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I’m really pissed off. Today was my day. I had been planning it all week. Couldn’t get out yesterday to hunt due to work stuff, but today was the day. All packed in the truck last night with today’s camouflage laid out and the alarm clock on EARLY. I hunt only public land, so my secret sauce is to wake up early and get myself set up well ahead of sunrise… and hopefully before the late sleepers get outta bed.

Normally when I arrive at my public hunting parking spot, one place I frequented last year I deemed a “1-truck” site just because the parking was limited, and more importantly, a second guy would be right on top of the first in the woods here. So, if another guy was there, I’d move on, and that seemed the norm. There are other parking spots just down the road, and I’d use them if I needed to, though I didn’t know the woods there as well.

My usual spot last year is truly a small hunting area , and I hunted it hard last year and didn’t see but one deer all season. Time to find another.

So last year after deer season I began scouting in earnest and found another place on public land about 1h from the first.I kicked out a few deer every time I visited, saw sign everywhere, and there were trails cut in here and there. The parking lot was bigger, so I figured this spot would attract others too, plus there just aren’t a lot of nearby parking areas or paths into the woods…. So I figured this would require the usual early alarm clock, plus, it could accommodate more than just one truck…

So this am I finally have a day when I can get out into the woods, and I’m there in the parking lot bright and early-5:30 am. Now, this requires that I left my home quite a bit earlier, but it’s worth it to me for the few days that I can actually get out into the woods to hint.

As I turn into the parking lot, what do I see? Two trucks and a damn RV sitting there. Who knows how many guys were piled into that rig? It was not huge, but definitely a good size rig. RV plugged into a generator too, so the guys have been here at least all night.

My understanding of the MI DNR laws are that you cannot camp In your RV in a state game land parking lot unless there is a sign expressly allowing it. No such sign here.

Not knowing how many guys were piled into that RV, I did what these guys didn’t deserve, and I left. My hunting day was ruined because of some jerk who either doesn’t know the laws of the land he’s hunting on, or my guess, doesn’t care about them.

Whether you like the laws or not, they are the laws. I invite anyone to chime in if they believe that I am wrong about this particular law. Here is the paragraph from MI DNR web page that talks about camping:

Camping Related: "Camp" means: set-up/ place and occupy a tent, tent-type camper, travel or house trailer; sleeping in any type of vehicle or water vessels moored off State land, or sleeping in any other manner. “Dispersed camping” is special by-permit camping away from a designated campsite, with special rules (not all listed here). “Quiet hours” ….

• Unlawful to camp outside of designated campground areas or sites on any type of State land.

• Unlawful to camp inappropriately or in prohibited areas (like in veg. buffers on natural rivers,etc.).

• Unlawful to camp in a designated parking area, except those posted to allow camping.

• Unlawful to camp in State wildlife and game areas, between May 15 to Sept. 10, except in
specific designated and signed camping sites noted as approved for use between those dates.

I am now regretting that I left so quickly. I should have taken down their plate numbers so that I could report them to MI DNR. This is what I will do the next time. Not because I’d like to see these guys get into trouble-but because I have every right to that land too, and I play by the laws. They need to too.

If you happen to be a guy who is illegally camping on state game land, please know that you are breaking the law. I hope that you will reconsider your actions. If not, I hope that others like me will report it.

The laws of public hunting land are for everyone.
I don't think you have a legitimate gripe here.
You should have just went hunting like you had planned. Go hunt this evening and have fun.

Good Hunting!

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I've been dealing with something like this at Maple River State Game Area, a private land owner is trying
to keep the public out of the area. There was and access road next to his property that he would block
so the DNR got tired of dealing with him and was able to purchase 80 acres on the other side of him to
gain access, now he tears the public land signs down and has placed a camper in the parking lot to
give the impression that it has somebody using the area. He has had the camper there since before
the 1'st of Oct. The DNR said if he confronts me that he could be charged with Hunter Harassment and
to call the Hot Line. I knew he could camp for 14 days legally, I didn't know that the camp couldn't
be left unattended.
 
I understand the frustration, but it very well could have been 1 guy. Then again, perhaps it was 5 guys and if they didn't take the RV, they would've all piled into 5 trucks and gone to the same spot. Public land hunting is a beotch sometimes. There were 3 vehicles at my spot yesterday. It's a relatively unhunted spot that I frequent about 5 times a week and almost never see another guy. It happens. I still hunted. Maybe those other guys bump bedded deer to me. Who knows. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches, in my opinion, and stay out of other people's business.

