The worst thing i have ever done by far in my life, was 2 years ago. On opening day of youth season, I found Bubba and Bubba Jr. in their newly installed 2 man stand on my property. I made them climb down and watch me destroy their stand by bending the ladder portion around a tree with help from a buddy of mine, and then stomping the seat off of it. When I informed them the next step was the GW coming, they quickly picked up the pieces and went home, never to return again.

What you did was illegal. Two wrongs do not make a right. You destroyed someones personal property. I have very little patience with trespassers also but I make sure I handle things in a responsible adult manner. If you have every turned around in someones private drive then you to are a trespasser. Does that mean you should have had your truck crushed?

If I was to find a tree stand now with season closed I would simply call the game warden explain it looks to have been left for a long time and ask what I can do with it.

What you did was illegal. Two wrongs do not make a right. You destroyed someones personal property. I have very little patience with trespassers also but I make sure I handle things in a responsible adult manner. If you have every turned around in someones private drive then you to are a trespasser. Does that mean you should have had your truck crushed?

If I was to find a tree stand now with season closed I would simply call the game warden explain it looks to have been left for a long time and ask what I can do with it.

Illegal? Not so sure about that, property used/left on my property. I think the armed trespassing charges trump anything related to destroying the treestand, BTW it wasn't totally destroyed, just unusable to hunt out of anymore.

Trying to compare turning around in someones drive way to poaching deer off of someone else property is hilarious. I would do it again tomorrow if the need arised, and never think twice about it. Would you rather me shoot them dead? After all I could have been afraid for my life and was just protecting myself since they pointed a rifle at me....

Zero tolerance is the only way to deal with trash hunters, and establishing a firm understanding that you don't screw around helps keep issues from reoccurring.

What you did was illegal. Two wrongs do not make a right. You destroyed someones personal property. I have very little patience with trespassers also but I make sure I handle things in a responsible adult manner. If you have every turned around in someones private drive then you to are a trespasser. Does that mean you should have had your truck crushed?

If I was to find a tree stand now with season closed I would simply call the game warden explain it looks to have been left for a long time and ask what I can do with it.

Illegal? Not so sure about that,

BTW it wasn't totally destroyed, just unusable to hunt out of anymore.

Trying to compare turning around in someones drive way to poaching deer off of someone else property is hilarious.

Would you rather me shoot them dead? After all I could have been afraid for my life and was just protecting myself since they pointed a rifle at me....

Zero tolerance is the only way to deal with trash hunters

When I informed them the next step was the GW coming, they quickly picked up the pieces and went home

The worst thing i have ever done by far in my life, was 2 years ago. On opening day of youth season, I found Bubba and Bubba Jr. in their newly installed 2 man stand on my property. I made them climb down and watch me destroy their stand by bending the ladder portion around a tree with help from a buddy of mine, and then stomping the seat off of it. When I informed them the next step was the GW coming, they quickly picked up the pieces and went home, never to return again.

I have found over the years, as wrong as it may seem, that the harsher and meaner you are to trespassers the less recurrences there will be with them. If they believe you are insane, they will be afraid to come onto your property.

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The problem with that approach as a first time response is that sooner or later you are bound to run into someone a little badder than you, and you will pay a heavy price for such a heavy-handed approach. Believe me, not everyone is afraid of having the 'law' called on them. Because of my job I deal with some baddest boys I've ever seen, and many of them carry shovels in their trucks... just to hide any problems that they might have to 'fix'.
I DO understand your frustration, but just know that there ARE people out there that will NOT tolerate that type of behaviour, even if they are in the wrong.
If you have family that depend on you for their living/existence, you also have to think about them when you approach a situation like this. Is it worth leaving kids without a father, or a wife without a husband? To me, the answer would be 'no'. It's not worth it to chase off a couple of trespaasers/hunters when there are far better ways to deal with that situation.
I'm just saying...