Help with Neighbor Problems
 

Hello all, this is my 1st time posting here. My family has been having some slight issues with our neighbors to our south. It seems as if they have been setting up tree stands to intentionally cut us off. Whenever we have a stand within 75 yards of the property line, they put one up directly south within 20 yards of the property line. Most recently they interrupted my hunt on opening morning. At 11am they came and set up a pop up blind directly south of me. For 20 minutes they were hauling branches to the blind. I know they saw me I had orange on. So I moved to the other side of the property and shot a nice 8point, so this time i guess I should thank them. They also ride their atvs on our property and recently moved our corner property post about 35 yards in their favor. What can we do?

How much conversation have you engaged in?

We could try talking, but I'm not sure if it would help. There are 5 that hunt on their property and only 2 are the problem. They were run off their family farm because of their actions. The guys brother in law, who Is a family friend was with him when he installed the corner post in the wrong spot. He said he told him it was in the wrong spot, but he said he didn't care. This same guy put a tree stand directly over his father in laws blind and shot the buck he had been going for. His oldest son is the one that set his blind up by me on opening day. These aren't the most considerate people.

I had a similar problem with a neighbor accross from me with 4 wheelers. I sternly warned them...and I am mean sternly with a shotgun in hand. However, that didn't solve the the problem. I caught them a 2nd time and told them if I caught them again I was going to call the sherriff. For piece of mind a put up a barb wire fence and posted no tresspassing signs....problem no solved. It depends on your state, but if the property is not marked no tresspassing, you don't have much of a leg to stand on. Good luck.

I don't know how much land you have, but maybe getting it surveyed and having property corner markers set might help? Yea, it sounds like you've got some real winners on your hands. It must be frustrating!

Set up a dummy blind where they can easily see it and let them fool around there while you quietly hunt another place. Frankly, if they are setting up on their own property or on property they have permission to hunt, there isn't much you can do about their stand placement as long as it isn't on your land. It may be rude, but it ain't illegal.

As to the trespassing, if I knew where they were driving the ATVs onto the property, I'd be thinking about burying a couple boards with nails driven through them on your side of the property line. 4 flats may make them think about not doing it again. If they moved a corner post, go to the county courthouse and get the legal description of the property boundaries and be sure you're right. If you are, move the post back where it should be and make sure it is made of metal and set in concrete. Then take a photo of it to show it is in the legal place. if they move it again, call the law. It goes without saying if your land isn't posted, do so right now!

Your neighbor has a right to do whatever he wants on his property.. You have the same right.
You must work within the confines of those rules.

I appreciate all the replies. I'm not trying to be rude, but I'm well aware of the obvious. I know they can place stands wherever and do whatever on their own property. As for the atvs on our land, it's blatant trespassing and when they go 360 degrees around my stand while I'm in it is another story that happened years back. I am looking for a sportsmanlike solution to resolve these issues. We have been thinking about improving the north section of the property to draw them away from our south line. Any advice on this?

Dont show your cards too early in the season. Dont let them know where you will be setting up. Use a hang on or climber and take it down and put it up when you go in each time. Its a lot of work but it gives you the ability to be more agile on where you sit and it doesnt allow them to see where you are going to be sitting.

Mess up one of there hunts.

Here's what I would do...
I would go over there in the early spring before you start improving anything and strike up a conversation about the hunting issues. Don't do it now.. do it in the spring when there's "no hive to protect" and no one feels the need to sting.

Tell them you are going to be making some (yet to be determined) improvements to your land and that you think it would be a good idea if you two got together to come up with a plan so you don't interfere with each other. (bring a map of your properties and some magic markers so there's no misunderstandings)
Also make sure to inquire and confirm his control over his guest hunters.

This good faith offer and consideration now gives you a window to politely voice your complaints in a nonchalant way that won't put them in a defensive position.

In short, you are going to pretend to accommodate them in an attempt to draft them into your circle of influence.

