So the kid and I went up turkey hunting this weekend on our land. I always pull my truck into the pole barn and nobody knows I'm up there. Saturday morning we have 2 toms 150 yards gobbling away heading our way. My son whispers that there is a turkey 30 yards away in the supper thick tag alders, then he say he thinks it might be a deer. I look and it's 2 guys in full camo with guns doing a sneak towards my field. I took off after them but didn't see where they went. Ran up to the road and found there car. I took a pic of plate and called cops. The cops tell me it's my neighbor down the road that the family owns 1200 acres. They have a bad reputation up there. The cops are well aware of them. I didn't press charges because $250 fine is nothing and I would most likely get supeoned for court. I'm worried about them retaliating since they live right there and I'm 4 hrs away. Really pisses me off they ruined my son's 3rd turkey season.
First run in with tresspassers
- Thread starter ruskbucks
- Start date
Bassattackr
5 year old buck +
Wow sorry to hear that, trespassers are the scum of the earth, no respect. That's a tough call for many reasons like you mention.
^^What floored me the most is that they have 1200 acres and still find the need to hunt elsewhere? That's insane.
^^What floored me the most is that they have 1200 acres and still find the need to hunt elsewhere? That's insane.
Exactly! What happened is they saw the birds in my field from the main rd then they drove and parked on the dead end road. Lazy s.o.bs. the funny thing is the birds are always roosted on their land. They do the same with deer I heard. I have seen them drop people off across the street and take off so there is no car parked. I'm pretty sure they didn't have permission.
That sucks, but unless you got a clear view of them it is doubtful they would get convicted anyway. Do you have your property boundaries posted?
You don't want them to burn your place down though, so you have to be careful living 4 hours away when dealing with local law breakers.
You don't want them to burn your place down though, so you have to be careful living 4 hours away when dealing with local law breakers.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
In my perfect world you can shoot trespassers...just in case you need to know where i stand.
I had posted signs up at first. Need to redo them. My property has a dead end road dividing our lands. They came in off the road, there was no mistaking the boarder. They knew exactly what they were doing
I know I scared the crap out of them when they heard the zipper on blind fly open, maybe saw me running towards them. I would of really liked to have fired off a 3 1/2 turkey load as a warning shot. They were only 30 yards away and had no idea we were there. Have to be reserved with the kid with.
John-W-WI
Administrator
Easy for me to say because I'm not you, but I would have met them at their car with the sheriff. If they are going to burn you down there is no stopping them. I'd roll the dice.
Based on personal experience I would have actually parked their car in if I could so they couldn't leave, and let them explain the problem to the sheriff. I'm all done talking to trespassers. That's what LEO are for.
-John
Based on personal experience I would have actually parked their car in if I could so they couldn't leave, and let them explain the problem to the sheriff. I'm all done talking to trespassers. That's what LEO are for.
-John
I think putting up new no-trespassing signs along the road will be helpful and they should get the hint that you caught them on your place and that is a problem. Although I've always been a little concerned putting my phone number down on the signs with my different area code listed since that could potentially draw negative attention there as well. It is certainly a balancing act though because it always could be worse.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
It took us a good 5 years of constant vigilance, reporting, and prosecution. Same deal with a bully family that thinks they can do what they want cause it is a birthright. They shot young bucks and hung the circuses on of fences. Our owners live 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours away. The game warden went to have a chat with the patriarch. He was drunk and basically told the game warden he could do what he wanted. The game warden made him a pet project. He followed him around for a season or so checking and citing all his friends for any infraction and suggesting he was not a good friend to have. Other large land owners near us had issues with that family but were scared of repercussions and didn't want the headaches, so they backed off to the bullying. When we stood up and prosecuted, suddenly the other neighbors grew a spine as well.
We did NOT stoop to the tactics of reprisal. That just tells law enforcement it is two bad guys fighting. We simply called law enforcement each and every time we had a trespass and always followed up with prosecution. We use a tool our state has called a Trespass Notice. You fill out a form stating an individual is not permitted on your property. It is served on the individual like a warrant by the local sheriff's office and recorded. Once a trespass notice is in place, judges take it more seriously and the fines go up to the point where jail time can be involved. We used that tool for every trespasser we could identify, including using our wireless camera system. We posted clearly.
No doubt, it is costly and time consuming to deal with court, but if you don't, you send the bullies the message you are a soft target and it never ends. They just get better and hiding it. Eventually the message got out to the community that we were not a soft target. Other neighboring landowners now cooperate with us. The bullies don't change their ways, they just find more soft targets they can bully.
No matter how you deal with your situation, I hope it works out for you.
Thanks,
Jack
bwoods11
5 year old buck +
I had a guy trespass on me in Iowa...(we had a great picture of him on my camera). The warden ID him and went to his house, he said you were caught on camera, showed him the pic. He said, no fine this time, but if you are caught again, he will issue 2 citations. I thought that was a good move by the warden, and a strong warning and deterrent.
Bassattackr
5 year old buck +
A nice road screen would fix that.
FWIW My family farms have had poacher problems spotlighting at night. They won't shoot anything they don't know is there.
BenAllgood
5 year old buck +
A good barbed wire fence may not seem like much, but it can help. It can help birds plant you a screen too.
Good points. I like the law of tresspass notice. They would just laugh at a $250 fine. The cop said they basically just lie about everything. I just can't take off of work, drive 4hrs one way to see them maybe get charged. That tresspass notice is way better than warning the cops gave them.
I was hesitant to post it but I was actually in the process of letting the air out of their tire when the cop called me. They were very stern at telling me to remove myself from the situation and don't confront them.
I have 300 scotch pine and spruce along the road. Dang scotch grew Awsome but now are dropping their bottom branches. You can now see my field until everything greens up. Just put in a screen of 2 types of sourgum and Egyptian wheat.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Screening was one of the things we did. I like bicolor lespedeza in my area. It is a perennial legume, so you don't have to plant it every year. It takes some work to establish, but once established, you just burn it or mow it high every 3 years or so to maintain it. It grows 7' plus. You can't see through a thin strip in the summer. In the winter, you can't see through a 20 yard stand of it. You may want to go wider and mow half of it at a time to keep the screen in place. One warning, bicolor lespedeza is considered a non-native and it can be invasive under some conditions. I has not spread at all from the areas we've planted it in over 10 years. It is not in the same class with autumn olive, but you may want to consult a wildlife biologist in your area about it before using it. I did that before I selected it.
It was also a good fit for us because we needed it on a pipeline. We got the game department biologist to ensure the pipeline company that the roots were not deep enough to endanger their pipeline. Trying to plant a screen annually is much more problematic.
I've also started using sunn hemp for other reasons. It is a good deer food for summer in my area and it a fast legume that competes well with weeds. I mix it with buckwheat. It also grows over 6' by fall in my area. It does fall over more than Egyptian wheat in the winter. So, if you plant for summer in your area, it may be an option as well. It would not cover the early spring like a deep section of bicolor.
Thanks,
Jack
