Trespasser?

[stavebuyer]

One of my trail cameras took an excellent photo of a trespasser. My property lines are well marked and the direction that this guy came in from there is an old fence that is pretty much still in place. Not the first time I got his picture, but the first one to have the clear facial detail. I don't have a clue who he is but I strongly suspect he is known to the adjoining landowner as there are some new deer stands in their fields and hunting activity that didn't occur in the past. The neighbors property is mostly all fields with one brushy up 5 acre area that adjoins me that they let grow up due to the topography basically making not worth building access to for modern equipment.

Few things get my blood pressure to rise quicker than trespassers. You make the sacrifices to save, buy, manage and maintain a place and some idiot wanders in during deer season and basically steals what you have worked for. And I am not talking about the deer. I am talking about the right to the exclusive use of your property which in reality the only thing you "bought" when you forked over your savings for the deed.

 In KY you must have permission to hunt on lands not belonging to you and its considered trespassing even if the land is not posted. Not doubt the penalty would probably be minimal if any but I feel inclined to pursue it none the less. Anyone suggestions?


 

[SwampDonkey]

Been nine years and the adjacent land has changed hands a couple more times. This fall the farmer (who is renting) let loose one of his employees to pick field rock with a mechanical rock picker. They do this after the fall harvest. But the guy was not instructed where to dump them rocks or not dump them to be precise. I ended up with several loads of field rocks dumped and shoved in on my land. And trees (planted) scared up. I put my signs up again. I informed them and they said they would remove them after the fall harvest. It hasn't happened yet, and probably won't. These guys (new age farmers as I said earlier) sure have no respect for others.

[Okefenokee_D]

Yeah, a lot of people don't have respect anymore. Someone dumped several dead hogs on my farm long ago and no meat was taken from the hogs. It was a huge waste and I am still angry about the dumping but also the disrespecting of life and the waste of the meat.


We also have dog hunters who also try to come on the land time to time. 


Oh and night hunters. I scared a young group of them before. Morons was in the line of sight of my brothers house and started shining one of our fields. I snuck up on them and scared the hell out of them. Told them to leave.


And had a guy we knew come up one night to our well...he was strung out on drugs. I have no idea what he was looking for. Scared him and the people that was with him.

My mother usually has the tendency to shoot at people out there or shoot in the air. 🤣 I think people get the point when you do that.

[Magicman]

Absolutely, first find out his identity without revealing your intention and then file trespassing charges.  I did and when he went before the judge he was found guilty.  The $250 fine was suspended but if he ever got caught trespassing in the county again, that fine would be imposed plus an additional $250.  I was fully satisfied with the verdict.

Your second paragraph above sums up your feelings quite well.  Property boundary lines must be respected and enforced if necessary.

[WV Sawmiller]

@stavebuyer ,

   I'd post that picture in all the local sporting goods stores in the area and ask anyone with information to contact the county sheriff or DNR as appropriate for whomever is responsible for enforcing trespassing laws. I am sure someone knows him and seeing his picture in pubic places will rattle him.

   We have  a local Rural King, feed and equipment type store, near us and they have a number of their store security pictures posted throughout the store asking people to identify the people in the pictures who were noted shoplifting. Kind of like the local stores posting pictures of bad checks at the counter. It was a pretty effective way to get people to make them good to get them removed.

[Jeff]

I guess i could not help but print out a wanted poster size of the picture, add crosshairs over it aiming at a point of your choice, then post it like a sign back where the transgression occured along with the other suggestions.

[stavebuyer]

My neighbor adjoining me on the opposite side just texted me pictures of what appears to be the same fellow hunting that same afternoon on him. He is carrying a muzzleloader and muzzleloader season came in Saturday and runs until next Saturday. Blaze Orange laws are in effect during that season. So in addition to multiple trespass he also is violation of the blaze orange requirement as well.

[btulloh]

I have similar issues here.  It is really annoying for sure.  

You may ask your game warden for some help.  Here in VA they take that stuff seriously and will provide help with trespassers.  It's still hard to catch people, but having the game wardens involved helps.  Your trespasser guy just seems like he's completely unconcerned with property rights and laws in general.  In VA, it's a $250 fine on unposted land, but $2500 on posted land. 

