Hunter Harassment : Opinions Needed

[eggshell]

I approach things a lot like Gobblenut, but I learned one thing; bad behavior that is not corrected usually continues or gets worse. It's easier to live at peace then war, but if someone declares war, it's time to defend your rights. I think you done exactly the right thing. I had neighbors once ask if they could clean up a little plot of trees along a creek on my place and have picnics there. I said sure, there would be no harm. Well they kept it nice for several years and then the county water line came through and they started digging in that plot to install some waterline equipment. I confronted them as to why they didn't get an agreement from me since I was the landowner. They informed me the neighbor owned it. The neighbor had tried to seize it under the clause of maintaining it, but that was short lived as I still paid taxes and maintained all the rest of the property. I officially booted them and destroyed their picnic area. Permission was not legal means for a claim. People are nuts. I made the water company move too, just for not doing their homework.

[bbcoach]

When people think they are above the law, and we are seeing this more and more today, we must stand our ground and do what needs to be done.  When we accept their behavior, we are condoning that behavior, and it will continue.  Z, you are taking the appropriate action.  Meet with the Warden and let him intervene on your behalf.  Maybe a knock on the person's door will solve the issue but don't be afraid to take it further if the individual doesn't abide by the Warden's first instructions.  People in today's society think they can do what they want, when they want.  Remember we have Rights, and those Rights aren't to be Trampled on either.  Keep us informed as to how this plays out.

[g8rvet]

I would discuss the situation with the game Warden and let him make the decision on what's next for the guy.
Show him what you have on video.. It's his job to follow up on the complaint.

I did exactly this with a situation with a Park Ranger and went with the investigators recommendations.  I said my intent was not to punish but to ensure he did not do what he did again.  The investigator was way more hard core than me.

Z, you should be thanked for what you did, not for what you will gain, but what everyone will gain that is legally entitled to enter that property.  So thanks for that

[Tail Feathers]

Tell the truth, let the wardens decide if charges are filed.  You have to be prepared to testify in court.  Unlikely, especially if you videoed it. I hope you videoed him.

[zelmo1]

As soon as I got my phone out, he ran away, lol. But he was so flustered at the wardens questioning that he admitted everything, rather brazenly until the warden verbally slapped him down. He believed he could do whatever he wanted, a true believer until the authorities were there. The warden told me the same thing, don't engage and video every encounter. The warden asked if we would hunt there again this season. I said," talk to the wind" He smiled and said" Roger that". There is a new twist here now. New" No Parking" signs just showed up along the road. Not from the town, but the private Wal Mart type signs. There really is no parking access to it on the road. I wonder where they came from. But, it doesn't hinder my access as I can park in my buddy's yard and access the public land from his land. I really wish the guy would just mind his own business and live his life. It remains to be seen if he is going to be an adult here. Time will tell. Z

[Tom007]

There's people out there that thrive on controversy. Something happened to them in their life that triggered this angry behavior. It's a shame that they just can't shake it. Good job Z, just keep using the warden to "knock him down". Eventually he will retreat....

[Zobo]

This sort of thing has happened to me too. I had a couple of land owners who abut my land ride horses up to me while I was  turkey hunting and ask what I was doing ...on my own land! These kind of people are delusional and live in a fantasy world.

[Sir-diealot]

String them up, this happens much too often and needs to be addressed every single time it does or it's never going to slow down or even stop. The fact that he talked about his path is another reason I'd have them busted these guys get in there and think they have the right to mess with the ecosystems driving your motorized vehicles for their own convenience a family of owls often destroying microorganisms while doing so that are valuable to the ecosystem. He's going to do again to you and he's definitely going to do it to other people especially if they're unable to speak up for themselves. I look forward to hearing about how all this went. EDIT: Just saw post above, glad to hear it.

Sent from my SM-P620 using Tapatalk

[GobbleGitr]

Too many look the other way, thank you for ensuring the rights of hunters are protected. Do be careful, as some people are vengeful

[GobbleNut]

This problem is not just isolated to people who are probably against hunting like Zelmo speaks of here.  Out here in the west, the few run-ins I have had have been with public-land ranchers and outfitters rather than the general public who might not take kindly to hunters. I have had both types try to run me off of public lands.