Worst case scenario, you have to post your property to keep them off and do the best you can with the land you have to work with..
If a neighbor is intent on being a jerk, there isn't much you can do about it except defend yourself.

Best case scenario, you both come up with a plan and you both improve the entire area so much that it brings in more deer than either of you need.

That is a bad idea as an opening move..

If you are forced to declare all out war, then you can implement this type of thinking. But not until you've exhausted all other options.

I agree with Murby that you should have a civil discussion after the season and before the next season. I do agree that " no trespassing" signs along with good boundry stakes will also help your position. If you are mad/pee-od when you go to see them it will not help and only hurt your position.

CVG Ohio

No matter what you do, these neighbors will find a way to mess it up as soon as they hear you shoot should you find a way to successfully gun hunt. About the only thing you can do is bow hunt in a way that they do not know where you are. And forget about the gun hunt unless it is someplace else. And never let them or any of their friends know if you got a deer.

You might seriously consider moving or saving up to buy a nice chunk of land.

I can totally relate, believe me.

Check out any hunter harrasment laws in your state. Then if they drive that ATV around your stand with you in it you can have them charged fof that also. Let them see you making a video with you in the stand. Do everything legally and above board and you will eventually make your point.

I had some hunters trying to cut deer off from me once. I just kept shooting the deer they were running to me.

" And never let them or any of their friends know if you got a deer." MZS, I can't agree more with this. We have mutual friends with the people that hunt to the south of us. We no longer send them pictures or mention our deer to them. It seems that in recent years with the popularity in texting has hurt our hunting because they've seen all the nice deer we've got and now try to cut us off. Our hunting hasn't been as good in the last few years. A buddy took a pic of a large buck I shot and texted everybody and their brother about it. I had people facebooking me and approaching me in publics about the deer. It was irritating because we don't publicize our success.

I don't get it.. Are you afraid they're going to sneak into your freezer and steal it?

Tampering with a survey marker is illegal. Report it.
As far as their shenanigans on their own land. Nothing you can do about that.

Murby, I'm not worried about the larceny of our venison haha. I'm just thinking that if they don't know about what we've got then it may lessen their attempt at cutting us off and focusing on other parts of their land. This may sound a bit paranoid, but with the popularity of social media, we also fear that the wrong people may see these photos and trespass/poach on our property. We only feel this way because this it was a big issue several years ago. We blocked off some of the ways people were accessing our land and it eventually stopped.

There's no logic in that thought... Once a deer has been taken, it is no longer there and thus no motive...
Now if you were broadcasting photos from your trail camera, that I could understand..

But just because someone takes a buck on your property does not by any means indicate there is another there that is equal or greater.

If I told you I was walking down 5th street and found a $50 bill on the sidewalk, would you go to where I found it and look for more? What if I found only $5 or as much as $50K?

I understand it is a bit different, but not by much. Bucks don't congregate at the local bar or have a favorite tree they hang around.. They roam like teenagers looking for a piece of azz..

Furthermore, the fact that the two property lines are, in fact, just one line, the OP is more or less hunting the same exact population as his neighbor is.. unless we're talking about a property line that stretches several miles, but I doubt that's the case here.

Without regard to the above statements, my original thought still stands as the best advice.. Go coordinate with the neighbor and draft him into your team so that you have influence.. Sharing the harvest and only taking half is much better than going to war and getting nothing...

100% agree...get it surveyed, posted...call the sheriff for trespassing violations...If they get mad their atv's got punctured tires tell them to quit trespassing...

I have neighbors to my north that are PIA...they seem like Eco terrorist tree huggers that don't want the deer killed. they try ruining my hunts all the time. by making noise...they are two-faced as well...because I'm 99.9% positive they stole my game camera off MY property...although I couldn't prove it...I had foot prints coming from their property to mine...
So anyways I still hunt anyway...We've taken couple deer this year off my property...that's all that matters to me..
They aren't civil enough to leave you alone so why even bother talking to them...IMO..

