Giving out game location on social media ?

[Bub]

Originally Posted by Centralalbertasongdogslay

If you want to know where your target species is why should someone who knows how to hunt and has put in the work to find their quarry by learning their habits and burnt hundreds of dollars of fuel and wore out pair after pair of hunting boots just to have someone ask and be told where lets say the elk or moose are and then someone who doesnt want to put the time and effort in gets told their exact patterns ans goes in and kills the monster bull you put your blood sweat and tears in locating, that would make me some kind of livid if its a close friend or family member its diff but if its some random i say tell them to politly find them their selves, thats like posting your favorite jumbo perch hole go back in a week and all the jumbos are gone secret big game hunting spots would be decimated and it would be not good at all for the populations of animals whonalready hsave to deal with out of control wolf packs and the exploding mountain lion populations that are wreaking havoc on the wildlife and the livestock, i talked to one farmer this year and hevlost his entire foal crop this year to lions a total of 12 foals thats alot of cash turned into lion **** and it drives me nuts if you ask me so if i get asked by someone looking for a pack of wolves thats an exception ill make

Sorry, but that is one long, hard-to-read sentence.


To everyone else:
Again, either I am way off or no one is really asking for anyone's "sweet spots". Yes, I can tell anyone where elk is in WMU ### within 10-20 km radius, but that does not mean you will find any. I can also tell you where moose is in ### but again, you probably will not find any. If one has no idea what he is doing, one will not succeed regardless, unless brought to the spot and shown where to point the rifle. Nothing wrong with giving some pointers and general advice for WMUs you are familiar with. Even if I provided the exact coordinates of where to go, most will say **** it, I am not going to walk all this ground; and even if they did, chances are they would come out empty-handed because (usually) it does not take a couple of hours or even a day to harvest a decent animal in the new area, no matter how "sweet" your spot is.

Also, some random dude on the internet tells me this is where an animal I am looking for is, do you actually think I am going to drive there as fast as I can and try to find it?

Overall, I do agree with Speckle55 on this. I did not check his facts, as some clearly did, but the idea he is projecting is how it is, imo.

[West O'5]

Originally Posted by kujoseto

Says it all. ...

Haha...LUVIT!!

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

My wish is that AO would discourage/ban name dropping on the board.
It is not needed to know which lake someone caught something on and applies to hunting as well.

Not sure we would ever see that though, but it would be better for the hunting and fishing community.

A couple of flyfishing forums that I visit actually STRICTLY FORBID name dropping/spot burning.Violating posts are immediately deleted by mods,repeat offenders get the boot,and I couldn't agree more.

[LKILR]

I don't fish anymore. So if anyone wants to know where to catch to big ones send me a PM. Lol. Why not help someone ? Someone had to show you sometime in your life so pay it forward

[Bushrat]

Sorry, yes we do have the little Mountain cottontails, Regular cottontails we don't. I assumed he was referring to snowshoe hares. Speckles pics are always Snowshoe hares. Sorry for the confusion Speckle. Me bad

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by Rio56

so why even PM ? I don't get it ... you would give out that hard earned info on a pm ...still not knowing who it is ... come on... do you think there's some on here that will not support our wildlife as long as they can get a easy shoot ... and after that go south ?

Because some people like to be helpful. And a PM only gives the info to that person. You are suspicious and assume the worst. Others don't.

[Rio56]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

Because some people like to be helpful. And a PM only gives the info to that person. You are suspicious and assume the worst. Others don't.

I've seen specific roads and locations given in certain WMU on the thread .. " I seen 30 WT does on this road ..just turn at the &&^% " there's a herd of elk straight south of ^^%$ in the clear cuts ... Aslo Oko ..when you PM do you really know who they are .... All I said was I don't think its wise and to be careful because this could quickly become a problem ... and yes success rates dictate draws and waiting times... Why not learn the techniques on here and find your own game ? you wanna provide that info to strangers then go for it . but again my thoughts about this is why I made the thread and there seems to be a lot of "others " that agree .... waiting 12 years for a certain animal in a specific WMU can quickly get changed .. think about it ...

