# Thoughts on "abandoned" state land tree stands



## anonymous7242016 (Aug 16, 2008)

I have been scouting quite a bit of state land this year and I have probably ran into about a dozen stands still in trees. To be honest it doesn't even really bother me, if anything it helps me.
Knowing where the hunters are helps me when choosing a stand location. 

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## unclecbass (Sep 29, 2005)

If its not yours its stealing


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## dialed-in (Feb 7, 2011)

A person leaving an unlabeled stand on state land, turd. A person taking any stand off state land, marked or unmarked, bigger turd! Either way, you can't fix it


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## fishx65 (Aug 24, 2005)

This is a tough one. Stands are so cheap that lots of stateland hunters leave them up all year to claim a hunting area. They take their name off it at the end of the season and hope it's still there to claim their area the following season. Lots of internet Cops will give you their opinion but the call is yours.


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## poz (Nov 12, 2004)

Here's another scenario, which happened to a friend of mine. The guy fell out if a tree stand and hurt himself. Left his stands up, because he was the only one who knew where they all were. In short he really couldn't recover them until summer. Maybe who's ever stands they are, lost their job, got hurt, etc, and can't make it up there to retrieve them. I would leave them alone.


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## TVCJohn (Nov 30, 2005)

I seen quite a few illegal stands and blinds on state land. I wouldn't touch them.....name or not. They do not belong to me. With that said....I had someone walk in on one of my trails and hang a brand new stand on the trail I had marked going to my stand. They put it where I had a cam set up in December of 2011. They left it up all of last year. I'll be checking soon to see if it was ever pulled down. 

Here is a stand I found last year that has been left up for some time in this tree. The chain is now buried into the tree. The screw-ins are now sinking into the tree. The danger is to the loggers who may cut the tree down in the future.


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## stickbow shooter (Dec 19, 2010)

William H Bonney said:


> Make sure you keep us posted this, especially in the fall when deer season rolls around and the owners of those stands wander out to the area and find you in a nearby tree and their stands are gone... :lol:


 x2 on that one.


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## perchyanker (Jan 26, 2011)

poz said:


> Here's another scenario, which happened to a friend of mine. The guy fell out if a tree stand and hurt himself. Left his stands up, because he was the only one who knew where they all were. In short he really couldn't recover them until summer. Maybe who's ever stands they are, lost their job, got hurt, etc, and can't make it up there to retrieve them. I would leave them alone.


Moral of the story is you don't know what the reason the stand is still there for.


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## FullQuiver (May 2, 2006)

jiggin is livin said:


> My thoughts are no way bud, I put the work in here not you so take a hike. Are they wrong not according to the law, morally yes but not illegally. If I find someone elses stand or bait I avoid it and keept walking and hope the same from others. If my spot is obviously used and I find someone elses stand 10 ft away I can't promise it won't be taken down butitll be left for the owner to retrieve.
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


I've run into too many people with your same crappy little attitude. You don't own state land and you hunting it all your life gives you no special privilege. Its first come first serve that day. It's whats right and its the law. I've seen way too many people dump out their bait and claim stake to land they have no right to do so. If you want to talk about hard work buy your own land, otherwise get over it.


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## Rut-N-Strut (Apr 8, 2001)

The wisest choice you could make is not becoming a THIEF over someone else's state land game law violation.


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## Anita Dwink (Apr 14, 2004)

What about the stand that's been there unused for at least 3 years , cable has grown into the tree. What is the statute of limitations on abandoned stands ?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## gander08 (Jan 5, 2011)

Im glad to see this has sparked quite the debate; makes the day at work go by quickerlol. I understand both sides view, and I think in this instance, Im just going to leave it up to the DNR to do their job. I will be informing her of where the stands are, and if they go by their rule book, I will leave it up to them to take them down.


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## fairfax1 (Jun 12, 2003)

I would take &#8216;em down&#8230;.and have in the past. Took two down (along with their screw-in tree steps) some years back and gave them to a deputy sheriff who is a personal friend. They were added to the booty for the annual auction of confiscated property that the county hosts. There was no owner&#8217;s name on either stand.

