Minnesota officials bemoan deer stand 'mansions'

[longnecker]

DULUTH, MINN. -- Some Minnesota hunters are upgrading their deer stands, trading the traditional nailed-together hunks of wood for what one official calls "mansions" in trees on public property.
St. Louis County officials are seeing deer stands - platforms perched in trees to help hunters more easily spot deer - with stairways, decks, shingled roofs, commercial windows, insulation, propane heaters, carpeting, lounge chairs, tables and even the occasional generator, the Duluth News Tribune reported Sunday
Some hunters have even planted crops near their stands in hopes of attracting deer, said St. Louis County Land Commissioner Bob Krepps. He said hunters have also cut down trees near their stand to improve sight lines.
"We're getting overbuilt," Krepps said. "We're seeing mansions out there - basically hunting shacks on stilts."
Private landowners can do what they want, Krepps said, but tax-forfeited land makes up nearly 1 million acres of county forest, and is supposedly open to all hunters. Hunters who customize stands in these areas are inappropriately claiming public land as their own, he said.
"A lot of these cross the line of what's appropriate," Krepps said. "If I'm out walking and come across one of these buildings on posts, am I going to feel welcome to hunt there? Probably not. And if I do, there's likely to be a fight. That shouldn't happen on land that belongs to everyone."
One deer stand was 18 feet wide and 20 feet long; county officials said it was more like a cabin. And officials have even found some stands on public property with locks on the doors.
Traditional wooden stands are often abandoned to rot in the woods. That gets more complicated with new, sometimes elaborately manufactured stands that include plastic, metal and shingles, which aren't biodegradable "and really leave a mess in the woods," said Jason Meyer, a forest manager for the county.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/08...#storylink=cpy

[Chase]

they are like tree houses for adults, awesome

[Josef]

Isn't planting crops kind of cheating? Doesn't it take away from the thrill of the hunt?

[Chase]

agreed, that is messed up

[longnecker]

Isn't planting crops kind of cheating? Doesn't it take away from the thrill of the hunt?

There is no thrill for some folks these sound like the guys that go out and spotlight the deer at night.

[Bellicose]

I have never been a hunter but I have been hunting before. What ever happened to th day when you had a damn 2 x 2 platform to stand on, with a little tiny piece of wood to sit on. Had the Warner's in your gloves, shoes, and that big red heated cushion thing to try and sit on. If your going out there to kill something man the ell up!

I knw a guy that is on a hunting club. I say Its a slaughter club, they go out 30 deep, put like 10 in stands and the rest go a good distance away and drive the deer to the shooters. In a weekend they come home with like 50-60 deer, and they tupically go on a hunting trip that is a week long. Imgine hw many they are coming home with in 7 days. That is not the sport of hunting, that is cheating. When he hunts on his own, he puts bait down a few weeks in advance. So they get used to going o hs stand to eat. Its just wrong, and sounds like there is no sport in it.

Now I alo know another guy that has not shot a deer in like 3 years. He has been in his stand, and seen them. But either they were too small, n a clear enough shot, or too far away to shoot. Now that is the sport of hunting!

[max1]

I hunt

I dont hunt over a feed plot
I dont "Drive" deer
I dont hunt with anyone else

I do
Get into the woods before dawn
Hunt from a 2 x 2 stand
I do my homework, I spend a lot of time in the woods.....and most times I never shoot a deer. But when I do I feel good about the fact that I killed the deer outright, and I helped out just a little bit.

Go talk to a farmer who has lost thousands of dollars to deer because of crop damage. I only shoot doe and I eat everything I kill, if I shoot more then two deer at least one a year goes to "hunters for the hungry"

http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/News/P...eercooler.aspx

[Bellicose]

Now that's hunting Max!

[Josef]

I prefer to hunt with a camera.

[longnecker]

I hunt

I dont hunt over a feed plot
I dont "Drive" deer
I dont hunt with anyone else

I do
Get into the woods before dawn
Hunt from a 2 x 2 stand
Fall out of trees
I do my homework, I spend a lot of time in the woods.....and most times I never shoot a deer. But when I do I feel good about the fact that I killed the deer outright, and I helped out just a little bit.

Go talk to a farmer who has lost thousands of dollars to deer because of crop damage. I only shoot doe and I eat everything I kill, if I shoot more then two deer at least one a year goes to "hunters for the hungry"

http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/News/P...eercooler.aspx

[Tracy]

Most people know I don't eat mammal. I could never actually kill another animal. However, there is something to be said for the "circle of life" and hunting on a relatively even playing field. If you're going to do it, do it safely, relatively soberly and fairly.

[EpicWin]

Rednecks do it right the first time.