Why?

[Cabin Fever]

I was talking to an adjoining landowner (Mennonite) recently and he said that it was a shame how, "Hunting season brings out the worst in people". He was talking about tresspassing and theft, and how sad it was. Made me think back and have to agree. For whatever reason, the quest for deer/bucks, seems to make some people goofy! Why is it that some people will just blatently walk into clearly marked POSTED property to hunt or maybe even make a quick drive through it? Just a lack of respect for others (and the law) in general? Are they like this in their day to day lives the rest of the year?

 

MY property was purchased so my kids and I would always have a place SAFE place to hunt together, I pay property taxes, and LOTS of blood, sweat, and $$ went into this property to improve/ensure this. Why would anyone feel they have the "right" to step foot onto my clearly POSTED property? I assume these "slobs" think they have the right to come into my house and make a sandwich and watch TV too?? Thankfully, I personally haven't had much tresspassing, but the Mennonite neighbor was telling me about some guys that he's encountered. Such a shame and sure gives hunters a bad name!! Tis the season.......

[phade]

Not to make blanket statements or anything of the like, but Amish/Mennonites are known to be trespassers themselves. But again, that's the same with any group...there are simply slob hunting lawbreakers.

 

I just don't get people sometimes.

[Five Seasons]

I agree 100%. I have minor issues with my neighbors. Thankfully nothing major, but when I've confronted some of them and they act like I'm the biggest dick in the world. I've always been very polite and nice when trying to enforce property boundaries. But when a neighbor asks me what the big deal is, and why do I care? drives me nuts... I pay property taxes, I paid for the land and I bought this house specifically for the land versus a nicer house I could have bought for the same money in a sub-division. Again for me it's more about them believing it's not a big deal, or the previous owner didn't care so they keep doing it.

 

I would like to add that for me, at one of my properties it's not about fighting other hunters, but about those just hiking or dumping on my property, and before someone chimes in, no nobody owns the deer, but a lot of us have put in good time and money to purchase and manage land (food plots etc), and why people feel they have just as much right to hunt it is bothersome.

[woodchuck]

gotta love the people who post the crap outa their property and dont let anyone on it but find it ok to go on everyone elses property.  they go out of their way to screw with ya.

[Fantail]

If trespassers (and thieves) were subject to proper punishment then a deterrent to the issue would be in place. But noooo, the system protects them for the most part and gives them rights. Knowing that what respect would they have for my property or anyone else's? 

[Cabin Fever]

And ya know, what few deer there are around, I would like to keep around, to better the chances that one of my kids (14 and 18) will get, to keep their interest in hunting! Geez, I even refrain from shooting some deer myself to keep them around! My son has been bow and gun hunting for 4 years now and has only gotten 2 does! He's never had the opportunity to shoot a buck. This will be my daughters first year! Of course I don't want someone tresspassing on my property! The signs say "POSTED", NOT "Welcome"!!

[Paula]

We put up almost 25 signs yesterday hoping i don't get any trespassers this year. I bought a variety of color signs (3) and cut boards for some and painted some florescent colors, put them up high so they are seen and can't be reached. Had to go over a line to get them on our trees and there were 2 cameras and i held the signs so they could see what were doing.

 I have been lucky my cameras have not been touched and was surprised this guy had his locked and cabled, too bad people can't be trusted not to touch what is no theirs

[Uncle Nicky]

Funny question...and I think you know the answer. Because you have something that they want. The risk of getting caught & prosecuted is slim to none.

 

And no, I'm not a trespasser, I'm a landowner myself.

[Jeremy K]

The spot we hunt in Cuba has a dick neighbor the always trespasses, its always the same excuse " I got one wounded and it came this way "Him and his brothers have a bad name because of how they cleaned the hill out before my buddy bought the place, the numbers are really starting to pick back up which is nice.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Jeremy K

[Four Season Whitetail's]

I agree 100%. I have minor issues with my neighbors. Thankfully nothing major, but when I've confronted some of them and they act like I'm the biggest dick in the world. I've always been very polite and nice when trying to enforce property boundaries. But when a neighbor asks me what the big deal is, and why do I care? drives me nuts... I pay property taxes, I paid for the land and I bought this house specifically for the land versus a nicer house I could have bought for the same money in a sub-division. Again for me it's more about them believing it's not a big deal, or the previous owner didn't care so they keep doing it.

 

I would like to add that for me, at one of my properties it's not about fighting other hunters, but about those just hiking or dumping on my property, and before someone chimes in, no nobody owns the deer, but a lot of us have put in good time and money to purchase and manage land (food plots etc), and why people feel they have just as much right to hunt it is bothersome.

 

I could never understand the part of...Nobody owns the deer!   Well the way i look at it is..If that deer is on MY 700 acres of POSTED PROPERTY and YOU do not have permission to go on that land to get that deer, Well then I own him untill he walks off of that piece of POSTED PROPERTY!

[d-bone20917]

I could never understand the part of...Nobody owns the deer!   Well the way i look at it is..If that deer is on MY 700 acres of POSTED PROPERTY and YOU do not have permission to go on that land to get that deer, Well then I own him untill he walks off of that piece of POSTED PROPERTY!

 

I see what you are saying but you still don't own the deer.  We all own that deer, it just happens to be on your property which makes it off limits for everyone else.  If a farmers cow gets out and wanders onto your land do you own that too?  Saying you own it implies you can kill it anytime you want as if you were raising sheep, which isn't the case.  You need to follow all the same game laws as the rest of us.

