another question in my li quest

[cbx46]

I meet a guy yesterday that turned me on to spot that he hunts.  Is it legal to hunt Suffolk County property if you are a suffolk resident as long as you follow all other distance regulations ex. Dwellings, no shooting over roads, etc...?

[retired2hunt]

All of the land in Suffolk County is owned by someone, whether it be private, town,county, or state you do need permission we all know that. There are county parklands that are good hunting but you need to be a resident of suffolk and check in with the park. I' ve hunted brookhaven  town property in the the past and never really had a problem but one time got kicked out by one of the town enforcers. All the state land cant be hunted there are designated areas and you need to check in. There is town property in Southampton but you cannot hunt on town property in southhampton they will ticket you.Hope this helps and if anyone else can chime in if Im wrong.Good luck

[LIHUNT]

Your 100% right. East hampton has the same rules if your not a resident you cant hunt public land without being a guest of a resident and the only other semi public land is county and that too you need to sign up for. Real hassle.  All else is private and i would say 99% of it locked up.

[cbx46]

spoke to region 1 officer today on the phone and his opion was deer management that as long as your following hunting rule distances etc... he thinks you should be able to hunt it so my opinon is give it a try and if you get kicked out deal with it then if you score big first all the better. not private property of course but town county and state land.

[LIHUNT]

CBX what town where you thinking about going?

[finfeathr]

An ECO should not have told you you can hunt it, just as long as legal hunting guidelines are followed...this is Long Island, every square inch is owned by somebody. If it is state owned, then he gave you a decent answer. If your buddy is one of those guys who does the old " there is no posted sign where I park" routine, you are looking for trouble..this isn't the 70's, when you could get away with that.

We tell everyone at the hunter safety classes that it is your resposibility to get a tax map, and find out who owns the property, then contact them for permission. If you are on privately owned land, without permission, whether it's posted or not, you are tresspassing.

The old "it wasn't posted" line doesn't really carry any weight. It belongs to someone, and it is only right to contact that person before entering thier property. I personally think this kind of situation causes a bad opinion of hunters as tresspassers..do your homework, and you could have yourself a great spot...good luck, Rich

[retired2hunt]

Finfeather you are 100% right well said. It doesnt fly anymore "the old saying its not posted"

[cbx46]

He didnt really say you can hunt he said in his opinon as long as the rules are followed he feels you should be able to  which leds me to think he wouldnt jam you up but that was his opinon. and it is privatly owned but not residential.

[finfeathr]

If it is privately owned, you MUST have written permission from the landowner..that is the LAW ....an ECO isn't the one who's gonna give you a hard time, it will be the police. Play it smart and do it right, and then you won't have to hunt while looking over your shoulder constantly....

[NYDeer]

Unfortunately, as with everything else in life, how something is handled WILL depend on who actually responds to a call.. Some  individuals may be a bit more 'lax', others not so. To protect yourself, find out who is the land owner prior..

Also helpful if someone approaches in the field claiming ownership & you KNOW the county owns it..

[longislandhunter]

How do you get your hands on a tax map and does it tell you the name of the owner.  I didnt think it had that information?

[finfeathr]

Go to the town hall that the land is located in...it will be a matter of public record.

[LIHUNT]

Finfeather, you are right. Out east the police will have you in cuffs before you can say a word. I have seen it happen. There is a joint group of land owners out there that has an "unwritten rule" if someone is caught trespassing there is no questions asked. Police call the owner of the land say they caught someone hunting on it and get the ok to lock them up for trespass charges.

[jjkoe3 (googler)]

Actually that is false. From DEC site:

Q. Must I post to keep people off my property?

A. No. Trespassing is illegal even on unposted property, unless it is unimproved, apparently unused and unfenced (or not otherwise enclosed to exclude intruders.) Even on vacant land, a written notice delivered in person (or by certified mail with a signed receipt, etc.) to any person, in the name of the landowner or authorized party, containing a description of the premises and a warning of restrictions which apply has the same effect, for that person, as if the land were posted with those restrictions. Likewise, anyone asked to leave the premises, posted or not, by the landowner, occupant or other authorized person, must do so immediately.

