deer guts on new land
 

I am thinking some of you will say I told you so. But just be gentle ok?

We bought some land next to our dd this summer. We had problems on illegal dumping and cutting trees before we signed the contract and many here told me not to buy said property. We did anyway.

About three weeks ago my dh found fresh deer guts on the back part of our land. Someone had obviously poached a deer.

We really wanted to hide our heads in the sand about it. But now, I'm a little worried.

Any suggestions on what we could do to prevent this in the future? We have not posted it yet and have just begun to fence it in. The people that had permission to hunt on it before have been contacted about change of ownership and told not to hunt here anymore.

We don't live there yet, but dd and family live right next door. They didn't hear a thing. But, it being in the country, people target shoot all the time so you don't think about it.

Any ideas? Or is this going to be the price until we get fencing and posting and more activity going on?

Fence and posting, may not be enough either.

Trail cams.

In NC, you can register your property with the Wildlife Commision, which basically gives them permission to arrest anyone they catch hunting or fishing on your property who doesn't have a written permit to be there.


Maybe your state has a similar program.

If not I'd at least report it to the Sheriff and Game Wardens so they will be aware of the problem before hunting season begins

We are in a similar situation, except there is no one who lives even close by our remote land. We've also found deer guts (dogs did). There is a HUGE attitude of entitlement in the local community. The land we bought used to be part of a huge private commercial forest. No gates, lots of logging roads, and the locals considered it their own private hunting/party/trash dumping grounds for many years. We've put up gates and signs on all the access roads, but they only keep the honest folks honest. I don't have any other suggestions than what you already have planned except to say I feel your pain! Good luck!

I doubt that you can stop them unless you set up a range and fire their most anytime of the day. If they think you are going to shoot them they will leave. Otherwise the best thing to do is to keep quiet and notify the game wardens. I have the same thing here but since the game wardens come around they quit. I even serve coffee to the game wardens and have water for them to drink.

We are also facing the same thing. Last fall we spotted blood near the road, followed it and found a dead deer on our property. Our guess was that it was shot from the road. It wouldn't have made me as mad if they would have retrieved the deer, but of course it wasn't deer season.
The conservation officers and sheriff are patrolling but they are as likely to catch someone as we are since we are there often.
We talked to the conservation cop about getting the property fenced right away. He said to wait until we move. He had the same thing going on on his property, put up a fence and it was pulled down in one spot.
It's aggravating, but like several on HT have said, it usually won't stop until you're living there. We have already decided that if we catch someone we are going to prosecute. I hate to be known as "unfriendly" (DH could care less) but want the word to get out that we're not going to be pushed around either.

Just to throw another angle in on this...

Could it be a local farmer taking deer (thus not poaching depending on your state laws) as nuisance animals.

Remember just because the "guts" were on your land it doesn't mean it was shot there. It could have been shot on the farmers land and run to yours. Granted, the farmer should have permission to trail the animal if it goes on your land... but just throwing out another option.

Not living there and not being aware of what's going on with the property what makes you think fencing and posted signs will deter anyone? Around here that is something that may only lead to a bigger expense of replacing cut wire and torn down signs......
I'd report what you found to the DEC (or game warden) and leave it at that.

There was a case in northern MN where a property owner was fed up with the locals using his land for 4 wheeling. He put up a fence and later caught some ATV'ers in the act of tearing down the fence. One was a local sheriffs deputy.

I would ignore it until you are in a position of doing something.

Like many posters to this thread, I too dealt with un-wanted hunters on my land. And it was the locals that thru priop use felt they had the "right". Even my nearest neighbor walked right up on me on my land (where I had a "stand") during my first hunting season on my new land. Prior use. Now that I am in residence, the problem has lessened. I did find a big dead doe several years ago during hunting season..wished that whoever shot her had followed her---such a waste and the reason I won't take an "iffy" shot. I too feel that notifying the proper authorities is the way to go; those who feel entitaled to use your land WILL damage anything you put up to stop them.

Funny how everyone wants to tell their horror stories. :rolleyes: Aren't humans interesting?

Most likely, after you fence and post the land, and move there, things will settle down.

Such is my experience.

