Finding dead heads

What if you are not fortunate? Like i believe i am. I am almost in the situation described in the second half of your response.

Your point is well taken, greekfreak. I was responding to your first series of questions which left some question about the circumstance behind the recovery of a dead deer. You leave no doubt about the circumstances in your reply, so I can appreciate your policy of not giving dead heads back to the doofus and his doofus friends. However, it sounds like you know who the bad actors are among your neighbors. While you might not want to reward their bad actions, you might want to cut some slack to someone who you know is an ethical hunter rather than apply your rule universally. The only other thing that comes to mind is that perhaps you’re finding a lot of dead deer on your property because your neighbors are afraid to track a wounded deer across your property line. My thought is that they may just quite their tracking efforts at the fence line, so the deer never gets recovered until you find it. At the end of the day, it’s your property and your rules. I’m sorry you’re being put in this position in the first place.
 
Alot of it depends on if they tagged another after that instead of punching their tag.They need proof that they had shot it
 
As many have said, what I would do would be COMPLETELY dependent on circumstances. I've been on the side of a long search one single time, and it was a TERRIBLE feeling for several days wondering what went awry. Thankfully, buzzards visibly led me to it just across my property line (did call for permission to get it).

Shot turned out to be true, which I suspected as the buck had strongly reacted to the shot and left a decent initial blood trail ... buck had just enough strength to run into a treeline well within my 100+ acre property, make a hard turn, and run just far enough to make it a few yards over my line. I was able to follow blood to the point of the hard turn, but lost it then. The relief of knowing the buck died quickly / hadn't suffered a torturously long death was TRUTHFULLY more satisfying than recovering the fairly nice horns AND it taught me a quick lesson on just how tricky of turns deer can make after being shot when they're running all out on adrenaline.

That shared, that's the ONLY buck I've shot who made it to my property boundary and I do my best not to be perceived as a doofus by the neighbors. If I had an obnoxious neighbor sitting right up against a property line, making sketchy shots even more than a single time, I'd also be quick not to give up a found dead-head. That said, I'd want to be 100% sure they'd know the deadhead was found, as that might be the ONLY thing that matters to a true doofus / I wouldn't assume they'd be sick about the potential for the deer having suffered.
 
I've only had a deer go onto neighboring property once, and my one son shot the buck. We blood-trailed it to the border of the neighboring camp, where we stopped tracking. I told my son that we'll go that camp and ask permission to track it on their land. Not only did they agree to it, they went to help get the buck for him and even brought it out on one of their 4-wheelers to our truck. They were happy so see him get his buck - and I brought that camp 1/2 gallon of good whiskey as a thank-you for their sportsmanship. I've given rides to some of their guys on a mountain road when they were walking back to their camp at the end of the day. Good vibes in both directions. Why not??
 
You guys are in much better areas than mine Around here 95% of the bucks shot at are yearlings. If somebody finds a fork horn 2 months down the road it’s not an issue for anybody. In 45 years I’ve never found a buck that anyone would consider to have been looking for much less cared about . One or two yearlings in that many years is all I’ve ever found.
 
I've only had a deer go onto neighboring property once, and my one son shot the buck. We blood-trailed it to the border of the neighboring camp, where we stopped tracking. I told my son that we'll go that camp and ask permission to track it on their land. Not only did they agree to it, they went to help get the buck for him and even brought it out on one of their 4-wheelers to our truck. They were happy so see him get his buck - and I brought that camp 1/2 gallon of good whiskey as a thank-you for their sportsmanship. I've given rides to some of their guys on a mountain road when they were walking back to their camp at the end of the day. Good vibes in both directions. Why not??
I absolutely agree that one should try to maintain great relationships with neighbors if able. In my case, I do have those good relationships but the offending party is a group of 3 that just have permission from the neighbor to hunt. By no means do I want to tell the neighbor who he should or shouldn’t have hunting, but I know the group was just a random knock at the door, looking for a place to hunt. After finding 2 dead (found them after season, dead for month+) and helping them drag a third buck off our property just this past season (in addition to previous deadheads), it’s time to at least have a talk with the neighbor to keep him abreast of what these guys are doing. I’m all for helping out where it’s appreciated - met a new neighbor (different property) on opening day of gun season. After hearing a shot from over there the next day while in my stand, I sent a congratulatory text and offer to help if needed. Half hour later I was in shin deep mud, helping drag his deer in the rain and teaching the finer points of field dressing (his first deer in 20 years he said). I couldn’t have been happier to help. It’s the guys that obviously have no respect for the animal or property that will not be receiving a call saying “hey, I found that buck you had shot last season”.
 
