What should I do?
Massachusetts
Well I finally got my permission slip signed and am ready to hunt the next day which is Friday eve or Saturday. My wife said she heard one shot on Monday and one shot on Wednesday in our backyard before she went to work in the morning. This jackass that does not have permission back there and who thinks he owns everyone’s property could have just shot 2 deer. That would not count any he may have shot during archery. Unless the rut is still going on does mainly are back there. The crappy part is this guy is a couple minute walk to his house with mine and my neighbors land in between. From what people told me about this guys character I bet anything he will keep dragging deer home without tagging. Right when I told my neighbor that someone had a blind back there she said his name and said he never asked permission. If she doesn’t do anything about it can I?
I would pop up a stand and hunt !!!
Just hunt man, you have permission and he doesn't, if you run into him figure it out then......while remaining calm, lol
Worst case he knows that someone is hunting there and he might leave or you will stink up the spot and the deer will vacate. Only problem is there might be a confrontation. Last thing you want in the woods never mind with a bully who has a gun. Tread carefully but meaningful
I plan on taking one deer a year back there but this greedy F won’t mind shooting all. I have to pass his Blind in order to get where I’m going so I can’t wait to run into him. My neighbor owns a pond in the back with fish. She said one year he asked her if he could ice fish it and she said only if you don’t drill holes in the middle as her kids ice skate it. She said she looked and he drilled everywhere. I’m telling you this guy is Fear Thy Neighbor material.
Haha spike if u need back up u can call in some of us big guys. Fear thy bowsite!! Good luck man get out there and get one!!
What pisses me off the most is by the time I get back there the deer will become nocturnal and not to mention I’m afraid this guy would steal a cam or stand I put up.
Put a bunch of potpurri and cool water cologne all over his blind and tell him he stinks and that's why you did it if you run into him
All jokes aside, this guy sucks and needs to be removed from there legally and quietly so you can enjoy your land and your neighbors land that you have permission for, shitty predicament spike I hope it turns for the better for you soon
Moons I need a big guy like you just don’t wipe the place out lol.
Spike, it sounds like myself AND moons should meet at 0 dark 30 and end this problem.....lemme know..... I'm in z7 this week.
This reminds me of Virginia when I lived there. I leased land with 5 other guys I didn’t know and one day during turkey season I was walking down the path and came up to a blind. This guy was in it and he said what are you doing here. I said hunting turkey and he said well today your not. Then he goes on to tell me he’s a game warden from Louisiana. I said yeah and followed by I pay to hunt this place. He finally shuts his mouth and I go on my way. A holes everywhere.
Spike , you need to contact the EPO's and tell them what is going on. They know how to handle it . Otherwise this will go on until it gets more ugly than it is. He is trespassing and needs to be told so. Until then he has not broken the law with un-posted land. Either post it for your neighbor or serve him a notice . If she is good with that.
If she doesn't want to get involved then work around him . If the cops care about permission then let him know he needs to bug out or deal with them if he doesn't. Providing your neighbor is cool with that.
I just had to do something similar for/with a friend (Older person) who was being invaded by a silly man with no boundaries.
Do something.
Seek smart,.. not big,
Get friends with guy ,.. that is how ya will have peace with the guy. The real trick is how to hold your nose while doing that,... ?
Escalating it,... well as is known,... wil result in ,... escalation. Lol
Spike my first thought was seek advice from EPO. But I was told they exclusively address state game laws. So if your guy's sole infraction is no permission in a permission town--that's a local PD thing. Would they have good advice or a constructive solution? Who knows. Sorry, sounds like a tough situation. One thing, it would be smart to double and triple check that he's actually on her property. Could change the equation altogether if there was some misunderstanding about property lines.
I'll take the drive to assist. I'm no wee man by a long shot.
I will keep you guys in mind lol. When he comes up to me I will tell him the Bowsite crew will be down if you don’t vacate.
Pi, in this town it is permission only meaning even if the land is not posted you need to have permission. Their is no public or open land to hunt here hence why we have a good deer population. The funny thing is this lady is so nice all the idiot had to do was ask and she would have said yes. On the slip it says good for 1 or 2 years and she said oh it doesn’t let me put forever lol. Honestly how easy can it get.
That's frustrating. hope things workout safely, and nothing happens that ruins your permission in the future.
Jeb I’m positive as my land is directly behind me and hers is on the right. He cuts through my neighbor on the left and mine to get to hers.
Plus once ya get to know him. Then ya can report his illegal deer. Just saying.
Spike, do it the legal way. Hunt it, but have the local PD and EPOs number in your phone. The 1st encounter might not be nice.
it's tough when hunting deer becomes managing other hunters....deer in Massachusetts are hard enough to figure out ....i feel for your distraction..... the only advice I can offer....dont ruin the rest of your season chasing a problem that might be hard to fix this time of year.....