Just posts signs that say Deer huntting 50 dollars a day call and then put your daughters number there. If someone calls her she can tell them its already been leased to a huntter and his sons LOL that way they think they might get shot at if wondering aournd your land LOL I don't think anyone wants to pay to hunt unless its lots of land.

Its just a flippin' deer... Get over it

I think they are more concerned with shooting going on and not knowing when/who. The safety of their daughter (who lives next door) as well as their own when they do live there. Hey, nobody likes people just using their land for whatever they want. I sure wouldn't want strangers hunting/shooting on my land!

report it to the dnre..they may keep a watch on that part of your property that you can't see as well, the back part you said..we have dnre living 2 doors down from us..so if we had a problem for sure they would be watching for us.

A relative of mine bought his farm and for several years the neighbors would shoot over his fence at deer in his field. Those were deer headed across the field to his stand on the edge of the field.

His property was fenced and posted.

He finally had to put up a deer stand in the middle of the field in plain sight of their fenceline stand. He was a sheriff deputy but they still openly violated his property.

I agree that once you fence your land and live out there, people hopefully will not be so apt to doing things that they aren't supposed to be doing.

The property is yours and that should be respected. Here is Texas people don't take too kindly to going on others property and shooting a deer. You might just leave the property with a gun shot yourself.

Post the land. Report the crime to the sheriff. Enjoy your neighbors, they come with the purchase.:coffee:

True.

But when it's your trees they are boring out with spikes for their tree stand, or your barn roof that gets a .30cal hole in it, or the lunch trash they leave behind, or finally, one of the idiots shoots a prize steer that looked sorta brown/tan and moved at the wrong time, will you get riled then ?

(All of which I've had happen, by the way....but I'm working on getting over it )

Forget about it. If your land isn't fenced and posted, shooting a deer on it isn't illegal, at least in my state. Somebody shot a deer in the woods, just like has been done for a hundred years. It didn't harm you. You didn't own that deer. Forget about it.

Pouching is illegal. And someone shooting on your land without permission or knowing anybody is there is not cool, and is dangerous for all concerned. Get over it.

I agree with the poster who said that the deer may not have been shot on your land. It very well may, and probably did, get shot elsewhere. Deer seldom to never fall right where they are hit. They run and die some distance away. I also agree that the person should have asked for the right to trail the deer onto or through your property (in some states that's law, in others, it isn't).
I'd put signs up, not specifically posting for hunting, but for trespass as well. No trespassing signs are far broader in scope. I'd also contact all neighbors and let them know the property has changed hands and you want to also let them know that there are some new rules to the place. Try to be nice about it. You really do catch more flies with honey. Especially not living there yet, and not able to keep an eye on it like you could if you were living there, I wouldn't want to uneccessarily anger my neighbors.
Now, that being said, I can tell you that we used to not let anyone trail deer on our land, but after finding two dead, bloated, stinking deer carcasses, we decided the better alternative is to let them trail the deer, and if we have time, we help them. It's worked out well for us so far.

We had the same problem when we bought our land (didn't have a house on it until the second year we owned it). We posted right away, took down tree stands (put there illegally, technically they are yours but make sure you document and let the law know), etc.

Finally, dh just started patrolling, and running off all hunters he found on our land, and any he saw that were on the neighbor's land he made sure he talked to and let them know that we are hunters and do not want anyone on our land (as he put it, for safety reasons so no one gets accidentally shot).

It took a few years and becoming known as the neighborhood a@@holes before we stopped finding gut piles or trespassers. At that point, he started telling the coyote hunters, rabbit hunters, coon hunters that if they asked at the house we had no problem with them hunting our land, but we are full up for deer and turkey hunting with just us and our kids. So we aren't jerks anymore :) , we get polite phone calls from the other hunters before they arrive (and invites to social events) and everyone understands there just isn't enough room on our place for more than six hunters to shoot safely.

ETA: as far as game being shot on someone else's land and dieing on yours, the law here in MI is that you cannot track game ARMED onto someone else's property without permission. You should try to find out who owns the land and ask permission to retrieve your animal before traipsing around. Without permission, if you are carrying a gun you are breaking the law. So when we have found hunters with guns saying they are just tracking and retreiving, dh insists on going with them. If they aren't really retreiving, they always come up with some excuse to leave right then.

you could post children playing signs... maybe that would stop them. We had a problem with hunters shooting on our back property a long time ago. I posted about 50 signs that children played here....and my phone number. I got a couple calls and told them that we had just bought the land and had kids and dogs and that we were out there all the time. It stopped. actually very quickly.