Now, for those who say &#8216;_taking what is not yours is stealing&#8217;_&#8230;..who would not say that that is a good adage to live by? However, tree stands still up in April don&#8217;t belong to anybody, in fact they are illegally left on The People&#8217;s property. As one poster here describes after talking with a CO&#8230;&#8230;they are, by law, &#8220;_abandoned property_&#8221;. 

I reject the idea that they should be ignored by law-abiding folks because &#8220;_the owner may have had an accident&#8221;. _Yes, that may have happened and it is a sorrowful situation&#8230;..but it is a tiny tiny part of the problem of stands left out permanently. Regrettable when it happens but such are the frictions of life, and must be understood as such.

On a broader policy basis requiring these stands to be removed assists in keeping &#8216;intrusive&#8217; manufactured items from being left in our natural areas&#8230;be they metal treestands, beer cans, or 3,000lb cars&#8230;&#8230; (or tires, or LazyBoys or old TV&#8217;s).

Too, it serves in some degree to stem a sense of entitlement & territoriality that sometimes develops amongst public land hunters when they have hunted a particular spot for a while (witness the Roscommon county incident of a couple of years ago&#8230;where a group had &#8216;taken over&#8217; an area in a public forest, posted it, and aggressively ejected legal hunters seeking to use the same ground).

The law requiring removal of tree-stands after the hunting seasons exists for a reason. To ignore it puts the lawbreaker at risk of not only public censure & appropriate punishment but also negates his legal right ---via confiscation---- to the tools employed in that lawbreaking.


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## wallhd (Nov 14, 2010)

fairfax1 said:


> I would take em down.and have in the past. Took two down (along with their screw-in tree steps) some years back and gave them to a deputy sheriff who is a personal friend. They were added to the booty for the annual auction of confiscated property that the county hosts. There was no owners name on either stand.
> 
> Now, for those who say _taking what is not yours is stealing_..who would not say that that is a good adage to live by? However, tree stands still up in April dont belong to anybody, in fact they are illegally left on The Peoples property. As one poster here describes after talking with a COthey are, by law, _abandoned property_.
> 
> ...


Well stated I couldn't agree with you more !


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## sullyxlh (Oct 28, 2004)

unclecbass said:


> If its not yours its stealing


If you leave it there
It's littering.

Leave only footprints
If nature didn't produce it
It goes in the dumpster upon leaving
and it sure as hell is not stealing.

Don't park a car in a no parking zone and then bitch when one comes back and it's gone
and most likely the guy who towed it was not a thief..

Make a stand or blind out of deadfalls and then no one has to worry about their trash missing.



> Originally Posted by *D_C*
> _It makes me sick how concerned people are about others.. Like others have said, if its not yours, mind your own business and leave it alone.._


Well it's nice to know we can dump trash on your property
and as in your words "will mind your own business and leave it alone"...


As was once said

We do not own the land

we are only caretakers of it.


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## plugger (Aug 8, 2001)

I would not take someone elses stand wether it had a name or not. I did return about a dozen stands to a weekend neighbor a coulple of years ago. Every year their group would put a couple of stands on the state land next to our farm, mostly home made ladder stands,and leave them. Mushroom season a few years ago my wife and I took them all down and dumped them in their driveway by their garage. The neighbor came down and said the stands were too heavy to take in and out and they were just going to leave the old ones to rot because they were mostly wood anyhow. They havent put that kind of junk up since.


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## pescadero (Mar 31, 2006)

dead short said:


> Taking something that is not yours without the owners consent is theft.
> http://www.outdoorhub.com/mobile/


This kind of ignores concepts of abandoned property and things like implied consent - under your definition I'm guilty of theft every time I pick up trash in the local SGA.


