Found Neighbors Stand On Property Line
 

I need some opinions here. My buddy and I were walking the property line (fence) of our 300 acre lease in Southern TN yesterday. We got into the lease a week before the season, so we didn't have much time to walk the entire fence line until the season closed (2 weeks ago).

During our walk, in the middle of the woods, we came upon a fairly new ladder stand on the property of our neighbor to the east. The stand is about 10 feet from the fence and facing directly on to our property. The area where we found it is just above an area where we also found about 20 good rubs on our side. We have trail cam pics of several nice bucks in the area as well.

I realize that 'legally' he is doing nothing wrong. The stand is on his property, but dang it, it just made me furious to see it facing our land. What would you guys do?

I'm thinking that the first step would be to try to ask him nicely to move any stands at least 75 yards away from the line. If that doesn't work, then I'm open to suggestions.

If it was right on the property line and facing your property then there might be an issue. However, if it is sitting at least 10 feet back, then it could just as easily be argued that it is set up for side shots at deer crossing over from your property. But who knows, if you ask nice maybe he will move it. Or, maybe he will tell you that if you dont want him putting up a stand within ten feet of his property line then he doesn't want you walking that close to his property line....

You can ask him but dont expect him to oblige. Doin this may even cause tension or a rift between the two of you which may not be the best for either of you.Anyways,theres not much you are goin to be able to do about it if he wants to stay there. If it was me i would try to do something to get the deer to frequent another area on your property like a foodplot or sanctuary area.

I would not let him know you found it...

I would be sitting there opening morning and cut him off from the direction they are coming...

I agree, he obviously knows the land pretty well since he owns his piece so he knows where the big bucks are most likely hanging out. I would put a stand 30 yards away facing the away from your property line. If he sees you there then I think he will get the hint. This happened one year on one of the pieces that I hunting. Opening day there was a guy 20 yards from the property line facing our land. Another guy in out group set up in one of our perminant box blinds 30 yards from the line on the same morning, not knowing the guy was sitting at the base of the tree (He obviuosly knew that we had a box blind there since it has been there 15 years) When he left for lunch the guy from the neighboring property saw him and havent seen a guy sitting in that area since.

Honestly the guy is not doing anything wrong. I know you are thinking that he is shooting on your lease but until that time, you are peeing in the wind getting upset. Now, if you want to waste all of your time trying to catch him instead of hunting, go ahead that is your choice. But if you want to catch him, that means you will hunt that area to much along with him, rendering the area pretty desolate due to pressure,.

Now it sounds like you have IDed a potential hot spot on your lease that is near your neighbor's property. You want to even politely get in his face about the stand, I will guarantee that you will not be tracking any wounded deer through his property that made their death run across the line.

To resolve this continuing debate about hunting too clsoe to property lines, it is only gonna be a matter of time before we start having state laws that say you can't hunt 200 (or any other number) yards from an adjoinging property. Now everone is gonna be pissed

He's legally on his property? Who cares.

Just because he's near your land, facing it, doesn't mean he's hunting your land, perhaps deer funnel from your land to his in that spot, and he's there. Can't argue with his logic there. If he's shooting deer on your land, etc...that's a completely different issue.

Perhaps a secondary concern, but they are leasing the land. If they start conflict with folks who are legally hunting on an adjacent property and the feud broadens to include the landowners, it could be a good way to lose the lease.

Secondary concern??? I might make that a primary concern. Lose the lease and you lose you ground. At that point do you care if a guy is hunting too close??? God gave you a lower lip. The OP oughta just bite it and move on.

If he's legal there is not a thing that can be done.

Since you know or think you know whose stand it is, I would do what I did a few years back. I would introduce myself to him and offer an exchange of numbers in case he's ever in need of help tracking or whatever else for that matter. Once you've started the conversation off in a non-confronting manner, you may find a perfect saidway about your concern or use it to your advantage. In my case, we worked it out that either of us could venture about a hundred yards on either property and the ability to track game onto the other property without issue. Maybe he's never had an issue near the line, so he just does it because he has never been asked not to? The bottom line is always assume innocence or ignorance prior to creating an issue out of something and you'll end up more often with a positive outcome. :party0005:

Mike

You are sure to create problems if you ask him to move it. On the line, or 10 feet back, don't worry about it. Move on, you got 300 acres. If it were over the line I would make him move it. If you are descent to him, maybe when you have to go on his property to retrieve a buck he won't mind. You are leasing and not the property owner anyway, a problem may cause an issue with the owner and put your lease in jeopardy when it's time to renew.