Why did you 'kick out' the folks that were already hunting it? Were they paying for the privilege?

There is NO such thing as unhunted land. Especially absentee owner land. Until you are physically on the ground 24/7/365 it will be hunted. Unless your DD is a hunter, she'll never know it's being hunted. Fences are nothing but nuisances... game cams are irrelevant, if you are a stranger and the 'perp' is a member of the community, that'd be 'judged' by a jury of "his" peers and not yours. Even if you did catch someone, you'd end up losing more in the end by prosecuting... instead of it taking you months to be accepted, prosecuting Billy Bob might get you on the wrong side of the neighborhood forever...

IF you let John Brown, local guy, hunt on it, John Brown will make double dog sure every redneck ---------- for miles around knows it's HIS territory, and he'll dish out fresh cans of whoop gass to anyone he catches there. JB will take the heat, instead of you. IF you scolded locals, YOU'd catch the heat... which could be anything from ostracization to arson'ization...

Good luck...

it's unfortunate that I haven't yet written my book about noodling one's way into a rural neighborhood...

Wouldn't the simplest thing be to post the land no trespassing to begin with?

You don't know whats going to happen till its been posted. In a nice world people would carry plat books with them but they don't. With out the land being posted why would a person not assume its state, city or township land?

Atleast here, if land is not posted it is not illegal to trespass on. The only exception is if it is agricultural land that is fenced or has crops growing then it does not need to be posted. I realize that could vary by state, but the OP never gave the location of the land.

With out taking the initiative to go post the property no trespassing the law probably isn't going to do anything for you other then tell you to go post it no trespassing. Now you made it illegal for people to enter your land, that is a start. And even after its been posted, DNR officers cover a large area and they are not going to be able to monitor your land for you. You need to do the monitoring and report the violators to them or the sheriff, that is just part of land ownership. Nobody is going to watch over your land for you no matter how many times you complain unless you have some big criminal operation going on.

One property changes hands, it takes a while for people to realize it. It also seems that they have to reminded that just because they hunted there before, doesn't mean they can hunt there now!

On the property we bought, which was my wife's Great Aunt's, it took several years of me seeing people park and start walking to go hunt. Several of them of course said, "Well, we've hunted here ever since we were a kid.", or "I hunted here 3 years ago."

When I reminded them it was now MY property and I didn't permit any hunting, some got mad about it. Many people have the notion that buying a hunting license entitles them to hunt where ever they want - even though it's posted in the hunting manuals several places "Get permission before you hunt on someone else's land."

And some people seem to think you telling them "Yes, you can hunt this year." means they can hunt the following year and the following year. They seem to forget they should ask EVERY year.

About the only thing you can do is get signs up now. Get "No Tresspassing" signs up now so at least people know they aren't supposed to be there and if you happen to stop by and find someone, get the law involved. If you just tell them "You are trespassing, get off." some people seem to take that as, "They caught me this time."

Getting the law involved will quicker make sure any you catch will KNOW you are serious. And you can be sure they quickly tell everyone they know "That the new people who bought the land called the police on me."

I'm having trespassing problems on other land I own. And I know I will continue to have problems because I can't be there all the time checking on it.

I'm not one for grief or getting bent out of shape over things I can't control..

I don't even lock up my cabin on my place, cause all that'll get me is broken door.

Until I move out onto the property, I'm not going to let it bother me. I've talked to all the neighbors so they know who I am and what I want and don't, and told em feel free to call the law out on anyone that is out there on my property if they feel the need.

SAME OLD ADVICE.
8 foot tall woven wire with 2 barbed electric wires on top and a nice sign that says "Dont Feed The Lion .Dont Climb the FENCE"
Then RENT A LION!

I'm here 24/7/365 and our land is NOT hunted. Took a few years to attain that though. Had to make darn sure everyone around knew I was a crazy woman who wouldn't hesitate to get the law involved. Now I have a nickname in the community..."Sheriff Paula" and we don't have any trouble with tresspassing hunters.

