Neighbors hunting your CRP?

[hanso612]

I spent the first 30 years of my life hunting in Northern Minnesota and it was very clear that you didn't put a stand within site of your neighbor. I have started hunting Southwest Mn for deer and have some serious questions of edicate or tradtions that I need help with. I had few neighbors hunting near me when our property was cropland, but as soon as we put it into CRP, the neighbors came out of the woodwork. They lined up to hunt the edges of our CRP from their tilled land. How do you guys down there approach this encroachment issue without ruffling feathers? I've had three very close calls in three years in SW and none in thirty up north. I would love to hear from both side of the fence. Thanks, Hans.

[kobear]

I have had a similar experiences in West Central. We have traditionaly not located stands within 100 yards of the property lines. As the land around ours sold new owners relocated the stands to the property lines. One man and his boy climbed down, climbed over a fence, and moved a hundred yards into mine the first year they were on their land. I walked their way and they got up and walked back to their stand, then kept going to their truck and left.

One stand is in the individuals back yard and overlooks two neighbors property, he owns a couple acres and hunts a hundred. I did sit right across the line from him one opener, he left and i haven't seen him in the stand for two years. Each year I hope he has a place to hunt cause i don't want anyone to get "shut out".

That feeling gets tempered by the fact that a few years ago my stand, THE stand, was pulled down by a pickup with a log chain a week before season. Two years prior the same stand disappeared two days before season. Just four holes in the ground and tractor tracks. I caught the guy the second time. It was the neighbors kid and cousins. He dropped his wallet while hooking up the chain. They claimed they were moving it as a joke and didn't know it was three feet in the ground. The neighbor wasn't concerned at all, #$#%%#$.

On another piece in recent years the neighbors have relocated their stands from the center to the property lines. They actually put them on our land till October than move them back on the fields for a month. This last year they had my stand there bracketed, one of theirs 100yds north, one 150yds east also known as 60 feet from my food plot. We will have to address that next year, I will ask them to please move their stands a respectful distance off the property line.

Reminding them: DNR Regs say "• A person may not take a wild animal on any land where the person is prohibited from lawfully entering by trespass law."

If that doesn't work I'll probably let the Conservation Officer know we are having "issues" and then move my stand into the middle of the two acre woods they are standing over and spend the whole season there. Sucks but what's a guy to do?

[roosterslayer]

Build a stand on your side of the fence right next to theirs stand. They should get that Idea. Where i hunt up by staple we had a new neighbor build a tower stand right on the fence line next to a clover field. so we put up a big tower stand on our side of the fence directly across from his, well maybe ten yards apart. Opening day he sat there for about 30 minutes watching the deer in our field, while my cousin sat ten yards away. when i went back during ML season, he had moved his stand off the fence row.

[Jameson]

Hans, your neighbors have every right to hunt their plowed field. I would suggest to not make it very appetizing.

Doing "deer drives" is a method of hunting that maybe you are not used to. In my experience, all hunters standing in a plowed field are the posters of a deer drive. If this is the case with the neighbors, may I suggest that you let them know that if they push deer (not shot) onto your property that they will not be allowed to continue their drive on your property. Seems basic I know, but they may have hunted your land for the past 30 years, and habits are hard to break.

Maybe your neighbors are sitting in their fields waiting for you to drive your property? Maybe letting them know that you won't be driving the deer on your property will influence them to hunt some where else?

When I took over control of a chunk of hunting land I had all the neighbors lined up on the edges of the land come the first deer opener. They waited there until the true tresspassers came along and drove the property. I took notice of this the first year, and second year I invited a half dozen friends to hunt with me. I positioned my friends to totally block the neighbors "shots" onto my property. That same year I talked to some of the neighbors and let them now that it would be a regular occurrence. Most the neighbors have moved onto better hunting grounds, and I've made nice with the others.

And nothing against deer drives here. Now I will let the neighbors that I've made nice with know of the ONE deer drive I usually do per year on this property. They seem to appreciate the gesture.

Good Luck!

[kobear]

The neighbors we've come to "terms" with are great guys. When they're in the swamp I come back another day, watch the wind and try not to screw each other, etc.

[ScoutII]

What it is, is, what it is. The human nature of mankind is to take the easy way out. At least the generation we all seem to be noticing. It just takes a small few to screw it up for the rest.

Sometimes in order for something to happen someone has to do something. Do not just let it up to someone else to do it for you. If other people are violating YOUR RIGHTS, YOU have to speak up and tell the people it directly involves. Complaining to people who could care less only temporarily relieves the feeling. If people keep getting away with something they are not going to change without being told they need to change. The bigger a problem gets the more work it will take to get it right again. If you do not let it get to the big problem stage, it will ussualy take LESS effort to fix the problem.

