I NEED ADVICE. I have hunted (with written permission) 54 acres of private land since 2010 in Lenawee County, MI. Yesterday, I had a guy walk thru my hunting spot. Of course I yelled to get his attention, and he was startled. He immediately said "Who are you, and you don't have permission to be here!". I quickly told him my wife's aunt and uncle owned the property and I had written permission dated 9/15/2015 to hunt the property. HERE IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING...he pulled out a written permission slip from 2006. Yeah, 2006. Apparently he was given permission almost 10 years ago to hunt and has been using the land ever since. He made a comment to me about how you shouldn't park on the side of the road because people might throw beer bottles thru your window. I took this as a threat because he obviously knew the gig was up when I saw him coming out of the property. I called the owners of the property and THEY HAD NO IDEA HE WAS USING IT. What do I do? I'm scared this jackass will sneak into the property and steal my gear, or worse cause harm to my property. This is rural country I'm talking about, but not the Upper Peninsula, where you NOT DARE do harm to others. Have any of you dealt with a similar situation with a disgruntled past occupier of a property? Should I lay down the law and stand firm, or is it to much of a risk?
I had a similar issue last year, but the other guy solved it for me. He was so convinced I was the one trespassing that he call the NRP on me, when they arrived he showed them some paperwork from years ago and they explained to him that I had permission and he had to go away. Doesn't sound like you'll be that lucky. Property owners could press charges if they wanted but that won't help you protect your vehicle/gear. Best of luck to you.
If I saw him again on the property and knew the land owners intent I wouldn't say a word. Let him go about his business tell the land owner when he is on the property and have them contact the DNR if they wish. Hang his *** out to dry. Then assist later when they show they will learn real fast and let it be known that trespasser are not welcome on this property. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Place a camera up so if your stuff gets diddled with you get a picture. If you see him again go see the property owner together if the owner is willing.
I had a similar encounter. The person said he had permission and did not. I said I can refer this to the authorities since I had camera footage of him which he said was a breach of privacy which is ironic. Pretty much if you see him again take his license plate and immediately call the authorities also notifying the land owner of the trespass Bowtech invasion CX maxima 350 React 5 Reaper 2 inch
Yep, sounds like a typical tresspasser. I had a run in a couple years ago in similar fashion. I threatened to notify the wardens and police, he said he's "be back" but it was an empty threat. Have had no issues since. Typically when u mention getting the law involved most tresspassers move on
i think it was wrong for you to cofroting him like yelling at him.if you confront him politely. he probally wouldnt say those words back in a threat way. did you talk to youre wifes aunt and uncle about the land boundries? what if your in their land and you didnt know instead. im not saying your wrong or right. what if theres a misunderstanding where hes on your land or your on their land. id talk the land boundries between the neighbor and ur family.
Obviously you know who the guy is now correct? If your family does not want him on the property then they should be the one's who contact him and let him know. If they could care less then I would say it's time to make room for him and perhaps you can work together.
Have them write a letter saying you are the only one that has permission to hunt the property. If he comes back, call the Sheriff. As far as your truck in concerned. Park it in the same spot you always do. Hang a camera (black flash) in a tree above it, angled down. Put it on 3 pic burst every 15 secs. I ALWAYS carry a handgun with me into to woods. ALWAYS!! Hopefully he gets the point and stay away. If you have your stand in a certain spot, hang a cam high in a tree near it as well.
They make dash cams that are motion activated and will capture video when your vehicle is turned off. I would get one of these installed on the dash and throw a shirt on top of it (not blocking the lense of course) to hide it and spread other stuff around your truck to clutter it up to make it look normal. If he damages your truck you got video! Dash cams are also great for other reasons like protecting yourself against the idiot driver who crashes into you and blames you. A quick google search came up with this info. A few paragraphs down they talk about the motion activated cams. One of these are on my to buy list. http://www.tested.com/tech/456565-best-dash-cam-your-car-costs-60/
I wouldn't be worried about your property but yourself. People get funny about "their" deer. They resort to violence and even murder, which is crazy, but apparently a buck is worth it to some. I'd talk to your relatives, inform them what's going on, ask them if they'd like you to put up no trespassing signs in accordance with your state law on your dime as thanks for letting you hunt there, and then what they want you to do if you see this guy again. i.e., let them know so they can call the authorities. Might take a little longer, but you'll be safe and chances are, it will lead to better results than confronting this guy. BTW, I have a neighbor who used to hunt my land when it belonged to my FIL before my wife and I bought it from him. My FIL never was around and did not know he did. But low and behold, I am bowhunting the first week of November and here he comes in his truck and hops out with his grandson right in front of my stand trying to help him get his first deer. I quickly yelled out and asked him what he was doing and he said "oh, you're usually done by now so I thought I would come down here and help so and so get his first deer!" I'm thinking, what planet do you come from buddy? But I calmly said "No, I'm hunting my woods and I hunt them all season." He looked at me for a few seconds confused. "I'm hunting right now," I said and "I'll be hunting all season and all of next season in these woods that I own." He got the message and no hunting signs went up the next year. Maybe a little brusk but I wasn't a complete EXPLETIVE and it worked.
Sounds like he used to have permission? If so, maybe he just assumed he still did. I have permission on a piece that I haven't talked to the landowner for over 15 years as they no longer live on the property.
If you see him again confront him and call the landowner with him right there and have them talk to him
Reading this made me dizzy. "Give me a minute". OK, as far as dude walking all over the land that ONLY YOU should be hunting, how about you forget about "political correctness" for a while and deliver dude a good azz thrashing? That usually gets the message across.
I absolutely hate trespassers. They should all be shot. Property adjacent to us was being hunting during gun last year from some people that didn't own the land. I was going around on the snowmobile picking up heaters out of the stands on Saturday before the season closed on Sunday. Low and behold, I pull up to a stand and a guy in blaze orange had just come out on our ATV trail. He says, "oh, I must be too far east." I said, "yeah. Any luck?" I was nice about it but man oh man, there is no excuse to trespass. Know your property lines or don't hunt.