[Joe Black]

confused.

so if people agree with something, that means its correct, and everyone is obligated to follow their opinions?

kinda like mob rules then

[Rio56]

Originally Posted by Joe Black

confused.

so if people agree with something, that means its correct, and everyone is obligated to follow their opinions?

kinda like mob rules then

what .... are you referring to me or Oko .... don't agree ,no problem .. not understanding is a diff story ... I hope I didn't imply to follow my opinions

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by Rio56

I've seen specific roads and locations given in certain WMU on the thread .. " I seen 30 WT does on this road ..just turn at the &&^% " there's a herd of elk straight south of ^^%$ in the clear cuts ... Aslo Oko ..when you PM do you really know who they are .... All I said was I don't think its wise and to be careful because this could quickly become a problem ... and yes success rates dictate draws and waiting times... Why not learn the techniques on here and find your own game ? you wanna provide that info to strangers then go for it . but again my thoughts about this is why I made the thread and there seems to be a lot of "others " that agree .... waiting 12 years for a certain animal in a specific WMU can quickly get changed .. think about it ...

You would rather not give the info, you think it enables poaching and isn't generally fair. I disagree. I'm one of the "others". You and I simply disagree on this subject. There are others who see it the way I do, and there are others who see it the way you do. I'm not encouraging those people to divulge any information. If you would like to keep it to yourself, I think that is your right and wouldn't think less of you for doing so.


And to be perfectly honest, I'm a bit biased because I've had some very nice people PM me and give me some good fishing locations on popular lakes that are a distance from me and that I'm unfamiliar with. I appreciate it.

[Rio56]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

You would rather not give the info, you think it enables poaching and isn't generally fair. I disagree. I'm one of the "others". You and I simply disagree on this subject. There are others who see it the way I do, and there are others who see it the way you do. I'm not encouraging those people to divulge any information. If you would like to keep it to yourself, I think that is your right and wouldn't think less of you for doing so.


And to be perfectly honest, I'm a bit biased because I've had some very nice people PM me and give me some good fishing locations on popular lakes that are a distance from me and that I'm unfamiliar with. I appreciate it.

let's leave it at that ... again the purpose of my thread is maybe get ready for the social media game... and it will happen where our hunting is just that .... PM's on a public forum are risky at best when it comes to giving out game loacations ..... RIO

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by Rio56

let's leave it at that ... again the purpose of my thread is maybe get ready for the social media game... and it will happen where our hunting is just that .... PM's on a public forum are risky at best when it comes to giving out game loacations ..... RIO

fair enough.

[last minute]

Originally Posted by Salavee

I can't help but think that you are missing something.

Nah i don't so

[last minute]

Originally Posted by Salavee

I can't help but think that you are missing something.

Nah i don't so tell people don't tell people its not hard .

[West O'5]

Here's the way I look at it.

I have an excellent elk hunting area in 3XX that I stumbled onto while working in the area a few summers ago.Its a General 3pt zone.Its a "relatively" remote area,a wee bit challenging logistically to access and retrieve elk,but totally doable with the right equipment,namely,a wall tent and quad.It receives very limited hunting pressure in my experience over last 4 years,and I've had some great memorable hunts and success there every year.