[finfeathr]

That wording is put into the code to protect someone that legitimately "stumbles" onto private land. You will not get very far hunting wherever there isn't a fence because that clause is in the book. On L.I., all land belongs to someone...not too much state land around, and what little there is you usually need an access permit for. Always find out who owns the property, and get permission before entering. You have to do alot of covering your butt when hunting L.I....do the right thing the first time, so you don't have to look for legal loopholes later.

[jjkoe3 (googler)]

I understand your point, but there are plenty of unposted and unimproved lands where it in fact lawful to hunt which is what I interpreted the question to be. Of course one must use common sense regarding proximity to inhabited structures but I read the law to state that one is granted defacto permission to use unposted land. NY Penal law states:

[pre]§ 140.00 Criminal trespass and burglary; definitions of terms.      The following definitions are applicable to this article:      1. "Premises" includes the term "building," as defined herein, and any    real property.      2.  "Building,"  in  addition  to  its  ordinary meaning, includes any    structure, vehicle or watercraft used for overnight lodging of  persons,    or  used  by  persons  for  carrying  on business therein, or used as an    elementary or secondary school,  or  an  inclosed  motor  truck,  or  an    inclosed  motor  truck trailer. Where a building consists of two or more    units separately secured or occupied, each unit shall be deemed  both  a    separate building in itself and a part of the main building.      3.  "Dwelling"  means a building which is usually occupied by a person    lodging therein at night.      4. "Night" means the period between thirty minutes  after  sunset  and    thirty minutes before sunrise.      5.  "Enter  or  remain  unlawfully."  A  person  "enters  or  remains    unlawfully" in or upon premises when he is not licensed or privileged to    do so. A person who, regardless of his intent, enters or remains  in  or    upon  premises  which  are  at  the time open to the public does so with    license and privilege unless he defies a lawful order not  to  enter  or    remain,  personally communicated to him by the owner of such premises or    other authorized person. A license or privilege to enter or remain in  a    building  which  is  only  partly open to the public is not a license or    privilege to enter or remain in that part of the building which  is  not    open  to  the public. A person who enters or remains upon unimproved and    apparently unused land, which is neither fenced nor  otherwise  enclosed    in  a  manner  designed  to  exclude intruders, does so with license and    privilege unless notice against trespass is personally  communicated  to    him by the owner of such land or other authorized person, or unless such    notice  is given by posting in a conspicuous manner. A person who enters    or remains in or about a school building without written permission from    someone authorized to issue such  permission  or  without  a  legitimate    reason  which  includes  a  relationship  involving  custody  of  or    responsibility for a pupil or student enrolled in the school or  without    legitimate business or a purpose relating to the operation of the school    does so without license and privilege.[/pre]

[cbx46]

I'm with you bro. Hunt ask questions later Haha use common sense.

[bainbridgedan]

doesn't new york state own the deer ? hmmmm >

[finfeathr]

I'm with you bro. Hunt ask questions later Haha use common sense.

and that is exactly why conflicts arise , and you know who looks bad?, ALL hunters. Traipsing across someone's property under the guise of "gee, it looked like unimproved land" is not going to do alot for you or any other future hunters endearing themselves to the landowner. What you are doing is looking for a loophole in case you get caught. Sorry, I prefer to hunt without looking over my shoulder.

The original post was asking the legalities...the answer was given, and then as usual, somebody scours the fine print to find an escape clause. Like I said, that wording is put in there to protect the honest mistake guy, who wandered from a parcel of land he had permission to hunt, and ended up being somewhere else for whatever reason. It wasn't set up so that anyone, anywhere, can go onto private property so long as it doesn't have a fence and is deemed "unimproved" by the trespasser.

I just don't understand the L.I. logic, I guess. Why is it so hard to get the name and address of the owner and ask permission? If they say no, it's no...thank them for thier time and consideration on the matter, and try again another time. I cannot understand the logic of locating a parcel, scouting it, anticipating a good hunt, etc, and wondering in the back of your mind, "gee, is this the day I get caught?" Talk about a waste of your time, and ruining your day, and possibly getting into serious trouble.

