Property lines?

I do believe that it is illegal to place a permanent stand on public land. If that is what has happened, there may be some possible action.

Ahh, the joys of petty turf wars between deer hunters, nothing like it. My first season I hunted was like this, it was a complete headache, but I ended up moving and the new people who moved in are trying to shut down hunting in that area now, and have no qualms about calling law enforcement, so the joke's on them.

He has every right to be there, but that doesn't mean you can't show up on opening day and squirrel hunt, coyote hunt, cut brush, kick back and drink a beer or some other really noisy activity on your property and make it really unproductive to be there. It would be up to you to decide just how offensive his presence is and how much time and energy you are willing to sacrifice and how stubborn the other party is going to be.

I personally would leave him alone unless he has purposely has ruined any chances of me getting deer by vandalizing property, etc. then my fiance will be out in the woods in a Santa suit with a shotgun or bow yelling "HAVE YOU SEEN ANY OF MY DEER?!" on opening day of firearm and bow season.

Be hard for them to prove the charge you think he would charged with.

As for the OP ... clearly mark the property line and make it known to whomever has the stand that they are not, under any circumstances, allowed to enter your property without talking to you first. If they call and say they have shot a deer and need to track it onto your property I would meet them there and verify the first signs of a hit and that sign is, in fact, on the public property.

If you dont know whos stand it is I would literally leave a note on your property line telling them to contact you first.

Leaving a message does not count. Not getting an answer does not count. They must talk to you first.

If they cross the line without first telling you, call the law. If they shoot a deer that is over the property line, call the law.

The key is that you do everything I have listed on private property. Prosecuting a land owner for anything I have listed above on his own land will never hold up in court. I have been subjected to every single one of these things, in each case far more deliberate then what I have suggested, including laundry detergent sheets and bars of soap strung on property lines and in each instance a CO did absolutely NOTHING to stop the harassment because it was on their side of the fence. It is a free country after all.

A part of me would love it if they would actually show up and successfully prosecute landowners for those things, the current drama I am involved with is with an uncle in law who rides his riding lawnmower through the woods every time people he doesn't like show up to hunt their side of the property. You cannot get much more intentional than that, and to this date no one has been able to successfully prosecute him, even with video evidence. If everything I have listed is done on his own private property, it's going to be an uphill battle for the public stand guy to prove intent to harass, especially if the other guy is hunting as well.

The future for hunting doesn't look so bright when hunters are trying to find ways to keep other hunters from legally hunting.

Good luck and hopefully you can get this resolved peacefully.

Honestly, There isn't anything to resolve. There is a stand and camera on public ground that happens to be some 50 yards from a stand on private property. As long as each party hunts there spot and doesn't try to interfere with the other, it is already resolved.

That is exactly what has been the case more often than not in a large number of properties in this area and not only mine but where I've hunted since the mid 70s such is the case right down to where other hunters will flat out LIE and tell the landowner others are doing something illegal, steal steps or stands (the day before firearm season), leave a bowel movement inside ground blinds (more than once too).

In one case, directly across the creek from where I've hunted, on another property, two brothers set out and went in and cut down every tree that had a stand in it that was not theirs. I know this for fact because they have wanted to hunt on my side of the creek for decades and somehow thought inviting me ALONG was some kind of "bonding moment"? (not quite sure). I told them that I was not going and neither did they have the right to do so on land they did not own.

Afterwards the CO at the time knew me and asked me if I had any info and I told him what I knew but, of course, all they had to do was deny it and they still hunt there. The tires on my truck got slashed that year though.

One area I asked to hunt this year close to my home. I knew a guy that USED TO hunt it often but is aging as well and recently he told me directly that he had only hunted 2 times in the last three years so I asked the landowner to check with him (if it was ok with the landowner if I hunted) to see if he cared if I hunted. I even offered to STAY OUT on weekends when this guy has time to hunt (all 2 times in 3 years). The hunter about blew a gasket because " I went behind his back". It's not even what I'd label a "good" area. Two thin woods out in the middle of a corn field. No creek. No heavy cover. When the leave are down you can look completely through the woods to the other side but it is CLOSE to my home and I'm able to get into it easily for maybe a doe or two if hunted often enough. His average buck taken is 1.5 years old but you'd think I attempted to date his wife the way he is acting. Needless to say, the landowner don't know what to do now. HE WANTS deer shot and the other hunter will openly admit he isn't shooting anything unless the antlers are "big enough". He don't eat the meat anyway. It most certainly is NOT a trophy area and I squirrel hunt it and know it well.

I will repeat what I've said previously. I'm about done unless I can find something where people leave me be and I don't have the resources to lease. The use of HPR will have me out hunting wide open picked crop fields for that very reason. NO OTHER HUNTERS but they will still complain......bet on it. The land owners here are FED UP as much as I am.

I am NOT saying all "trophy hunters" are like that but I will say that all I know that ARE LIKE THAT.....ARE in search of ONLY another big buck and their "reasons" are "you are shooting a deer that could be a trophy for me later". I'm sure it has happened but I'VE never heard of a "meat hunter" pulling such stunts and this did NOT occur before the antler obsession craze. NO OFFENSE for those doing such "right". Just sayin'

It's not "only a few" either. I WISH IT WAS, but it isn't.

I know a lot of hunters dealing with it in other areas and also hear similar stories at the range from hunters I don't know. I know people who have QUIT hunting because of this type treatment and know of land owners that shut the property down completely so they don't have to deal with it but also know some that go ahead and hunt it anyway. It's a "trophy spot" and they will take their chances and couldn't care less about anyone else's land rights or hunting rights.

One land owner is so irate about it that, not knowing the history, I politely went up to his door, hat in hand to ask if he would kindly let me deer hunt.

He asked me to wait a second and said he would be right back but when he returned he had a shotgun pointed at my face and he screamed for me to get off his property before he shot me.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU "DEER HUNTERS"........I'll shoot you on sight if I see you on my land!!"

Yes, indeed, GS1, the future doesn't look too bright from where I sit. I'm danged near reluctant to wear anything camo to town because of the rep people are giving us.

Sorry if this hurts, but it's the sad, cold, hard truth.

God Bless

My property is surrounded by tree stands near the property line. There are at least 4 that I know of within 20 yards of my property. I know one of the property owners and have a good relationship with him. The other property is owned by a trust. The guy who hunts it lives in Ohio and is not popular with the locals as he "acts like he owns the whole valley". He has one stand that is CLEARLY on my side of the line by about 5 yards. Do you know what I've done about it? Nothing. I don't need enemies where I hunt. I have some good spots where I hunt and I pretty much stay away from hunting in the areas where those guys stands are. I'd rather have good relations with neighbors than hunt right up to my lines. That's just me. I live 85 miles away from my property. Happy neighbors go a long way toward peace of mind when I'm not there.