You have to crack an egg or 2 to make an omelet. If the local DNR doesn't want to enforce tresspass laws, go to the sherrifs department, DNR is not the only show in town when it comes to tresspass. Like you say not everyone has the same opinion on the same topic. I have found that in a lot of situations you take out the leader of the pack and the rest FALL like dominos. So it may not take as much effort to resolve as you may think. Please do not just give up, it just might be you are not involving the right people to get the right response.

CRP property is treated the same as crop land in the rules when it comes to tresspassing, says so on Page 13 of the ' 07 Rule book.

So are these hunters on your land or on their land next to yours?

[hanso612]

Scout, Fot the most part, I have great neighbors and want to keep it that way. I purchased a piece of property that has the reputation of being hunted hard by locals. The old owners of my piece and the owners of land to the west are from Nebraska and never posted their land. I posted mine clearly, but have had signs shot and removed. The outright driving of my land while I'm in my ground blind has stopped, but neighbors usually friends of the neighbors renter or road hunters continue to shoot into the posted land from either the road, their car, or picked field.

The neighbors have every right to hunt there side of the property line, what I was looking for was tips on the standard conventions down there. What do others do to help spread out the pressure for safeties sake. Who gets the hot corner? Do you switch up every year? Do you pick seasons-4a,4a, muzzle loader?Do you orange flag your ground bind or post signs? That kind of thing.

I was also fishing a little trying to suggest more farmers add cover or CRP of their own. Thanks, Hans.

[lawdog]

I can tell you what one friend of mine did when his "neighbor" built a nice elevated blind right on the fence line of his property overlooking a nice draw of my friends and a bare dirt field of his own. My friend went and bought the cheapest rottenest smelling cologne and perfume he could find and dumped it into a gallon jug a day before the deer opener which he knew this guy was going to hunt. He then put that jug in front of the guy's stand on his own fence post and shot it with a shotgun, spraying a huge mist of strong cologne all over this guy's blind legs. There wasn't a deer within a mile of that place and the guy subsequently moved his stand.

Now some may say my friend was being a [PoorWordUsage], but honestly the guy was just a trespasser and got what he deserved when he wasted that weekend in his stand and never saw a deer on my friend's prime land...

[hanso612]

Hey Lawdog, I'm trying to foster neighbor relations here, but I see I've struck a chord. I also see you are one of those Rock county guys I've been riding lately. How about an update on public land acquisitions in your neck of the woods. I'd love to see that I am misguided and my info is old, and that you guys have banded together a preserved a few more public parcells. Thanks for the input, Hans

[lawdog]

 Originally Posted By: hanso612

I also see you are one of those Rock county guys I've been riding lately. How about an update on public land acquisitions in your neck of the woods. I'd love to see that I am misguided and my info is old, and that you guys have banded together a preserved a few more public parcells. Thanks for the input, Hans

I have no idea what you are talking about, can you enlighten me? hard to respond otherwise...

[hanso612]

Lawdog, most of the time people don't have a clue of what I'm talking. So here's the scoop. I noticed you are from Levern. Our farm is in Murray county. Murray county is blessed with many WMA's and we have been adding them at a fierce clip. We have strong local DU and Pheasant Forever chapters and we have been very lucky that our area has recieved state and federal money for projects lately. Part of what made these projects possible is the lack of outcry at lost tax revinue at the county level.

I look at Mccload and Lyon counties with envy. Local chapters there are very active and have raised the money and put tons of habitat in the ground-lots of it public. I have an old map of WMA's and everytime I look at the lack of public hunting opportunity in Rock county, I think, man we have to start a fire under these guys, rattle some cages, or just plane publically humiliate them. What I'm hoping to do is start a little friendly competition that puts pheasant habitat in the ground.

So, if Luverne isn't in Rock county, or your not from there, then I look silly. If it is, hopefully my point is clearer. Either way we need more public land in Rock county and that might as well start with us.

So, what do you think are the reasons for so few WMA's in a county with more non-tillable acres than most? Hans.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Where in Murray county is your farm?

[hanso612]

Boiler guy, I married into a bunch of farms, like I mentioned before we have one in Avoca, Two on the pipestone county line and one in Lake Wilson, and a cabin on lake Sarah, nothing big and we have a multiple renters all great. We also hunt with guys from the area on their farms and most of my posts are generic to all so as not to risk neighbor relations. I'm the new guy and know how traditions can be. So any feedback on how to negotiate any of these trickey situations is much appreciated.Hans

[Tom7227]

A pot of coffee, a dozen eggs and a pound of bacon on the last Sunday of the season at your deer shack is probably a really good way to start dealing with the tricky situations. Seems like your posts imply you don't have any relationship with these folks. I'm sure that my idea will get your further than spraying a guy's land with O Du Hooker perfume.

