Property owner etiquette: stealth tree stands

[jmc]

I have some "neighbors" hunting my property without permission. It's a remote corner of my 40 acres near a bunch of houses on the other side of a steep ravine- my property line. A lot of rental houses up there, right on the road. I've been clearing a trail thru there so it's less remote and one year, several days before deer season, as I drove thru there on my tractor, I could see two hunters running thru the woods in front of me. They decided to squat down in the creek bed at some point to hide and when I confronted them, lying on the ground in full camo suits with rifles, they claimed to be squirrel hunting. I advised them that permission is required to legally hunt a property in Indiana.

Long story short, there is still a tree stand down there and it looks pretty new. Do I have the right to confiscate it?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yep, and put up those signs.

 

[Zerk]

Make sure your land, but it is your land. If it is close to edge you could talk to neighbor. But sounds more like you got a problem.

Could cut tree down to be funny.

 

[Sysop]

It belongs to you, it is your land. They forfeited any rights to their materials when they attached them to your land.

 

[2ndhalf]

Craigs List it! Use the money to buy signs and game cameras.

 

[wagne223]

It belongs to you, it is your land. They forfeited any rights to their materials when they attached them to your land.

In most states that is not true. An object does not change ownership just because it is on someone else's property.

In this case, the property owner should remove the tree stand and call the sheriff or fish and game and file a report. They will take the tree stand.

 

[2ndhalf]

In most states that is not true. An object does not change ownership just because it is on someone else's property.

In this case, the property owner should remove the tree stand and call the sheriff or fish and game and file a report. They will take the tree stand.

This is probably better advice and it will likely stop them whereas my idea would probably just start a squable with your neighbor. This way you can let the authorities do the dirty work.

 

[wagne223]

Jmc,
I have been through this and it can be very frustrating. Very hard to keep your cool.
While you want to take their stuff, set booby traps, ect. By law you cannot.
Someone once told me " you must act within the law for the law to protect you"

Keep that in mind. Put the Sheriff and the game warden on speed dial.
Call them with every new piece of info.
Also, a well placed game camera can get a great pic of the trespasser. Great evidence.
Just know if he sees the cam he will steal it.

 

[s219]

Put up signage, and get in touch with the game warden. Around here, the game warden will enforce unauthorized hunting on private property.

In my state, if hunters go onto your property and there are no signs, it's a misdemeanor. But if they walk past signs, or gates with signs, it becomes a felony with possible jail time and large fines.

I run the managed hunting program on 200 acres in my property association, and we finally had to get serious with gates and signs. Also put up a couple game cams.

When confronted, some of the jerks that trespass have the nerve to argue with me and come up with reasons why they are allowed to hunt. I'll let them go through their spiel and then tell them I am the agent for the landowner who runs the hunting program and approves all hunters (residents only) and since I don't know them they can't possibly have permission. They'll also be doing things we don't allow in our hunting program, like running deer with dogs, using rifles near residential areas, driving vehicles off-road, drinking alcohol, littering, hunting on days when no hunting is allowed, etc... It's amazing how sloppy and entitled these jerks are.

I finally got budget to put up gates and signs, and now immediately call the game warden or county police when hunters trespass. The game warden and police know to ask for a specific permission letter with my signature. Let the idiots try to argue with the game warden, that won't get too far.

On weekends when we don't allow hunting, I started patrolling in my RTV, wearing orange vest and hat, have flashing lights on the RTV, and carrying a sidearm. That has been a prime time for trespassing.

 

[newbury]

In most states that is not true. An object does not change ownership just because it is on someone else's property.

In this case, the property owner should remove the tree stand and call the sheriff or fish and game and file a report. They will take the tree stand.

Change the order - Photograph, call the law, then maybe remove the stand. Always get photos first before they can change something.

<snip>
On weekends when we don't allow hunting, I started patrolling in my RTV, wearing orange vest and hat, have flashing lights on the RTV, and carrying a sidearm. That has been a prime time for trespassing.

I used to "rent" a few hundred acres to a hunt club. They patrolled it very well. Always seemed a win-win deal, I had a "hired" security force that paid me for the privilege to protect my land.

Several times I would be out measuring trees and have an "armed" hunter roll up on an ATV asking what I was doing, and of course immediately apologize when they realized I was the landowner.