How To Handle A Tresspasser?

[trdtnlbwhntr]

Well fellas after some debate from the wife about my safety come gun season I began to wonder if I handled the situation properly.

Yesterday around noon I was taking a scouting trip throgh the woods trying to find a good spot to hang a stand for the pressure of the opener of gun season. I come over a hill and there it is. Some guy has hung a stand in the woods he does not have permission to be in. Its not even close to a property line to its not an oops accident. I climb up take his stand for him, back all of his steps out and stack them up at the base of the tree along with his stand and his blaze orange rattling antlers. I run up to the hardware later in the day pick up a "No Hunting or Tresspassing" sign and write a note and put it in a ziploc baggy then attach it to the tree his stand was in using two of his screw in tree steps. The note simply said that we have found your stand in a place it shouldnt be in, we were kind enough to leave you your belongings to collect and take this as your warning and leave. We will be on the lookout for these items in this woods and the next time the dnr will be involved and we will be forced to take action. Not threatening but for some reason the wife seems to think I have put my life in danger come the opener of gun season.

Should I have handled it differently? I am pretty sure I know who the guy is and where he lives. I didnt take anything I could have, maybe I should have, but I thought I was just about as respectable as one could be with a person tresspassing. So should I remove the note and just leave the sign or just leave the note as a little added incentive to not come back.

[Super_Mag]

I think you played it well. If it were me, I would of had a new stand and rattling antlers....:evilsmile Tresspassers are scum.

[fowlaholic]

i think you played that dead on. and if you do find the stand again on your woods i would not feel bad at all about making the call.

[Big Rig]

IMHO you have been about as nice as you could have been. I think leaving the note is fine.

Unfortunately I bet he walks in opening morning and finds his stuff and re hangs it because "he has no time to go somewhere else".

I would be careful going looking for him on opening day. Maybe I would check the location next Thursday or Friday.

Good Luck

[jstalljon]

I would take the stand and treesteps and leave a note with your phone number and to contact you if he would like them back.

I would want to confront him face to face and see his reaction. Maybe it was a legitimate accident, maybe not. But confronting face to face will probably tell you.

I feel your pain Dustin...I'm dealing with a situation/person right now that has pretty much ruined my prime bow season.

[trdtnlbwhntr]

The thing that makes me think is he isnt far from one of my stands I usually rush to get to during the evening hunts after work. I wonder if he has ever been sitting in there and seen me walk down the edge of the field and crawl into my stand then waited till I had left after dark to leave. It just baffles me. This guy had to have walked right past one of my stands on the edge of the field to go in and hang this thing. I think i am going to offer the owner a small monetary trade for the hunting rights so I dont have to ok all my actions through him when I encounter these guys. I think Friday afternoon before gun season i will go see if the stand is still there or re hung. I hope it is gone but I doubt it. I also took down an old wooden ladder stand that wasnt 100 yards from where he had set up so he cant sit in that thing when he finds his stand on the ground that morning. I hope he just leaves but I am sure I will hear his gun go off on saturday morning. Then im gonna get pissed because I am going to have to go confront the guy.

[monster10rackstack]

I think you handled it well. I had to guys walk up on me last week and i told them that this is their warning and next time i will contact the authorities.

[HuntinIN]

I like the Stallion's advice. Take his stuff and make him contact you. Just making contact with some of these guys is the hardest thing to get done.

[Poundsy]

I would have taken his stand and steps and left a VERY nasty note for him. He will be back in there. I have had this problem for a while on one farm and have taken about 10 or so stands. I was actually sitting in a tree and watched the trespasser come in and hang a stand. I did'nt say a word, I just waited for him to leave and then went and took it.They will not stop until one of them goes to jail or you confront them red handed.

[JL]

Very civil, Dustin. I hope it pays off.

[Gator]

I've done the "take the stand and leave a note with the game wardens #, and said if you want your stuff back call Officer " so and so" . I usually have new stands.

[trdtnlbwhntr]

The only reason I dont want to take this guys stuff without giving him a chance to make right is because I have stands in there that I dont want stolen. So I figure if I let him play nice and leave then I wont have my crap stolen either. So hopefully it is a win win for the both of us. He gets to keep his stuff and I dont have to be the village a$$hole in this small town in Starke County. At least that is my .02 cents.

