Found a ground blind- etiquette question

[caddisguy]

Hi all,

So I have spent way too many areas e scouting the area I will be hunting in this year and for years to come. I hiked in and checked out a spot today. I found a rudimentary ground blind on a slope overlooking a travel corridor. Crown land. On the plus side, it confirms my e scouting, but here is the question:

if you find a ground blind during hunting season on crown land, is it fair game when vacant, or best to keep moving?

LOL that sounds like one of my blinds. What do you mean by rudimentary? Is it made of natural material, or is it an Ameristep Dog House popup blind? And close enough to a creek that you can hear the water?

If it does turn out to be mine, you are welcome to use it.

I personally would not use someone elses blind, but I would not be upset if someone used mine, as long as they leave it how they found it.

[BRvalley]

a pop up blind or a manufactured stand I would always leave alone, would never use it....most guys leave these up all season

a permanent/semi permanent naturally built blind, or somebody dragged in lumber, on crown land I would cautiously use if I discovered it in an area I scouted and wanted to hunt....it is usually easy to tell if it has recent activity, boot tracks, shooting lanes cleared, usually a chair left at the blind/foam cushion on the stand (that's what I do anyways)

one of my little honey holes is like this, somebody built up a half decent setup, I discovered it 9 years ago and it was already a few years old at that time.....seems to be 1-2 other guys also like this spot, some years I'm completely alone, some years there is company, whoever "claims" this blind first for the season gets it, we all seem to mutually respect that.....there was only one year with some theft in the bush/vehicle break in (not mine at least) but aside from that it's been pretty good, occasionally you recognize a pickup that you only see in the area late season, a quick wave as we pass each other and that's it

it seems this mutual common decency is pretty rare, so I don't leave anything in the bush that I wouldn't cry about losing, I buy cheap blinds, cheap/used stands, my expensive cams come out pretty quick after season, my cheap cams I'll run year round

[Sitkaspruce]

I hunt old blinds set up over a cut blocks, crossings or licks all the time. If on crown land and there is no evidence of recent use, I have no issue using it. If there is recent use; fresh tracks, snow cleaned off, fresh wood added etc. I leaver them alone. If I create one, I leave a note saying help yourself, just leave it as you found it.

There is lots of old blinds around and most have been forgotten.

Cheers

SS

[MRP]

I hunt stands I find, if the builders in of them show up I would leave. But so far no one has.

[Redthies]

I hunt out of one stand on a busy travel corridor. I’ve not shot anything there yet, but the thing is not new, and I’ve used it a couple of years in a row. Seems 9/10 people in this area just road hunt. Because of the traffic, I just park my truck about 200 yards from the travel path as I doubt vehicles bother deer much in this spot. Bonus is I can see it from the blind, so if any of the “less civilized folk” decide to check out my stuff, I can easily have a rifle “malfunction” and I’m sure they will be on their way. (We did have a friends truck break down and have to leave it at this spot a few years back, and he had an ATM in the back under a tarp. It was still there when we went back for the truck the next day).

[Squamch]

I hunt out of one stand on a busy travel corridor. I’ve not shot anything there yet, but the thing is not new, and I’ve used it a couple of years in a row. Seems 9/10 people in this area just road hunt. Because of the traffic, I just park my truck about 200 yards from the travel path as I doubt vehicles bother deer much in this spot. Bonus is I can see it from the blind, so if any of the “less civilized folk” decide to check out my stuff, I can easily have a rifle “malfunction” and I’m sure they will be on their way. (We did have a friends truck break down and have to leave it at this spot a few years back, and he had an ATM in the back under a tarp. It was still there when we went back for the truck the next day).

I've had a lot of different things in the back of my truck. Some of them could even have seemed sketchy. But I'll tell ya, if I saw a guy with an ATM in the back of his truck all tarped up...I'm just gonna assume his sketchy factor is an 11 out of 10.



So how does a guy end up with an ATM in the back of his truck?