Teedub,

I agree that it should be a primary concern, but in many such instances, folks are having kneejerk reactions and not thinking big picture. Over the years i have found that deer hunters are about the worst in terms of (figuratively speaking) shooting first and asking questions later when it comes to the willingness to turn something minor into a raging feud without thinking it through.

just ask him if you can use it when he aint, so you dont have ta build your own blind there..could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

you could always just put up a high fence along that section of the property. might mess up the deer travel but you wont have to worry about him shooting deer off your land haha

Sounds like a great set up for him...

He can shoot any deer about to cross from his property to yours or shoot any deer that just crossed the boundary to his property.

I'd set up on a situation like that... most likely.

If I did so, I'd be prepared for situations where the deer runs off onto the adjacent property... where trouble can begin. It's a risk you'll have to weigh to see if it's worth it or not.

He's doing nothing wrong; only taking advantage of a good set up situation. If someone did that to me, I'm not sure I'd like it, but I would say under my breathe... "good job".

iSnipe

hes perfectly legal.you my need to blood trail a deer at some time on to his.

I'd post the property line real good so there is no mistake about where the line is. Maybe put your own stand right there where he can see it. Walk the property line a couple times while he is there. Put a trail cam up to document if he trespasses. Or maybe work out an arrangement where you let him hunt that spot in return for permission to hunt some part of his property.

Wow, some of these suggestions seem like a lot of work in response to what someone is doing ten feet on their side of the boundary.

Sorry guys but some of you remind me of the kid on the school bus on the other side of the aisle who keeps wanting to turn you into the bus driver just for looking at them. :eek2:

The nerve of some folks.

I am sure you would have no problem shooting a deer on your property that you watched wander over from his. No need to be a jerk over it if he isnt being one. It is his property until over the thin line that becomes yours.
My neighbor and I both have stands literally overlooking each others properties. We both post and respect each others property, but also know there is no problem wandering if no one is hunting next door. A good neighbor is way more important to maintain than a bad relationship. I would simply keep an eye open during hunting season- do a still hunt past the spot when you know he is there, give a wave, wander over and shoot the bull. After you wander by on several days and give a polite wave from a distance, he will understand that you are around. Deer wander where they want. We dont own them, we just want to. Dont sweat it if he shoots deer near your border. You would do the same.

Singleshot.. If I were your neighbor and you asked me politely to move all of my stands at least 75 yards from from your line, I would politely tell you to go **** in your hat...

And yes, I am a landowner...

If you have an attitude like that, expect the neighbors to respond in kind... Better hope that big buck you shoot next year doesn't make it a jump or two across the property line, or you won't be able to recover him.... What goes around, comes around...

wow...really?
even if you ask nicely it wont work.

My only suggestion is just get over it, you have 300 acres

Forget about. Not worth the aggravation.

One would have to be very arrogant to tell someone where they can have their stands on their own property. I know I wouldn't take to kindly someone who just moved in to an area aside me and tried to tell me where I can sit on my property.

I agree with the suggestions to try and get along with your Neighbor,if He or even She (wouldn't that be a change of attitude towards the situation) hasn't crossed over the property line You have no reason to start a confrontation that could end in a sour note and You may end up needing that Neighbors help one day so its no use starting trouble that may not happen any ways.I have Hunted close to our Neighbors property line because of the fact that my stand was set up years ago when no one had ever been hunting there years ago and my Neighbor also has a stand set up on the back side of our property where we seldom hunt so its a give and take situation.We also keep an eye on each others property in case others trespass there.When I hunt on our Lease Property I try to stay away from the Neighbors fence/property line so there is no confrontation and I do it out of respect too!

I know this is a first of my posts, but I have to agree here. I am a new landowner as of last year to 40 acres. The guys around me have been very nice all year. One has a stand about 20 yards from the fence. His was there first.

This year I shot a nice buck and he helped me retreive it and gut it. Get to know your neighbors on a good note. 10' ....forget about it.

Also, when you ask a question on a forum, check back for feedback.

I'm a landowner...approximately 400 acres. I've been dealing with lease situations for a while, also. I've found out one amazing fact....People that lease land basically want to have 500 Nat'l Guard members patrolling the land 24hrs/day with weapons to make sure that nobody sets a single toe-nail on their land.

