Property owner etiquette: stealth tree stands

[Soldier415]

Your funny pictures don't do diddly legally. They do not say No Trespassing or Hunting by Permission Only

I know they don't, it was meant simply as a joke.

 

[teejk]

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

 

[lilranch2001]

Indiana’s Trespass Law - an overview | www.carrollcountycomet.com | Carroll County Comet

Indiana’s Trespass Law - an overview




Sheriff’s Column



By Tobe Leazenby, Carroll County Sheriff


Leazenby
Leazenby
It seems fitting to discuss some basic information about Indiana’s trespass law due to many of Indiana’s hunting seasons quickly app roaching. The Sheriff’s Department frequently receives calls from property owners about individuals coming on to their properties without permission during wildlife and mushroom hunting seasons. Response to the calls is generally made by one of our deputies, by Indiana Conservation Officers or by an Indiana State Police Trooper.

Indiana’s law states the person( s) who owns a parcel of land has the “final call” about who is allowed on their property.

One issue frequently presented to our department is the matter of a property owner “notifying” a person they are not allowed to be on the property prior to the violation. Under the trespassing law, a person has been “denied” entry to a property when one of four notifications have been made. Notifications include: oral communication; written communication; posting “No Trespassing” or other similar notices at the entrance to the property in question; or a court order.

The notifications must be made prior to law enforcement involvement. Little enforcement can be done than to remove the violator from the property and issue a trespass warning to prevent future, potential violations without one of the four notifications in effect.

Frequently heard from property owners is, “I post up ‘No Trespassing’ signs on my property but vandals and/or trespassers tear them down or steal them. What do I do?”

One simple answer is to post or re-post the signs and take a photo of the new sign after it is installed. Since most modern cameras or cell phones can be set up with a date “stamp,” the property owner can now offer proof of the date of the posting in case a defendant may dispute the posting in a court of law. Even though the law does not require it, I recommend a sign posting on all four sides of a parcel of land. If the property is unusually platted or is adjacent to a body of water, two signs will suffice.

Trespassing is a misdemeanor violation, meaning a person can be jailed for the violation. However, when we respond to such calls, normally one of two situations occur. Either the violator has left prior to the arrival of law enforcement or the violator is still present but will leave when asked to leave. Depending on the property owner’s wishes, a report can be filed with the county prosecutors office for review.

However, there are those extreme situations when individuals refuse to leave the property of someone else. A complimentary, one way trip to the county jail can come into play at that point.


This article does not cover all aspects of the trespass law. If there are other questions relating to the law, please call the Sheriff’s Department at (765) 564- 2413. We will be glad to assist you.

 

[Oldoak]

I had someone build a tree stand in our woods without permission the week before deer season started. I left it alone until the evening before the opening day. That's when I cut it down. (the tree stand and ladder) not the tree. Cut all the boards in half too. I would have loved to see the expression on that hunter's face the next morning.

Even if you're in the right, you're taking your chances confronting people with loaded guns in this day and age. Too many crazies out there. While you may be right, you don't want to end up being "dead right".

 

[Sprinklerman]

Cover the stand with horse , dog and chicken crap . At the top place a munch of mouse traps , both snap and glue . The message will be sent

 

[jmc]

....Even if you'ree in the right, you're taking your chances confronting people with loaded guns in this day and age. Too many crazies out there....

Yep.

25 or so years ago, up near Ft Wayne, my friend's next door neighbor was shot and killed by a local hunting without permission. Turns out the two of them had a history over trespassing. It went to court but the shooter got off, pleading self-defense. The owner had a handgun in his truck.

 

[teejk]

Cover the stand with horse , dog and chicken crap . At the top place a munch of mouse traps , both snap and glue . The message will be sent

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.

 

[boggen]

harming others = lands you in prison and wrong side of civil court case
showing a gun = lands you in jail

trespassing signs, need to be placed every so often (i forget distance for Illinois) make sure you take a photograph after placing, not some up and close and personal photograph, but a photograph standing a way's that you can still make out sign, and showing were the sign is located over the property due to other landscape within picture.

make the sign eye level. do not waste your time putting up clear up high in the tree so you need a ladder to get it down. not worth your time. atleast it was not for me. hammer it in with some nails or 4 screws. take picture and continue on.

do not bother yourself taking down tree stand, call the police / fish and game. and let them remove it. take pictures for yourself, and email them back to yourself. so you have a date/time stamp.

i do not remember the laws, 1. is no trespassing sign for sure 2. no hunting signs, i remember a couple states were funky needing no hunting signs as well. i assume to stop anyone from stating oh i shot animal on property and trying to finish off kill / collecting animal that came onto property. 3. or was it video, picture, audio that was issue?

if you catch them, make sure you catch them with a picture and their faces.

i have a cheap video camera with i think 25x optical zoom. i need a tripod. or prop camera, hand,arm up against something to keep it steady enough at full zoom. takes loozey pictures, but video is nice.

if you are in the extreme angry self destroying mode. you can buy life like decoys with cameras in them. have been tempted to do this.

be careful of game cameras of were you place them, wind + leaves + weed movements can set them off and use up entire storage space.

if you have a trail, make it a good trail for yourself. and run truck / tractor down in there and keep it mowed of weeds. give yourself a spot or 2 to turn around that is also kept mowed. the area makes for a nice line of site and spots to place cameras.

there can be issue with video camera, and pictures, along with audio recording. Illinois recording police = in jail you go, due to i want to say federal law and wire taping. and there maybe some personal property notation that may be needed "legally" for you to record other folks on your land, prime example is security systems, and security companies you get this many X amount of signs. there be a reason for these stupid signs. i am not sure if it is just "video camera" or if needed for pictures as well.

people scream for freedom and not to be recorded and yada yada yada without their permission, but does squat for these situations *grumbles* or less you have posted signs and what not. call the police / fish and game get them out there. let them take the proof. and take your own pictures / video just so if they ask if you have something, so i got something and leave it at that.

 

[grnspot110]

As for signage, check with your game commission &/or prosecutor to see if your state has a "purple paint" law. In MO, purple paint at specified height, dimensions & distance apart carries the same weight legally as signs (I use both).

 

[coobie]

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?

I took a deer stand off my land and left a note attached to the tree they could pickup the stand at the local police station.Low and behold they never showed up to recover there deer stand.