Some background information:

I have a friend who is older than I with no sons.  He owns a 100ac farm a mile my house.  He hadn't let anyone hunt there because of certain abuses/disrespect.  15 years ago he gave me permission to hunt with an understanding: I would help him with his vehicles when he needed me.  This is an understanding I honor faithfully.  This was not in any way an exclusive agreement, but I was the only one with permission the first few years.

Over the years the one house that stood on this property has turned to four, and the huntable land has been effectively cut in half.  The hunters have increase exponentially as well.  I must say, none of them are landowners.  They are all guests (as am I).  And Four of the five tree stands on the property belong to me.  

As for the hunters:

1. There's me.   This is the only place I have to hunt and 50% of the time I have one of my children with me (Ages 9 & 15).  
2.  There's another guy (near retirement age) who always brings two or so friends.  Who talks about all the different places he hunts.
3.  A third guy who drives around in his vehicle shooting deer from the vehicle (yes I know that's illegal)

Yesterday there were 5 hunters including my kid & me on 50 huntable acres.  When my kid and I showed up there were hunters in BOTH of my buddy stands. I try to be nice, but when I found someone in a second stand I walked right up to the stand and wanted to know who they were, and who they were with. As it turns out, this guy is:

4.  A plumber that worked on one of the new houses who says he is going to bring stands out and is going to regularly hunt with his grandchildren, having gotten permission to hunt while doing the plumbing work. But has been hunting on this property up to this point as a guest of guy #2 (his brother was the guy in my first buddy stand)

As you would imagine, there's a bunch of memories that I've made here.  All of my older kids have gotten their first deer here.  The 9yo hasn't gotten one yet.  There is admittedly part of me that is emotionally attached to my hunting land, but it is not my land.   I've approached the landowner about a lease.  We've weathered destructive storms, stolen stands, and poaching, but he's not keen on the idea of a lease.

If you've read this far I would appreciate your thoughts.  My landowner friend is a really nice guy who is genuinely good hearted.  I'd hate to complain to him because it is after all his land and I don't want to hurt his feelings. He actually offered to pay for my stolen tree stands when it happened a few years ago.  

The way I see it I have a few options:
Pull out completely and remember the good times
Hang in there and see what happens and continue to run people out of my stands
Sit down with the other hunters and try to work out some kind of schedule/ agreement

Thoughts?

Don't hunt stands that aren't yours, period.

I'd probably cut bait on that place, but that's me.

Seems pretty unsafe to me in addition to being stressful. Your buddy has bartered too many hunts for services traded.

NEVER hunt another mans tree stand without their permission.  

I had a similar arrangement as the OP years ago.  Great land, great landowner.  After the demand grew in the area, everyone who asked was allowed to hunt his land.  I went to him asking for a lease, and wanting to post the land.  He kept stringing me along...  next year, next year.  Meanwhile, my son and I had people walking through the land while we were hunting.  We'd come in before light, and we'd find people in our stands.  

Eventually, I realized that the guy couldn't say no to anyone.  My son and I said goodbye to the memories and moved on.  We still have the memories, and keep making more, without any of the hassle.

I would pull my stands.
Thank the landowner for the memories.
Explain why the relationship has ended.

This!

Other Hunter's are our greatest down fall. I've had several situations like you OP and am glad I pulled out.

Good luck.

This right here except I would not explain anything. Sounds like the landowner is playing everyone he can to get work out of them. Pretty typical these days.

That said OP should have worked out a lease agreement from the get-go.  

I got tired of all the ass-kissing and landowner derp (and that was with a lease) so I bought my own property. Now peeps pester me to hunt.

If they let you hunt they will let others hunt. Without a written agreement, and the exchange of monies, your screwed.

It does sound like the old dude is horse trading with hunting privileges.


Most people are lazy, if you remove your stands they will have to do work themselves, and that might keep some of them away.


Personally I would probably just move on. If the landowner asks why you stopped hunting tell him the truth.

This.

Not worth the stress.  Hunting is supposed to be a peaceful release of life

I'd talk to the land owner about people hunting in your stands.  Ask him to let the other hunters know that he doesn't have stands and if they are going to hunt, they should bring their own crap.  I'd also invest in a couple climbers and take them in and out with me so the others will have to set up their own stuff or sit in the dirt.

Cant you put a cable lock or something on it?

In the short term, I'm working on a plywood locking "door" of sorts that will cover the ladder, so someone can't climb the stand.

Pull your stands and find a new hunt property.

You stand a better chance of getting shot than shooting a deer with all those yahoos out there.

If you have other places to hunt then move your stands out, if not I would make up a sign for each stand that says something like: this is not your tree stand. You do not have my permission to use it. Get your own equipment. The landowner gave you permission to hunt on his land, not to use my stands.