[Super_Mag]

Dustin, You have alot to learn about Knox....Trust me, you are a saint to most folks down that way! ( No offense to the residents of Knoxtucky)

[HuntinIN]

There is nothing wrong with being the village azzhole, less people bother you that way.:evilsmile

[trdtnlbwhntr]

well I am going to go back in there tonight after dark and see if the stuff is still there I might give them the CO's phone number and tell them if they want their stand back to contact "me". I just had breakfast with the new CO of district 10 seems like a good guy. Maybe Ill give him a call on my way home from work.

[mason]

hope it works for you

[stuckonbuck]

That was a great way to handle the business at hand. You were as about as noble as you could be. I dont think your life is in danger,so tell my wifes illegitimate twin sister you should be ok,unless you use doe pee as a lure of choice.Then you are surely in danger again just ask my wife. Those Bucks are really mean Dr. Phill said so!! Good luck!

[ptghunter]

Like you said give the guy the benefit of the doubt the first time, mainly so he doesn't destroy your stuff, but look out if it happens a second time. Nice Job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bdeom]

What happened? Did the guy come back?

[trdtnlbwhntr]

Yeah he did... He shot a little six pointer opening morning. Rather than go after him I just called out the CO. He claims he wasnt on the farm when he killed the six pointer. He walked another 150 yards or more to get to the property line of yet another property he doesnt have permission to be on. that evening he had his stand laying at the edge of our corn field. I called the CO again he came out and watched the field that night. The stand was gone the next morning so I am assuming there was confrontation or the CO was running late and the guy didnt get caught. Next year I will not be so nice... I dont like being taken advantage of unless you have a D-Cup, long legs, and blonde hair over blue eyes. So next year I wont be so nice.

[crookedlake92]

Now he knows....... Anything after this is of his own disregard. You were the better man in the whole deal. Next year, have him removed by the CO..... My problem was close to the same, but the individuals busted up my cuddeback and never returned. It really sucks that people have no respect for anothers hard work in the woods.... And how many of those blond haired, blue eyed, double d's do you encounter in a hunting season????? I might need a guide if you have multiple sightings.....

[LOVE BIG RACKS]

Don't mess around with trespassers, call the CO asap and press charges. A neighbor was turkey hunting on his own land and a trespasser came to his calls and shot him in the face. The worst part was that he then left my neighbor in the woods and never tried to help. Don't take any chances with this scum. Arrest him!!!!

[yeahbaby]

The best bet is to let the authorities handle the situation. People do stupid things when confronted by individuals. Which I have personally witnessed. When confronted by the CO they are less likely to start trouble. As pissed off as you are especially if it is your property, it's not worth getting shot or worse.

[Whammyshell]

After reading these posts I have to give you credit I don't think I could have handled that as well as you did. It also makes me feel lucky that my neighbor next door is a CO.

[seminole39]

i have had this problem in the past and have ended up with some new stands

[parkjssk]

I also had a problem of a tresspasser. He also tore up my blind thats been out all summer. I still got in it then at about 8:30a.m I saw him. I drew back my bow with the Carbon Express F15 broadhead and I let that sucker fly. It hit it's mark went right through him and all of his guts came out. I don't have to worry about that MOUSE again. That little sucker chewed up my windows and made a nest in the meshing. It also smells in it now.

[truck150]

you done well !!!!!!!!!! but i would have me a new stand

[rhodeislandred]

when i was 17 years old 20 years ago i wondered onto some papermill property that i knew i wasnt supposed to be on and was caught by the property manager guy. he was nice and told me to stay off the property and i never went back. unfortunately i think that some think that they'll hunt where they want and a ticket from a co won't stop em either. we have caught the same guy on our lease for the past 4 years and still cant seem to get it thru his head to stay out. we don't know what to do about it, owner of the lease said he will prosecute if caught again but i'm not so sure he'll understand that either. very frustrating

[savednwaitin]

if it were me i would sit in that stand everyday until he comes back and then when he gets upset you climb down and smack him in the mouth. and then you ask him who stand did you say this was. thats just what i would do.

[HarrisonHunter]

I think you handled it well my friend. Like you said, you have stands in there that you don't want stolen by him. But if I read this thread correctly, you don't own the property? If that is the case, be very careful how you tread. I have been involved in these messes in the past where I was told "you are the only one that has permission" then I confront someone and it ends up they got permission a couple years earlier and the landowner "forgot".

[Charley_62]

I Just ran into this problem a few weeks ago my self. You need to always call the CO before you take a tree stand down....

This is what I have learned from our CO. Especially if you are not the true owner of the land. Always get the sheriff or game wardens involved right from the get go....