keeping out idiots

[hepnerj]

Unreal but true story.. Two summers ago, friend of mine is on his own farm. When he and his brother see 6 people on horses entering there pasture field. They <w/o weapons> drive up to them and simply ask them to leave. They had entered the field by cutting the fence BTW. OK, long story short, 5 men and one woman, all drunk and or high get chitty with the owner. Attack both of them, basically 5 on 2, beating them with everything they can get there hands on. My friend, on the groud now see's 3 of the men on top of his brother. Crawls to his truck and manages to get in. One of the tresspasers high on whatever stands between my friend and his beaten brother. Well my friend ran him over. Did not kill him but hurt him pretty good. In the end my friend <the landowner> is charged with felonious assault and pleads to much lesser charge. Slug sue's him and insurance company settles the case for 100grand.. Sad but true story.. Tied up in court for nearly two years. Settled 2 months ago. Landowner model citizen no trouble ever. Slug RAP sheet nearly 10 pages long.

DON'T SET TRAPS ON YOUR LAND!!!

 

[zzvyb6]

Reinforcing the gates and setting traps will only excite the trespassers to counter your efforts with greater zeal. But, you can tease them into a picture and other mischief with the game camera and a small trailer equipped with some extra gas cans and refreshments. Mentos and Coke are quite popular (mixed together of course !). Spike the gas with paint thinner or water and wait for the problem(s) to arrive. Set some gallon cans of paint on the trail with loose lids. The paint will mark their vehicle or bike. Then cruise the town or high school parking lot or nearest bar in town to wait for the markers. Then puncture their gas tank with a spring loaded center punch and send a flare pistol retort out from 25 yards from a drive by visit. The deed will be sealed.

A fellow up the road from me trapped a snowmobiler 6 years ago with a single strand of fence wire. Problem was her head came off. (Hate that helmet hair). You've heard of the headless horseman? This ghost is still around...

 

[CTW]

Well my friend ran him over. Did not kill him but hurt him pretty good. In the end my friend <the landowner> is charged with felonious assault

DON'T SET TRAPS ON YOUR LAND!!!

With the limited info you posted, it seems your friend was unjustified in running that guy over. Sure it felt good but what's the defense there? Was he in fear for his life from a guy standing in front of his moving vehicle? Court won't see it that way. I'm sure he was in fear for the life of his friend on the ground but he could not break that up with a car. As far as setting traps on my land, your story had nothing to do with that and if you don't like people who set traps or protect their property by justifiable means then don't come onto my place without being invited.

 

[archerm3]

With the limited info you posted, it seems your friend was unjustified in running that guy over. Sure it felt good but what's the defense there? Was he in fear for his life from a guy standing in front of his moving vehicle? Court won't see it that way. I'm sure he was in fear for the life of his friend on the ground but he could not break that up with a car. As far as setting traps on my land, your story had nothing to do with that and if you don't like people who set traps or protect their property by justifiable means then don't come onto my place without being invited.

Dude, he was just trying to help you and everyone else out by sharing a word of caution. Ease up on em.

 

[archerm3]

I don't yet live anywhere near my properties. They are forest lands. I use heavily armed men on ATV's during and around the hunting seasons. They pay the taxes on my land, post it for no trespassing and remove excess game.
They also put up gates.
It's called "hunting clubs".

I view it as either have them pay me a little or I would pay a lot for fencing, gate maintenance, etc. and still the "locals" would do whatever they wanted.

In my area of NE MS it seems almost all the land is under the "control" of one or another hunting club. Similar to gangs protecting their turf in the inner cities.

I just love the way you phrased an excellent suggestion.

As much as I despise hunting clubs (on account of pricing the common man out of the sport), I agree that they are a necessary evil in the hunting industry given the ecomony of today and the future. Gone for good are the days of knocking on the door and hunting in exchange for some help during harvest or detassel time. Pretty soon the cheapest way to hunt will be to go back to Germany with my Jagdshein, reinstatement my insurance and hunt over there.

 

[hepnerj]

CTW....

Had I taken the time to post all the facts it would have taken all night.. It was a simple caution,, Your passing judgement well....... I'll reserve that comment for if I ever see you in person...