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I understand the frustration, but it very well could have been 1 guy. Then again, perhaps it was 5 guys and if they didn't take the RV, they would've all piled into 5 trucks and gone to the same spot. Public land hunting is a beotch sometimes. There were 3 vehicles at my spot yesterday. It's a relatively unhunted spot that I frequent about 5 times a week and almost never see another guy. It happens. I still hunted. Maybe those other guys bump bedded deer to me. Who knows. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches, in my opinion, and stay out of other people's business.

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Exactly ,public land equals every one has the same opportunity to use the land. Look for thick and nasty area ,u may have to walk a mile or more but u also have a good chance at a true Michigan freak. Jmo
 
Not trying to pick a fight here, but the text I pasted above was copied directly from the MI DNR regulations page. So are those not really the rules, or is it the case that a free permit that anyone can get nullifies them?
I ask because I don’t have my own land, leases are pricey and damn near impossible to find, so I am dependent on public land for hunting. If guys can legally claim the land as their own, how is this public?

And yes… I could have gone in before these guys and set myself up.They’d be pissed, blow out my hunting area when they walked in later than me, and who knows what they’d do to my truck in the lot right next to”their”camp site?
how did they claim the woods by parking, and camping?
Starting to sound as some one is upset that they must share OUR public land with others.
I say get over it.
yes I hunt state game area. I go in very early, and still at times must move. Another hunter will walk in latter ignore the flashlight shinning at them and sit 40 yards from me.
Guess what as soon as it is legal shooting light, I get up and stalk over to another location.
I am sure I piss them off but O well. I am not going to have someone ignorant enough to sit that close, actually hunt by me.

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People beat you to a spot ,and you question the legality of thier being parked there.

What if they are not allowed to camp there , but still hunt the site? Seems no different to me.
And were I determined to hunt a site after being told I can't park my particular vehicle on it , would I not hunt there?

Years ago a guy from out of state rented a motorhome and parked on public land.
We hunted around him. Obviously no problem as it was public land.

On another site a similar pattern existed. But the guys that introduced me to the site stayed clear of the guys hunting area till after the first week he was there. (Archery). He was hunting there before we were.
Just to be courteous to his tradition , having made that site his usual haunt before we hunted it , and his time money and effort to hunt in Michigan.
Worked out fine for everyone.
When he left we then could absorb his prior hunted area. More though the edges of it as deer would be skirting it more often than not by then. Which demonstrated that our hunting beyond it was not losing anything.
Though...(always a though) there were spots he didn't utilize deer would in rifle season. Still , it didn't matter when he was there , did it?
 
I’m really pissed off. Today was my day. I had been planning it all week. Couldn’t get out yesterday to hunt due to work stuff, but today was the day. All packed in the truck last night with today’s camouflage laid out and the alarm clock on EARLY. I hunt only public land, so my secret sauce is to wake up early and get myself set up well ahead of sunrise… and hopefully before the late sleepers get outta bed.

Normally when I arrive at my public hunting parking spot, one place I frequented last year I deemed a “1-truck” site just because the parking was limited, and more importantly, a second guy would be right on top of the first in the woods here. So, if another guy was there, I’d move on, and that seemed the norm. There are other parking spots just down the road, and I’d use them if I needed to, though I didn’t know the woods there as well.

My usual spot last year is truly a small hunting area , and I hunted it hard last year and didn’t see but one deer all season. Time to find another.

So last year after deer season I began scouting in earnest and found another place on public land about 1h from the first.I kicked out a few deer every time I visited, saw sign everywhere, and there were trails cut in here and there. The parking lot was bigger, so I figured this spot would attract others too, plus there just aren’t a lot of nearby parking areas or paths into the woods…. So I figured this would require the usual early alarm clock, plus, it could accommodate more than just one truck…

So this am I finally have a day when I can get out into the woods, and I’m there in the parking lot bright and early-5:30 am. Now, this requires that I left my home quite a bit earlier, but it’s worth it to me for the few days that I can actually get out into the woods to hint.

As I turn into the parking lot, what do I see? Two trucks and a damn RV sitting there. Who knows how many guys were piled into that rig? It was not huge, but definitely a good size rig. RV plugged into a generator too, so the guys have been here at least all night.

My understanding of the MI DNR laws are that you cannot camp In your RV in a state game land parking lot unless there is a sign expressly allowing it. No such sign here.

Not knowing how many guys were piled into that RV, I did what these guys didn’t deserve, and I left. My hunting day was ruined because of some jerk who either doesn’t know the laws of the land he’s hunting on, or my guess, doesn’t care about them.

Whether you like the laws or not, they are the laws. I invite anyone to chime in if they believe that I am wrong about this particular law. Here is the paragraph from MI DNR web page that talks about camping:

Camping Related: "Camp" means: set-up/ place and occupy a tent, tent-type camper, travel or house trailer; sleeping in any type of vehicle or water vessels moored off State land, or sleeping in any other manner. “Dispersed camping” is special by-permit camping away from a designated campsite, with special rules (not all listed here). “Quiet hours” ….