Fuck that !! He's trespassing and probably a poacher ?? Tonight or tomorrow night after hunting hours , go fold up his ground blind and put it on his property. Hopefully he gets the hint . If not call the cops on him . If they don't enforce the written permission law then I guess that opens up a bunch of property in town !?!?
Yeah guys this is probably a local PD issue like Jeb said. I’m a nice guy and will be nice unless he turns into an a hole which from another guy that got run out of there by him he’s an a hole.
Local Police will turn it over to Environmental police. It involves hunting. Post your property also, where he cuts through.
Urban you may be correct I will see how it goes. Xi it sounds more like a town by law issue so I’m not sure what state law he is breaking?
Post a no trespassing notice on your land in view of his path put up a locked trail camera right in front if it.
I may be wrong about what EPO does or doesn't enforce. I was just told that by a drunk hillbilly in the parking lot of a Pennsylvania tavern.
All the above escalates it... Be smart ,.. tell him you are a new hunter,.. bring a beer for him,.. say you want to learn from him,..
And learn,... and learn,..
The Art of War,... Sun Tzu ,... 512 BC
Study,... learn,.. conquer
Either way, you gotta deal with it. This is a sore subject with me after what I dealt with on my own property with the thefts and vandalism! F him !
Check to see if he is a licensed hunter.
I was going with the information given (suspected poaching) and it sounds like he has no boundaries . You can ask nicely at his door if he would remove his stuff or if you can do it for him and see where that goes but don't go inside buddy.
Clearly he is breaking rules/law already. That is enough for the landowner to have him spoken to and a repeat offense is trespassing. She has rights to her space.
I would agree with a few well hidden trail cameras. if you get a few photos ask the land owner to write something saying this person does not have permission, and let your local PD know. A complaint from you letting them know someone is hunting on land that isn't yours might not go very far. I would think the land owner would need to be involved in the complaint. Also confronting him is only going to let him know, who is trying to get him out of their. people who don't mind braking the law also don't mind doing bad things to you and your property. Make sure the land owner is aware if you go to PD or Epo.
Obviously your only solution is to rig a trip wire to a paint bomb like the guy in this video did.
Ok yeah don't do this. (But the video sure made me chuckle)
Sorry Grandpa , I thought you were someone else...
Call the epo and let your tax money finally go to work for you. If that does not work burn his blind to the ground. That’s how we handle things in the kingdom.
BB, I find a flaw in this approach/ idea . All the above escalates it..". Be smart ,.. tell him you are a new hunter,.. bring a beer for him,.. say you want to learn from him,.." "And learn,... and learn and then conquer".
Soon enough he will learn too. What does he have to gain ? how smart will you feel when he retaliates . He will realize that "the nice guy act" was just that. An act. A performance to ensnare him . Trickery and low. That's his skill set and he is likely good at it. And unless one is willing to do him in when attempting to Conquer , the plan falls flat. He retaliates and we are back to square one. But at that point it is a domestic dispute , a brawl or worse , with " he said and did , he said and did" ,and both parties look to be contributors of the ensuing fight. We don't want that. We want victory and the Law on our side.
Its Best to be clear and honest (of course , try to reason and state your issues and ask If he is willing to go peacefully away) If the attitude is No ! After that you state your intention and note your private permission / arrangement that is filed with authorities. The implication is that you are above board , your following the rules and you are willing to use the law against his actions. You are requesting the immediate removal of his property and to cease the intrusion of the owners property and if he is going through your land then that too must stop. Which should be your fight to make . It is your property and he is not invited . He is trespassing and you can deal with the police over this. Lay him out with the law and have it on record. Take pictures of his setup and document all discussions . Print an Arial map for the police . Mark it up.
Thereafter, if he is as bad as you imagine , it will go down as Trespassing and harassment and he will pay through the nose . Either way you need the involvement of the local authorities .
They want their job and will step in. They love this stuff.
How it ends is anyone's guess but being up front and using the law that is your advantage. Bring it into the light. Get it on record.
Good luck , do something.
Ive found stands on private land I hunt an have left a note on it to have it removed. Has worked for me but doesn’t sound like your gonna be dealing with a reasonable person. I’d probably get through the season, if possible, and deal with him during off season.
Dude that property might be heaven on earth but right now its a shit stain....my ancestors might roll in their graves if they heard some of the words im about to say ..(cops,legal,city hall)and sometimes with age comes wisdom...
Go to town hall and get copies of all 3 properties with all boundies clearly defined
Go to the cops and epo..explain evertything clearly..ask them what you should do and get it in writing if possible..(paper trail) tell them the lady wants you to hang signs for her cause shes scared of this guy..tell her all this before hand.
Go hang your signs..put up shitty broken trail cams up(im sure mass bowsite guys can donate to the cause) where this guy comes and gos from with a couple up higher in a tree..
