35-acre
5 year old buck +
I need some ideas on how to deal with some bad neighbors (renters). This is probably a longer explanation of my problem than it needs to be - but here goes...
I own a small portion of land that has sizeable state land bordering on 2 sides. Bordering my other 2 sides is a lease from one land owner (A). That landowner has a lot of property that is currently leased to a bunch of slobs. These guys hunt over bait piles of corn (illegal in my state), and are suspected to take game without tags (I've even found one hanging in the woods several years ago and I know it's gotta be them).
Just up the road from my place, and past the slobs, I also lease some decent land. This lease is from a different landowner (I only point this out because I don't have the option to trade leases or switch leases based on the slobs having "first right of refusal" from their landowner). Through the years, I've had problems loading/unloading my ATV from my truck so I prefer to ride it on the road when going to my lease. I actually have had it fall from the truck - scary stuff. Anyway, I've always tried to maintain a cordial relationship with the slobs and I ask them each year if they don't mind if I use one of their access roads to get back to my property at the end of the hunt. They've always allowed it - I guess I've been fortunate in that regards. This year I forgot to ask (which is probably part of what caused things to go bad). Although, I did see them and talk to them several times this year, I forgot to check with them. But the bottom line is that they just give off a vibe that they aren't good people.
I didn't hunt my lease for the first 4 or 5 weeks, instead I stayed on my property. I hunted over a field that I had put in 4-5 years ago and have been putting a lot of work into. I've been building the soil up using T&M and I've planted 8 trees in cages (chestnuts, apple and pear) plus I've planted about 500 bare root trees throughout my property after having it logged with various things like wild apple, nuts, pine, etc. The bottom line here, is that I own this land, I have a cabin on the property and I enjoy going there for some really peaceful time - it allows me to recoup from the year's events and gets me grounded enough for the coming year.
Here's what happened:
I hunted my lease a couple of times and I came out through the slobs access road, onto my land (without permission/like I've done in past years with permission).
This last time that I came down, I decided to check on my field. I walked over and found it wrecked! My watering bucket tossed into the field. Cages torn off my trees and stomped. Metal posts bent. One of my trees was knocked over - it's a 5 year old chestnut that I was hoping would produce nuts next year. The place was a mess. Of course, my 1 trail camera (oddly enough) didn't have any photos of all of this being done. I suspect that the person responsible used a portable reader and deleted them as the camera was in plain sight.
Not really thinking it through, I fixed everything as best as I could as light was fading fast.
Just after I get to my place, one of the slobs comes over to my place and tells me they don't want me riding their access road.
At this point I'm still FURIOUS from finding the field all wrecked. I'm furious that I didn't have a picture from that camera. And I've already put 2 and 2 together! I'm SURE it was the slobs! The followed my ATV tracks from their access road and came down into my property and trashed up my stuff - escalating to vandalism instead of talking to me. I assume this because rarely do I ever see anyone else hunting in the area. And the way I think about it is that if someone happened to hunt the areas and they found my field, they would have no reason to trash it up. WORST CASE - I have imagined someone coming onto my land, finding the field and deciding to sit and hunt it (even though they would be on posted property).
I didn't accuse the guy, but I mentioned it, to see the reaction - which was denial.
So here I am with a place that I own, that is causing me stress and I'm trying to figure out my options:
I know I'm part of the problem for not asking about using their road this year and assuming like in the years past it was okay. That's trespassing. I would not intentionally do that - it's just not who I am. But yet, in hindsight I did. It probably pissed them off. So I could have started something.
What would you do? Do you have any ideas or recommendations for me? At this point, selling my place has actually crossed my mind too many times (and that makes me mad too).
I own a small portion of land that has sizeable state land bordering on 2 sides. Bordering my other 2 sides is a lease from one land owner (A). That landowner has a lot of property that is currently leased to a bunch of slobs. These guys hunt over bait piles of corn (illegal in my state), and are suspected to take game without tags (I've even found one hanging in the woods several years ago and I know it's gotta be them).