Now fast forward to Oct 2017.....I'm home from yet another successful Sept elk hunt in my 3XX honey hole,browsing AO forum,and the daily "where are all the elk?" topic is at the the top of the page.
So I'm still stoked and high on my awesome hunt from last week,and wanting to be helpful and brag to the entire AO community what an awesome elk hunter I am and this awesome slam dunk location where I tag out every year in 1-4 days,I reply to the topic and tell all.
"Well,you gotta drive north of Elktown in zone 3XX,take a right on elk road,go 48km to pipeline crossing,unload quad and tent and follow pipeline 8km west to lil river,set up camp,hunt the river bottom and hills there and guarantee you'll find elk" because I am an awesome elk guide and I want the entire AO community to know it.
So maybe the OP that actually posted the "where's the elk?" topic of the day doesn't actually heed my awesome advice and internet guide skills....but 25 other AO users that live reasonably close to my honey hole say "hmmmm...I know that area a bit,think I'll check it out?"
And maybe out of those 25,10 of them actually do follow my directions to the T,and 6 of them kill elk just like I said they would,and the other 4 are so impressed with the area they're already making plans to return with their hunts buddies next year.
So fast forward again to 2018,I'm geared up for my annual sept elk hunt,and when I get to "my" pipeline/staging area,there's already 4 other trucks parked there with quad trailers.Then I travel 8km on quad with my tent and gear and there's 2 tents set up in "my" riverside campsite,and 6 other guys hunting my elk in my honey hole where I've never seen a single other soul hunting in there in the previous 5 years.
Now fast forward again to 2019.....I'm looking for a new elk honey hole,because I couldn't resist telling entire 50,000+ AO community what an awesome elk hunter I am and shooting my big mouth off and giving directions to "help a brutha out",I just shot myself in foot and invited 10 fold increase in hunting pressure and ruined my lil piece of paradise and I'm back to square one.burning thousands of $ in gas and boot leather searching for my next great hunting locale.
No thanks...find yer own spots....and if that happens to coincidentally also be my spot,more power to you and enjoy,stop by my camp for a beer and when I hear you shoot I'll get my quad warmed up and knives sharpened up and give ya a hand and back slap congrats and run your camera for pics and we'll share a bottle of rum or three that night once the work's all done......but not a chance in hell that your gonna find this place on account of my foolishly posting gps cords on the internet.
That is all......

[Rio56]

...

[Joe Black]

Feel better?

Not sure why you are getting your back up.

But we are all very impressed with you continual comments on this thread. Well done.

Anything to keep it from obscurity.

[obsessed1]

Originally Posted by Bushrat

Its bad enough just telling someone or taking someone hunting in one of your spots. I took a guy hunting to one of the areas I hunt. Figuring he might get back into hunting and find his own spots once he got going again. nope he goes there every chance he gets, brings his family now, cousins, friends from the city and they fill every tag they can and those guys bring their friends and do the same. I just found somewhere else to hunt. A few years later he asked me if I knew any good spots he could hunt since where he was hunting wasn't as good as it used to be. I told him I wasn't going to show him any more spots because I didn't want them to end up like the first place I showed him on the agreement that he was supposed to keep it to ourselves. If you want to keep your hunting spot quiet and not have an increase to full throttle keep it to yourself.

Have had this happen way to often. Now I won't even take a new guy out unless he has a spot to go. It seems most of the guys that ask me to take them out are just looking for a free elk guide.

[Bulldog Edm]

So is it a bad thing if I (being a newer hunter with no mentor) to be reading old threads and trying to get hints out of them as to where to start my scouting for elk?

I would never start a thread asking for spots or tips on where to hunt. I've so far been able to find a few decent whitetail spots, a moose area for next and a mullie area.

I have never hunted elk before and I do not know anyone personally who has. I've watched countless videos on elk hunting. I bought a handful of elk calls and have been practicing as I drive to and from work. Last year I took the family camping in wmu 344. Where I hiked and explored in search of elk (found sign but no elk).

So now I read old threads in the off season. Looking for promising leads. Am I going to burn some boot leather in 2017 ... heck yeah I am! Not everyone on here is a couch hunter. Not all of us are fortunate enough to have someone to show us the ropes. I understand that some get frustrated by people sharing information on a general location but on the other hand some of us are mentored by these forums and when advice is given it is actually greatly appreciated. Yes, I do think that there are others who are just looking for a free hand out and don't want to work for it. That's my 2 cents.

B.E.

[Joe Black]

Ok, so I see you don't understand what this forum is all about.

It's not for what you mentioned at all. Since when did people start thinking they could turn to the internet for information?

[Nyksta]

Well joe, you might think that all information is harmless to share, but somethings should be kept protected. If you think everyone with an internet connection should be able to collectively work together to keep tabs on migratory game animals, then hunting is no longer hunting.

[338Bluff]

The Internet did not ruin perch fishing, grouse hunting, or WMU 330. A run away oil and gas industry, exploding population, and unfettered access did.

This forum and others may have sped it up a year or two but the fix was in 30 years ago.