• Unlawful to camp outside of designated campground areas or sites on any type of State land.

• Unlawful to camp inappropriately or in prohibited areas (like in veg. buffers on natural rivers,etc.).

• Unlawful to camp in a designated parking area, except those posted to allow camping.

• Unlawful to camp in State wildlife and game areas, between May 15 to Sept. 10, except in
specific designated and signed camping sites noted as approved for use between those dates.

I am now regretting that I left so quickly. I should have taken down their plate numbers so that I could report them to MI DNR. This is what I will do the next time. Not because I’d like to see these guys get into trouble-but because I have every right to that land too, and I play by the laws. They need to too.

If you happen to be a guy who is illegally camping on state game land, please know that you are breaking the law. I hope that you will reconsider your actions. If not, I hope that others like me will report it.

The laws of public hunting land are for everyone.

Can’t they get a permit for overnighting from dnr.

I feel your pain as I’ve had a lot of issues with state and actually have had less but more serious issues from private land guys.

Best is to go with plan C. Always have a backup. I have been guilty of being worn out and passing out in my vehicle on state land but never that close to where I hunt. Having a camper full of guys is a bummer. It also wouldn’t hurt to try talking to them and letting them know where you planned to hunt.

Personally I think calling the dnr should be a last resort. At least give someone the chance to be civil with you. I think your choice on not calling will pay off for you maybe karmaticly, stick to the state land grind, that big buck is waiting for you.
 
Idf you want tohunt an area on statwe ground and never see another person just come north. South of and east of me is 1000's acres of public ground that never gets hunted or has very light pressure. BUT you had better know how to read a compass and if not you may never be heard from again. Most sreas to go 50 yards you may have to walk a mile just to get there
 
Your making a ton assumptions !! You know they were camping how??? We used to drive up like that take small camper and 2 other trucks get to parking lot about 3-330 a.m. hook up gennie cook nice hot breakfast & hot coffee ! go out first light come back eat hot lunch in dry area if raining dry clothes off then go back out for night come back for dinner same thing then take off back home that night ! I'm still trying to figure out how 530 is considered really early . I know some that are in stands BY 500A.M. at the latest.
 
I've been dealing with something like this at Maple River State Game Area, a private land owner is trying
to keep the public out of the area. There was and access road next to his property that he would block
so the DNR got tired of dealing with him and was able to purchase 80 acres on the other side of him to
gain access, now he tears the public land signs down and has placed a camper in the parking lot to
give the impression that it has somebody using the area. He has had the camper there since before
the 1'st of Oct. The DNR said if he confronts me that he could be charged with Hunter Harassment and
to call the Hot Line. I knew he could camp for 14 days legally, I didn't know that the camp couldn't
be left unattended.
I'm surprised this jackass hasn't found his camper destroyed by now.
 
Idf you want tohunt an area on statwe ground and never see another person just come north. South of and east of me is 1000's acres of public ground that never gets hunted or has very light pressure. BUT you had better know how to read a compass and if not you may never be heard from again. Most sreas to go 50 yards you may have to walk a mile just to get there
Just don't send him over our way. 😝
Just kidding, there's plenty of land for everyone.
 
Discussion starter · #35 ·
Thanks guys. I do appreciate some of the advice given. Nevertheless some of you think that since it’s public land, anything and everything goes. Camper where it’s not legal? Ok. While we’re at it, what other laws/rules are there that we don’t feel like abiding by? Guns during archery season? Have at it! It’s public land, so “if you don’t like it go elsewhere,” right? See… it’s a slippery slope.

I am not expecting special treatment here. If a guy legitimately beats me to a public spot, by law and as a sportsman, it’s his spot. Heck, in Michigan he’s even legitimately allowed to use a Treestand that Another guy legally hung there if he wants. Is that good practice? Not in my book. But it’s perfectly legal.

All I’m asking the public to do is go by the law so we all have an even chance. If the guy was able to get a permit to camp there, so be it. That’s not my read of the laws, but I’m not an attorney. If the guys in that camper wanted to get their butts up at 4am like I did to get there from wherever they live, that’s cool.

As for nocking on his door at 5:30 am? No thanks. who the heck knows what’s going on in there, and what kind of mood these guys are gonna be in when a stranger comes knocking that early in a day.

Like I said… next time I take a pic of the plate and call it in. If he’s got a legal permit to be there, no worries. Otherwise maybe a little education would be a good idea.
 
