bugles back consistently. There were so many elk it was ridiculous. you could blind fold me and spin me around and I could find elk within half a mile in the direction I stopped.

I asked them how they were hunting, and they said they were just riding around in the UTV, stop, bugle and if nothing called back they said there weren't any elk. If they got a bugle they would try to call them in from the UTV, that way it is easy to pack out... Great use of a 3% draw tag.

 

[Opah]

Same thing in my blind before light and right at twilight I heard this laughing and heehaaing on the opposite ridge here comes five guys stomping along rifles over there shoulder. They get right about the small watering hole I found and head down the side of the ravine crashing thru the brush and head right over to the water, the one fat guys starts bellowing out ya see the tracks they have been here. he start scoping my side of the ridge and then me he tells the other four "look over there" and now all five are scoping me.
So returning the Favor I showed them the end my barrel, three turned and headed down the ravine, the fat guy tells the other aaa fuk him some people think they own the forest, flipped me the bird and proceeded strain down thee deer path. That's when I stopped hunting D14

 

[Trevor73402]

I could rant all day about the dumb shit people do in the woods...... but you need to look at/realize some things. We hunters (not me) are always encouraging people to spend more time outdoors and hunt. Well.....some of us take for granted that we grew up hunting. We had a father or a grandfather that taught us how to hunt. What to do and what not to do. Seems we (kids in the 70’s and 80’s) also had a lot more common sense than people these days do. There are lots of new hunters in the woods these days. These people probably didn’t grow up hunting. They don’t know shit about hunting other than what they have seen on YouTube. Do they do dumb shit, yeah they do......but lots of times it’s just because they don’t know any better. This isn’t always the case. Some people are just morons and need to be tied to a tree and left for bait. We just need to understand that we (not me) advocate new people to give hunting a try. We need to be understanding of these people that posses no hunting knowledge, but are trying to fake it till they make it.

 

[EastMT]

I was stalking a group of caribou in a well known walk-in only area, at about 300 yards from the caribou there was a small rise I was aiming for. I get to the top and I’m just laying down when bullets start flying from the next ridge back. At least 10 rounds flew past, nothing looked to be hit.

After changing my pants, I ranged the hill they were on, it was 350 yards, so 650 yards, offhand. I decided to hike on in a few miles to get away from the crowd.

Bullets sound pretty funny going over your head.

 

[N2TRKYS]

People calling to and/or calling in animals before the season comes in.

 

[willfrye027]

Hiked 2 miles skirting private borders to a great spot I’d seen a big buck the evening before. Truck pulls up on the road in the dark and drops off a guy who i later realized crosses straight through the private and walks up the mountain I was going to hunt. His buddies come the same route I did in the dark and run past me when they see my headlight. They join up with the guy who just crossed private and proceed to tromp across the mountain in the dark. I can hear them busting brush and I can hear deer running all over the place. Felt like I was on the dang duck refuge getting beat to a spot

 

[puckhead]

Scouted a drainage and found fresh sign as high up as I wanted to go without spooking the elk. Go back in there opening weekend and couldn't find anything fresh. Get to the top after the wind had switched and found a guy had a tent right at tree line above their bedding areas.

 

[Buffinnut]

Talking to a father/son hunting an extremely good archery bull elk draw tag while we were scouting for a later elk season. They had hunted an entire week and had not gotten closer than 100 yards to an elk. While scouting we called a little bit (I'm terrible with mouth reeds) but we still got bugles back consistently. There were so many elk it was ridiculous. you could blind fold me and spin me around and I could find elk within half a mile in the direction I stopped.

I asked them how they were hunting, and they said they were just riding around in the UTV, stop, bugle and if nothing called back they said there weren't any elk. If they got a bugle they would try to call them in from the UTV, that way it is easy to pack out... Great use of a 3% draw tag.

It is incredible how many of those there are. I had a nice az September archery tag last year. We would be up on a little ridge with elk everywhere, a truck hauls ass down the dirt road below, slams on the brakes next to a tank, guys pile out and set an electronic caller on the hood, bugle, wait 30 seconds, nothing happens, back in the truck, slam the doors and away they go. "Hunting" lol

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I live in a good moose hunting area in AK, the list would be too long to type.

 

[Dos Perros]

I could rant all day about the dumb shit people do in the woods...... but you need to look at/realize some things. We hunters (not me) are always encouraging people to spend more time outdoors and hunt. Well.....some of us take for granted that we grew up hunting. We had a father or a grandfather that taught us how to hunt. What to do and what not to do. Seems we (kids in the 70’s and 80’s) also had a lot more common sense than people these days do. There are lots of new hunters in the woods these days. These people probably didn’t grow up hunting. They don’t know shit about hunting other than what they have seen on YouTube. Do they do dumb shit, yeah they do......but lots of times it’s just because they don’t know any better. This isn’t always the case. Some people are just morons and need to be tied to a tree and left for bait. We just need to understand that we (not me) advocate new people to give hunting a try. We need to be understanding of these people that posses no hunting knowledge, but are trying to fake it till they make it.

I agree!