Id just get as far away from them on your property and set it up for hunting there, I woulndt even tell them what you are doing..have a decoy blind and maybe put a mannequin in there with some hunter orange on so while they try messing it up for your mannequin you can be hunting elsewhere on your property.

That's about the dumbest idea I have ever heard.. Top 10 for STUPID for sure.

No offense meant but you have no idea what you are talking about.. My guess is that you don't own your own land or that you are a youngster in your teens or twenties who has more testosterone than brains at this young point in your life.

Your vigilante revenge attitude will do nothing but get you sued in a major way that would probably result in your insurance company denying your claim and your neighbor eventually owning your property.

If your neighbor tracks a deer onto your land and gets hurt by a booby-trap you've set, he can, and will, sue the living crap out of you and will win. And that might be the least of your worries as prison time might also be in the cards.

You'd probably end up on the front page of google news with that stunt...

NEWS FLASH: Ten year old boy looking for his lost 3 legged dog dies due to vigilante neighbor setting death traps on his property..

Does that set off any warning lights for you?

***FYI Flags is a 50 year old gentleman in the Armed Services in VA at the present time and is a CO native. Putting (losing, hehe!) a piece of wood down with nails in it on your own property like he mentioned isn't going to get him in trouble if someone else comes on there illegally since there is no way they would be able to prove it was there intentionally to do any harm to them or anyone else. I had a guy living next to my 20 acre hunting parcel up north back in the 80s that put up a makeshift fence along the property line using pieces of trees and he ran it wherever he felt like to gain property and take a blind of mine that was on my property. One day when I knew he and the wife were gone I tore the whole thing down and I never heard a word from him or had any more problems when he got the message that I was not going to screw around with his stupid, illegal antics!

I guess my land mine idea is out too?

Yep. Pit traps yes, land mines no. :happy0157:

Years ago i that trouble with a trespasser riding his four wheeler on my property. He cut my fence and trespassed at will. One day i accosted the trepasser and he threatened me while on my property. i summarily arrested the idiot and held him at gun point for the county sheriff. The the guy had wants in TX for murder. He was extradited to TX for trial where he was found guilty and was sentenced to life. The four wheeler was left on my place and the judge awarded it to me for damage the guy caused to my property.

Since you already got a nice buck... Go to the stand they set up beside and make some noise. Cut firewood, have a fireworks display, Set up a picnic table and have a picnic. They will move on if you drive them crazy enough.

[QUOTE=Murby;4102401]I don't get it.. Are you afraid they're going to sneak into your freezer and steal it?[/QUOTE



DUH!

I'd have to disagree with your analogy 100%.......Do $50 bills seek out certain habitats? Because mature bucks certainly do and they will absolutely be found year after year in these habitats. Nothing is etched in stone but certain areas will hold big bucks every year.
I hunt a 500 acre farm and Ive seen 3 monsters in the last 2 years...all 3 in the same small portion of the farm.

Congratulations, you have just gone full retard. NEVER GO FULL RETARD! Based on your above comments you're officially dumber than 100 head of sheep!

ROFLMAO.. that's funny.. the active duty part... Care to explain how your military service is relevant to this conversation? Or were you just throwing that in there in a poor attempt to convert our appreciation for your service into a mistaken assumption of your knowledge?
In fact, the polar reverse would apply here... Since you haven't been a regular part of civilian society for such a long time, you've probably lost touch with certain aspects.

But you're not "preventing" the trespassing.. You're punishing the trespasser after the fact.. Perhaps you should look up the definition yourself.
No one is going to sue you for property damage resulting in their trespassing.. but if someone steps on that board of nails, you're going to be liable in a big way if they can prove you left that board of nails there.. (and that probably wouldn't be to difficult)
Your 25 years behind bars..err.. I mean in the military is showing... You might want to get back in touch with society before you go booby-trapping your property.
Personal injury and property damage are two very different subjects.