[stavebuyer]

I guess i could not help but print out a wanted poster size of the picture, add crosshairs over it aiming at a point of your choice, then post it like a sign back where the transgression occured along with the other suggestions.

Jeff that was my first inclination, including the gatepost to the farm where I am pretty sure he is coming in from. I have a call into the Fish and Wildlife and will see what if anything they can do. My very 1st inclination I decided I wouldn't pursue because I value my freedom.. If I were on the jury for another landowner under similar circumstance they would have no worries.

[stavebuyer]

I have similar issues here.  It is really annoying for sure.  

You may ask your game warden for some help.  Here in VA they take that stuff seriously and will provide help with trespassers.  It's still hard to catch people, but having the game wardens involved helps.  Your trespasser guy just seems like he's completely unconcerned with property rights and laws in general.  In VA, it's a $250 fine on unposted land, but $2500 on posted land.

I tagged my little buck with a crossbow in early October. I was looking forward to varmint hunting. Looks the Coyotes get a reprieve; 2 legged skunk trapping season is now open.

[gspren]

Not wearing orange is a sign that he knows he shouldn't be there, the game wardens should pursue this.

[jb616]

I haven't had trespassers that I know of but they like to throw their deer carcasses out as they are going down the road...3 so far this year. 

[Ljohnsaw]

Around 6 or 7 years ago, the bums, whoever they may be, clipped all the copper ground wire from the utility poles from the ground up as far as they could reach. They only clipped the poles that were out of sight of houses.

There are some that win the Darwin award.  They clip the copper ground wires in sub-stations.  When they get to the last one for the ground grid, the authorities sometimes only find the bolt cutters and a hand/forearm next to a charred pile of human remains.  Now that is justice.

[Dogwood Heart]

The worst incident of illegal trespassing/hunting that I have seen was last year at the opening of rifle.  I was walking cattle fencing on one property and was hit by a smell.  Looking around we found seven dead deer 10 yards from the fence.  Not one looked to be dead more than a week and the most taken from any deer was antlers and back strap.  Three of the deer were perfectly intact, just killed and dumped.  We the landowner was informed he closed his land to all hunters even though they haven't been in the woods a single day.  Its amazing how much a single person can ruin it for others.

[Okefenokee_D]

The worst incident of illegal trespassing/hunting that I have seen was last year at the opening of rifle.  I was walking cattle fencing on one property and was hit by a smell.  Looking around we found seven dead deer 10 yards from the fence.  Not one looked to be dead more than a week and the most taken from any deer was antlers and back strap.  Three of the deer were perfectly intact, just killed and dumped.  We the landowner was informed he closed his land to all hunters even though they haven't been in the woods a single day.  Its amazing how much a single person can ruin it for others.

The disrespecting of wildlife too..wasting food. People and their egos for antlers. Can't eat antlers.

[WV Sawmiller]

   One change I like in WV game regs this year is the requirement that all usable meat from any game killed must be salvaged. There are groups who will take the meat and process and give it to the needy so no excuse not to do so if the hunter doesn't/can't use it himself. I know many states have been far ahead of us in this as a legal requirement but I am glad to see it in writing. Now it is just a matter of culture and enforcement. The people I know are pretty good about not wasting meat. Few of my associates will shoot anything they can't or won't use. We even caught a lot of flack on late night TV on our road kill law a few years back making it legal and easy for someone salvage and use any game killed by auto accidents. I figure if it can be used it should be used and at a minimum it helps the county with clean up of dead animals and gets them away from the road so people's pets and other carnivores don't get killed causing more accidents.

[Ed_K]

 2 yrs ago some nubie's in town got a hair about hunting coyotes in general  . Now we have a town by-law that there's no hunting without written permission on any land not their own. I have a problem with people here telling me I can't tell these people to go back to where ever they came from  :.

[Traci]

We have to go hunting for hunters/gatherers every season on our property. Some people really can p*ss me off as to how they feel so entitled to do whatever they darn well please.

[SawyerTed]

I despise trespassing.