The funny thing is that landowners are never as anal...and they're the ones that ponied up the cash to buy the land outright.

Im a landowner with stands on fence lines along with my neighbor,i put mine up then he put his up.when he or i hunt the spot we leave each other alone!actually when he is there i have another stand 100yds in on the same trail to cut him off,but dont tell him that!!!lol

put private property sign on a tree right in front of his stand

I think you are better off becoming friends with the guy and feel him out on how he is hunting the stand then to approach him with an attitude. As mentioned before, if he is not crossing the fence, he is not doing anything wrong. He may have had permission from the land owner you lease from to cross the fence. Good luck!

He ain't doing nothing wrong that you know of and you certainly can't expect to tell or ask a guy to do anything on his own property.

The whole set up could be a result of many different theories. One is he may know that the deer that make those rubs are coming from his property and he may be posted with his back to the tree wanting to remain kinda hidden when sitting and try for them as they approach the fence. And he may give his butt a break now and stand facing the tree to look for them. Or the deer making all those rubs may be unshootable to either of you because they are all happening at night.

Who knows? But I would definately introduce yourself ASAP. And if you want a little advice I would just into yourself and let HIM talk about deer alot more than you. He has prob been around long before you. Listen and learn. Let the first time you guys talk go however he makes it go. Don't bring the stand up.

This will give you an opportunity to see what kind of guy he is and digest things for awhile. Heck next season is along ways off. This guy may turn out to be a good friend down the road - YOU DON'T KNOW. He may approach you one day and tell you he's putting in some plots and if you want to go 1/2 on seeds and fuel he can do something on your ground. He may stop you one day on the road and because he's around alot more often than you he may tell you that you might want to keep an eye on a particular area because he always sees deer coming or going around there and the last few weeks there's been a great buck frequenting the area. Maybe he has 1000 acres and hunts it alone. Could be a big winner to have him tell you if you want to hunt some over there too it's cool. Or if you have a couple extra guys coming they are welcome. Thing is you just never know.

What I'm getting at is crossing back over a river once you burnt the bridge leaves you no choice but to try and swim.

If after getting aqquainted with the guy you still want to discuss the stand then the opportunity (and the bridge) is still going to be there.

Good hunting

If he is legal nothing really can be said of it, but if you see the person its worth mentioning

Just hunt and don't worry about it.

I got a situation just like this one. I have been hunting the same stand for ten years and a guy bought the land next to mine three years ago. Ever since he bought the land , he has tied rags on the property line, put up piles of dead wood along the line fence (on runways) and set up dummies in orange suits on lawn chairs, to cut off this funnel from my hunting. My stand is well on my property, however he tries his best to ruin my hunt. I won't give in and have killed many a big bucks right under his nose. Why would a new person that moves in want to start trouble? All the neighbors hate this guy.

Back to your post- if he's on his land leave him alone or it could turn ugly.

In my case when I first leased my land I talked to all the neighbors and gave them permission to keep right on hunting the land i leased if I was allowed on theirs. 99% of landowners have no prob with this and it works great for all involved. As it turns out.. instead of a 100 acres being all I can hunt I have literally thousands to hunt now. Bascially my little lease gave me access to the entire area and I get along great with all my neighbors. Those neighbors sure do come in handy late in the season when you all get together and do a few drives.

The bottom line is.. unless you do like the one poster says and get a national Guard detachment to patrol the land 24-7 you are enver gonna know whos on it anyways so you may as well make it a profitable deal for all involved.

our property neighbors do the same thing. they set up a stand just on the other side of the fence and face towards our property. i don't get why they have to do that when they travel through there land the same as ours.

It's a lease, not fee ownership, so you don't really have any land to speak of. If you can't find another spot on the rest of it, than find somewhere else to hunt. Or put a stand right next to it and be a stinker.

If he was on a tree on your land then you would have a gripe, but since he's on his land he's perfectly within his right to hunt anywhere he pleases on his land.

I agree with most of the folks on here that say introduce yourself... This person has put some time in to learn where the deer are and since they know why not become their friend. The person as you mentioned is on their land... Would I like to see that if I was leasing land... Hell no but again its on his side of the line so there is nothing illegal going on as far as the stand is concerned. We can "if this then that" all day long but again the best thing to do is learn when the guy is on the stand, introduce yourself, learn his side of the story then see if you can work together... Remember the more team members you have to play with the better off you will be!