Landowner/hunter dispute... revisited

[Jstpssng]

Glad you think so! :laughing:

On a more serious note, we had a young gentlemen stop by a couple days ago to seek permission to hunt. The family owns about 65 acres with a brook and apple trees, the deer do frequent area. Anywho, the gentleman presented my wife a "Recreational Access Landowner ~ Land User Courtesy Card" complete with his vehicle and contact information. I guess its part of a state run program to avoid further clashes like the one brought up in this thread. My wife was so impressed that she didn't even consult me and gave the guy permission to hunt on the spot. I guess a little courtesy goes a long way.

I really like that... my father allows a few people to bowhunt in back of his house down in Auburn (no firearm zone)... I'll share that with him.

As others have indicated the access issue has been hashed and rehashed... one reason why I appreciated your previous post. :thumbsup:

I shared this because when the incident happened it did generate a lot of talk and wanted to tell "the rest of the stor-y"

 

[SPIKER]

Just a couple notes:

Some people (guide) hunts using private property and "gaming" permission from land owners and then charge to take people onto your land. Make sure when you give permission that you ad a note no guided hunts or charging (property owner can conceivably be held liable on a charged hunt per some legal ambulance chaser should they fall in a hole or?)

I have given a few people over years OK to hunt, mostly my own family and friends.

Mark

 

[ArmyPair2]

Jstpssng does your dad live in Auburn, AL? if so there is a new law that goes into effect for hunting even on your own land. ALABAMA HUNTING GAME CHECK SYSTEM - YouTube

 

[dave1949]

In Maine deer must be taken to a "tagging station" where similar data is collected.

Sometimes, DNR staff will be on hand to check the health of the deer, they may remove teeth or take samples to check for disease, that sort of thing.

 

[dave1949]

Just a couple notes:

Some people (guide) hunts using private property and "gaming" permission from land owners and then charge to take people onto your land. Make sure when you give permission that you ad a note no guided hunts or charging (property owner can conceivably be held liable on a charged hunt per some legal ambulance chaser should they fall in a hole or?)

I have given a few people over years OK to hunt, mostly my own family and friends.

Mark

That's a good tip. It would be very difficult for a land owner to convince a judge they had no idea about charges made by a third party. It's hard to prove a negative.

Free or for fee is the dividing line on liability here, so fees collected unknown to the land owner would be a problem when the lawyers get involved.

 

[dmccarty]

The tid bit of information that was in the link, was the that landowner was bitten by the hunter which then started the brawl. The article is not well written. It is hard to tell the exact chain of events and certain details. I can't tell for certain if the hunters where on the landowners land. I think they were but I could not find it stated that they were on his land.

In any case, the landowner was certainly within his rights to make the hunters aware of his house. It then seems the hunters pulled the, "I have been hunting this land for years." BS, the one hunter bit the landowner, a fight starts and the landowner was shot.

There is at least one NC statute that the shooter could/should be charged. I am surprised that Maine does not have similar laws.

Later,
Dan

 

[GGB]

We had a situation a few years back that this thread reminded me about. My BIL had a friend from high school who my BIL had given permission to pheasant hunt on the farm. Initially, it would be my BIL's friend and a couple of his friends come out-no big deal. Then one year my BIL's friend shows up with a group of about 20-24 hunters. Turns out that the BIL's friend had decided to go into guided hunts, and hadn't given my BIL the courtesy of asking if that was still okay. And, no, that was not okay. A few guys out for fun, yes. A party of 20 + hunters who were paying my BIL's friend for the privilege, NO. Also, the agreement had been that the BIL's friend would only hunt AFTER we had hunted-guess the friend conveniently forgot about that part of the agreement. The bird population was also in decline, and the last thing the birds needed was that much more hunting pressure.

My BIL quickly informed his soon to be former friend that this was not acceptable, and stopped the group in the middle of their hunt. Not surprisingly, the bird populations have improved, which makes me wonder how often our land had been hunted without our knowledge by the so called friend of my BIL's.

There are outfits that will lease your ground for the right to hunt, and pay you for the privilege, but we had decided not to do that because of liability concerns.

Since then, we have only allowed one family to hunt, and they usually only go if we can go with them.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Here in NH, it's not required to ask permission to hunt un-posted land from the owners; but it's considered a courtesy that only scum would ignore. I always figured that if you couldn't be bothered to ask people living next to the property who the owners are, and ask the owner for permission; then you don't have what it takes to be a good hunter since you won't have studied the animals you're hunting.

NH has a regulation that prohibits hunting within 300 feet of a building without the permission of the owner. I see any strangers within 300 feet of my house with a firearm, they get one warning before I go to lethal response. Of course I'm a combat vet and have an excuse for being a wee bit anti-social.

 

[hawkeye08]

Ours is posted no trespassing, so anyone on our land without permission is subject to consequences.

 

[Jstpssng]

Here in NH, it's not required to ask permission to hunt un-posted land from the owners; but it's considered a courtesy that only scum would ignore. I always figured that if you couldn't be bothered to ask people living next to the property who the owners are, and ask the owner for permission; then you don't have what it takes to be a good hunter since you won't have studied the animals you're hunting.

NH has a regulation that prohibits hunting within 300 feet of a building without the permission of the owner. I see any strangers within 300 feet of my house with a firearm, they get one warning before I go to lethal response. Of course I'm a combat vet and have an excuse for being a wee bit anti-social.

Most of the places I hunt are owned or managed by my employer; and miles from the nearest house.

We have the same law here,(100 yards) but any responsible hunter will agree that's too close. In the unlikely situation that you saw me within sight of a dwelling; a closer look will show that my gun is unloaded and the action is open.