Someone baited my tree stand and game camera!

[xbowhunter17]

I have a question. I went to check one of my game cameras last week which is 20 yards away from one of my stands. When I got there there was a good amount of corn on the ground in front of my game camera. I did not put it there. I took my camera home with me because I had no idea what was going on. When I checked my card someone had a cardboard sign held in front of it at like 3 feet that says "this area is baited no hunting allowed". You cannot see any people there just the sign from 6:33 pm and the last picture of it is at 6:42 pm. Then there is what looks to be a 40 or 50 lb bag of corn dumped in front. I decided to take my cam back out. I then set up a second cam on the ground with foliage around it and even taped the IR's thinking that they would do this at the same time if they did it again and I would not need night pictures and they may see the IR's go off if it were dusk. I went on a trip this weekend and when I got back Sunday I went back out to see what happened if anything. I could tell someone was down in where it was as soon as I started down I could see side by side tracks through the woods from where I park mine. I got down there and there was more corn dumped but only what looked to be a bucket full and a few whole ears. My spy plan did not work...the camera that I had hid in the bush did not snap a single picture. Someone was for sure there with the additional corn that had been dumped. I do not know why it did not take a picture. My normal cam had the sd card stolen from it and my ladder stand had the bottom section of ladder taken off which i ended up finding in the creek 20 yards behind it. My question is what do I do? I brought both of the cameras back home with me out of fear that they would be stolen next and I locked my ladder sections together on my stand. It is a stand I do not use much unless its busy where my others are. I cleaned all of the corn up in a bucket and dumped it in the dumpster at work so there was nothing there as of yesterday. Clearly there is somebody messing with it. I actually sat in the stand tonight for 4 hours but no one came and I work afternoons all from tue - sat. I normally would say forget it and hunt it anyway. But my family always seems to get a little more attention from the game commission than others do. Three years ago my father was hunting about 3 miles out the road from where I am got nailed for baiting in rifle season and he never put anything out there but a Game commissioner came into the woods wrote him up and took him to a spot about 200 yards away where corn and a salt block were. He was not even watching in the direction of the bait he was part was down into a hollow and it was on the flat top 200 yards behind him and 30 feet of elevation above him through woods, zero chance of even seeing anything around the spot. Then last year my brother and his wife got harassed by them. When she shot a nice buck in archery season for the third year in a row mind you. She has always hunted. An officer showed at the place where they were having the buck mounted and took her tag from the caped deer head. They informed my brother someone made a "anonymous tip" that he shot it instead of her. Nothing ever came of it because it was totally bogus. I feel like I am being set up and am freaked out a bit to hunt there. Is it legal to still hunt from it or is there a certain number of days I have to wait? Should I just go there and hope it was just some other hunter messing with it? Which happens a lot there between my father, brother, his wife, and I we have lost 4 stands 2 cameras and my brothers vehicle was shot in the hood with what the police said was a 9mm. I hunt with a go pro attached to me most of the time now so I can prove what happens in the woods and when I take my 7 year old niece out xbow hunting (she is lethal with it) this year i will be taking a handheld with me just for the same reason. Any suggestions as to what I should do?

[K.C.]

Not too many people are going to want to read this until you hit the edit button an create paragraphs, just sayin .

[Shodan]

Not too many people are going to want to read this until you hit the edit button an create paragraphs, just sayin .

I did, and I think the obvious question is - are you sure you are allowed to hunt where your stand and cameras are located?

[Chazman321]

Someone is being a jerk and knows the laws. Sounds like someone got busted by the PGC and wants to make everyone miserable... Sit and wait for a few days. If the person shows up, call the PGC and report them.

As for hunting there, don't even think about it. They no doubt baited that site and called it in. You bring a gun or bow near there and they might get you for hunting over bait...


-Chaz

[Qtrborecrazy]

Your hunting in someone else's favorite spot or your real close. He's running you out of there. Go for a walk around there and see what you can find. People always leave junk.

[xbowhunter17]

It is good to go as far as lands go it is in a hollow between two fields which is all owned by a mining company that has no issues with anyone hunting there. When I last talked to them maybe 3 years ago they did not even have any problems with taking vehicles and quads through it.

I am sorry about the paragraph thing I just went on a rant and never even thought of it.

[Mtbkski]

Take a shovel out. Dig a hole. Bury the corn. Hunt up a storm.

[xbowhunter17]

Your hunting in someone else's favorite spot or your real close. He's running you out of there. Go for a walk around there and see what you can find. People always leave junk.

My stand has went up in this same tree fro 3 years although someone did come right in on top of me last year once I have never hit other hunters aside from that one time withing a good 4 or 5 hundred yards of there. But maybe someone wants to start hunting it i guess.

[dartagnan]

It sounds like someone else really wants to hunt there and they don't want you to use "their spot." If you don't feel comfortable hunting there return the favor. Return as much as possible. Urinate on every tree you can find, make as much noise as possible, maybe get some coyote urine and spread it around. Don't do anything illegal, just make the area unattractive. Make any deer in the area leave or go nocturnal.

[Ruger402]

^^^^^^^^+1


Dont have time to look it up, I'm thinking there cant be any trace of bait within a few hundred yards of where you hunt for 30 days before season opens. Its your responsibility to make sure you comply with the rules.....A load of bs, Who wants to make circles around your stand in every direction BEFORE you sit down on opening day to make sure no one dropped an apple the night before?!!!!!