Dont touch his stuff..itll piss him off and escalte things. But do have pics of his blind and stuff to show the flatfoots if needed..if youre gonna confront him record it..even just to say hi..cameras dont lie
Run it all by the owner,it sounds like she'll go along with it..
If all else fails theres always napalm ..the place will be shitted up anyways but itll be great next season..
Not sure Pi,..
Now I am not trying to be a dick here but,..
The original post show little real evidence of anything,.. So there was gun shots in Spikes back yard,.. um it is hunting season. Who made the shots? Spike "thinks" he knows who dun it,.. um how? Now maybe there are no other folks around and they live way out there? Dunno.
His wife is judging distances on how far the shot was away? Actually that can be very hard to do. Somehow we know for sure it was on Spikes land.
"Maybe" the bad guy took deer in bow season too,.. really?,.. why do you say that? Did ya see a gut bag?
Sounds like Spike has never once talked to this guy in person but has put a label on him based on what others think. Hell they could be anti's who hate hunters who labelled him as a nut job?
For lords sake,.. this is the guy who will be living near Spike for years to come and you folks suggest to go and get cops involved before you have even spoken to him? Seriously? If that happened to me/was reversed,.. I would be pissed as hell.
I think you folks who are suggesting that,.. are really looking to make Spike have a life long enemy living right next door,.. not a really smart ideal IMO
No where in the original post does Spike say this land was posted which means he is free to hunt it. It sounds like his neighbor doesn't care as she was aware of the blind and did not ask it to be removed. So I doubt this land is posted.
If,.. after you go and meet with him,.. he turns out to be an asshole,.. then fine move forward with devious plans, cameras and cops a hand gun whatever,..
But until you have tried to have a friendly reasonable conversation with the man,.. I think your making a big mistake,.. one that could haunt you for the next 25 freaking years,..
I am sorta stunned at responses of our supposed polite and respectful crowd on this forum !! Oh ya we bow hunters are a different sort right? WRONG!
Spike go talk with the guy, try being nice and kind,.. you might find a hunting partner, or at the very least a reasonable person.
You go and get EPO involved before you even speak to the man,.. well you will reap what you sow,.. and I doubt it will be pretty.
Some good points BB. I also thought it is best to be up front and talk with him first.
But he knows he needs permission in that town. Strike one
We must assume the poster knows some things about this person.
Bottom line one has permission and the other does not. So if he is an ass then the law is the best assurance from his possible negative response.
Agreed, talk first .
This is very straightforward to me. The guy is trespassing on your property and hunting on your neighbor's property without the required written permission.
As was earlier recommended, you should post your land with no trespassing signs. Then, when he goes onto your land, you need to tell him - in an even tone and straightforward manner - that he is trespassing, and to not come on your property in the future. Then, if he does trespass again, have a lawyer send him a letter informing him that if he does it again, you will call the police and have him charged with trespass after notice.
Is he able to access your neighbor's land without crossing your property?
As for him hunting your neighbor's land, you should ask him directly if he has written permission. If and when he says he doesn't, then you need to tell him he's violating the law and cannot hunt there. If he continues to hunt there, call the environmental police... because at that point, he's poaching... not hunting.
Oh I that now,.. missed that post on permission only town,..
He probably is a jerk,.. but ya have to find that out yourself for sure. Especially if he is the crazy sort,..
Three friends and I have exclusive permission on a specific property. We had a knucklehead who was running his rabbit dogs on the property repeatedly. We spoke directly to him numerous times, and he basically laughed at us and ignored us. Ultimately, we had to make it clear to him that we would have him arrested if he continued. We never raised our voice or became confrontational. We just handled it in a straightforward manner. We haven't seen the guy since.
We were clear that the last thing we wanted to do was call the police and get the guy in trouble with the law. But, that decision was in his hands, not ours. You should NEVER allow someone who is doing something wrong to be able to continue doing it... especially in a case like this where it affects your hunting and your property.
Okay... last speech from my soapbox...
A few years back, I was watching a high school soccer game when a man standing next to me took out a cigarette and lit it. I have asthma, and smoke really affects me. I calmly said, "Sorry. You're not supposed to smoke here, because it's not allowed on school grounds." The guy looked at me, blew a big puff of smoke and said. "So call a cop." I took out my cell phone and dialed 911. He put his cigarette out before I was even connected to my Town's police department. When the dispatcher came on, I told him it everything was okay now... but I did have to tell him why I called. The guy mumbled, "Prick" at me... I just watched the rest of the game... he wasn't worth a reply.
The bottom line is - NEVER stand by and allow people to do things they aren't supposed to do... especially when it directly affects you. If there are consequences for them, they brought it on themselves.
