Trespassing with good intent....

[Bottom Hunter]

Upon acquiring new property, what steps do you take when scouting and deciding where to put stands?

Do you get an aerial of the property, walk the boundary lines and leave it at that or do you dig a bit deeper .....?

Have you ever crossed the property line a few yards to simply take a look at what's over there?

If you find a good looking spot close to the boundary, do you try to see if your neighbor is close enough to maybe cause a problem during the season?

Do you ever trespass with GOOD intent?

 

[Savage]

Depends on the neighbor. I try to get to know all the neighbors to the property- tell them who I am, break the ice so to speak. If they are cordial and friendly, understanding... even if they wont let you hunt, they probably wouldnt be opposed to you LOOKING, not hunting, a few yards over the boundary line. HOWEVER, I dont consider that "trespassing with good intent." It is still selfish intent.

Trespassing with good intent, I will do in a heartbeat. Two examples- Turkey season 2 years ago, I went about 200 yards over on a neighbor to check on a cow that was having a hard time calving. Told the owner ASAP, and he thanked me. Also a few years ago there was the land owners spits dog caught in a coil of barb wire. It was screaming horribly. I got shears and wire cutters and got it out, short a few patches of hair.

If the neighbor was adament about you not being on the property, I wouldnt scout it; but I might do them a good deed, just because it needs doing.

 

[MattR]

Depends on the neighbor. I try to get to know all the neighbors to the property- tell them who I am, break the ice so to speak. If they are cordial and friendly, understanding... even if they wont let you hunt, they probably wouldnt be opposed to you LOOKING, not hunting, a few yards over the boundary line. HOWEVER, I dont consider that "trespassing with good intent." It is still selfish intent.

Trespassing with good intent, I will do in a heartbeat. Two examples- Turkey season 2 years ago, I went about 200 yards over on a neighbor to check on a cow that was having a hard time calving. Told the owner ASAP, and he thanked me. Also a few years ago there was the land owners spits dog caught in a coil of barb wire. It was screaming horribly. I got shears and wire cutters and got it out, short a few patches of hair.

If the neighbor was adament about you not being on the property, I wouldnt scout it; but I might do them a good deed, just because it needs doing.

Well said

 

[Bottom Hunter]

So, looking across the line to be sure not to crowd your neighbor and possibly cause future conflicts in NOT good intent?

Many times hunters meet under less than ideal circumstances when one guy comes in and disturbs his neighbor.

I have never put a stand too close to anyone, even someone on the next property. I may have been within my rights to do so, but have not.

Not only do I not want him to disturb me , but I also don't want to be disturbed.

The less conflict the better..imo.

 

[HOOK]

There is no such thing as trespassing with good intent.

 

[MUP]

It's not trespassing if you have PERMISSION! Like Hook said, no such thing as trespassing with good intentions, its still trespassing. How hard is it to call, or visit in person, the landowner on whose land you wish to walk? Answer, not hard at all, seeing as you're apparently already on the adj property to begin with. There is no excuse for it, other than an emergency situation, maybe like the cow scenario. Now, I walk my lines that I share with my neighbors periodically, and paint and sign every couple to three years, and I have a reciprocating agreement with a couple about crossing lines, to retrieve a deer if shot. I regularly cross over and end at their house to visit, like yesterday even...loong walk across my prop, and ended up visiting my neighbor...then helped him put up a ladder stand while I was there even.

 

[Bottom Hunter]

Scenario 1.......Hunter A is walking his new property in search of a stand site. He finds a good spot but it is close to the property line. He decides to put the stand there anyway because it is his legal right. Opening day , he makes his way to his new stand and gets the standard flashlight bump from his neighbor who is just across the property line in his stand. The hunters are 50 yards apart. Both are within their property boundaries and within their rights to be there.....What happens next?

Scenario 2......Hunter B is walking his new property looking for a stand site. He finds a good spot but it's close to the line. He walks about 30 yards across the line and sees a deer stand not far away. Hunter B decides to not put a stand there and instead he keeps looking. Later, he finds another good spot but it too is close to the line so he takes another little stroll across the line and sees nothing, no stands and no sign of hunter activity...He quickly goes back across the line and decides to put his stand close by. Opening day comes and both Hunter B and his neighbor have an enjoyable hunt and neither is bothered by the other. There is no conflict.

I had a similar instance (scenario 1) happen to me some 30 years ago......Actually, almost exactly the same sequence of events. I spent my opening day, taking down a stand and moving it. Two opening day hunts were ruined. I guess I could have stood my ground with the neighbor but chose to not, even though I was within my legal rights. I swore that would never happen again, even though it did, but not exactly in the same fashion. Instead, it was members of the hunting club I was in that crowded me (unknowingly, I'm sure)....And I guess maybe I may have unknowingly crowded a few people myself, due to a lack of communication between everyone.

Looking forward to opening day and having it ruined is devastating for many die-hard hunters. You just don't see it coming until it's there!!

Just my thoughts, but if I owned property or leased property and found out that the guy next to me had been across the line just far enough to check for stands before putting up his own, I would not be upset at all. Likewise, if he was deciding on how to get to his stand and wanted to follow the boundary line in and out and wanted to be sure that he would not be messing the neighbor up by walking in that way. To me, it's just being considerate of the neighboring hunter and where he is hunting. It's not like he walked all over your property. All he did was take a few steps past the line to get a better look so maybe he could be sure to not crowd you.

Now, this is not about carrying a weapon across the line, cutting across the line for any substantial distances or even going across the line for any reason DURING the season. This is just preseason steps to try to insure that you do not mess up your neighbor and that you both have a conflict free season.

I would have no problem with this...

Every season, we read stories on here about hunter conflicts. Be it from poachers, trespassers and even two hunters hunting too close to each other. They do happen and in some cases, they don't need to.

Not all hunters are selfish jerks, but many are. I have made appropriate phone calls before and been lied to by hunters. I have been told that stands existed when they did not, simply to try and deter me from getting anywhere near the line, even though it was my legal right to do so. The guy I called told me that the east boundary was lined with stands and they hunted them quite often. Not exactly the truth. I found out about the lies through the farmer and landowner who I knew. I saw the farmer one day and we were talking about hunting out there and he told me all about the hunters that leased it. He told me where they parked, where their stands were and when I could expect them to be there..I thanked him for the info and assured him that I would avoid them if possible. I confirmed this with the landowner. There has not been a conflict. Even though I have a stand within 50 yards of the east/west boundary, I have never seen or heard them at all. I guess they abandoned those stands that lined that side...lol. I have not heard a shot or a wheeler on that end in two years.

My point is that as hunters we have enough conflict with non-hunters and don't need conflict between ourselves. Even it means to take a few steps across a line sprayed on trees in some sort of zig zag pattern that may not be exactly accurate anyway, to assure that no conflicts arise during the long awaited season.......

Again, I have no problem with someone doing this.