I think the problem stems from the fear that if a guy asks permission and gets turned down, it's game over, whereas, ignorance is bliss..the end result will be the same. A pissed off landowner that has a bad taste in his mouth for ALL hunters.

This is L.I. we are talking about. There is no land on this island that does not have an owner, somewhere. Take the time, do it right....like you said, use COMMON SENSE. If it were YOUR property, I would bet that you would be angry if you found someone in a treestand on YOUR land. We should extend the same courtesy to all landowners.

Doing that little tiny bit of homework at the forefront will save a hell of alot of heartache and legal fees later. Just keep in mind that everything you do in the field represents ALL hunters...

[finfeathr]

doesn't new york state own the deer ? hmmmm >

Yes, the state absolutely does own all of the deer....that does not, however, give an individual the right to access private land to harvest one.

[jjkoe3 (googler)]

I guess I was not clear. The law states unequivocally that a person has "license and privilege" to enter onto land which is not posted. It is not fine print. It is the written law. I have been on private land and been stopped by DEC. After checking my paper, i asked if it was legal to hunt because I knew there was some county property mixed with town and private. He stated that since it was not posted, it was fine.

I grew up shooting on Gallo duck farm with a member of the family. They sold the property and the county ended up with it. We knew by word of mouth that they didn't want people on it but we would go any way because it wasn't posted. someone called on us one day and the officer says, "what are you doing here, this is county land." We replied how should we know that since it is not posted? That ended the conversation. No argument because he knew we were in the right. The next weekend, we went back and the entire property was posted. We have not entered it since.

The OP was looking for legality. In the strictest legal sense it is perfectly legal to hunt property which is not posted. If you are asked to leave you must do so immediately. This is not a loophole. This is the way the law was written and it was written like this for a reason. Google is your friend!

[finfeathr]

"Srtictest legal sense"...is exactly what I am talking about. You can go into court armed with an attorney and your printed from google documents, or, you could JUST DO THE RIGHT THING, and get permission to start with, and eliminate the problem for yourself. Again, the logic confounds me..

Case in point:

You were hassled during a hunt, because you did not have permission from the new owners of the property. So, that not only terminated your outing for the day, but the landowner immediately put up signs, and I bet dollars to doughnuts, wouldn't let anyone he didn't know personally on the property again. You proved my point with the whole" representing all hunters" thing. Seems like that situation could have been avoided with a phonecall. So, in essence, the cops chose not to really thump you for lack of a posted sign, but did the landowner then welcome you back for a return hunt for educating them on the legalities of posting property? I think not, hence the shiny new posted signs.

So now pretend you are a landowner for just a minute. You have a chunk of picturesque land, and the only way to keep people from wandering all over it is to put bright yellow signs 50 feet apart encompassing the entire parcell. This is L.I., not some backwoods swamp in Arkansas..everything is owned by someone.

Do the right thing..ask permission first, avoid a problem later, and above all, provide a POSITIVE example of a RESPONSIBLE hunter.

[jjkoe3 (googler)]

That land was county owned and it was because no one could get past environmental because of duck excrement. I get your point and I have been at town hall looking up owners. Sometimes there may be 50-100 owners of 150 acres of continuous undeveloped property. There may be 50 .18 acres parcels in a row. In this case, I would just hunt it. If they cared they would post it.

Those ugly yellow signs are only visible from outside the property! Long Island is not alone in having every piece of land owned. That is true of every where. Either state, county town , federal governments or private owners. If I owned land and found someone on it in a tree stand you bet I would be pissed. That is because they would be trespassing on POSTED land!

Just to be clear, I am talking about land which is clearly not inhabited, not improved (no crop, no timbering, no upkeep, etc.). Land where it is very obvious the owner does not hunt it or even visit it. If there is a chance for confrontation, it is not worth it to me. But just in case, I carry along that section of penal law with me.

[LIHUNT]

If someone owns land they are not required to put up posted signs to keep people off. If you are caught on that "PRIVATE" property and the owner are willing to sign a trespass affidavit and write out a statement 710.30 the trespasser will be charged with it. I know this for a FACT!

[jjkoe3 (googler)]

710.30 refers to NY Criminal Procedure Law "motion to suppress evidence"