Went doe hunting....

[tddeangelo]

Suprisingly, I'm having a hard time filling my doe tags thus far here in PA. Our rifle season started on 11/26 and runs until 12/9. I hunted yesterday morning and didn't see a thing. Went out in the evening and about an hour before quitting time, two nice doe come into the field I'm watching, but they were doing Mach 2 and accelerating. That was weird, I thought, when they were gone.

Then a few minutes later, out comes a guy in orange with a rifle right where the deer had come out. Of course, by the time I see him, he's a minimum of 75 yards into the property we lease to hunt, and then he proceeds to walk a field edge for another 300 yards and cross to the neighbor's property.

He and I had a brief and polite but pointed conversation about the meaning of the "POSTED" signs we have about 15-20 yards apart on the property lines that he crossed. He knew what he was doing...despite his protests that that it was no big deal.

I have seen 5 deer after hunting and Saturday. Ssturday's the end of the season, but then it opens up again 12/26 and runs till nearly the end of January. I have lots of time.

Stinkin' trespassing drives me crazy. These people tromp all over the place, ruining what we work all year to do (give deer a safe place without pressure). Jerks.

 

[gerry]

Unfortunately poachers and their like are everywhere good you were able to talk to him about it. Good luck the rest of the way.

 

[DrMike]

Incidents like that can certainly take the pleasure out of a hunt, Tom. It is good that you were able to speak with him. Unfortunately, it sounds as if he is the type that doesn't imagine that rules apply to him. Still, I trust you will be able to fill your doe tags shortly.

 

[CatskillCrawler]

We have new neighbors adjacent to our hunting property. They're out of staters who just purchased an abandoned 180 acre farm. My nephew was hunkered down in his ground blind on opening day at 0800 when two people drove by him in a dune buggy and proceeded to perform two high speed 1/4 mile laps around a swamp and drove away. They kicked 8 deer out of the swamp which ran across the street onto adjacent property.

Needless to say, our first meet and greet wasn't so friendly.

Makes you wonder sometimes....

 

[ROVERT]

That's frustrating, Tom. With a little luck you won't see that particular guy again. Unfortunately trespassers are in no short supply. We haven't had any problems yet this year (that we know of, anyway)... knock on wood.

Last year we had a guy walk on and position himself nicely for one of our drives. He was the only one that killed a deer that day.

 

[DrMike]

That's frustrating, Tom. With a little luck you won't see that particular guy again. Unfortunately trespassers are in no short supply. We haven't had any problems yet this year (that we know of, anyway)... knock on wood.

Last year we had a guy walk on and position himself nicely for one of our drives. He was the only one that killed a deer that day.

That is gutsy! What a crass jerk.

 

[tddeangelo]

That's frustrating, Tom. With a little luck you won't see that particular guy again. Unfortunately trespassers are in no short supply. We haven't had any problems yet this year (that we know of, anyway)... knock on wood.

Last year we had a guy walk on and position himself nicely for one of our drives. He was the only one that killed a deer that day.

Trevor, I applaud the apparent restraint you seemed to have with your "buddy" who turned up to harvest the fruit of your labor. What a jerk...

No, I don't think I've seen the last of this guy, nor his large number of buddies who also think property lines are a mere inconvenience. Long backstory there, and I wish I could share more, but prudence compells me to keep a lid on it for now.

 

[DrMike]

That's frustrating, Tom. With a little luck you won't see that particular guy again. Unfortunately trespassers are in no short supply. We haven't had any problems yet this year (that we know of, anyway)... knock on wood.

Last year we had a guy walk on and position himself nicely for one of our drives. He was the only one that killed a deer that day.

Trevor, I applaud the apparent restraint you seemed to have with your "buddy" who turned up to harvest the fruit of your labor. What a jerk...

No, I don't think I've seen the last of this guy, nor his large number of buddies who also think property lines are a mere inconvenience. Long backstory there, and I wish I could share more, but prudence compells me to keep a lid on it for now.

There appears to be little respect of property ownership. It is almost as if otherwise good people suddenly become socialists, believing that the land belongs to everyone and no one can keep them from accessing whatever property they desire.

 

[tddeangelo]

Mike, it's not really that....it's more that they want to hunt where they want to hunt. They don't care who pays the taxes on it, who performs the upkeep, nor who does the work to get the deer there in the first place. They simply know that there are deer in there and they want to kill the deer, so in they go. They think they are hoodwinking Dad and I and that we don't know what they are doing. They are wrong.

 

[DrMike]

Mike, it's not really that....it's more that they want to hunt where they want to hunt. They don't care who pays the taxes on it, who performs the upkeep, nor who does the work to get the deer there in the first place. They simply know that there are deer in there and they want to kill the deer, so in they go. They think they are hoodwinking Dad and I and that we don't know what they are doing. They are wrong.

