Hunting Etiquette Question

[Catskillkid]

So I have what I would consider a hunting etiquette question for the sportsmen and landowners in this forum.

I have to confess that I'm lucky in the sense that my family's property is 150 acres that is mostly bounded by either State Land or NYC Water Supply Lands that are both open to hunting. We do have a few private property owners that adjoin us. On the western side of the property there is a stream in a deep gully (steep slopes with 100 foot drops on both sides). Now technically the stream is not the property line. For at least two of the adjoining properties the line actually comes across the stream to "my side" a little bit. You can tell because there are old stone walls and barb wire fence remnants to mark those lines plus a surveyor's pin. In all my years we've never had a problem with trespass because someone would have to hoof down and then up again through the ravine to only be on a small patch of land that is maybe 40 feet by 60 feet (my measurements may be off by a bit put not by much).

Last year one of the pieces adjacent to us was subdivided. Late last year into early this year a house was built on that parcel and a family moved in. No big deal, can't see each other through the trees and there's a big ravine and stream so I didn't think much of it. Not too long ago I was walking the property line checking Posted signs and on this 40x60 foot oval I see that someone (I'm assuming it's the new homeowner on the other side of the brook) cleared several small trees and put up a tree stand. At first I was pissed because I thought he was on me but upon further investigation I am now certain that the tree stand is on his side of the line. The thing is that he's only a few feet off the line and the stand is oriented toward my family's property. In essence if he's going to shoot a deer more than likely he's going to shoot one on my side of the line. I made sure I put up several more very visible Posted signs on my side of the line. Other than that I'm not sure what to do.

I was originally of the opinion that I should leave a note on the guy's tree stand asking him to call me so we could discuss my concerns or maybe even sending him a letter. My mom is very much of the opinion that if it's on his land we shouldn't say or do anything. Her argument is that we've never had problems with neighbors (not quite true but we've had nothing too big over the years) and she doesn't want to start drama now as long as he stays on his side of the line. My mom and dad are the owners of our property I should add even though I'm the one doing most of the management on it. One of my mom's cousins is a Conversation Officer (not local to us sadly...he's in a different county) so I called him and he said as long as the tree stand is on his side of the line he's doing nothing illegal. If he shoots a deer on us than that's a different story but we can't do anything until he starts poaching. Orientation of the tree stand doesn't matter.

So what do you all think? At the end of the day I'll probably respect my mother's wishes but I also feel I'm not out of line with leaving a note on the tree stand. If he doesn't call me well than that's his choice and I'll just make sure that me and my cousins who hunt our property make a few extra sweeps of that area during deer season to make sure he's not poaching. It just seems very silly (and kind of jerk behavior if you ask me) for a guy to put a tree stand up on a patch that small when everything else is owned by us and he didn't have the courtesy to mention it.

Appreciate the advice!

 

[Blimey]

I’ve read of similar stories like a stand on the line but oriented to take deer on the neighbor’s land.

If he gets a deer he will likely have to recover on your property. I see no issue leaving a note on his stand with your phone number in case he needs to recover a Deer. This can be friendly and it also lets him know you know he’s there.

Or you can set up a hidden trail cam on your side and just let it be and review footage at end of season. I think a few fresh posted signs will get the message across.

 

[kev74]

Set another tree stand right in front of his on your side of the line.

Or talk to the guy.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

What happens if a deer you take goes on his property?

 

[SomeSoldier]

You could talk to the guy and just let him know you hunt on your property. Explain that you have concerns of him shooting towards you.

 

[kev74]

Or... dump a bunch of corn and apples on his side of the line then drop a dime to ENCON. He won't be using that tree stand for a while.


Or you could talk to him.

 

[spat]

I’ve read of similar stories like a stand on the line but oriented to take deer on the neighbor’s land.

If he gets a deer he will likely have to recover on your property. I see no issue leaving a note on his stand with your phone number in case he needs to recover a Deer. This can be friendly and it also lets him know you know he’s there.

Or you can set up a hidden trail cam on your side and just let it be and review footage at end of season. I think a few fresh posted signs will get the message across.

I agree with this approach.

Act as if he is going to be hunting his little spot only, don't accuse him of anything else.

