Ever Catch a poacher/tresspasser?

[Crockett]

Two years ago I was hunting on my place when I saw a buck (maybe a 6 pointer) coming towards me. With the direction that he was walking I didn't have a safe or clear shot - he was in between me and my brother who was hunting probably about 300 yards away. I sat tight waiting for him to walk around me but rather than cut down where I would have a shot he went over on the other side of the ridge where I was sitting(behind me and with some thick cover between us). I tried moving quietly to the other side of the ridge to take a shot of him there. When I got to where I thought I would have a shot I didn't see the buck but I did happen to notice some bright orange object about 50 yards away. I radioed my brother and told him to meet me there right away. We both made plenty of noise as we approached the "orange" through the brush. Once we got closer we noticed that it was a hunting fanny pack that had apparently become unbuckled from a hunter who didn't belong there. The fanny pack was stocked with attractant, rattling sticks, grunt call and 5 30-06 rounds. I was pretty stirred up thinking that there could have been somebody else on my place who was hunting without permission. My brother and I gave up hunting deer for the day and instead went around looking for the trespasser. When we couldn't find him we instead went to the neighbor's to see if they had any ideas about it. The only lead we had was that the one neighbor said that a guy stopped by the night before to ask if he could hunt on her place and she told him "No".

It is ashame that even on your own private property you still have to worry about somebody else catching you with a stray bullet/arrow etc.

[quackrstackr]

Welcome to hunting.

It's rampant around here. Turkey season especially.

That's the primary reason I quit turkey hunting. I was spending more time 5 to 1 hunting trespassers than I was turkeys, so the trespassers just started hunting before season came in or during the week when no vehicle was present. Just not worth the aggrevation.

I like the guys that secure permission to hunt large pastures and then come hang a stand on your side of the fence facing into your property myself.

[Rackophrenic Rick]

I once got asked or rather told, "This place is big enough for us both to hunt ain't it?/! Not to mention the time I heard, " I've been hunting here since was a kid!" "Then there is the ever popular, "MR. Such & Such said it was okay if I hunted here!" when Mr. Such & Such was not the land owner nor even existed.

Have I? Many times. Problem is the law is set-up to protect these idiots. In order to get anything done you have to personally prosecute them and even then the penalty is not enough to make them refrain from doing it to someone else. I have had turkeys shot out of in front of me by these nuts and I have had deer set-ups ruint. I have even been in a few confrontational situations that simply were not safe.

What worries me is the chance of these goofs getting injured on the land, suing the landowner, and then jeopardizing my priviledges.

At least yours left you a payment for trespassing by leaving his gear bag.

[EKY.MTN.HUNTER]

I've ran into 2 tresspasser on my farm, and both were probably poachers too. Of course that is disturbing, but atleast you have the chance to confront these people.,kick them off your land, and threaten them if they ever come back all of which leaves you walking away with a sense of accomplisment. Even if its a false feeling atleast you got to confront them, you busted them. The worst feeling to me though is getting hunting gear stolen off my own farm, my own private hunting grounds. I've had a tree stand stolen, and a trail camara. I felt more pissed off after that happened than after crossing paths with a tresspasser. Atleast i got to take my anger out on the trasspasser, i got to confront that idiot fool that crossed onto my property line. When my tree stand had been jerked outta the tree, and my trail cam done pretty much the same way, I was left standing there in a rage. I was pissed at some faceless moraless coward, that took my shit and ran. That is a much worse feeling to me. I realized though, that maybe one of the tresspasser I confronted could be the culprit, but I doubt that. I ran into the t-passers 3 yrs ago, have never seen them since, and my gear got stolen last fall and this spring. I love hunting, and its just a shame that people hamper this awesome past time by tresspassing/poaching/and theft! Whats even worse is when all three happen on your own family farm.

[Gobblergetter2.1]

I like it when the person on the ground next to you tells you that you dont need to hunt near his ground because you have plenty of ground to hunt on.

[P. Beyer]

Been a while, but I know it still happens on my place some. I just can't get there enuff to patrol it well.

Years ago I'd climbed down to trail a doe I'd shot. I just left my climber @ the base of the tree. I swear not 30 minutes later and about 50 yards away I heard the Wing nuts on MY stand being loosened. Long story short, I chased that SOB toting a rifle during the bow season for quiet a ways, all the way to his truck.

[teach27]

I have caught one trespasser on our land once. When approached, he said he had the rights to hunt this land for years. Needless to say, he didn't come back. The best one I have though is when a guy told me the land I was on was land that if the owner saw you on his land, there would be a risk of being shot. My response to him was that was funny since it was my land that I was on.

[kevhunter]

I like it when they tell you that they are lost but for some reason you never have to tell them how to get back too their truck.

[Valley Station]

DO you want to stop the trespassing and stealing????
DON'T "NEXT TIME I CATCH YOU.....". PROSECUTE!

[Xi Bowhunter]

I catch tresspassers on our land every year. This year during turkey season I know of 2 gobblers that were taken off our property illegally. But I would have to personally have to prosecute them, and I have tried that before with no results