Let me start with my own experiences, and maybe you can relate?
Do we as hunters do more harm than good when we don't see eye to eye with our fellow hunters? Does our own trophy standards, our own methods, our own way defeat our comrades, or does it simply separate us as individuals in our own individual timeline as a hunter?
I hunt whitetail deer in Wisconsin, and I have 960 acres of nice farmland to hunt, but I happen to like a little 40 acre piece. It's 2 minutes from my home, it's productive, it holds decent deer, it holds plenty of deer. It's convenient, and for many years, my little getaway.
Well, that changed a few years back, when a kid bought an adjacent 40. He stopped me one day, introduced himself, and I knew instantly this kid was going to change my little sanctuary. He boasted about not buying beef, and was going to take 6 does a year off his forty, and he only shot 4 year old bucks. I knew immediately when my card was taken from one of my cameras that he would do anything to hold the glory of a trophy. In the first week of ownership, he was trespassing on the neighbor's property. Can I prove it? No, but I have never had a single issue in many years. I know my neighbors, and we are very cool. We don't care what another hunter does, provided it's legal.
A neighbor must have felt the same vibe, because he turned him in for baiting. Found him on his property, and found his minerals, found his bait sites, found his stands. He asked him politely to remove them, and instead, this 30 year old kid threatened him. The neighbor called the warden, and he was ticketed. 3rd offense.
He then confronts another neighbor who was shining fields at night. Perfectly legal, just something many people do around here. The guy shining, was with his 12 year old son, the kid chases them down and threatens them violently.
What does he do to deter people from shining his field? He cuts down several trees, and literally creates a fortress around his home, so people that are shining legally cannot have decent visibility to his field. Whatever you weirdo.
Goose hunters set up on land adjacent to his, he tells them to leave. Not even his property.
He has done many things that would be considered hunter harrassment, and honestly, every neighbor who's lived here, would just love to avoid him, because they sort of fear him. I don't fear him, but I most certainly avoid him. I avoid him, because I'm worried what I'll do to him if I have words...
Now there is me. I park my truck near the road, and every time I do, he starts his chainsaw, and insists on trying to push me out. I'm not going anywhere, but it is damn troubling the lengths this kid will go through to try and deter people from hunting near him?
I just find it crazy the depths this kid goes through to challenge, or prevent someone from simply enjoying some peace and quiet.
Yes, I'm totally frustrated, and I have left out so many other things, you would just shake your head at. Legally, we might have a leg to stand on, but we want to avoid that. It's just weighing heavy on me, and I won't lie, I wish very bad things on this kid.
Have any of you dealt with this? What are some good solutions? I don't want to hunt elsewhere. I just want the madness to stop!
Please help lol!
Sorry for your dilemma.
So yes, I'd rather defend myself to anti-hunters.
Ghostbird, that's what I'm afraid of. I'll have to move on, and I was having a hard time dealing with that thought. I was here first. I tread lightly, do not overtake, do not contest another hunter's ways, have never felt the need to cheat, or trespass to take a deer.
Sadly JTV, I fantasize about doing horrible things to him, almost as if his antics are beating me? I'm not like that. We could so get along, if he'd simply leave me alone. For that matter, the 6 other people he tries to bully. All said, I'm not the type who takes kindly to bullying, but I'm also hunting property that is a friend who farms. I definitely want to keep him out of it, because I know how these altercations end. Meanwhile neighbors complain, he knows, the law knows, and still he insists on being a nimrod. It totally blows. I hunted yesterday. He cut down about 50 trees on his land. Perfectly legal, nothing I can do, but he will sacrifice his own hunts to interrupt another's. Damn sad!
On the other hand, there is no law that protects anyone from being prosecuted for Hunter Harassment just because he’s got a tag in his pocket.
If you can document the harassment, then do. You can turn over the evidence at your leisure....
But really.... what a freakin’ Moron. He thinks he’s going to run a serious QDM program on 40 acres?? ROFLMAO.
I think I’d quietly keep on hunting next door and take out every legal deer I could. And I’d encourage all of the surrounding neighbors to do likewise. Once this Doof figures out that he’ll never see a 4-year-old buck on that property in his natural lifetime and that his six does/year goal is a total pipedream, he’ll likely sell.
Just stay scrupulously legal, because he’ll probably try to convince the authorities that you’re engaged in some act of poaching... at which point your evidence of his harassment would come in real handy....
The other stuff, yeah, he's a jerk. But shining his fields by his house and then being offended when he objects?
