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New land possible issues

cybball

Well-Known Member
Went to set stands Saturday on my new place. Met my neighbor to the south of me. He warned me of a group related to the property north of me that they push through my place during gun season every year. As the new owner, I don’t want anyone on my place. What would you guys do? Post the hell out of the north property line (fence is missing on half of it)? Be out there to patrol/hunt it myself (a little nervous about slugs flying). Talk with the CO ahead of time about it? I want to be safe, get the point across to these guys and be able to hunt without worrying about getting shot.
I know how this works, but haven’t owned a new place and had to really deal with it.
Thanks


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Post it and be out there. Previous land owner may not have cared and they may not know you own it now. It also wouldn't hurt to talk to them asap to let them know you will be hunting there and don't allow drives. Of course that conversation could be difficult depending on their personalities but it removes all doubt that they should not to be there. It could be much more contentious if they show up planning to drive it to find postings and you there.
 
I would recommend contacting them just to reach out and let them know YOU own the property now. Having good communication is best Hopefully they're civil and understand you hunt and do not want them doing that anymore. Just talk about what you expect, we have an agreement nobody goes on each other's property. If a deer is shot and runs on the neighbor we make every effort to contact each other first but if that fails go track your deer. not much better than having good neighbors. If that don't work get the law involved
 
I would recommend contacting them just to reach out and let them know YOU own the property now. Having good communication is best Hopefully they're civil and understand you hunt and do not want them doing that anymore. Just talk about what you expect, we have an agreement nobody goes on each other's property. If a deer is shot and runs on the neighbor we make every effort to contact each other first but if that fails go track your deer. not much better than having good neighbors. If that don't work get the law involved

Agree. ^^ Ideally, the people can be reasoned with. I would recommend trying that first. Contact them and let them know that you will be hunting there, or your friends/family, and that you would like to get off on a good footing with them and just wanted them to know so there are no misunderstandings. Doing so ahead of time is important in my mind. Who knows, they could have been told by the previous owner that they could freely come and go and now that it is going to be different, it is best that they don't discover that on opening day IMO.

Now then, I would watch it closely this season and if they ignore timely, friendly advice...then I would drop the hammer on them right away. Hopefully, you can form a healthy relationship with them at the outset though...that is best for all in the long term IMO.
 
Try to be out there. Try not to think about it. I realize you probably wrote a large check for your new place but it makes it incredibly worse to constantly be paranoid about it. If it works for you, and you hunt shotgun season yourself, you might just find yourself in the middle of deer everywhere if you're sitting when neighbors are pushing :)

I think you said you have 20ish from another thread? Honestly...if your neighbors are pushing the borders, what's the difference if they happen to step foot on your property or not? "The damage is done." I'm NOT advocating just letting people on your place...just saying to not let worrying about it ruin your fun. If you don't hunt shotgun, would you rather spend time with your family or constantly be on patrol?? I've been there man, 12 acres to 100 acres...know the people that hunt around you but don't let it ruin your life.

Someone mentioned above to try to contact them. For sure. Not to say "don't trespass" but just say "hey, my wife and I will be deer hunting shotgun and just want to let you be aware so someone doesn't catch a stray slug".

Don't take offense to above. Just sharing what I've been through

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If you do talk to the neighbors mention cameras, and then mention cameras again...

Cell phone cams, say I’ve got X amount out there, whatever,,, seems to make them think twice.
 
If you do talk to the neighbors mention cameras, and then mention cameras again...

Cell phone cams, say I’ve got X amount out there, whatever,,, seems to make them think twice.

The cell camera thing should work, even if you don't have any. A few of those signs with the cell camera picture would probably be enough deterrent. But having your vehicle there for them to see is a good idea too.
 
Are they allowed to push both bordering farms? This could become a real challenge for everyone involved if that's the case. Having two groups pushing one area that they have done numerous times over the year and now there's a change of ownership I see someone getting hurt! Best of luck to you. We just found a piece of public that has a small piece of private in the middle. We have come up with a strategy for gun season to have a group to the east and a group to the west of this area and we are certain by what we have on cameras that alot of good deer will be pushed on and off this piece... Everyone has a game plan and if they can't pass through they may be able to work around it....
 
Are they allowed to push both bordering farms? This could become a real challenge for everyone involved if that's the case. Having two groups pushing one area that they have done numerous times over the year and now there's a change of ownership I see someone getting hurt! Best of luck to you. We just found a piece of public that has a small piece of private in the middle. We have come up with a strategy for gun season to have a group to the east and a group to the west of this area and we are certain by what we have on cameras that alot of good deer will be pushed on and off this piece... Everyone has a game plan and if they can't pass through they may be able to work around it....

They aren’t allowed to push the place south of me, but sounds like he finds them in his place.


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Post it VERY well and be there during season... If you dont shotgun hunt or dont want to be there when slugs are flying try to leave a vehicle or two in plain sight to make them think someone is there and maybe even hang an orange vest or two in cover to act as "scarecrows" but nothing is more effective than yours or someone actual presence to keep people out... A lot of people ignore anything but someone actually being there because if they just push it they can be through it and gone before anyone ever knows theyre there or before a CO shows up to confront them
 
Post it VERY well and be there during season... If you dont shotgun hunt or dont want to be there when slugs are flying try to leave a vehicle or two in plain sight to make them think someone is there and maybe even hang an orange vest or two in cover to act as "scarecrows" but nothing is more effective than yours or someone actual presence to keep people out... A lot of people ignore anything but someone actually being there because if they just push it they can be through it and gone before anyone ever knows theyre there or before a CO shows up to confront them

I plan to hunt it. I may try to contact them ahead of time and talk. I mainly don’t want to get shot. I plan to have my 11 year old out next season so want to get things straight this year.


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I bought my first farm three years ago and had the same situation. I had a friend give me the low down on "who hunts what" in the area and what troublemakers I might run into. Lucky for me there was only one person I had to talk to and I was polite but firm and they respected my wishes. Road hunters are another story. I posted my property along the road about every 100 yards so there was no question. First year of shotgun the only problem I had was with road hunters but I think you'll have that on any property and location. I park a couple trucks along the road now in gate opening and leave some visible orange on the dash. That seems to help. Good luck and whatever you do - Don't let it eat at you and ruin the very reason why you bought your own piece of ground. It will consume you if you let it...
 
I agree with the make contact with them before hand. Just tell them that you are the new owner and planning to hunt it, and wondered who hunts the area around your land. That way they will think that you will be out there during the season even if your not. Personally I would use the CO as a last resort.
 
Yep been there. Make contact. You’ll most likely find these people to have different views of conservation and stewardship as you which will make it extremely difficult. I’ve had talks and some I never see again, while some still try to hang stands on my piecebsome still sneak a walker in, some walk the edges and shoot just to try and scare them out. Most around me are good ole boys who have only ever shotgun hunted and when I came into the picture to try to manage (for mainly bow hunting) I get laughed at. I think I’m in an area where it was just kind of assumed land was 1st come first serve and push what you want. In my experience contacting the CO didn’t help, I had trail cam pics (tough to distinguish faces) but never caught red handed by the CO as he’s stretched pretty thin so no charges. But at the very least, if they think you may be around, they are less likely to risk getting caught.
 
Sound advice all around. Only a true a$$hole would bump your ground after you tell them all that and explain you'll have your kids in there.

My guess is they'll respect your wishes but keep an eye on it and try to sneak in once you're not around. Post it, get cameras up, and try to find a local that could watch it while you're not there.

Hamner them hard if they try to test boundaries
 
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