Thanks guys. I do appreciate some of the advice given. Nevertheless some of you think that since it’s public land, anything and everything goes. Camper where it’s not legal? Ok. While we’re at it, what other laws/rules are there that we don’t feel like abiding by? Guns during archery season? Have at it! It’s public land, so “if you don’t like it go elsewhere,” right? See… it’s a slippery slope.

I am not expecting special treatment here. If a guy legitimately beats me to a public spot, by law and as a sportsman, it’s his spot. Heck, in Michigan he’s even legitimately allowed to use a Treestand that Another guy legally hung there if he wants. Is that good practice? Not in my book. But it’s perfectly legal.

All I’m asking the public to do is go by the law so we all have an even chance. If the guy was able to get a permit to camp there, so be it. That’s not my read of the laws, but I’m not an attorney. If the guys in that camper wanted to get their butts up at 4am like I did to get there from wherever they live, that’s cool.

As for nocking on his door at 5:30 am? No thanks. who the heck knows what’s going on in there, and what kind of mood these guys are gonna be in when a stranger comes knocking that early in a day.

Like I said… next time I take a pic of the plate and call it in. If he’s got a legal permit to be there, no worries. Otherwise maybe a little education would be a good idea.
You could always take up golf. They'll reserve your tee time I hear. lol

Good luck tonight!

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Thanks guys. I do appreciate some of the advice given. Nevertheless some of you think that since it’s public land, anything and everything goes. Camper where it’s not legal? Ok. While we’re at it, what other laws/rules are there that we don’t feel like abiding by? Guns during archery season? Have at it! It’s public land, so “if you don’t like it go elsewhere,” right? See… it’s a slippery slope.

I am not expecting special treatment here. If a guy legitimately beats me to a public spot, by law and as a sportsman, it’s his spot. Heck, in Michigan he’s even legitimately allowed to use a Treestand that Another guy legally hung there if he wants. Is that good practice? Not in my book. But it’s perfectly legal.

All I’m asking the public to do is go by the law so we all have an even chance. If the guy was able to get a permit to camp there, so be it. That’s not my read of the laws, but I’m not an attorney. If the guys in that camper wanted to get their butts up at 4am like I did to get there from wherever they live, that’s cool.

As for nocking on his door at 5:30 am? No thanks. who the heck knows what’s going on in there, and what kind of mood these guys are gonna be in when a stranger comes knocking that early in a day.

Like I said… next time I take a pic of the plate and call it in. If he’s got a legal permit to be there, no worries. Otherwise maybe a little education would be a good idea.
Hell you still do not know if it is legal or not. Just because a camper is there and a gen running do not really mean he was there all night. Take a trip thru Allegan State game area parking lots at duck season or deer season the lots are full or use to be. Many stayed all week
 
Thanks guys. I do appreciate some of the advice given. Nevertheless some of you think that since it’s public land, anything and everything goes. Camper where it’s not legal? Ok. While we’re at it, what other laws/rules are there that we don’t feel like abiding by? Guns during archery season? Have at it! It’s public land, so “if you don’t like it go elsewhere,” right? See… it’s a slippery slope.

I am not expecting special treatment here. If a guy legitimately beats me to a public spot, by law and as a sportsman, it’s his spot. Heck, in Michigan he’s even legitimately allowed to use a Treestand that Another guy legally hung there if he wants. Is that good practice? Not in my book. But it’s perfectly legal.

All I’m asking the public to do is go by the law so we all have an even chance. If the guy was able to get a permit to camp there, so be it. That’s not my read of the laws, but I’m not an attorney. If the guys in that camper wanted to get their butts up at 4am like I did to get there from wherever they live, that’s cool.

As for nocking on his door at 5:30 am? No thanks. who the heck knows what’s going on in there, and what kind of mood these guys are gonna be in when a stranger comes knocking that early in a day.

Like I said… next time I take a pic of the plate and call it in. If he’s got a legal permit to be there, no worries. Otherwise maybe a little education would be a good idea.
Since others have replied to the RV being used in the parking by hunters, I will not. I will respond to the part where you say another can use a legally hung tree stand belonging to another.
Don't rely on everything written in the Michigan Hunting Digest. Even though the Digest states that your name on a tree stand or ground blind on public land does not guarantee exclusive use, the person using it must have their name and address, complete Michigan driver’s license number, or DNR sportcard number permanently on the stand. Anyone doing that without permission would be defacing/vandalizing private property. That is a crime. Also, the Wildlife Conservation Order does not state that another person can use the stand without permission. How that notion got into the Hunting Digest is up for grabs. Probably a disgruntled employee inserted that before being fired or an uninformed intern wrote it up thinking they were being clever.
 
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