My friend had a concusion, broken ribs <from being beaten with a pipe THEY got off his truck>, vertigo from being beaten in the head. His brother, broken arm, ribs and multiple bruises. His life and that of his brother were in danger. Those slugs were drunk and high on meth. They knew no pain. They entered Posted land by cutting a fence.

Simply put don't set traps on your land. I own ~150 Acres of mountain land that luckily I live on. It is gated on both access points. A few catching people late at night and threatening to kick some azz has stopped the riding into the land.. But traps only lead to trouble.

In the end, talk to local law enforcement or an attorney and find out what you can and can't do legally.

 

[CTW]

CTW....

Had I taken the time to post all the facts it would have taken all night.. It was a simple caution,, Your passing judgement well....... I'll reserve that comment for if I ever see you in person...

My friend had a concusion, broken ribs <from being beaten with a pipe THEY got off his truck>, vertigo from being beaten in the head. His brother, broken arm, ribs and multiple bruises. His life and that of his brother were in danger. Those slugs were drunk and high on meth. They knew no pain. They entered Posted land by cutting a fence.

Simply put don't set traps on your land. I own ~150 Acres of mountain land that luckily I live on. It is gated on both access points. A few catching people late at night and threatening to kick some azz has stopped the riding into the land.. But traps only lead to trouble.

In the end, talk to local law enforcement or an attorney and find out what you can and can't do legally.

There's no passing judgement here, just stating some basics rights of self defense and your right to protect yourself which, with any big responsibilty comes rules, laws and limitations. When you post something on this forum you need to include all information necessary for other members to respond. This is not some teenage blog to post a quick rant and then move on. Clearly explain yourself, your point and wait for response from this forum. All caps when typing suggest that you are shouting.

 

[MarkV]

There's no passing judgement here, just stating some basics rights of self defense and your right to protect yourself which, with any big responsibilty comes rules, laws and limitations.

Couldn't agree with you more CTW. Where you confuse me is in earlier posts it sounds as if you advocate setting traps, treating signs, windage flags and being ready to shoot if you see someone on your property with a gun. Guess the "rules, laws and limitations" are different down your way.

MarkV

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm with those who recomend steel pipe with concrete in the middle of it. If they are cutting down posts with a chainsaw, they are pretty intent on getting in and don't really care what kind of mess they make, or even if they get caught. It's sad, but some people have a mindset that if you have more then they have, then you are some how evil or don't deserve it, and it's pefectly fine for them to get revenge on you for what you have. I see it with rental properties all the time. There is no reasoning with them. It's all emotions and what they want to believe to justify their own position in life. Or failures in life.

In my opinion, the only thing to do is build to keep them out. The forest service has done this for decades and pretty much figured it out. Copy one of thier gates and don't cut any corners.

Traps and obsticles sound good, but they are just an admission that you tried to cause injury. It's pretty easy to lose a case where you did something to cause injury to others. It might make you feel better about the situation while creating those obsticles, but it's a short lived feeling that can very easily ruin your life if somebody actually gets hurt. Don't let your emotions cloud your better judgement. If you won't let your kids use something that you create, don't do it.

There have been allot of posts about game cameras. While the infra red models don't have a detectable flash, getting a usable picture from them is a challenge. I would install one and work real hard on putting it in a place where you can get a good, clear picture of the gate without anybody knowing it's there. Advertising it's existance is just another incentive for the tresspasser to go find it. To some, it's a game that they play.

If you even catch them on film, go to the law and push for maximum punishment. Don't give an inch and don't let them try make ammends. You need to set an example and stick with it. If you let them slide, they will spread the word and it will continue.

Like paying for insurance, paying for strong, secure gates is just part of owning land in todays world.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[kevindsingleton]

Couldn't agree with you more CTW. Where you confuse me is in earlier posts it sounds as if you advocate setting traps, treating signs, windage flags and being ready to shoot if you see someone on your property with a gun. Guess the "rules, laws and limitations" are different down your way.

MarkV

Things are different, in Texas, but traps are still verboten. Even with what most of us would consider adequate warning, booby traps are not permitted, because they are indiscriminate.

However, between sunset and sunrise, in Texas, I know better than to trespass, because lethal force is not only permitted, but, in some counties, recommended!