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## pescadero (Mar 31, 2006)

KPC said:


> If you see a car parked in a no parking zone, does it give you the right to take it? After all, it's just a 3000 lb beer can, right?
> 
> 
> 
> KPC


If you see a beer can sitting in the no parking zone, you definitely don't have the right to take it. After all, it's just a 2oz car, right?


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## Doehead (Sep 7, 2010)

I'll bet most stands left out on state land were stolen in the first place.


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## William H Bonney (Jan 14, 2003)

Comparing "trash" to tree-stands has me chuckling a little bit... 

I've yet to stumble upon a Big Gulp cup, Kodiak tins or empty beer cans ratchet strapped 15 feet up in a tree.


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## KPC (Jan 29, 2000)

fairfax1 said:


> I would take em down.and have in the past. Took two down (along with their screw-in tree steps) some years back and gave them to a deputy sheriff who is a personal friend. They were added to the booty for the annual auction of confiscated property that the county hosts. There was no owners name on either stand.
> 
> Now, for those who say _taking what is not yours is stealing_..who would not say that that is a good adage to live by? However, tree stands still up in April dont belong to anybody, in fact they are illegally left on The Peoples property. As one poster here describes after talking with a COthey are, by law, _abandoned property_.
> 
> ...


Bunk.

Nobody ever said they should be *"ignored by law abiding folks."* Most everyone said they should be reported and let the authorities handle it. That is what we hired them to do. Is it on YOUR time schedule, or your priority list? Maybe not, but that is not up to you to decide. 

When you see a person speeding on *"The People's"* roads, do you pull them over and give them a citation?

When you see someone breaking a game law on *"The People's"* land, do you issue them a citation, detain them, confiscate their weapon, or confiscate their truck? No, you report them to the athorities and let them handle it.

KPC


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## swampbuck62 (Sep 11, 2006)

wallhd said:


> My experience while hunting state land is that many feel that they can stake out a section of state land by putting up a stand(several) or bait and somehow it belongs to them and you had better stay your distance. They follow their own rules.


we have the same issue on some of our leased lands, each member is allowed so many permanent spots. So what guys will do is put up a stand or two in areas they might hunt later to lock that area up for themselves. Not against the club rules but it still sucks... We will be dealing with it this year..


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## KPC (Jan 29, 2000)

pescadero said:


> If you see a beer can sitting in the no parking zone, you definitely don't have the right to take it. After all, it's just a 2oz car, right?


Wrong.

A *"reasonable person"* (yes, that is a legal term) could assume that the beer can was discarded. Not so with a car. 

KPC


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

dead short said:


> Taking something that is not yours without the owners consent is theft.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


There you go,straight from a co's mouth.

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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Steve said:


> It bothers me because in effect these people are reserving a small piece of public land for themselves year round in perpetuity. That is wrong. Yeah I could setup a stand in another tree nearby but the tree may not be as good of a placement and what if they do finally show up? Are we going to have a stare down?


Probably the biggest reason why they are left up. Sure some folks can't get to them on time but most are simply claiming. I sure as hell won't stop hunting those areas though 

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## stickbow shooter (Dec 19, 2010)

Wouldnt it be a felony if you got caught takeing a stand that was worth more than 100 bucks?Than you would lose your gun rights and have to pay big fines and do probation.I believe in karma,if it aint mine leave it be.I be willing to bet if those guys that say (I would take them) will be the first ones on here pissin and moaning when someone takes theres.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

I think stands should be removed daily by law like pop up blinds 

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## MERGANZER (Aug 24, 2006)

Taking something thats not yours is stealing plain and simple and a good way to get your rear kicked in.

Claiming a spot on state land is done all the time if you see a treestand why would you want to hunt that location knowing its taken.

I get a kick out of all the "do-Gooders" wanting to enforce the law when all youre really doing is trying to "claim" a stateland spot for yourself! lol live and let live there is no shortage of venison in Michigan.