[West O'5]

The only way that 2 hunter/anglers can keep a secret to themselves is if one of them is dead,and if my best bud hunt partner was dead.id be leary of that other guy after a bottle of rum.
Face it guys n gals....WE ALL LOVE TO TELL HUNT STORIES.....just be careful of who your audience is,or guaranteed you'll be searching for your next piece of paradise sooner then later.
If part of the allure and magic of some of your favourite places on this earth is the solitude and very fact that only the tiniest fraction of other humans will ever step foot in your boot tracks in this lifetime,and likely only a small handful have ever stood there before you,and you can appreciate how special that place surely is in this day and age,you might want to think long and hard about who you would enjoy sharing that space with in the not too distant future?
Personally speaking,it's a VERY short list of lifelong,trusted buds and bros.

[Dadirk]

Everyone likes to brag about that big fish or big deer. I am no different but where they are taken is all fiction. I have had several good hunting areas ruined by Facebook and other Social Media Outlets when guys have taken a big deer and short of GPS location they tell you pretty much exactly where it was taken. I am very honest in my reports and they are usually within 500 miles. A couple of years back a very Big 190 inch Whitetail was taken in an area that a few people hunt. The reports went out and the next year that place looked like the Walmart parking lot. I haven't been back since. Property is ruined for a while till the people get sick of not seeing anything at all.

[West O'5]

Originally Posted by Dadirk

Everyone likes to brag about that big fish or big deer. I am no different but where they are taken is all fiction. I have had several good hunting areas ruined by Facebook and other Social Media Outlets when guys have taken a big deer and short of GPS location they tell you pretty much exactly where it was taken. I am very honest in my reports and they are usually within 500 miles. A couple of years back a very Big 190 inch Whitetail was taken in an area that a few people hunt. The reports went out and the next year that place looked like the Walmart parking lot. I haven't been back since. Property is ruined for a while till the people get sick of not seeing anything at all.

This^^
Think Biggar,SK 1994.....gong show!!

[reddeerhunter]

I try to help people that I dont always know, but the thing is its legit places that I hunt.
I would never throw out another area that I dont hunt, as it may be the next guys sweet spot so I let that be. Example I travel alot so seeing a herd of elk in 3XX or what have you I wont do.
I put strangers on elk and muleys that I have never met in person.

But sharing my lucky areas is no big deal. Maybe get a young hunter hooked on hunting is worth it.

Just another way of looking at it I guess.

[Med Hat hunter]

Not sure why so many post on this subject as of late. Enjoy hunting ( outdoors ) regardless of pulling the trigger. Hunting as of late is blowing up popularity wise which alone contributes to added pressure. I don't know if a social media site of <20k is much of a factor in the larger picture. Just nice to mentor a little.. No?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nyksta]

Originally Posted by Med Hat hunter

Not sure why so many post on this subject as of late. Enjoy hunting ( outdoors ) regardless of pulling the trigger. Hunting as of late is blowing up popularity wise which alone contributes to added pressure. I don't know if a social media site of <20k is much of a factor in the larger picture. Just nice to mentor a little.. No?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mentoring is fine. Giving out details of the current location of an elk herd to some guy who cant be bothered to do appropriate preseason scouting is wrong. If you come on here begging for info cause your tag is about to expire i hope the rule of fair chase is respected and the internet doesnt fix laziness.

[Med Hat hunter]

When in Rome ...


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[ceedub]

After 40 years of hunting big game in Alberta I've learned one thing...nothing wrecks a good hunting spot as fast as sharing it..

-Craig

[bergman]

I am surprised that anyone who gets their hunting location info from the internet thinks its reliable.

For every one guy who is helpful (whether its a good idea or not) there are probably three that will send him on a wild good chase as a "learning experience".

Take all advice with a grain of salt and do your own work. Even if someone I trust gives me their 'best spot ever' I am sure as snow gonna go scout it out and verify before I stake my hunting season on it.

I think for any exchange of 'spots' there has to be a high level of trust - that is hard to get in real life, let alone online. So if you ask me for a sweet spot, I might point you in the right direction on the highway, but I ain't gonna circle it on Google Earth for ya. And my sweet spots aren't even that great.