I agree, Tom. In this region, I see otherwise good fellows that appear to lose all sense of perspective when they see a deer or an elk. I didn't get out for deer as much this year, but last year, I found four bucks at different times. Each had been shot and left. The evidence in the snow showed that three were shot and when the shooter approached, they realised that the headgear was not as big as they first imagined, so they left the animal. One was truly a trophy class mule deer. The story in the snow showed that the shooters were interrupted by the landowners and fled before they could harvest the head. We saw a couple of deer this year that were truly trophy class that were shot and the head hacked off. We are reasonably certain about the animals because they had been observed on various occasions, and the body appeared to match descriptions and photos. It can be much the same story with elk; but deer, especially, appear to bring out the worst in people. What is especially frustrating to me is that when these cretins are caught, they often receive an admonition from a judge and continue on their way.

 

[Guest]

A well positioned game camera with a high resolution capability (so you can positively identify the trespassers) can be a great asset when filing criminal trespass charges against a would-be poacher. One of my friends is having a major issue with all sorts of trespass, poaching, and theft on his property. Good news is, they know who it is. Bad news is, haven't caught him yet. Good news is, the dumb cluck has managed to create several serious federal crimes in his activities, including theft of federal property while in possession of a firearm, so when he does get caught (imminent any day now with the evidence package they're building), he'll be going up river for a long, long time.

Set cameras up in trees where a ladder is required to access them, on angle blocks, using infrared (no flash) mode. Aim them at the fence where these bozos are crossing, so you can get faces in the pics. Or even get a video setup. But get them on film, document their habit, and if they take any game, have them arrested at work. It's the kind of embarrassment that just never fully goes away.

 

[tddeangelo]

Dub,

I hear you, and I hope your friends nail the buggers they're after.

I purposely refrain from getting into too much detail on what we are or aren't doing about these jackwagons on the 'net. I'm sure you can imagine why.

 

[Guest]

Tom,
I feel your pain man. I managed my parents 140 acre Tract of Prime Deer Hunting in Pa when all the Family lived there. Had poster signs every other tree. My parents owned the property for 30-yrs. There will always be people helping themselves to your property especially when you aren't there. They know when you aren't there too. Some Hunters feel since they purchase a License it entitles them to hunt YOUR PROPERTY and believe since it is posted, Deer are behind EVERY TREE!!

I have told trespassers, then you won't mind if I enter your house while you are home, helping myself to whatever you have, would you?? That's what you are doing trespassing on my property!

Tom, they still don't get it sometimes. :shock:

Don

 

[tddeangelo]

Don, then you're quite well aware of how some "hunters" in PA conduct themselves. Rifle season is the worst. We have some issues in archery season, but rifle is the worst. Flintlock/late rifle is a close second, but it's getting to be too much like work at that point.

Oh, I know quite well that they are aware of what vehicle I drive, what my dad drives, and what anyone else who could give them a hard time drives. Absolutely.

Sometimes that can be used to advantage, though. They may soon find themselves to be victims of their own "success". Success breeds complacency. Complacency is what I'm looking for....and it will happen sooner or later.

 

[Guest]

Tom,
I agree on the mind set of some Pa. hunters, but not all hunters are the same. It's the few that give us all the bad reputation, the really stupid ones in the case. It's okay to get disgusted and state your case to Trespassers. I will caution you though. Be careful confronting these people alone it could put you in a situation you don't want to be in, in harm's way. Play it Cool and live to see another day and be there for your family and loved ones. The minimal fines imposed on Trespassers in some states,like Pa is a joke. The fine used to be like 35.00. They will pay the pocket change fine and continue to Trespass. Relocating to Colorado was interesting. It's the Hunters responsibility to know where he/she is at all times. There are no excuses there. You don't have permission to hunt you pay dearly. Pa, needs to adopt those regulations.

Don

 

[tddeangelo]

I went and talked to this guy "alone", but my father was in his pickup 200 yards away and within sight, and the guy knew it, so anything the guy wanted to pull would be seen.

Generally speaking, the local police have spoken with us on the matter and they (the police) will come and deal with the offending parties. This one was a little different as far as timing and such, so I took care of it.

There are some specifics as to what we can and can't do to trigger a citation from the police. The police have gone through it all with us and we are clear on what we can/can't do, and what we should/shouldn't do. I'll not tip that hand here, though, as I have reason to believe my internet posts are sometimes monitored by this bunch. I don't think they know about this forum, but I am pretty certain that my past posts at a certain retailer's forum were monitored.

 

[Guest]

Tom,
Sounds like you have things covered. Hope it works out for you. I feel for you, recalling some of my experiences in the past. The season comes once a year and isn't very long to some of us then you have idiots like those raining on your parade if you will, messing up your hunting
.
Been there done that before. Pulling for you Tom.

Don

 

[tddeangelo]

Thanks! We've got some ideas, especially from the outfitter we hunt with in NC. He's had a ton of trespassing issues, and he's had to deal with this 10x more than we have. We've talked with him a bunch and got some ideas on what might work.

 

[Guest]

Now go get that doe you been looking for! :mrgreen:

Don

 

[tddeangelo]

I will be trying to on Saturday! Hard to hunt during the week, it just gets dark too early to get out after work. I could probably manage to get out for like 30 minutes, if that, if I really wanted to do that. Lot of hassle for 30 minutes, though, lol.