Ganzer


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## anon12192013aazz (Dec 10, 2010)

A few years ago I bought a 25 acre piece of swampy ground for deer hunting. The landowners said it had been closed to all hunting for a dozen years. Over the next six months, as we explored the whole piece, we found 5 different tree stands, 2 ground blinds and a 55-gallon bait-barrel bolted to a tree, 6' off ground.

This wasn't private land, so we could legally do whatever we wanted with the stuff, but we still took the time to put a note on each item, asking the owners to remove it in the next 90 days. Nobody came to claim it, so we took it all down. Only one of the stands was still solid enough for us to feel comfortable using it, so the rest of the stuff got scrapped.

We do still use one of the ground blinds and attached a spinner to the bait barrel, although we've never actually baited at that spot.

It kills me how all these guys will give someone grief for "stealing" stuff left on public land, but they aren't up in arms about all the jerks who ignored the law and left their stands there, in the first place. Ride your bike to a public park and leave it there for a week...see if it's there when you come back.


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## QDMAMAN (Dec 8, 2004)

> KPC said:
> 
> 
> > Wrong.
> ...


Bunk! We're not talking about cars parked illegally or speeding on "the people's roads" we're talking about littering.
I appreciate TVCJohn pointing out with his pics why "I" would remove an ABANDONED tree stand if I came across one.

















I've dealt with this crap in the UP for a couple decades now where I hunt near Hulbert. There's a 3/4x12" lagbolt 25' up an old growth white pine and plenty of 6" R/S polebarn nails from abandoned platforms courtesy of fellow "sportsman". Just seems the "reasonable" thing to do.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

MERGANZER said:


> Taking something thats not yours is stealing plain and simple and a good way to get your rear kicked in.
> 
> Claiming a spot on state land is done all the time if you see a treestand why would you want to hunt that location knowing its taken.
> 
> ...


Maybe a fella gets tired of the same stand hanging in the same tree year after year. If people can't abide by the rules to make things fair for all then I sure as hell don't have a problem setting up in the same area. State land is first come first serve.

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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Now that you can buy them cheap or steal them even cheaper guys are leaving them year after year so that they can claim a hunting area wether they hunt there or not. Even if a hunter finds the stand he or she may bypass that area thinking that yes someone is hunting there. I know where there is some abandoned stands that I know won't be removed and I know that they will not be hunted in. They just sit in the same trees year after year. Am I a thief if I take them down and take them home probably according to dead short. On the other hand I see no problem with taking them down and leaving them beside the tree so someone else can steal them.


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## D_C (Nov 26, 2010)

suanythi530092 said:


> If you leave it there
> It's littering.
> 
> Leave only footprints
> ...


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## pescadero (Mar 31, 2006)

KPC said:


> Wrong.
> 
> A *"reasonable person"* (yes, that is a legal term) could assume that the beer can was discarded. Not so with a car.
> 
> KPC


A *"reasonable person" *could assume that the rotting away treestand they've seen hanging in the same tree for three straight years was discarded.


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## fairfax1 (Jun 12, 2003)

_"&#8220;Wouldnt it be a felony if you got caught takeing a stand that was worth more than 100 bucks?Than you would lose your gun rights and have to pay big fines and do probation.&#8221;_

Nope. It is, by law, &#8220;abandoned property&#8221;.

Again, all together now, the law exists for a reason. It is under the same policy ethic of prohibiting TV sets, Lazyboys, old tires from being dumped on the People's property. That is, to repeat the point, _keep our publicly owned natural areas as free as possible of intrusive manufactured material_.

Or, perhaps, closer to the specifics of our hunting culture.......the same policy ethic that prohibits leaving your bunked wall tent set up in the SGA parking lot; or your camper;, or building a plywood elevated stand there........you know, to "hold" your spot. 

If you leave it after the hunting seasons then, by law, YOU have abandoned it.