Let me give you an example.... If someones pet is attacking your chickens, you can shoot their pet and they're out of luck.. But if BillyBob himself is over there attacking or even stealing your chickens, you can not shoot him.
Lets take it down a notch.. If you see JoeBob trespassing, you can confiscate his 4 wheeler, stick it in your basement and lock it up.. He'll have to sue you to get it back.
That doesn't mean you can lock up JoeBob and just hold him for as long as you please.

The same holds true for the board of nails.. if you damage his ATV, that's his problem.. but if he gets off his ATV and steps on that nail, you're in trouble.. Hope you have good liability insurance.

Yup.. here too.. But unless its posted and unless you've had prior reported problems with the same person, no prosecutor is going to do anything about someone trying to recover their kill. Yes, technically you'd be in the right.. but its not the way things work in the real world.

Seriously? Extrapolation and abstract thinking are not your strong points eh?
And when the guy starts pushing his ATV back across the fence line and steps on your booby-trap, hope you have a good lawyer or a lot of money...

No, you wouldn't make google news for damaging someone's property.. But you would almost certainly be there for being stupid enough to leave a booby-trap that ends up hospitalizing someone for a crime as minor as trespassing.
Is it possible that 25 years of military service has somehow dulled your regard for human suffering? Every job has its occupational hazards.

Have you ever seen a child trip and fall?? Back to the extrapolation and abstract thinking issues. Ya.. a nail sticking up on a board is probably not going to kill someone.. its 1000 times more likely to just send them to the hospital with a nail through their foot. But what if the kid steps on the nail, jerks away to grab his foot and falls onto the other nails.. One nail through his brain bucket and you're going to prison for the rest of your life. Just to stop a trespasser? And you call me a moron?

I think maybe your warning lights are all burned out.. Let me suggest you call an attorney and ask if its a smart idea to put a board of nails sticking up in front of a crossing area on your property.. ROFLMAO...

You better stop while you're way behind Murby because most of what you're posting is absolute BS and is not the way the laws read in many jurisdictions. FLAGS was stating his service time to contradict your statement that he was probably a teenager, which you were way off on like most everything else you have posted. Denegrating his service time like you have done also shows your stupidity when you can't come up with anything better. Maybe you're the teenager who hasn't been on this planet long enough to know squat about what you post, LOL!

Top,

Every forum has a fool. We now know who it is on this forum. Do a quick search of some of this guy's posts and it is readily apparent that he has very, very little actual experience. Did you happen to catch the post he started where he said Nikon is junk? Here is it if you want to look it over:

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/scop...junk-junk.html

And then there was this "earth shattering" discovery about tapping your scope to settle it. You and I have known about this for 40 years. Here's that gem:

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/scop...justments.html

Oh, and Murdy, how about explaining this quote taken directly from one of your posts: "One of the first signs of a weak position is an unsolicited and irrelevant attack from another angle."

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/whit...amazing-2.html

What the hell is your rant here if not an "unsolicited and irrelevant" attack? What prompted the blast from you? You seem to have taken some sort of offense to the advice I gave the man, advice everyone but you seems to agree with, and rather than simply disagreeing in a rational manner, you go off the deep end. By the way, if you're the only one that disagrees, then logic dictates that your view point is flawed. Or are you really trying to say everyone else is wrong? If so, then not only are you a full retard, you're a fool as well.

You got some issues there Buddy. I ain't your enemy, but if you want to declare war, I'm game. But you'll lose and you'll lose big!

My rant is your very poor advice to set traps that could injure and potentially kill someone.

Hey man.. You go ahead and set booby traps on your own property..
Good luck to you.

And I do have issues.. with stupidity. (like those who advocate setting dangerous traps)

There are enough stupid hunters out there as it is.. Please remain indoors for our protection.

I have to "agree" with your analogy 100%... In fact barring any major habitat disruption "logging, hunter invasion" things like rut lines, bedrooms, and territories tend to remain traditional year after year, and generation to generation of whitetails.