Anyone ever try to lease a neighboring property if you have issues with the people hunting? If the hunters are knock on the door permission, there’s a chance the owner would lease it to you or give you sole permission for a little work, trade, or a couple hundred bucks. Might be worth it rather than deal with the headaches?
 
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Anyone ever try to lease a neighboring property if you have issues with the people hunting? If the hunters are knock on the door permission, there’s a chance the owner would lease it to you or give you sole permission for a little work, trade, or a couple hundred bucks. Might be worth it rather than deal with the headaches?

True story.

I did once and ended up getting a lecture on how leasing is evil and it used to be that anyone could hunt anywhere.

I was so busy apologizing to the guy I forgot to say “Oh that means I can hunt there for free also”

Property has changed hands since. I’m sure your version is how it would go 99% of the time. I actually get a kick out of remembering that.
 
Anyone ever try to lease a neighboring property if you have issues with the people hunting? If the hunters are knock on the door permission, there’s a chance the owner would lease it to you or give you sole permission for a little work, trade, or a couple hundred bucks. Might be worth it rather than deal with the headaches?
I have often thought about this; As cruel as it sounds. Purposely leasing to strip the hunting rights of someone else.

I have actually attempted it and couldn’t get in there no matter what I offered the guy. I will be exploring this option again this season on a couple of neighboring properties.
 
I thought this thread was about finding shake down street.

I would try my best to make friends , especially fellow hunters, but out here in Idaho we don’t have near the pressure, but the one thing we all have in common is time………

There really isn’t any time to hate IMO!
 

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In my neighborhood we all work together to help each other. Except some new hunters to the north of me. No idea who they are, but they brought a lot of ammo with them this last season, and they used it. No idea how many times each day they shot, but I counted at least 10 separate shots from them one morning. I had one deer they shot go through my food plot, and I tracked it and tagged it in the evening from that morning. If they would have asked me to track it, I would have let them.
 
Yeah I suppose leasing it out from someone might be a d*** move but I think wounding a bunch of deer and not making an effort to recover them is also
 
Id give it back if I thought the guy "deserved it", If I didnt feel that way, Id keep it.

Ssame here.
 
I have often thought about this; As cruel as it sounds. Purposely leasing to strip the hunting rights of someone else.

I don't mean to nitpick, but you wouldn't be stripping anyone of any rights.
 
Friends who have Commented on this thread,

Today, my answer was given to me via a situation with a neighbor. My father in law wounded a buck this previous season. First time in the many years I’ve known him. Neighbor texted me today and said he’d found it.

I wasn’t expecting to have it handed back as that’s my policy (for the most part). But this one neighbor in particular is someone I do business with. A friend. (I also gave his cousin back 3x 145” plus dead heads I’ve found in the past that he’d wounded and never found; I was nicer back then).

Needles to say, I will continue to stick with my policy. A lot of you had me on the edge of actually not being a complete a**. Now I know if it was my turn, I’d be told to fly a kite regardless of what I’ve done for them in the past.
 
Friends who have Commented on this thread,

Today, my answer was given to me via a situation with a neighbor. My father in law wounded a buck this previous season. First time in the many years I’ve known him. Neighbor texted me today and said he’d found it.

I wasn’t expecting to have it handed back as that’s my policy (for the most part). But this one neighbor in particular is someone I do business with. A friend. (I also gave his cousin back 3x 145” plus dead heads I’ve found in the past that he’d wounded and never found; I was nicer back then).

Needles to say, I will continue to stick with my policy. A lot of you had me on the edge of actually not being a complete a**. Now I know if it was my turn, I’d be told to fly a kite regardless of what I’ve done for them in the past.
Did your neighbor give back the head of the one your father in law shot?
 
This would have been a perfect opportunity to bury the hatchet. Too bad he seemed to feel the need to "get even". I doubt he will see any consideration from you for some time, if ever.
 
This would have been a perfect opportunity to bury the hatchet. Too bad he seemed to feel the need to "get even". I doubt he will see any consideration from you for some time, if ever.
Different neighbor from the one mentioned above that wounded the buck I had found this year. We have 12 farms spread over approx. 10 miles and none are contiguous of one another. Makes for a lot of neighbors.
 
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