But, I look at threads like these as vehicles for educating the stupid into not being stupid anymore. I'll admit I'm reading this thread for entertainment and about 25% worried I've have done or may be doing something posted here. If a stupid person reads a thread like this and gets all butthurt and bent out of shape over it they probably won't ever be a competent hunter. I would like to think that my reaction to reading something stupid I've done is "oh shoot, whoops, okay won't do that again."

 

[Beendare]

An hour BEFORE daylight we watched a headlamp below us going right through the area the deer had been feeding in the last few days. Dude walked all the way from the bottom of the basin to the top and then across the entire top. Needless to say all the deer were pushed out of the area.

I've seen that- frustrating........its rifle hunting with a bow.

I hater seeing guys taking a big ole dump and not burying it......I skirted around a camp in NM recently and they had piles everywhere around camp.All they had to do is dig a shallow hole and bury.

It must have been nice to have flies landing on their food after traveling a short distance from their piles.

_____

 

[JakeSCH]

My buddy and I back packed into our zone and got to our ridge an hour or so before first light. We noticed a group of three headlamps from way down the hill coming from our right. We flashed our headlamps at them to let them know we were there and got responses (flashes back). Their headlamps disappear very shortly after and I assumed the went down a different ridge.

Sure enough about 15 minutes after shooting light I spot a nice buck about 650 yards in front of me, work my way to a ridge that should lead to an easy 250 yard shot.

Everything was perfect, wind, temp, and it was quiet. Right as we got to the ridge we hear 6 gun shots from right next to us. We hit the deck and after a moment hear a bunch of shouting. The guys who flashed turned off their headlamps and sat 400 yards in front of us just out of sight. All three of them took 2 shots trying to get that buck.

It was very frustrating they they turned their headlamps off to sneak in front of us...and they got the buck. haha

 

[ScottinPA]

Eastern stand hunting - I typically sit all day the first day of rifle, you never know when someone will push a nice buck to you. Anyway about 1pm a old dude with his grandson walk in towards me and set on a log about 100yds away. I don't think they knew I was there regardless of the 250+ sq inches of orange. There were 6-8 doe in front of me that I'd be watching for 20 min or so. The guys didn't know they were there until they blew out.
They're talking and moving around for about 2 hrs then head off. An hour later a 134" 10pt stopped by for a ride to the house.

Another time, same stand area, in bow season I see a guy walking toward me in camo but no bow. I'm thinking "who's this idiot?!". Turns out it was my idiot - my oldest son had shot a doe about 1/2 mile away and walked down to get me to help track. He still had a buck tag but left his bow at the stand. While walking into me, a large buck went by him at 10 yds with no concern at all. We laugh about that every year.

 

[Str8shooter]

The most common idiocy on display is dudes pitching tents in prime early and evening elk and deer feeding areas. I see it every year, tents in or directly adjacent to meadows, open basins/bowls, or right above timberline on grassy benches or skyline ridges. For folks new to hunting trying to learn, dont make camp in the above mentioned microhabitats unless you can really tuck in between some rock cliffs, thick veg etc...Better yet, give yourself a chance and get your tents and nightime mtn house farts out of the zone!

 

[CorbLand]

Opening morning of rifle cow elk season. My buddy and I went into a canyon that we had seen some elk in. It doesnt work out and the elk crossed out of range with no way to get closer. Its about 1030am and we are headed out to go to another area. At the mouth of this canyon is a man made water hole. We are dropping down on top of it as there is a good trail to follow out from there. We get about 400 yards from it and there are three guys with more orange than I knew existed sitting on the berm making the water hole. They see us and start yelling at us asking if we had seen anything. Was one of those moments that all you can do is shake your head.

 

[T-bone1268]

Dumbest thing I’ve done, while walking to my tree stand, I spooked a deer that was right under the stand.......at least I put my stand in a good place

 

[matthewmt]

When conditions are dry and hot and a little cold front comes in and you get chilled dont have a fire to warm up or cook your lunch resulting in a handful of forrest fires that luckily didn't get to out of hand.

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[tim tarras]

Both of mine were here in WI.

I got in early for opener of rifle. Five minutes before opener a truck come driving in and parks 20 yards behind me! I go over and let him know I was there. He sees me and ask if I was the one in the in the tree stand? I said yes and asked him why he parked here then? He said it was his spot. I told him that if a deer ran past his truck that I was not going to hesitate to take a shot if it was in front of his truck and walked away. He said something as I walked away. An hour later he got in his truck and left.

The second one was again on the opener of rifle here and I was sitting in Carnage Valley, one of my favorite spots. I heard running come from behind me so I got ready and 2 does come running to the left of me. I could see blood on the rear leg of one. They stopped in some thick cover and I waiting for them to come out of when they took off running. 2 minutes later I see a young kid looking down with a rifle on his shoulder. Right behind him was his dad also looking down so he didn't notice the son's rifle barrel was aimed right at his head!!!!

I stopped them and told them that the deer had run onto private property and he responded that was OK because it was for sale and he could go on it. I told him that the hunters were hunting it, I was hunting with them, and said was not OK. He said he was going to contact the Realtor, instead of the landowners, and get permission to look for the deer. I did follow the blood trail of the deer and it dried up about 50 yards on to the private so I was pretty sure the doe was going to make it.