Still haven't figured out how to get people to stop dumping deer carcasses off the bridge into our creek...or dumping their garbage, etc. I have fantasies of blowing up that durn bridge!

Anyway, the best way to keep poachers/trespassing hunters off your land is to be on the land, be aware of what is going on and to have no tolerance for any trespassing of any sort.

Fences and signs won't do that if you're not there to back them up.

claymor mimes 50 feet apart punge pits in front of the mines so they don't get move on you trip flares attached to 5 gallon gas cans only fill them with about a half gallon the rest with scrap metal ah lets see Any military forts in your area ?? give the grid cord of a few spots and have them fine tune the 105s in . what nurse yes I am here Comin

Later guys

I guess i dont get why you seem to have a problem with hunters hunting? I understand the issue if you havent given permission and you dont know them. But if your not there and your daughter is not patroling the woods then if it were me id let someone hunt it.
If you give a responsible hunter permission he would patrol your woods for you and enforce your stricked no tresspassing rule. Just reading some of the posts it makes me wonder if the issue is more with the hunting or hunters than tresspassing? would you freek out if it was an old guy with his grandson hunting mushrooms? Maybe my perspective is skewed as i am an avid hunter and over the years lost almost all my hunting spots. seems every one thinks your gonna shoot there horse or somthing. So now i guess i fall in the basket of the folks your running out. I dont hurt anything i just do my thing and go. On the land i have permission i take great care of it picking up litter and helping the owner when ever they need a hand. And as for "My land is not hunted idea" well it is i promise i unfortunatly have been reduced to tresspassing my self on occasion and if you own a patch of woods im here to tell you it will be hunted. The thing is if you say no they will hunt it anyway and if you give mr joe snuffy written permission as long as he patrols the area and helps keep every one else off then you got yourself a security gaurd who is there at 4 am when its 10 degreas and a foot of snow on the ground and unless you want to sit in a tree waiting for the hunters in those conditions to run them out then its gonna get hunted one way or the other its just a matter of who. better to have some one you feel you can trust then be a fenceline nazi
just my 2 cents sorry if i upset anyone

well you hurt my little fillings or fellins or something just a tad there not sure but it did hurt now I got to take a pain pilll NURSE ....................



PS I have some deer that you can shoot they eat up the crops around here like crazy . As long as they are used for food and feed a person let her rip

I have lived on my 80 acres for 35 years. The previous owner's family had owned it for almost 100 years. The part we bought had not had a house on it for at least 80 years. So everyone considered it available for hunting.

At first, we put up no trespassing signs. Coming from suburbia we thought that was what you did. They were shot down. Then we gave permission to the neighbors we'd bought the land from, and told others that between the neighbors and us we couldn't handle any more hunters (even though we were vegetarians at the time and didn't hunt). A few tried, most understood. We posted in the newspaper: "No hunting without permission." It took a few years but the problem died out, especially when our sons began hunting with the local young'uns.

Then four-wheelers came to be. The neigbor boys cut trails all over a 23-acre piece that was out of our sight. We posted in the paper: "No hunting or four-wheelers." They apologized. The problem has pretty much gone away.

I say pretty much because I know people still come on our land to hunt. What has helped is a new WV law that says the property owner is not responsible if you are hunting on their land without permission. That's huge. So we told everyone, no we're not giving permission, because we don't want to be liable if you hurt yourself.

I don't think you will ever stop poachers. However, you will need to live in your neighborhood and making enemies from the get-go is not a wise thing to do, trust me. Even though you want to live way out away from everyone, you will need good neighbors much more than you ever did in a more populated location. So find a way to deal with it without creating big problems for yourself in the future.

Really.

What state are you in where the land owner does not have the right to the use and enjoyment of it? What state was that?

You my friend are at best misinformed.

Of course you do not say what state you are in perhaps because you do not know of what you speak.

I really hope that you do not meet up with a land owner who thinks that he/she has the right to peaceful enjoyment of their land. You could become part of that land.:flame:

With my luck someone would release a lion on my property.