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## RoadDog (Mar 13, 2011)

After following this thread for some time I have come to the conclusion that if we can not come to a consensus on something as simple as this issue, how can anyone think that deer hunters can come to a consensus on deer hunting regulations?:lol:


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

I deal with a stand that is in a prime spot on state land. It is a climbing stick with a large "Grand Stand". It has been left there year round for at least 5 years if not more. I would like a chance to hunt this area as deer funnel through there quite nicely. 

The stand has no name on it so if I call a CO with the location of it they are unlikely to be able to do anything. It does get hunted several times a year though as I have seen the people go in during bow season, but the chances of a CO actually being able to contact these people are slim.

I know the law is first come first serve, so theoretically I could go in and hunt out of that stand, but first it may not be very safe since it has been up so long and second I'd feel funny doing that.

Perhaps my best option would be to do the owner a favor and help them take it down at the end of the year and leave it at the bottom of the tree.


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## wallhd (Nov 14, 2010)

This thread hit a nerve of those who are posting and are also the ones leaving multi stands on public land. I can see them during the next couple of weekends rushing out to put chains on their tree stands.


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## TVCJohn (Nov 30, 2005)

fairfax1 said:


> If you leave it after the hunting seasons then, by law, YOU have abandoned it.


Where is the definition of abandoned in the regs? It's not listed on page 32 in the regs.

Next, how do you make the transition from finding an abandoned stand to it becoming your stand to take down? 

Right now all the regs say is it unlawful to use an illegal treestand, scaffold regardless of who placed it on public land.

Also of note (page 32) a city/county/township can authorize the length of time a Type 3 ground blind can be on city administered lands. If you took one of these legal blinds, it's possible you'd be stealing someone's legal blind even if it was after the hunting season. It would depend on what the city/county/township authorized the owner to do. 

IMO.....it would make sense for the DNR to put some language in the regs (treestand and blind regs section) on what they want people to do when they find stands and blinds between March 1st and Sept 1st. That would remove all the guesswork.


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## poz (Nov 12, 2004)

For all you guys who think it's no big issue to take the stands, i have a question for you. I usually have a stolen or abandoned car left in my parking lot many times with the keys left in them. How many of you guys that would take those treestands, would actually take one of these abandoned or stolen cars from my parking lot and drive them to the police station and take a chance getting caught with a stolen item?. I don't think a single one of you would. You would call the authorities and let them handle it.
It seems the main reason people are willing to remove the left stands is because they want to hunt the area themselves. It's state land you can legally put a stand right next to that left over stand and hunt or beat him to his stand and hunt it. But you will steal (according to the law) his stands to benefit your hunting. Congratulations you just became as selfish as the guy who you claim is saving spots on state land


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Steve said:


> I deal with a stand that is in a prime spot on state land. It is a climbing stick with a large "Grand Stand". It has been left there year round for at least 5 years if not more. I would like a chance to hunt this area as deer funnel through there quite nicely.
> 
> The stand has no name on it so if I call a CO with the location of it they are unlikely to be able to do anything. It does get hunted several times a year though as I have seen the people go in during bow season, but the chances of a CO actually being able to contact these people are slim.
> 
> ...


 I deal with pretty much the same situation as you do. I have hunted a funnel for years with my climber until one year i saw a ladder stand show up. that year i moved on and didnt hunt it.
the following spring i noticed it was still there and stayed there for the following year. That 2nd year i climbed the same tree i always have and shot an 8 point there. I dont feel funny at all. I dont turn him in and i wont stop hunting there just because he wants to try and lay claim to the area. That ladder stand is still there and it can stay there but im still gonna hunt there.


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## QDMAMAN (Dec 8, 2004)

poz said:


> For all you guys who think it's no big issue to take the stands, i have a question for you. I usually have a stolen or abandoned car left *in my parking lot* many times with the keys left in them.


Why would anybody but you and the owner of the stolen car be interest in anything ON YOUR PRIVATE PROPERTY? 
FWIW, cars have VINs and can be used to trace ownership. If our fellow sportsmen put their name on the stand ON PUBLIC LAND like they're suppose to then the CO could easily contact them to return the stand and issue a ticket!


