property line
Massachusetts
so im getting a house with 22 acres of land that i will be bow hunting on. i was wondering what would be the best way to define the line so other people know not to trespass on it... it is surrounded by other land as well
Signage, plain and simple. You could still have trespassing issues. But, proper signage will stop the decent people from going on your land. Nothing stops the slobs. Three additional points... get good signs that won't fade or disintegrate from the weather... put up a lot of signs... and take a ladder so you can put them high enough to be out of reach.
If you do get trespassers, be polite and firm about them not being allowed there. On any second or subsequent events by the same person who you've previously warned, call the police and press charges.
i was told that purple spray paint around the trees means no trespassing but im not to sure on that one but i was defiantly going to put signs up but never thought of putting them higher as well thank you for that. and how far should the signs be i was thinking like every 3rd tree
Here in MA that purple paint thing is going to be more of an attractant than a repellent. Nobody is going to know what it means. I think that is more of an out west thing. You might be pleasantly surprised. I know a guy with some property right next to public land, and he really has no problem with trespassing. This is with no signs. He hunts it quite a bit, so I imagine he would know if he had a problem. Hope you have a similarly good experience. Congrats on the new place!
i figured it was a west/south thing as i have been hunting with my father in mass and new york from a young age and i think i would know about the purple thing (but i have been wrong before) and i hope i have a good experience i mostly want the signs for a just in case type of thing cause people out here are money hungry and sue happy
https://www.signs.com/blog/state-by-state-guide-to-no-trespassing-laws-signage/
As for how many signs, I'd just try to make sure at least one sign is visible to anyone entering your property at any point. Every 3rd tree might be excessive... but I don't know how many trees you have.
We had one really bad case of a guy constantly trespassing. He would say he was following his dogs (chasing rabbits) and that they couldn't read the signs. This guy was a real piece of work. It took having a cop explain to him that he would be arrested the next time he set foot on the land to get him to stop.
As an aside, one of my buddies got so POed by the guy's constant trespassing that he angrily confronted him in the woods and threatened to shoot his dog. I didn't mince words in telling my buddy that is NOT the way to handle it. As the saying goes, "two wrongs don't make a right."
In another instance, we had a young guy come on the property before the season opened and he put up a treestand... complete with bright-eyes on trees to show him the way in the dark. We left a note at the bottom of the stand, and he contacted us... that's when we found out he was only 18 and new to hunting. He took the stand down, and then my buddy and I took him to a spot in a local WMA where we had quite a bit of success in the past.
We hunt a private gated property in CT that is pretty much surrounded by homes and other private property. Went down yesterday to hang chains and check cameras that were put in a month ago. Four out of five cameras were gone. Very discouraging.
If it was me I might just lay low initially, and check things out before putting up any signs. Then at whatever point it seems necessary, the signs can go up in a couple hours. Is this in a "written permission" town?
I'm with Jeb, walk your new property lines and look for any sign of people hunting/walking it. Look for easy access points from other people's property or roads and look for cut branches and paths. Then head deeper into your property and look for stands or cams or signs of shooting lanes. If you find any sign of human activity leave a respectable and politely written letter explaining your the new owner and you don't want anyone on your property.
It happened to me three years ago, after hunting this 100 acre farm since 1984 one week before opening day I found letters zip tied to my camera and stand explaining the property was handed down to the farmers kids, I later found out their son in law was a hunter and wanted the place to himself. Through a mutual friend I met with the young man and told him to put his stand right where mine was and he should have some action, second week of November he shot a big rack eight point and it was the biggest deer he had shot. I got a pic with him and the deer from my buddy, it was the deer I had been getting pics of for two years and had him figured out. He was stoked and the smile on his face was priceless.
I ran into him just a couple months ago and he asked if I could help him with a little scouting and help, I said no problem and without hesitation he told me I could have permission to hunt the farm again.
Being nice can be beneficial in some cases but not all. Good luck with your new property and hope you find good deer sign and no human sign, then you don't have to make a mess of the woods with signs everywhere.
BC, that really sucks. Did you have any photos of people on the one camera that wasn't stolen?
We had one good buck, a bunch of does and one person. Very close up, could only see his legs and lower torso. Don't know how he missed the camera.
We had one good buck, a bunch of does and one person. Very close up, could only see his legs and lower torso. Don't know how he missed the camera.
Probably had his hands full!
thank you all for the feed back and the land im getting is in zone 7 idk how to tell if it is a written permission town.. only people that will be allowed is my father and his friend and of course myself lol
thank you all for the feed back and the land im getting is in zone 7 idk how to tell if it is a written permission town.. only people that will be allowed is my father and his friend and of course myself lol