Nothing to do with the "free for all" the OP is experiencing but there was no such thing as "your stand" on our leases. Yeah, we had conduct rules and enforced them.

Every stand was mapped/numbered and it was first come first served. You hung your tag on the peg under the number of the stand you were going to use and retrieved your tag on the way out. There was not much conflict if two hunters wanted to use the same stand, they worked it out because they knew if they did not then they would be refunded their pro-rated dues and sent on their way.

We did not allow climbing stands at all. Man portable ladder stands had to be left in place once they were erected/mapped till the end of the season unless Dad or myself give permission to remove them. Even certain ground blinds were mapped/numbered. No new stand could be erected without my or my Dad's permission to make sure existing stands were not cut off.

I know it seems draconian to some here but having experienced peeps cutting each other off with climbers and others coming to blows over "my stand" on a large lease we had no control over it worked out really well for us. Even the still hunters that tended to show-up after daylight could tell at a glance of the board the areas where they could roam at will.

It even saved one hunter from a night in pain who flipped his 4-wheeler over on him. Dad noticed his tag had not been removed (he lived next to the lease and just drove his 4-wheeler from his house) so we went to the stand he tagged and found him down over the ridge a bit. He had killed a bear and tied it off too far behind his bike and it flipped and broke his sternum.

That is actually the perfect way to handle it.  I helped a neighbor out with some electrical work and he's going to allow me to hunt his land in Buffalo County next year.  He has a large number of guys that hunt the land so he picks who gets to go when to ensure it doesn't get overcrowded.  Sounds like the land owner in OP's situation is just using his land to get a bunch of free/discounted shit from people without giving any thought or concern for the quality of the hunt he is offering.

I think it's time to pack up your shit and find elsewhere to hunt.  Pretty soon dealing with all the bullshit involved is going to make it more work than enjoyment to hunt there.

Well, in my landowner friend's defense I don't think he being malicious or even the horse trading/bartering type.  He's not a hunter, and I think he doesn't realize how competitive and lousy some guys can be about it.  I think they are taking advantage of a guy who is too nice to say no.

I wouldn't hunt someone else's stand, but on the other side, I wouldn't have a problem in this scenario with someone hanging their climber on the tree beside yours.  They all have just as much right to be there, so first come first served,  and you can't just keep 5 spots reserved on land that isn't yours, and show up later in the day and expect to have them just because you have  stands there.

Also, your post is sounding awfully FSA when you start talking about other people having other land to hunt, so they shouldn't be hunting on the land that they have permission to hunt just because you don't want them to.  This is the kind of argument my 4 year old would make.

Pull up roots and move on, the land owner is allowing too many folks hunt 50 acres.  For you and your kids safety get out.  All good things come to an end.    I had a very similiar experience about 15 years ago on Knotts Island NC.  Had a real honey hole and lost it to houses and extra hunters....I still miss it.

As a land owner I can tell you people are crazy.  Just yesterday one of my boys was in a tripod stand on the farm.  Right at day light, he looks up and some guy is walking right up to the stand.  He made eye contact with the guy and the guy took off running.  No idea who he was, but he should not have been in the middle of my land at day break, or any other time of day.

Good luck and stay safe

That is possible too.  Hell, most of the hunters I hunt with don't even understand how to get out in the woods without stepping on eachothers dicks.

You are absolutely right about someone hanging a stand within view of mine.  In fact, I went out yesterday and pulled out two stands that I never use anymore. One of them I will be replacing with a lockable box blind when I pull the other stands.

As to the FSA, I have never been accused of being a part.  I actually turned down disability after a near-fatal car crash left me broken for life. (Another story for another day).  Admittedly I do feel at times that I say "my hunting land" with too much emphasis on "my". But I think that is human nature and I do my best to keep it in check.  My statement about the other guy having a bunch of places to hunt was only to illustrate that if he wanted to take a group of guys hunting he had other options.  In the 15 years I've hunted there I've taken guests five times. They were always late season and with special permission. My post is really about disrespect, both to me and the landowner

Sucky situation. Been hunting on our own small piece many, many years. All the kids took their first deer there, wife is out there right now. Guy who owned 170 acres next to us died family sold it to developer. Folks all over it and our place after that. Now houses springing up all over it. Only 3 occupied but they are into everything. Guy with 350 acres behind us died this year as well.
I have been huntic public land last few years saving our place for the wife and kids but I fear that is rapidly coming to an end as well.
Sucks but it is what it is.

There are now far too many hunters with access to that property.  50ish hunt able acres would work for a handful of hunters IF everyone was on the same page and willing to cooperate.  But you have multiple groups of hunters all doing their own thing.  I wouldn't hunt that property any further.