Anybody that hunts, fishes, or recreates, in general, on our public lands nowadays would be wise to always have resources with them (land-status maps or mapping apps) so they know exactly where they can go and how to get there through public-access routes. I guarantee you that there are quite a few folks out there that will try to bluff you into leaving lands that you have every right to be on.

One turkey hunter I know would not hunt a public area that was loaded with gobblers because a few landowners with small properties posted their little parcels. He could easily have accessed those turkeys by simply walking around those properties on public land, but he a) assumed he could not hunt there (for years), and b) did not bother to obtain land-status maps of the area which would have clearly shown him how to legally get to those turkeys. Every time he talked about it I would explain to him that he could hunt those birds IF he would just take the time to get the maps/apps needed so he knew how to legally get there. Then, the next time I would see him, he would still talk about how he couldn't hunt there. I got where I would just shake my head, chuckle at him, and leave it at that.

[zelmo1]

Information is power. If you know what you should, then people can't bully you. Bullies come in all shapes and sizes. Most are under the illusion that they can say whatever they want with no consequences. A very simple man I know said something recently that struck me. He said" As a race, We are dangerously close to becoming uncivilized and I see more and more people that don't realize that they are in jeopardy." Just food for thought. Z

[eggshell]

My hunting/fishing buddy and I have had this conversation countless times. It's centered around courtesy and outdoor respect for others. You could call it ethics, decorum or etiquette, but It boils down to character. Character has been replaced with a narcissistic selfish social construct of entitlement. The days of the golden rule have faded and the premise of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" has somehow been forgotten. I believe I have seen Gobblenut bring up the point before that we suffer from increasing user demand with rapidly shrinking availability of recreational land. Add in the "me first attitude" and you get conflict. We see this at our favorite public fishing spot, a tailwaters. People will deliberately crowd you and invade your personal space. Many come to throw cast nets to collect shad for bait. Some for personal use and some to sell them. You can be standing in place fishing and casting to a certain spot and some dude rolls up with a pull cart loaded with coolers and stop within a few feet of you and pull out a cast net and toss it right in front of you. I have had them throw it right over my line and then just glare at you as if to dare you to say anything. It's just plane rude and selfish. We also enjoy fall turkey hunting and we often hunt public land. We do all our public land hunting before the deer rut starts, because our area gets hammered by out of state hunters looking for a trophy and even locals. We have literally had them threaten to shoot us for daring to turkey hunt "their area". We have had them block the gates and put up signs. Many of them lease adjacent lands and try to bully people off both private and public. Where they get this sense of entitlement to have public all to themselves is a mystery to me. We'll never fix the broken adults, but we can impress ethics on the youth. Okay, I'm done ranting. 

[Gooserbat]

And I was almost ready to come back up there, bring Cuz, and have a hayday with this guy.

[zelmo1]

It looks like there may be more to the saga, lol. I had personal business this weekend but I got a report that the nice gentleman I met last sunday had a small army of his compatriots at his house this weekend and they were all out in the field metal detecting, lol. It seems he may be trying to pick a fight. All I need is an east southeast wind and we may see what he is made of, lol. To be continued, Z

[GobbleNut]

It looks like there may be more to the saga, lol. I had personal business this weekend but I got a report that the nice gentleman I met last sunday had a small army of his compatriots at his house this weekend and they were all out in the field metal detecting, lol. It seems he may be trying to pick a fight. All I need is an east southeast wind and we may see what he is made of, lol. To be continued, Z

Yep, definitely some sort of anti-hunting group you are dealing with.  Unless the state's hunter harassment law somehow closes the loopholes that allows those folks to do stuff like that, you will be dealing with this constantly on that property. 

Again, my first thought is "is it worth it" to deal with that crap to be able to hunt somewhere?  Of course, none of us wants to allow those people to get away with that sort of thing, but if there are not laws that prevent it, there may not be anything you can do legally to stop it. 

Now, if it was me and I truly wanted to keep hunting there, I would figure out some way to access the property covertly such that this guy would not be aware that I was there at all. Certainly, he and his cohorts would tire of walking those woods every day to see if someone was there hunting. If that is not possible, I would just move on, assuming there are other places to hunt around your area. There comes a time when the aggravation is just not worth it.