[ants]

"Nobody owns the deer" is just a B.S. excuse for low life's to justify their low life, trespassing scum bag behavior. IMO these are the same people who will find a dead buck on the side of the road, take it, put a bullet hole in it and then brag to their friends about how they patterned the buck for weeks and then finally got a shot at it. Pathetic scummy little s#$t stains.    Thats all.

[d-bone20917]

"Nobody owns the deer" is just a B.S. excuse for low life's to justify their low life, trespassing scum bag behavior.

 

And it's inaccurate.  Everyone owns the deer.  

[thphm]

How do like this one last rifle season I am in the house eating and a UTV goes up the road very slow look in the direction of the front of my house. I know who it is a person that lives about a mile down the road from me,lived there before I bought my place. Retired business man not hurting for money.Had 2 of his down state friends on it with  him, they cannot be hurtin for money because the drove up in a brand new fully decked out pickup.

The next day I am down stairs in my garage, it was raining that day and I thought I heard voices outside, said to myself must be hearing things.The next morning I go out side and look at my rock garden which I had 7 good size pumpkins with corn stalks behind them. Said SOB . I drive down the road later on and the fellow that ownes the UTV now has 3 of the pumpkins and the corn stalks in front of the house,that were no there before.

So on the way past the PO I stop and said to the post master boy there are some cheap ass SOB's in this town,knowing she is a talker. After that every time I and that fellow would bump into me he would avoid me and walk another direction.

[YFKI1983]

my first year deer hunting someone shot a nice 8 point from my stand. I was still young so I wasnt allowed to go up that morning because the wind was blowing really bad and it was a wooden stand.  the next morning I am on stand and i saw the gut pile and the trespassers came back. we confronted them and they had no idea what the problem was. Our neighbor called the police because he saw them dragging the deer through his property. Some people just feel like they own anything they see.... that deer was much bigger than anything ive killed btw  : )  I didnt sleep for weeks...im not bitter though!!!!!

[woodchuck]

I cant stand stand how someone would build a stand that serves no purpose other than to overlook my property. its 5ft off of property line. they say its not illegal for them to look on my property. you know damn well the turds are shooting when im not on the land. they use crossbows too!!!! I went through and posted my land and slowly my signs "blew" down. but neighbors signs have stayed put and on the trees for years. police dont want to know nothin. last time i called state police they said they have a car heading my way. I waited 6 hours and nobody ever came. called local cops and they would only talk to neighbor. must have been to much paperwork. All the time and money spent to have something to enjoy and people feel they are untouchable and will go where they please.

[WNYBuckHunter]

"Nobody owns the deer" is just a B.S. excuse for low life's to justify their low life, trespassing scum bag behavior. IMO these are the same people who will find a dead buck on the side of the road, take it, put a bullet hole in it and then brag to their friends about how they patterned the buck for weeks and then finally got a shot at it. Pathetic scummy little s#$t stains.    Thats all.

 

Deer and other wildlife are resources, which are owned by the people of NY state, and managed by the DEC. They have free reign to wander from one property to another, but the person that owns the land they are standing on still does not own the animal. Now if someone shoots the animal, and it dies on your land, you have the discretion to allow said person onto your land to recover the animal or not. Personally, Ive never understood the land owner that would not allow someone to recover from the property, as long as they ask first.

 

I had it happen to me with my first buck I ever shot. I was 18 years old, I shot it on state land, it died on private. Before crossing the line, I went to the land owner's house and asked permission to drag it off. I was denied. By the time I brought a DEC officer back with me, the deer was hanging in the guys garage. I wonder how many times hes bragged about that deer that he hunted and shot, when in reality he denied a young hunter their first buck.

[d-bone20917]

I had it happen to me with my first buck I ever shot. I was 18 years old, I shot it on state land, it died on private. Before crossing the line, I went to the land owner's house and asked permission to drag it off. I was denied. By the time I brought a DEC officer back with me, the deer was hanging in the guys garage. I wonder how many times hes bragged about that deer that he hunted and shot, when in reality he denied a young hunter their first buck.

 

Now that is a real d*ck move if I've ever heard one. 

[Catskill Hunter]

A friend of mine was hunting PA/NY border last year, he shot a nice buck with the bow and drug it down to a logging road and hid it, then went back to get some help and his quad. He came back and the deer was gone and there were truck tracks in the rd near where the deer was. He thinks someone was in a tree on his land watching him hide the deer.

[Doc]

That's interesting ..... the deer is a public resource until you kill and tag it and then it is yours. So actually there is a circumstance where you actually own the deer. The ownership actually changes hands.

[beachpeaz]

This is a dangerous subject as I have had many heated debates in this forum over this.  I have had people arrested that I catch on my posted property. I have ZERO tolerance.

 

One of the most important points that hasn't been mentioned, and my #1 reason, is simply the liability!  NO, I don't want someone shooting a deer off my property and that IS important, however, i cant afford to have that P.O.S person who tresspasses, then turn around and sue me when he falls out of my tree stand!  Or gets whacked in the head by a falling branch, etc.

 

Those very people with that low-life mentality to not obey laws are the same ones who then find it your fault they got hurt.  This is why i have ZERO tolerance. I catch you, the police WILL be called and you WILL be hauled off.  PERIOD.