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## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

I support the idea that any stand left after March 1st is abandoned. Perhaps the DNR should add a line to the Hunting Guide that states any stand still on State land after a certain date is considered abandoned and is available to anyone who wants to help remove trash from public land.

L & O


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## KPC (Jan 29, 2000)

QDMAMAN said:


> Bunk! We're not talking about cars parked illegally or speeding on "the people's roads" we're talking about littering.
> I appreciate TVCJohn pointing out with his pics why "I" would remove an ABANDONED tree stand if I came across one.
> 
> I've dealt with this crap in the UP for a couple decades now where I hunt near Hulbert. There's a 3/4x12" lagbolt 25' up an old growth white pine and plenty of 6" R/S polebarn nails from abandoned platforms courtesy of fellow "sportsman". Just seems the "reasonable" thing to do.


You're trying too hard Q...




pescadero said:


> A *"reasonable person" *could assume that the rotting away treestand they've seen hanging in the same tree for three straight years was discarded.


 
Apparently, you both know more than this person about the law regarding such things:




dead short said:


> Taking something that is not yours without the owners consent is theft.


 
You guys can justify it in your minds all you want but the fact remains that leaving the stand on public property beyond the allowed time limit is indeed against the law, as are lag bolts, tree steps, pole barn nails etc. They are also probably dangerous, inconsiderate, greedy, not nice, rude, piggish and any other word you choose to describe it. All that being said, *only certain people have the right to enforce the law,* all the rest of us can do, legally, is report the infraction. If you don't happen to be one of those that is responsible for enforcing the law, and you take it upon yourself to do so anyway, you are as much of a law breaker he is.

Just curious, what is the difference between a tree stand hanging in tree, and a trail cam hanging in a tree, in terms of abandonment?

KPC


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## poz (Nov 12, 2004)

QDMAMAN said:


> Why would anybody but you and the owner of the stolen car be interest in anything ON YOUR PRIVATE PROPERTY?
> FWIW, cars have VINs and can be used to trace ownership. If our fellow sportsmen put their name on the stand ON PUBLIC LAND like they're suppose to then the CO could easily contact them to return the stand and issue a ticket!


It's the same thing, an item was abandoned whether on private or public land, report it and let the authorities handle it 



So if you for some reason or another, had to leave your stands out, and you finally had a chance to retrieve them, and you go out there and a guy is walking out if the woods with your stands. What would you do? Would you just let them have them, or would you call the authorities? Answer honestly!


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## anonymous7242016 (Aug 16, 2008)

KPC said:


> You're trying too hard Q...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The law tells you when you can hang stands and when they need to be removed .......it states nothing about trail cams.

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## KPC (Jan 29, 2000)

bucksnbows said:


> The law tells you when you can hang stands and when they need to be removed .......it states nothing about trail cams.


But how do I know when one is "abandoned?" Or how do I know when it's "litter?"

How about if I find one that has been attached to a tree with a screw? Does that mean I can take it? How about screw in tree steps? Even if they are there during the season, they are illegal, so I can take them right? How about if I find a quad that is off of a designated roadway? Surely I can take that, right?

As a civilian, am I allowed to enforce *all* hunting and fishing laws, are just certain ones?



KPC


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## fairfax1 (Jun 12, 2003)

Well, it appears we may interpret what is &#8216;right&#8217; in our own fashion. The regs are somewhat unclear on what should be done on discovery of an illegal stand. However, the regs are quite clear on the illegality of leaving a stand up.

Let us expand a bit further on the rationale behind the law: As said twice before, it is intended to discourage the placement of manufactured material in our natural areas that can diminish the real value and the aesthetic value of those areas. It also will&#8230;.whether intended by the regulators or not&#8230;.inhibit the development of a squatter mentality, i.e., the belief and the behavior that asserts one&#8217;s efforts and/or material conveys a superior right for the exclusive use&#8230;..of the People&#8217;s lands. That territoriality is the antithesis of the logic behind our State holding lands in public trust.

