Hunter Harassment

[hoppe56307]

So here is my dilemma. I am out deer hunting on the land that Me and my wife own with her father. On Saturday my sister shoots a deer with 5min left in legal shooting time. Thought she hit it good and heard it crash in the woods. When we went to look for it we could not find it or any blood so we backed out and went back on Sunday morning still nothing. We looked for 2 hours and still found nothing. So sunday night at 5:15 my father-in-law comes hauling the mail down the field road to tell us its to dark for us to be hunting and we should be coming back in, and basically ruining the last 15min of leagal shooting.

How would you guys handle this? He is a stuborn older gentleman who thinks that everything has to be done his way or not done at all. I just do not want to have to deal with him coming out every evening and ruining the last few minutes of hunting.

Rant over.

[goblueM]

I would suggest talking to him and saying in a respectful manner that you're complying by the laws and would appreciate if he respected you enough to let you ethically hunt within the framework of the law

[nofishfisherman]

Not sure I'd worry too much about it. Count yourself lucky that you have private land to hunt. I'd sacrifice 15 minutes at the end of each hunt to hunt private land.

Sometimes when dealing with father in laws its best to play nice when possible. Since its only 15 minutes I'd let it slide. If he was zooming around on an ATV screwing up the entire hunt everyday then I'd say something but make sure the argument and debate that follows is worth it.

[CANOPY SAM]

Your Father-in-law is the source of your hunter harassment?

Tell him to back off and let you finish out the last few minutes of light each evening. Geez! It's "prime time"! Perhaps you could politely remind him that you're a big boy now and you can probably find your way home in the dark!

[2thepointsetters]

Sounds like a family issue. Try writing to "DEAR ABBY" she will point you in the right direction.

Your lucky you can hunt your Father in Laws land. My F.I.L. has 240 acres and he will not even let his own daughter hunt it. He is real protective of that land. The best part is when he deer hunts he shots the first one that walks in front of him. So its not like he is trying to manage it for big bucks.

[bobbymalone]

The best way to deal with in-laws is get divorced or wait for them to pass on.

true story.

[eyeguy 54]

just grab a regulation book with the sundown schedule and show him how late you can hunt.or accuweather on the net. it'll tell you the sundown sunup for where you aere. maybe he doesn't know.. good luck

[LightningBG]

Your lucky you can hunt your Father in Laws land.

Keep in mind, the OP says they he and his wife own the land, with the FIL.

As for him, it's all going to depend on his personality. Some people you'll have to ask gently, others you can tell them "get the !#$^ out of the woods until legal time is over."

Somewhere in the middle, I'd say: "Sussie and I are going to be out hunting for the evening. Legal ending time is 5:30 and we'll be coming in then. Please keep clear until then. Thanks"

Dont have to ask, you can tell him, but do it nicely.

[LightningBG]

My F.I.L. has 240 acres and he will not even let his own daughter hunt it. He is real protective of that land. The best part is when he deer hunts he shots the first one that walks in front of him. So its not like he is trying to manage it for big bucks.

240 and he hunts it alone? Selfish old geezer.

[James_R]

You should have fired into the air. He would have run off.

[jentz]

Block the road with your vehicles,Make him take a long walk to be your supervisor.Then tell him why.

[muskE]

I take it you bought your "share" of the land from him? Is it a clean 50% or is their a majority stakeholder (and your answer)?

If you make a big deal about it he might catch on and make it a bigger deal the following year. If it were me I wouldn't sweat it over 15 minutes since you probably have to eat next to him at Thanksgiving. Heck, one day he might kick one up for yo in the process.

If all else fails find other woods further from the road.

[Double D]

Maybe you harassed his daughter too much back in the day, if you know what I mean.

DD

[walleyehunter80]

Yeah chill out dude, he may have got your last 15 minutes, but your still going to bed with his daughter. Thats how i reason with my in laws!

[96trigger]

Have your wife talk to him. See if she can get him to stay out of the woods. That would be frustrating to say the least. If he is stubborn about it, I doubt there is much you can do. Might just want to have a talk with him about it. Hard to say what he is thinking or why he is doing it. It would not sit well with me either, especially if he is doing it for the wrong reasons.

[RumRiverRat]

240 and he hunts it alone? Selfish old geezer.

I have 320 and will be very selective in who I let hunt it.

Does that make me selfish?

[skee0025]

No it does not, but there is a differenece in being selective and being to the point where you wont even let your own kids on.

[hoppe56307]

I take it you bought your "share" of the land from him? Is it a clean 50% or is their a majority stakeholder (and your answer)?

If you make a big deal about it he might catch on and make it a bigger deal the following year. If it were me I wouldn't sweat it over 15 minutes since you probably have to eat next to him at Thanksgiving. Heck, one day he might kick one up for yo in the process.

If all else fails find other woods further from the road.

We just bought the land this spring together. All of our names are on all 126 acres. It is the perfect mixture of farm ground for him, so he can raise crops and have a few cattle. And about 35 or so acres of wooded area for me to deer hunt.

[96trigger]

If your wife can't talk some sense into him and if reason doesn't work, as a last resort, I would let him know that you do not tell him how to raise his cattle and crops and he should not worry about how you hunt as long as its within the law. If you own the ground equally, I would be a little more firm about it. If not, let him know you can sell your share just as fast you bought it.

[paceman]

The last few nights I got down by 5:15. It has been really dark out by then. Even out in the fields.

[gurkster]

I think it is pretty cut and dry, show him the laws that you cab hunt until 1/2 hour after sunset, then show him the sunset tables for your area, BINGO you can hunt until a pre-determined time each day. Ask him to stay out of the area until that time, when you will be coming out.

[bltbowhunter]

Yeah chill out dude, he may have got your last 15 minutes, but your still going to bed with his daughter. Thats how i reason with my in laws!

I'd go to bed alone all year long, before giving up the last 15 minutes a day during deer season. There is no amount of loving that compares to prime time. Period.

[Scott K]

Just ignore him while in stand, then when you get back to the house, tell him some crazy old person drove down the field, and you almost mistaken them for a deer, because they came in at prime time, when there was a good 15 minutes left to hunt.

Honestly, just tell him the legal times, if he doesnt believe you, brake out the DNR book, last page. Just remember he is family.

Or like my previous boss told me one time concerning an old stubborn, grumpy client, he's old, he will doe soon.

[Getanet]

To me, 15 minutes of less time in the stand is a small price to pay for peace in the family.

He probably wasn't too happy that there was a shot the night prior with only 5 minutes before legal shooting hours ended, and the deer wasn't recovered. Obviously anyone can miss at any time, but that probably rubbed him the wrong way.

Personal opinion here, but what the legal shooting hours are and what the real-time conditions are for a quality shot are quite different. Every opening morning there are shots during legal shooting hours, where I can barely read the time on my watch.

[LightningBG]

I have 320 and will be very selective in who I let hunt it.

Does that make me selfish?

If you wont let your own child hunt with you, yeah, maybe selfish, but well within your rights as the owner.

Anyone else. No, that doesn't make you selfish at all.