GF, yes, if i was to have an altercation with him face to face, I would most certainly video tape him. At the same time, I avoid even looking in his direction at every opportunity.
Aspen Ghost, I agree with the shining. It is legal, I don't do it, and I agree. If you would have heard what he said to this father and 12 year old son, and his explosive threats with foul language, you still agree the shining was wrong, but this guy is an animal.
TrapperKayak, I don't 7se cameras either. Haven't in several years. I enjoy the hunting much more now. The shining is something families do with their kids to see those nocturnal deer. Never did anything for me. I do have a hunch it will only get worse as I ignore him. The neighbors that surround him sort of tolerate him, to avoid any conflict, but besides him, we are all friends who have known each other for 25 years. We celebrate birthdays and holidays together, and he is always the hot topic. There is so much more, it's crazy. He's a willy-nilly dreamer with lofty goals, and a very selfish nature, and i honestly thought if i avoided any conversation or interaction with him would be best. It seems to have maddened him further, at the cost of some tranquility I so look forward to. I've been thinking about getting dropped off, so he might not think I'm there. Sad deal all around.
I always HATED dealing with "neighborhood" disputes - they suck and most of the time the results are not good.
If you know the local game warden, meet with him, explain the situation, and see if there would be any way he would (legally of course) do a bit of undercover investigating in an unmarked vehicle, whether it be spotlighting or just hunting around this guy. Maybe this guy would threaten the warden (misdemeanor - if he is carrying a weapon it escalates to gross or possibly even a felony). Then this guy goes away, as a guest of the state for 6 - 10 years, legally.
I had planned on being nice and trying to educate him. But it turned out that he didn’t need any education , He knew where the line was he just put up posters between our properties that stated no trespassing. And I might mention that that property line is divided by a stone fence. I asked him if he saw the hypocrisy in posting his 7 acres as no trespassing and then trespassing on my adjacent property. It turns out that he was squatting. He put a shed ,Without running water or electricity on the property he didn’t own, but had permission to use. I escorted him off my property. Now the fun began.
I could no longer come to the property and hunt without being harassed. The first time it was a dirtbike driving up and down the line. The second time it was a chainsaw cutting trees along the line. The third time he took his vehicle out on the main road and drove up and down beeping his horn. The guy was crazy. All the while screaming obscenities. I had to start wearing my side arm after my first sit. There was never a time that I didn’t visit my property after that that I didn’t have to listen to a barrage of A.R. 15 bullets.
My break came when I saw an illegal Buck hanging from a tree behind his shed. There were a group of game wardens eating lunch in my establishment and I mentioned it to them. I never found out the results but the next day that Buck was gone. Then I got another lucky break and got some pictures of him on my trail cameras . One of my teammates on my hockey team is a state trooper and he helped me serve the guy with Trespassing AFTER I caught the guy Trespassing again....This time shooting and chasing does with the gun . His fine was steep and he never paid it , but he stopped Harassing me. That was three years ago.
This year I received a certified letter from the magistrate to appear in court . I made my appearance and luckily kept my trail cam pictures of him trespassing. I was honest with the magistrate and he was not. The truth prevail I made my appearance and luckily kept my trail cam pictures of him trespassing. I was honest with the magistrate and he was not. Also I documented every single incident. The truth prevailed and the magistrate ruled in my favor. The guy had to pay his fine. He no longer bothers me and the deer have return to their normal patterns. My suggestion to you is to use the law in a way that will help you . There was a while that I felt unsafe But I didn’t want to be deprived of the enjoyment of that 40 acres. My grandfather had left it to me. And I had enjoyed it my entire life.
There will be a one on one some day. I will videotape his stuff when need be, and I will involve the law, when I need to. Yes, I tried discussing this face to face. Ironically, he acts like we are buddies, and pretends all is well? Bi-polar, paranoid, or simply selfish? Either way, he's nuts!
To be continued I suppose?
Personally having issues with several trespasser's and illegal hunter's (one in same) I would tell you, the Game Warden, is your best friend in these circumstances.
Pete, if he is this obsessed and a trespasser, I doubt he can remain a legal hunter.
A general periodic visit from the Game Warden, (even along the road) can work wonders as he will quickly understand he is under surveillance.
I certainly would not avoid him or fail to look him in the eye. Generally this type of behavior only empowers a bully.
If you see him in the field speak to him, if he is trespassing have him charged !
Good luck with your problem.
