This only applys if the wounded animal crosses the fence, correct? Does it allow shooting across the fence to kill an animal that has not been wounded? Sent from my SM-G930V using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
40 acres squared is only 440 yards across, correct? So someone could sit in a platform stand in the middle of a 40 acre parcel and literally cover the entire property with a 30-06. Hell, you could do it with a good shotgun these days. Is that a line sitter? And sorry, I call BS on the generational/more ethical crap. I've found countless old rotted out stands in trees right on property lines. If anything people are more cognizant/respectful of lines, if only because of the advent of GPS, OnX, trailcams, etc. Nowadays a trespass ticket is only one hidden camera and a cell phone call to the DNR away.
Yes, I absolutely would. But, my goal was to kill mature bucks when I was hard into it. The neighbors that kill anything are out to have fun and enjoy themselves and the resource. There are plenty of young bucks. There are very few old ones. The neighbor that is going to hug the fence, is likely there because I have provided the cover and sanctuary to attract and hold old bucks that he wants to kill. A fence hugger is normally after one thing, something they are unable to provide themselves.
And if you own the sanctuary that they are trampling around in to look for a wounded deer you certainly would wish that they would hunt a bit further away from your boundary. Or, if you are sitting in your stand, the last thing you want to see is some guy trailing a deer through your property disturbing your hunt. Are they legal, sure. Are they ethical, maybe not. Have some respect for others property and give them some space is all I am saying. It's just a common courtesy in my book. In my opinion, you are unethical to sit on or very near a fence. If that is the tactic you must use to harvest a mature buck, then so be it. But, that is not a deer that I would be all that proud of. Just my view. I am certainly not the only person that feels this way. I don't know many landowners that have anything good to say about fence huggers. So be it.
As with all ethics, it depends. Will the neighbor be upset if you have to access their property to recover your deer? If so, maybe you should give them some space out of respect. Is it an old woman that is worried about her pets, or worried about someone getting hurt on her property? If so, give her some space and back off. Is it a neighbor that has spent the last 10 years turning a crappy property into a dream property and you simply want to get close to the fence to benefit from his hard work and investment? If so, maybe you should take a hard look at just how important it is to you to kill a mature buck. If you voted for Bernie Sanders, you probably think it was your buck to begin with. If not, you might realize that boundaries can be a lot more than a thin line. Is it a neighbor that would be happy to go grab the tractor and help you drag a deer out and give you a pat on the back? If so, then by all means go for it! I just know that for me, and for many others, sitting on the fence is not something we are comfortable doing when we know that the neighbors would not be too thrilled with it. No right or wrong, just what you can sleep with and feel good about. No worries!
My neighbor is so conflicted he was all for taking the wire doe that died on his property yet was offended as hell about a doe that got shot jumped the fence sprayed blood 4 feet wide on his property then crossed back over on my land and died. Then again his logic was the doe was spraying blood all over and running a total of 65 yards 25 yard of that was on his property that it was a horrible shot.
This thread is awesome We all have are own code of ethics. For instance, there's no way I could hunt a large managed farm, with groomed plots and sanctuaries....100% public land hunting for me. But..... If that is the tactic you must use to harvest a mature buck, then so be it. But, that is not a deer that I would be all that proud of.
That's awesome. Hunting pressured ground and holding out for mature deer is certainly the most difficult trophy to harvest in my opinion. I have a lot of respect for those that do it. But, when those large managed properties with plots and sanctuaries adjoin public ground, it's amazing how many public land purists will sit right on the fence. Weird.
I don’t get how you wouldnt be proud to harvest a deer simply because you harvested it near the property line? If it’s on my side I’m shooting it and I’m gonna be damn proud. The only thing that’s wrong about hunting the line is when the stand is literally on the line facing into the neighboring property, and it’s obvious they are hunting into the other property. I find hunting a line a effective strategy, depending on the lay of the land, they may hold the deer, but not able to access these areas without pushing deer, but from your side, you get perfect wind and can sneak in. I hunt property where this goes both ways, we both hold deer in certain areas, and in most cases the other has the advantage hunting those deer. But we are both on the same management strategy and usually visit with each other a few times a year.
Excellent point about line hunting being a strategy. For those familiar with Randy Newburg, he has published many videos talking about using property boundaries as a hunting strategy. He hunts 100% public land, and uses boundaries a lot because he says many hunters are afraid to go near boundaries so they tend to hold critters. His point was that his tax dollars paynfor access to 100% of the public land. Many times on his show they have filmed him sitting and waiting for a deer/elk to cross the line onto public land so they can shoot it. Is Randy Newburg unethical? I guess so according to some. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I also believe the most successful hunters are looking at the BIG picture. Deer cover a lot of area, if you only want to look at a map of your property, that’s fine, but your missing out. With today’s topo maps and satellite imagery, I look at at all the neighboring properties as well, it affects how I hunt my property.
Maybe many hunters are not afraid to go near boundaries, but are ethical about giving boundaries respect. It can go both ways. Especially if you know you will end up having to chase wounded game into someone else's property and disrupt their hunt or bedding areas. Public land guys are always complaining about others setting up too close to them. Is that different? Maybe, maybe not. Ethics are what you can do and happily live with. So, do what makes you happy. Just know that sometimes its nice to consider how your actions impact others instead of being too wrapped up in yourself. What one persons perceives as jealousy, may be perceived as selfish by another.
I've killed a number of deer pretty close to property lines. Actually 3 of my top 4. The property line just happened to be there though, and all of those deer were on my side before and when I shot them. I was sitting in those spots simply because that's where I had to be based on wind and the trees available to sit in. I'll never hug the line hoping for one to show up on my side that lives on the neighbors, but if I have to be on the line because it's the right spot to kill the deer I don't have any hesitation doing it. And I really don't mind if the neighbors do it either. All I ask for is a call before they go over the line to recover, and that they get real picky about shots so they aren't trampling all over on a goose chase because of a bad shot.
There is a guy who has 4 stands right on our fence line. One of them because of the ravine his only shot is on our side. The F ing stand is even facing in our direction. Then he got mad that I used climbing sticks on my side to hang a no hunting no tresspassing sign at his face level on a tree on our side 3 feet from his stand.
We have a guy like that here at the ranch I manage. They have an 80 acres that juts up into the middle of the ranch and have highway frontage. Their 80 is all open pasture with cattle on it in a continuous graze operation. Our ranch encloses them on three sides. The east leg of the ranch is all crop, the crotch off their north end is all dumps and brush and the west leg is all oak brush flats and scattered open areas and food plots which is all bedding area. Their son in law set several stands on that fence line on that west leg and they were all pointed over on the ranch side and I do mean literally in the fence line over the fence wire. We did the same thing, hung about a dozen no hunting and trespassing signs all up the fence and right in their faces. Boy that pissed them off in short order. Ya know, when you have open pasture on your side and set stands up over the fence lines pointed directly into your neighbors bedding areas...it doesn't take any supernatural abilities to figure the goal. Now they do have a food plot over there in the end of the pasture...and a feeder that is running even during season...in MO which is a no no. I figure as long a deer is dumb enough to be lured over there, it's their right to shoot it but I'd damn sure better not catch them shooting deer over the fence on us because the habitat is better...that's just wrong.
One of the many reasons I never post deer pictures on FB. Nothing good seems to come of it. I will send a photo to family member or two and a couple close friends. Spots like you had are very hard to come by in my experience. Bummer he isn’t willing to work with you. Could have been a sweet situation for both.
