Property owner etiquette: stealth tree stands

[Otto Syracuse]

Last question- turkey season starts 4/26. Do they hunt turkey from tree stands?

No, they don't or at least I've never heard of anyone that has.... They will usually be in full camo and in the ground, you might even walk right by them and not see them. Sometimes, they will be in small pop up blinds, also in full camo.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

How much do you want for the tree stand?

 

[Lineman North Florida]

If I thought they were neighbors I believe I would go and talk with them and if I wasn't sure which neighbor I would leave them a note to come talk to me , if after that no one contacted me I would remove the stand and leave them a note about seeing me to retrieve it and all this after I was sure it was on my side of the property line.

 

[atomchaser]

Call the game warden or sheriff or both and apprise them of the situation and have them remove the stand . Post the property according to the law. Get a cellular trail camera and call the sheriff if you see someone trespassing. Bobby traps, destroying property, armed confrontations, etc are all bad ideas.

 

[coldsteelva]

In our case the stands are legally on their property line but like I said they have no logical shot at anything on their side. And I guess their "posted" signs tell me that they suspect some attempts might be made to compromise their stands. Adding to the problem is that some people have permission to hunt not far away on the friend's side of the line. I have a few months now to figure something out. This Hatfield McCoy battle started long before I started hunting there and I hate to get involved in it but I "get it". Btw, visited a local gun shop last year and was told that the movement around here is towards magnum calibers to lessen the chance that a wounded animal will cross a line and the shooter will be denied permission to retrieve it. I like venison but not that much to get involved in silly stuff.

Some jurisdictions do have what are known as TRESPASSING BY PROJECTILE laws - bullets, pellets, arrows, bolts, etc. so a hunter cannot shoot onto your property. I'm not sure of your hunting laws, but if you place a bright orange tent (dwelling) on your property within 100 yards of their tree stand, they cannot legally shoot from that spot.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a friend back in CA that used to own land next to a public park. There was a gate on the park border that he had an easement through, but rarely used it. The gate was clearly posted, and the barbwire fence ran the full length of the border. It was also clearly posted. Several hundred yards in from that gate was a small cabin that we would hang out in, and spend the night in while deer hunting there.

One weekend during deer season he drives up on the cabin and sees two guys walking around it. He tells them to get off his land and they start arguing with him and confront him, saying "what are you going to do if we don't leave?" He pulls out his deer rifle and threatens to shoot them if the don't leave. They leave.

This was on a Saturday morning. That evening he was arrested for threatening those trespassers. Since it was the weekend, he wasn't released until Monday morning after seeing the judge. The case was dismissed, but that didn't give him back his weekend, or undo the time he spent sitting around in a jail cell. He talked to his lawyer and was advised to forget about it and never threaten anybody with a weapon again no matter what they where doing on your land.

 

[scdeerslayer]

Last question- turkey season starts 4/26. Do they hunt turkey from tree stands?

Typically, no, but it is possible.

 

[scdeerslayer]

I think Wisconsin moved to eliminate the "posting" requirement on private land that didn't abut state/county land...puts the burden on the hunters to know where they are hunting. Kinda sad when you think about it...ask permission that you may or may not get but if you do, then no problem. Don't ask and get caught...you will likely NEVER get permission in the future. Where I hunt deer the owner has been in a long standing battle with his neighbors over trespassing. Here the sheriff, not the DNR, is charged with that and his neighbors have been hauled in. Last year we took my new UTV on a tour of the property and found 2 new tower stands on the edge of the neighbor's property with no logical place to shoot other than into land they didn't own. They even had the audacity to post their side! I'm looking at ways to thwart them next year...trail cameras, deer repellants, whatever it takes. This is how the Hatfields and McCoys started I think

Build a visual barrier just on your side of the line. Make a couple of flag poles out of whatever you can find, then attach some sort of fabric between them.

 

[CobyRupert]

Some jurisdictions do have what are known as TRESPASSING BY PROJECTILE laws - bullets, pellets, arrows, bolts, etc. so a hunter cannot shoot onto your property. I'm not sure of your hunting laws, but if you place a bright orange tent (dwelling) on your property within 100 yards of their tree stand, they cannot legally shoot from that spot.

:thumbsup:

Maybe paint "Dwelling" on it in bold letters.
Now they're screwed.

 

[coldsteelva]

Build a visual barrier just on your side of the line. Make a couple of flag poles out of whatever you can find, then attach some sort of fabric between them.

I vote for a 10x20 silk-screened mesh that resembles the POSTED sign to the letter.