Of course they will change over time as the earth goes threw it's own natural changes, but that may take decades. There's an area I've hunted since 1987 that I can bring you to rut lines that have been re-run every year. We've owned our home since 1997, and I can bring you to rut lines that have been re-run every year since we've been here. I can bring you to bedding, feeding, and watering areas that deer have been using year after year since then as well.

Our home is surrounded by 1000's of acres of Spruce Bog. I can bring you into that bog and show you trail networks, and trail hubs that have clearly been being utilized for decades. Those trails are being utilized buy other game such as bears, and wolves as well, but whitetails far outnumber those other animals, and it's very clear that they are using those trails the most.

Not all whitetail habitat is created equal, and there are reasons they utilize those habitats under normal, or pressured conditions.

I think the most realistic concern with regard to setting booby traps would be the possibility of retaliation.

Let's say your neighbor gets a punctured tire or tires on his ATV. He's going to know who is responsible, right?

So you go out on a cold morning and head out for work. A tire on your vehicle goes flat. You find a couple of screws in the tire. You know who did it, but can't prove it.

Was it worth it? Not to me, but that's just me.

Sometimes a person has to pick their battles and sometimes has to know when to just walk away. Years ago on a cold snowy night when I lived in a small town south of here near Burlington I heard a knock at the door. I answered the door and there was a short dumpy looking guy telling me he just ran over my mail box. I lived on an outside corner in a residential development and when he came around the corner too fast he went off the road taking my mail box out. I could tell he had been drinking and had to evaluate whether to call the cops. I mentioned that I probably should report it but he said he would take care of the box and relace it with a new one. I recognised him from the main drag area outside the development so I agreed. A couple of days went by and I wasn't getting the mail so I figured I better just replace the box and did so. Digging out the post in the frost wasn't pleasant but once I started I had it all like new in a couple of hours. I debated whether to contact the guy and send him the bill for replacement materials and then figured what the heck it was done and hopefully I wouldn't have to deal with him again. A few months later I saw in the paper where this dirt bag was arrested for murder at a state fishing access area near the house. I guess he and another guy had been drinking and there was a disagreement so the guy pulled a knife and killed his drinking buddy. The whole thing just came back to me on how close I was to making a big deal about the mailbox. Something in the back of my head said just let it go. That is probably why they call me Mr. Lucky.

Flags, I'm guessing that's a typo... But figured I'd let you know that there is a "Murdy", and a "Murby" that post in this forum. The nature of their posts is night, and day.

I don't agree with Murby's methodology, but do have to agree with his logic in this debate.

Coming to a public forum and giving someone advise is one thing. Giving advice that could lead to someone being injured is another. Sorry, but I believe that the board with nails in it is a bad idea, and just plain bad advice.

If that member takes your advice they are setting themselves for potential liabilities, and you're vicariously sending them down that path.

I know that this is just a scenario, but it's something that could actually happen... Imagine that trespasser steps on those nail, and gets poked in the foot... Initially, no big deal, the idiot got a poke in his foot... Now that idiot doesn't have any health insurance, so he doesn't bother getting the foot checked out, he also hasn't had a Tetnus shot in over 15 years... Fast forward a couple of weeks, and now the idiots foot is severely infected... He still doesn't seek medical attention because he can't afford it... A another week latter the idiot is facing a foot amputation that's going to be paid for on the tax payers dime.

Like I said, it's just a scenario, but anyone who's been around any amount of time knows that crazier things have happened. Those crazy things have happened because the pieces of the puzzle were put in place before they happened.

Some more food for thought on this subject... Here in MN you "don't" need a landowners permission to recover wounded game. Someone could track game on my property no where near where that board maybe, then follow the path of least resistance I.E. a wheeler trail to leave it... What could go wrong there???

At this point I can only hope that the OP is wise enough not to take any advise that "may" cause personal, and/or property damage... It's just a bad idea...

Sometimes I should take my own advice and be a bit more diplomatic...

But I have a very short fuse when it comes to some subjects.
Religion, abortion, gun control, and dangerous people all tend to nullify my diplomacy.