[hanso612]

Scout, I think your post is right on the money, nothing better than a face to face conversation. The times times I've almost been shot have all involved road hunters driving deer with cars,beeping their horns and flashing lights into cover to push deer then cutting them off until they are driven to their own private section. I have a big enough grass land that deer don't like to leave once they are pushed there- but they do attract a crowd when they are standing in the middle of the section. It is these types of hunts where I've been caught in the middle of crossfire. These hunters are not my neighbors but assume they are locals but can't be sure.

I am realy not trying to just complain. I'm trying to get ideas from all sides that might help without always involving the law. Pushing for more public habitat is my axe to grind. A while back we discussed walk-in areas,I chose to argue against them, but totally see how they would fill a need.

What I was looking for with particular issue was fiendly solutions with strong neighbor relations to a common problem down in farm country that we don't have up north. In a section with little set aside land, how do you decide who gets the good corners if all neighbors want to hunt? Obviously the middle of the section is a great place to stand. Four land owners might stake claim to the spot. Or the fencerow leading to heavy cover on the adjacent section. Who gets to stand were? These are the kind of questions hunters in sectionland will have way more knowedge than a stand hunter from Cook.

[lawdog]

hanso, I am in Luverne and that is Rock County. We have a pretty good PF chapter here (which I sponsor by the way) which has added a couple small WMA's since I've been here. We also have NWTF but no DU. It gets harder and harder all the time though.

The main thing that makes it hard to add WMA's here is simple, Ag Land is like Gold. Sales here routinely get over $5000 an acre now, this is fertile ground and no one can afford to take 5 to 6K land and buy it for pheasants. Good grief we just had an auction last weekend on an 80 south and west of town that sold for $7800/acre. Most of these farmers around here are rolling in cash. Reality is there won't be many new WMA's here and there won't be any CRP either with those land prices and $5 plus corn it just isn't going to happen. We are just about priced out of reality.

We don't have good bird hunting in Rock County because the access is limited and the grass is too. There are great private land spots with pockets of good numbers of birds and excellent deer spots along the river bottoms which are all private too, but widespread public hunting isn't ever going to be an option here unfortunately.

[ScoutII]

Join the party and share in the harvest. If you cann't beat em join em. Then everyone knows who is where and who gets to shoot where. If these unknown hunters are pushing deer to a spot they must know one of your neighbors or why did they pick that spot to drive deer to? If that many people are hunting the same area someone is leading the pack.

The bottom line is it is someones land. If it is your land, your neighbors should respect that. It takes some time and either phone calls or door knocking to find things out.

People do not always like change, sometimes a person has to be FIRM and state what their expectations are. I think it is a lot better to make one enemy than to here about a tragedy that could have been prevented.

[subzero]

I must be missing something thing here, what I read is that people have stands on their land although it is near the property line. Because of that they are trespassers and unethical hunters and that gives other people the right to put stands ten yards away and disrupt there hunt. To me the person putting the stand that close to the first stand is harrassing the first hunter. If there is a actual violation then take it to the proper authorities,after all they do own their land and have the right to place a stand where they want also and hunt without being harrassed.

[lawdog]

subzero, the problem is they have a stand set up to hunt the neighbor's land by setting it just inside their own border. They aren't hunting their own plowed dirt field with no cover, they are hunting their neighbor's cover even though they sit just across the border... In some instances that I've seen they even have the stand set up so the only probable shot is across the fence, clearly trespassing to shot a big game animal on someone else's property that you don't have permission to access.

[tealitup]

My brother in law has the same situation on his land. An older man sets up with a five gallon bucket right on the fence. Last year he shot a nice buck traveling the fence line on my brother in-laws property.

When he went to investigate the older man and his son were gutting the deer on his property. (Yes, there are no tresspassing signs).

[Hammer Handle]

You have every right to put a stand on the properly line between you are your neighbor. I have neighbors that do this...and some of us have stands close to each other. I would never disrepect this stand.

However, you CANNOT shoot at a animal across the line. That is tresspassing. You can shoot at a deer BEFORE he gets to the line, but not afterwards. You can't even shoot your wounded game after it crosses the line.

I am lucky that most of my neighbors understand this and respect this.

If someone was shooting or taking down "No Hunting" signs on my land, I sure wouldn't put up with that. Many years ago a large group come on our land and tore down signs and started making a drive. I was a young teenager and didn't know what to do, so I let them. Lucky for me, my dad came by a few minutes into the drive and he knew what to do! He ended up taking the deer they shot and booted them off...after they put the signs back up. He had no idea who they were.

Now, am I guilty of going into my neighbors to retrieve a deer that has been shot? Yes. Have I gone over the line on drives at times? Yes. But, only for our neighbors are great and we return the favor. If the neighbor has poor huniting land and we don't, the line is not crossed though.

I saw a nice 12 point buck last year...100 yards away but on the neighbors by about 20 feet. All I could do was watch. Then, a doe came out and it mounted the doe! Still, no shots fired and it walked away. The neighbor never saw it as he was having coffee....