Trespasser.....what would you do?

[bearthebruce]

I am a hunter who hunts in SW VA. I know the law and so do most responsible hunters. We do not go on property owned by others without permission. Even if a deer would be wounded and run onto a neighbor's property, posted or not, we do not go on their property.

On the property I hunt, since I do not own it, I request a permission certificate, signed and dated by the owner. This certificate removes the owner from any liability should I be hurt on his property. It states my respect for his property and my pledge to do no harm. It states the reason I am on the property.

Where did I get such a certificate? The Virginia DWR that regulates hunting in the state has the samples.

As to trespassers, we have had them come on the property while we were hunting. They were asked to leave. Again, the property is not posted nor is there a need. The guys who came on knew they were in the wrong and they high-tailed off the property no questions asked. Its been a couple years since we have seen guys there. We purposely go in and out at odd times each year so as to surprised others.

It is the land that I tractor and about which I care deeply. I treat as my own.

I would not sell the tree stands. I would give time for the clowns to reach out to you. If they do not after some period, then feel free to do as you choose. Hutnting season does not run into January in most cases.. Sell in the new year.

As to the mess they left, the biodegradable entrails will be gone in fairly short time. Nails in trees.. that they should never have done.

I would contact the game warden. I would make a full report so it is on record. Should you catch the guys on your property, the fines are quite high and they will loose their right to hunt in your state. There are real teeth in the laws that I have read. Take advantage of those laws.

 

[Jstpssng]

Nails in trees.. that they should never have done

They weren't in the trees. Somebody had scattered them around the OPs parking area, apparently in a deliberate attempt to cause problems. That type of behavior deserves loss of ALL hunting and fishing priveleges for a year or more.

That action would have sent me straight to the phone to call the warden service. Up here at least, most hunting is done on private land and they are pretty aggressive about finding who is responsible for that type of action.

 

[bearthebruce]

I missed that piece... agreed. If they are abusing the land, then the local authorities ought to be called in. Problem is that the local authorities can sit and watch.

Next step: Trail cameras to monitor what's going on. Get the ones that do not give off red light in the dark. True infrared is what you want so these guys do not see the camera.

We have cameras all over the property... trespassers have been photographed. One hunter thought about tearing the camera down. And then thought better and got off the land.

These clowns do not seem to have a conscience nor respect for law. That makes them dangerous. Be careful.

 

[dmccarty]

Regarding meeting.... they can describe how they got to the location in the woods, I'm not going to meet them there (unless I might have Wildlife with me)

I'm not armed and would not be. I'd meet them at Walmart, Kroger....something like that with people around.

I would suggest, if the stand owners ever do make contact, to meet at the nearest law enforcement office.

Later,
Dan

 

[Rebeldad1]

Take the stands and turn them into the sheriff. Tell them what you did. Second call would be contact fish and game. Ask them what you can do to prevent it.
A few no trespassing signs (the bigger the better) posted at all the access points to your property will help.

 

[PILOON]

I own the land next door, it was posted but had a starter driveway.
Being waterfront property there were always a car there 'fishing'.

After they experienced deflated tires a few times they stopped fishing.
Being a nice guy I only deflated one tire and that via the valve. No slashing.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I would agree to actually posting the land. Not just spraying a few (or all) of the trees with paint.

Post. The. Land.

With real signs.

That will stop the half-hearted trespassers, who are just looking for a convenient location. No, it won't stop the hard core ones. But you could certainly slim down the amount of trespassers by simply posting with real signs.

 

[Richard]

Along those lines, my wife's cousin told me about a couple apps that not only give you the (general) outline of the property, they ALSO give you the owners name and the size of the parcel.

Looking at the land where my house is and surrounding area, it's dead on accurate other than a stones toss for possible variations in the property line. In other words, it might not be as accurate as a survey, but if you're walking the land to get an idea that the line is "here" within 20 feet, it is dead nuts for this farm.

We just got back putting no hunting signs on the front entrance areas, the rear road and painted the front along the highway. (the line going to the back is untouched as of now)

Found around 75 more roofing nails with the magnet that we missed the other day.

 

[ultrarunner]

Anyway you can return the nails???

 

[Richard]

Noticed there are 2-3 tires tossed in there, maybe 15 5-gallon buckets (think drywall or paint but I didn't venture through the thorns to find out)

Interestingly, there is a dirt "road" on one of the paved locations. A road is TOO generous but vehicles HAVE been down it, you can also see it on the satellite maps. We walked down that a couple hundred feet to find a rock "wall" across the road. Initially I thought someone just took a dump truck and dumped a pile of rocks (some larger than basketballs so not something you just casually collect)

Anyway, then I got to looking and the "pile" was on the "road" but looking to the left, it DID organize into an actual "wall" where they were stacked.

No idea what/why/when.... rather strange as you can easily walk around them. With a chain saw you could have easily driven around them. Sort of a half hearted barricade. Big enough to keep a casual person out. But why stack them? it was curious.

Ultimately we'll get the rest of the land posted but as of this moment, you can NOT get to the front nor back without seeing signs (regulations say every 100 yards, I have them probably every 10/20 yards.... too easy to pull one down and be able to say "I didn't see them" having to pull several down makes it easier to be seen.