Ed, take your pick:

ARIZONA Hunters are permitted to enter onto land unless lawfully posted. Signs must be at least eight inches by eleven inches with plainly legible wording in capital and bold-faced lettering at least one inch high. The sign must have the words "no hunting", "no trapping" or "no fishing" either as a single phrase or in any combination. The signs must be conspicuously placed on a structure or post at least four feet above ground level at all points of vehicular access, at all property or fence corners and at intervals of not more than one-quarter mile along the property boundary. A sign with one hundred square inches or more of orange paint may serve as the interval notices between property or fence corners and points of vehicular access. The orange paint shall be clearly visible and shall cover the entire above ground surface of the post facing outward and on both lateral sides from the closed area.

MINNESOTA Law allows hunters to trespass unless no trespassing signs are posted along the boundaries every 1000 feet or less, or in wooded areas where boundaries are less clear, at intervals of 500 feet or less, or at the primary corners of each parcel of land and at access roads or trails at points of entrance. Furthermore, the law mandates that the lettering should be at least two inches high and the name and phone number of the landowner or occupant should be listed. Lands that are cropped or grazed and show signs of tillage, crops, crop residue, or fencing for livestock containment do not require posting of signs. Hunters must ask permission to enter these lands. A person on foot may, without permission of the owner, enter land to retrieve a wounded animal that was lawfully shot. The hunter must leave the land immediately after retrieving the wounded game. A person on foot may, without permission of the owner, enter private land without a firearm to retrieve a hunting dog. After retrieving the dog, the person must immediately leave the premises.

NEW YORK A person may enter and remain upon unimproved and apparently unused land, which is neither fenced nor otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders, unless notice against trespass is personally communicated to by the owner.

OKLAHOMA Signs are required at all entrances and all corners and at 200 yard intervals along property lines.

VERMONT Notices prohibiting the taking of wild animals shall be erected upon or near the boundaries of lands to be affected with notices at each corner and not over 400 feet apart along the boundaries thereof. Notices prohibiting the taking of fish shall show the date that the waters were last stocked and shall be maintained upon or near the shores of the waters not over 400 feet apart. Legible signs must be maintained at all times and shall be dated each year.

Texas:

Retrieval of Game: No person may pursue a wounded wildlife resource across a property line without the consent of landowner of the property where the wildlife resource has fled. Under the trespass provisions of the Penal Code, a person on a property without the permission of the landowner is subject to arrest.

CRIMINAL TRESPASS. (a) A person commits an
offense if he enters or remains on or in property, including an
aircraft or other vehicle, of another without effective consent or
he enters or remains in a building of another without effective
consent and he:
(1) had notice that the entry was forbidden; or
(2) received notice to depart but failed to do so.

(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Entry" means the intrusion of the entire body.

(2) "Notice" means:
(A) oral or written communication by the owner or
someone with apparent authority to act for the owner;
(B) fencing or other enclosure obviously
designed to exclude intruders or to contain livestock;......

So basically hopping my fence for any reason is criminal trespass....

And apparently deadly force can be used against them if they are committing a crime such as theft...

Guess that makes me a "fenceline nazi". I was raised to respect another person's property and I expect the same. Trespassing is disrespectful and illegal. If I want you on my property I'll give you permission. Otherwise stay off or expect to be run off cause I will run you off!

Our farm is a recognized wildlife habitat and we want it to remain so. We enjoy the wildlife that lives here and are glad to provide that wildlife with a refuge from hunting.

That being said, we do eat venison (I don't buy beef) that my BIL shoots at his hunting camp the next State over.

We have 16 dogs, all rescues. About two years ago someone stopped on the bridge and shot two of our dogs while hubby was walking them ON OUR PROPERTY. One was killed (see my avatar) and the other lost a back leg. Plus, my hubby was injured and ended up having surgery. The person was never caught.

After that incident we will NOT tolerate shooting on or near our property. We monitor the bridge as well. It is illegal to discharge a firearm from a public road in MS and we plan to put a stop to it from the bridge over our creek.

I don't care if you are picking flowers on my property, if you don't have permission you will be sternly told to leave!

We don't care if we make enemies. We have decent neighbors that we get along with great. The rest of them better stay far away from our place!