So it boils down to this: The law exists for a good and valid reason that benefits all of us. Violate it and you should pay the consequences.

Don&#8217;t whine when your stand ain&#8217;t there in September when you go to check it out. Accept it as Karmic justice.


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## 10pt (Nov 22, 2011)

Ok ok. There my stands an I'm not able to get to them. Gander you can have them Be careful taking them down. 


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## standsetter (Dec 2, 2007)

Platitudes for pompous fools, should be a sticky.


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## William H Bonney (Jan 14, 2003)

fairfax1 said:


> _"Wouldnt it be a felony if you got caught takeing a stand that was worth more than 100 bucks?Than you would lose your gun rights and have to pay big fines and do probation._
> 
> Nope. It is, by law, abandoned property.
> 
> ...


Please stop quoting laws that don't exist.


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## fishx65 (Aug 24, 2005)

Liver and Onions said:


> I support the idea that any stand left after March 1st is abandoned. Perhaps the DNR should add a line to the Hunting Guide that states any stand still on State land after a certain date is considered abandoned and is available to anyone who wants to help remove trash from public land.
> 
> L & O


I love it!!! This would discourage a lot of stateland violators and free up the COs to do more important things.


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## KPC (Jan 29, 2000)

fairfax1 said:


> So it boils down to this: The law exists for a good and valid reason that benefits our society. Violate it and you should pay the consequences.


 
True enough. All laws exist to benefit our society in some way. And we have a legal system that exists to impose consequences if those laws are broken. Interestingly enough, we even have laws against taking the law into one's own hands...for the benefit of society of course. Operating outside those laws, is well...illegal.



KPC


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## QDMAMAN (Dec 8, 2004)

poz said:


> So if you for some reason or another, had to leave your stands out, and you finally had a chance to retrieve them, and you go out there and a guy is walking out if the woods with your stands. What would you do? Would you just let them have them, or would you call the authorities? Answer honestly!


Honestly?:lol:
If they were my stands they'd have my names on them and I'd point that out to them and thank them for saving me the trouble of taking them down myself. Might even give them a tip...but only if they carried them the rest of the way to my truck.


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## RMH (Jan 17, 2009)

If a CO walks up while you are taking down, touching, hunting out of, or climbing up or down an "abandoned stand", you could be considered the owner and ticketed. Unless you tag your name on someone else's stuff before you monkey with it! Why take that chance?


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

RMH said:


> If a CO walks up while you are taking down, touching, hunting out of, or climbing up or down an "abandoned stand", you could be considered the owner and ticketed. Unless you tag your name on someone else's stuff before you monkey with it! Why take that chance?


That is true.


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## poz (Nov 12, 2004)

QDMAMAN said:


> Honestly?:lol:
> If they were my stands they'd have my names on them and I'd point that out to them and thank them for saving me the trouble of taking them down myself. Might even give them a tip...but only if they carried them the rest of the way to my truck.


Name or not, if they are up after the date people on here say they are abandoned. Yet you still consider them yours, and you believe they still belong to you after being left up after the date. I'm sure the owner of those stands still believe they own them, name or not. 
So what your saying is that just because you have your name on it and you weren't able to retrieve them by a certain date, you still own them and the guy walking out with them would not be entitled to them. So different laws apply to you


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## QDMAMAN (Dec 8, 2004)

poz said:


> So what your saying is that just because you have your name on it and you weren't able to retrieve them by a certain date, you still own them and *the guy walking out with them would not be entitled to them.* So different laws apply to you


 
Where did I say the guy walking out with them wasn't entitled to them poz?
For the love of God, get a check up from the neck up!


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## GIDEON (Mar 28, 2008)

MERGANZER said:


> What you did was steal a treestand then.
> 
> Ganzer


 YEAH..................but it was soft stealing:lol:


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## turkey track (Sep 18, 2008)

This thread should be re-titled. Maybe something like, "I want to steal some stands from state land, help me justify my actions."


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