Does he know you? Does he know you are both hunters? Have you had interactions with him in the past? Good or bad? If none of this has happened then by “chance” meet him at neutral site ie; Dunkin’ Donuts. Make small talk bring conversation to be about hunting ask where inform him about how you got permission “as required” from your neighbor and that she was crazy nice if you ask .... maybe complain a little that some people don’t ask ..... but don’t let him know you know it’s him....
That may be my psyops coming out but but with the amount of energy spent on him now .... he would be on my team by now or gone. But my conflict resolution skills have been trained for years ...
Spike if you need help I’m retired right now and looking for something to do.
One thing said above that really carries a lot of weight is that this guy is a neighbor. Whatever course is taken could have consequences that last for years.
Lots of good posts guys thanks. I sat back there tonight with no luck but saw some fresh rubs and tracks. I’m hoping they aren’t nocturnal now. I thin Saturday morning is my best bet. I do have one edge on the guy being that the deer hug the edge of our backyards and the guy hunts the middle. I found a great way in to the oaks without having to go by his blind although I really want to. I think I’m going to ride out the season this way and let him know I’m there next bow season. Or I could stick a note in his blind and see what happens. I need a cam out there to see when these deer are coming in as well.
This guy is a bully! Be careful with this type of person he doesn't give a crapp about rules so he does what he wants! You have permission so go ahead and hunt if you bump into him than try and be nice if he doesn't play nice than call the police.
Lots of good suggestions but I remember reading here that doll heads, rotten fish, trip wires with cans and dirty laundry might work. Greasing his stand might work also, but when all else fails, get a couple of buddies and go lean on the perp. LOL!!!
Personally, I'd just go hunt and wouldn't bother with the guy. It's your neighbors fight not yours.
Hope you find a good spot in there and you get a deer. You certainly deserve it.
So much for my advantage. Sat this morning directly behind the neighbors house and when I was done I got up to trim some branches that were in my way for next time and about 50 yards from there I see a ladder stand. This guy is really starting to piss me off.
Spike stop complaining bud you have permission he doesn’t....
lets get him i say we get him (kramer on Seinfeld)
spike leave a note if that fails just go down the step list
Selective memory or just making a funny ? . When all else fails... Then the pranks , tricks and neutralizing of the evil invader. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
BTW. Doll heads are 2 for 1 at Job Lot !
Hahaha, sorry Pi. Couldn't help myself.
Spike, concentrate on hunting deer and not the unwanted neighbor. He might not be hunting it as hard as you think. He might not be hunting it during gun season because of having to wear orange and he can't sneak around.
No matter what, get your hunting mojo going and go get a deer.
Take a deep breath, go in the woods with confidence. The deer are there, make it happen.
Good luck.
Tomorrow is Sunday, go knock on his door. Till then, go hunt it !
Go sit in his stand. And maybe pull a Moons, but leave that on the seat.
No problem muzzy. Good one. And good hunting advice.
Gentleman and fellow Bowmen,... this is indeed a special thread.
Muzzy and Pi are being kind and respectful to each other!
I tips my gosh damn orange hunting cap in the general direction of each of them as a show of respect to each of their awesome hunting skill (least compared to mine) and more importantly to the respectful way they are speaking to each other in this thread. It has not often been that way in past.
Thank you both. I and probably everyone else does not like it when ya dis each other.
Congratulations!!! Well done my friends!
It is like a Christmas miracle!
Whoot!!!!!!!
all else fails electric fencing you will know when he crosses your property you will hear him yell lol
Captain for the win. Ok that is a little better the claymore mines I put out!
Well I ran into a town cop in a bagel shop in town and had a talk with him but didn’t want to start anything but told him everything but the guys name. He said it could be this guy which was the guys name and it turns out he is a retired cop from the town next to mine. Surprise surprise. That explains it!
Wow that is a game changer. Hope he doesnt read this forum or some he knows does. Yikes! Play the hand you have dealt well. I guess that rules out the bear leg trap
Lololol
Now investigate what kind of a reputation he had . No special privileges for anyone . No one is above the law. Some below it, maybe.
Even the cop said he was an asshole! By the way probably one of the nicest cops I met. He was showing me bear pics of calls he responded to and said a ton of deer of deer were hit by cars the last two weeks.
Well if he is such then the local chief will probably want to give him some talking to.
No one gets a pass ... well, Gronkowski does but no one else. Did you see that belly flop ? no style at all but that's our boy , the goofy -get it done- giant . What was that ?
gronk flop someone pushed him he fell tripped ?
A retired cop!! Dear lord!! It sounds like some horse$}^ but I’ll tell you what, after what I’ve seen the police in z9 and 10 do, I believe it.
So in that case, crap in his stand.
Bag of stale donuts and a parking ticket. Glue the flaps down in his blind . Chain up the stand with locks and chains so he can't sit down or even remove it . Stuffed animals all over the place. I have a list of harmless pranks . Get creative.