I had a guy get his truck stuck on one of our farm roads.  He didn't have permission to be there but told a tow truck operator he did.  I refused to let the tow truck access our property until the land dried out some.  After a heated conversation with the truck owner, a sheriff's deputy and a magistrate agreed with me.  The tow truck could recover the trespasser's truck only when I agreed.  His truck stayed there 8 or 9 days.  The magistrate told the guy he was to pay for repairs of the road to my satisfaction or she would enter my trespass charges. He eventually paid $450 for repairs to the road and the field where the tow truck set up for recovery.

A few years ago, I was deer hunting on our property and a new neighbor walked under my stand.  He had no idea I was there.  Fortunately, I saw him through binoculars long before he got there.  He fell to his knees when I asked if he had lost his mind from above him.   We had a discussion about it, including the danger he put himself in.  I reminded him where the property line is and that he needed permission to cross it.  In the end he was apologetic and we have a neighborly relationship. 

[TKehl]

making it legal and easy for someone salvage and use any game killed by auto accidents.

I see nothing wrong with that.  The only deer left in my freezer is the one I got with my 350 Vortec.  LoL  (Been telling the guys at work that don't catch on immediately that it's a slow load, but big and heavy along the lines of a .45-70.  The momentum dump is enormous and the deer didn't even take a step afterward.  If they STILL don't get it, I'll tell them that the bumper damage was minor, it missed the fender, and only left a small dent on the door!  :D)

Trespassers drive me nuts, especially when they are repeaters.  Have had people park inside the gates and say they got permission from the neighbor...  One repeater is a neighboring property owner.  I usually make it a point to cut firewood along that fence line sometime during deer season.  ;)  Keep thinking it may be time to add a hot wire to the fence.  ;D

However, I still think spotlighting road hunters are lower than even trespassers.  Probably where that deer pile came from.  Grrr...

[stavebuyer]

A little update. I was pretty ticked off and determined that I had a good enough photo that I wasn't going to let it slide. I put the picture out along with an offer of a reward. I got a name within 24 hours and a Facebook match  provided everything in a neatly wrapped package for the warden to prosecute. He is pursuing this in manner that could result in additional charges. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Several years back I was bow hunting on a Saturday afternoon in October in a climbing stand near a corner of my property. My place is clearly posted. My neighbor's teenage son came onto my place and sat down with his back against a large oak tree on a bench (a flat area on the side of a mountain or steep slope for you guys not familiar with the term) that  ran out into a ridge about 40-50 yards away from me apparently squirrel hunting. I was 20-25 ft up in a poplar tree. I calmly told him "You really don't want to hunt there." He looked all around and behind him but never up where I was so I waited a few minutes for him to settle back down and repeated. He was clearly rattled and looked around again but still did not see me. Finally he just got up and packed his gear and walked away. When he got further up the hill on an old skidder trail 80-90 yards away he was closer to my elevation and finally spotted me and waved to let me know he had seen me. I waited there a few more minutes and finally gave it up and climbed down. I was pretty disgusted as back then I was working away from home during the week, Sunday hunting was prohibited, rifle season was only one week, no special antlerless or senior hunts so I only got a couple of Saturdays I could hunt if the weather permitted. The next week the boy saw my wife at our local high school where she was teaching and apologized to her for interfering with my hunt.

[K-Guy]

In Maine hunting is legal on property that isn't posted and I disagree with that but it's the law, so a friend was hunting my place and found that someone was left a pile of apples as bait (illegal) under his tree stand. That same day he found a weasel trap on my place (illegal without written permission). I called the warden service and they investigated. The trapper was breaking 2 law but was good enough to leave his name on the trap. After that my friend was good enough to post my place for me while I was at work. I wondered about whether or not this would work but this year with snow on the ground he informed me that he didn't see one track. I am not against hunting but want to control access to my property for safety and security reasons.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Our State's laws are it is legal to hunt on property not fenced, posted or, now,with purple painted boundaries. Many people don't post their property because, as I understand, if there is a forest fire and posted the fire fighters won't come on your place to fight the fire. Not sure if that is true but the rumor stops some. I have posted mine and will purple paint the boundaries this Spring - a fairly new option to us.

  I have no problem with anyone trailing a wounded deer on my place. Heck if he will call I'll get Sampson and help him go look for it, help him drag it out and he can even skin it on my skinning rack if he wants. I just don't want him deliberately poaching on my place and disturbing my hunting.

[K-Guy]

I agree.

 The purple paint rule is here too.