I'm assuming the crowd appears during rifle season?  How is it during archery and muzzleloader seasons (although you may not hunt outside of rifle season)?  It might be still workable during archery or muzzleloader seasons, unless of course all the other groups hunt those seasons as well.

There have been years where muzzleloader season brought out the droves.  But you hit the nail on the head.  Rifle season brought them this year.  Bow season, I was the only one there.  Muzzleloader season, I was the only one there.   If there is any consolation it is that rifle season is over this coming Saturday.   Yesterday was a doe day in my county, and I stayed home in the morning.  I removed a stand Friday afternoon, and sold it.  Another I moved to a new location.  Saturday evening I sat in the new location, and had two hunters walk up on me.  I whistled and they went back the way they came.  I'm not going to hunt until Saturday, at which time I should have my new box blind up.  I've decided to remove my stands and only use my box blind.  Next year I plant to build another blind, and both of them will have locking trap-door entry.

I think you have the right idea.  Switch to blinds you can secure during rifle season.  Maybe consider setting up treestands for supplemental locations during bow and into muzzleloader, then pull the tree stands right before gun season.  Possibly even try to find a different spot for rifle.  

Good thing about our VA seasons is the best hunting is mostly during late archery and muzzleloader.

I have access to a farm in Loudoun Co, and I enjoy usually being the only hunter on several hundred acres during archery and muzzleloader.

That's great.  I've looked into a hunt club for next year.   I'm just not sure I can swing it with all the things I've got going on this year.

Agree.  I hunt on property that borders my parents property(only 10 acres) farmer is life long friend of the family, very good people but he is to nice to say no.  Because of this there are always 8 ot 10 guys that rifle hunt and 5 or 6 that archery hunt.  I pretty much gave up on rifle hunting and hunt in archery season.  Still there is a gentleman who got permission then proceeded to put up permanent stands in 3 or 4 of the best area's.  If he isn't in there before me I am not to the point where I say f*ck it I am hunting where I want to I have hunted this property for 30 years.  If he beats me to a stand then I will leave and vice versa, but he gets pissy saying I put a stand up next to his, I replied I have been hunting the property for 5 times longer than him and if he picked one spot then I would be ok with it but he can't CLAIM the best spots by putting up a stand and then get pissed when someone hunts next to them.

I would hold tight until the youngest get's their first deer there so they don't feel left out of the group. However once that's complete, I would cut ties with the place as the friends of friends will continue to grow in my experiences.

Way too many people for fifty acres. That is tremendous pressure on the deer plus unsafe.  I would thank the landowner for giving me the opportunity to have hunted there over years and give him the reason you won't be returning.

I wonder if that level of pressure continues how much it might negatively affect deer behavior, possibly pushing them off the property completely?

I ask because I see changes on the property I hunt, and it's much larger than OPs and the rifle season only brings a relatively small number of hunters.  

For sake of discussion, call it 300 acres.  During archery, there's only one hunter on the property (me).  During muzzleloader there's maybe max 3 hunters, and most likely only a 1-2 hunters at any time for most of the 2 week season.  

Once rifle season comes along there's as many as 8 hunters at a time, although outside of opening weekend it's probably more like 2-3 on a weekend and 0-2 on a weekday.  That relatively modest change in hunter density has a definite, noticeable impact on the deer behavior.

That's what I was thinking. There's 5 of us that lease about 500 acres in southern Indiana and I feel crowded on there sometimes. We have a small 40 acre section seperate from the rest that's mostly woods and only 1 hunter at a time is our limit on that property, especially with a gun.

Well, the guy that has brought most of the visitors and I talked.  He agrees it's gotten out of hand and has agreeed to  do his part to correct things.  We will see.  In the meantime I'm almost done with my elevated platform stand and I'll be taking it out, and removing another stand.

Take your stands down and walk in with climber stand.  I don't hunt stands that are not mine without them knowing it.

This.  I've lost a few good spots because of other hunters/property owners kids, grandkids etc...  

Time to start knocking on doors and find new spots.

Too many people on 50 acres. Despite your memories there, with the current situation I'd move on. When I was a kid of 7-8 years old my dad would take me with him to the front door of the landowner he was going to ask permission to hunt. In our case at the time it was pheasant and rabbit hunting and the owner was always a farmer. I'd stand there looking at the guy and my dad would explain that he was looking for somewhere he could take me hunting. I don't think we were ever refused. Granted, that was a different time and there weren't as many hunters around. Even at that, I'd bet you could take your youngest and do the same thing and find other good  places to hunt.

It sounds like the land owner uses his land to barter for services.  Unfortunately 5 people hunting 50 acres puts you and your family at risk of getting accidentally shot.  I would pull my stands and find another some other place to hunt.  I suggest finding another landowner and offering to pay to hunt the land exclusively.

This...