Just up the road from my place, and past the slobs, I also lease some decent land. This lease is from a different landowner (I only point this out because I don't have the option to trade leases or switch leases based on the slobs having "first right of refusal" from their landowner). Through the years, I've had problems loading/unloading my ATV from my truck so I prefer to ride it on the road when going to my lease. I actually have had it fall from the truck - scary stuff. Anyway, I've always tried to maintain a cordial relationship with the slobs and I ask them each year if they don't mind if I use one of their access roads to get back to my property at the end of the hunt. They've always allowed it - I guess I've been fortunate in that regards. This year I forgot to ask (which is probably part of what caused things to go bad). Although, I did see them and talk to them several times this year, I forgot to check with them. But the bottom line is that they just give off a vibe that they aren't good people.
I didn't hunt my lease for the first 4 or 5 weeks, instead I stayed on my property. I hunted over a field that I had put in 4-5 years ago and have been putting a lot of work into. I've been building the soil up using T&M and I've planted 8 trees in cages (chestnuts, apple and pear) plus I've planted about 500 bare root trees throughout my property after having it logged with various things like wild apple, nuts, pine, etc. The bottom line here, is that I own this land, I have a cabin on the property and I enjoy going there for some really peaceful time - it allows me to recoup from the year's events and gets me grounded enough for the coming year.
Here's what happened:
I hunted my lease a couple of times and I came out through the slobs access road, onto my land (without permission/like I've done in past years with permission).
This last time that I came down, I decided to check on my field. I walked over and found it wrecked! My watering bucket tossed into the field. Cages torn off my trees and stomped. Metal posts bent. One of my trees was knocked over - it's a 5 year old chestnut that I was hoping would produce nuts next year. The place was a mess. Of course, my 1 trail camera (oddly enough) didn't have any photos of all of this being done. I suspect that the person responsible used a portable reader and deleted them as the camera was in plain sight.
Not really thinking it through, I fixed everything as best as I could as light was fading fast.
Just after I get to my place, one of the slobs comes over to my place and tells me they don't want me riding their access road.
At this point I'm still FURIOUS from finding the field all wrecked. I'm furious that I didn't have a picture from that camera. And I've already put 2 and 2 together! I'm SURE it was the slobs! The followed my ATV tracks from their access road and came down into my property and trashed up my stuff - escalating to vandalism instead of talking to me. I assume this because rarely do I ever see anyone else hunting in the area. And the way I think about it is that if someone happened to hunt the areas and they found my field, they would have no reason to trash it up. WORST CASE - I have imagined someone coming onto my land, finding the field and deciding to sit and hunt it (even though they would be on posted property).
I didn't accuse the guy, but I mentioned it, to see the reaction - which was denial.
So here I am with a place that I own, that is causing me stress and I'm trying to figure out my options:
- I just bought a few blackout cameras that I'm going to go there and point them at my cabin as I have no idea what else the slobs may do. The problem is, even if I get a photo of them damaging my cabin, I'll have to press charges and who knows what these guys might do then. They rent. I own. They will still lease the land and I'll still have to deal with them.
- I could call the "squirrel police" but even if they went onto the slobs lease and found the corn piles and salt licks. What would really be the punishment? A fine? I think that they have to catch someone hunting over it. Or what if they found a deer without a tag? What would really happen? The bottom line, even if they got in trouble for that stuff, I think they will still be there next year and things will only get worse.
- Should I just stay quiet and suffer through this for years to come? Just keeping cameras on my cabin and bringing tools to repair it each time? Gone is the relaxation of going there for some peace and recuperation.
- I even ran into another group of guys has the same fear with leaving their trucks parked on the road while they hunt their lease (which border mine and the slobs).
I know I'm part of the problem for not asking about using their road this year and assuming like in the years past it was okay. That's trespassing. I would not intentionally do that - it's just not who I am. But yet, in hindsight I did. It probably pissed them off. So I could have started something.
What would you do? Do you have any ideas or recommendations for me? At this point, selling my place has actually crossed my mind too many times (and that makes me mad too).