But leave him a note to call you if he needs to access your property to extract a kill. I am sure dragging one through that ravine would be a bitch.

The best case scenario here would be for everyone to sit down over a beer and agree to some arrangement that works to everyone's benefit.

 

[Jmac00]

I suggest you RPG his tree stand ~~~~ not while hes in it, of course

 

[Saltwater60]

I had a similar problem at my house. New neighbors thought the 10-11’ side between our houses was there’s. It’s not and I corrected them nicely.
I would give him the benefit of the doubt that he doesn’t know he’s right on the line. Also I’d ask are you ok with him recovering a deer from your property? In this case I would say no because this will encourage this bad behavior.
We have a similar problem on my parents country property. The guy that boarders their driveway shoots deer with a bow out his trailer. He baits them too. I walked by a few weekends ago and there were no apples on the ground. An hour later we walked by again and 5 apples magically appeared under the bare apple trees. He threw them there and shot a very small doe on my parents property last year. We’re pissed but can’t prove it. It was a yearling still with its mother.

I would talk with him unless your mom is against it. Hell put some babe bed wire up on that area on your property line and problem solved. People don’t h e the right to trespass.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

I had a similar problem at my house. New neighbors thought the 10-11’ side between our houses was there’s. It’s not and I corrected them nicely.
I would give him the benefit of the doubt that he doesn’t know he’s right on the line. Also I’d ask are you ok with him recovering a deer from your property? In this case I would say no because this will encourage this bad behavior.
We have a similar problem on my parents country property. The guy that boarders their driveway shoots deer with a bow out his trailer. He baits them too. I walked by a few weekends ago and there were no apples on the ground. An hour later we walked by again and 5 apples magically appeared under the bare apple trees. He threw them there and shot a very small doe on my parents property last year. We’re pissed but can’t prove it. It was a yearling still with its mother.

I would talk with him unless your mom is against it. Hell put some babe bed wire up on that area on your property line and problem solved. People don’t h e the right to trespass.

Toss a water balloon filled with fox piss near the apple tree. Problem solved. I can't stand baiters.

 

[Jmac00]

or, you'all could come to an agreement, you both could hunt each others land, and if he or you get a deer, you give the other party some venison. Problem solved.

who knows, he may turn out to be a decent guy and give you a beer or three

 

[dwa12479]

Full discloser, not a hunter....

I feel like carpet bombing the trees with posted signs would be the passive-aggressive approach, which I think seldom nets good results. Maybe best bet is a note on the tree stand with something along the lines of "good day neighbor, I see you're a hunter as well, let's get together and see how we help each other get the most out the season this year..."

 

[pjzwtl]

Agree 100%

 

[Saltwater60]

Toss a water balloon filled with fox piss near the apple tree. Problem solved. I can't stand baiters.

They are on our property so no water ballon needed. I can just stand there and spray them. I’m more pissed about the baby 60lbs doe he shot last year. They were dog sized.
I’m sure he’s pissed because the apples dropped early this year. Normally they are there to bow season and a bit beyond. Not this year.

 

[redtail]

See if he is nice enough to friend up with first, one cannot have to many friends. We seem to eat our own during season rather quickly, plenty of deer for everyone.

If not, then implement a plan b.

 

[@thewheels]

Can't hurt to talk to the guy. Show up with a bottle of bourbon or a few beers and hash it out.
God forbid you need to cross onto his land to fetch your deer and you've never talked to the guy or worse you've pissed him off with a stand 20 yards from his.
Chances are, you both will be glad you met on good terms before the season if you need to track anything across the line.

With all that out of the way...
If he's a dbag when you extend your olive branch...





J/k

 

[MoMan]

Can't hurt to talk to the guy. Show up with a bottle of bourbon or a few beers and hash it out.
God forbid you need to cross onto his land to fetch your deer and you've never talked to the guy or worse you've pissed him off with a stand 20 yards from his.
Chances are, you both will be glad you met on good terms before the season if you need to track anything across the line.

I agree with this approach right here ^^^^!
This seems to be the most reasonable, adult way to handle this. It seems as though we sure could use some more adult behavior these days, as most people seem to be settling differences by acting like grammar school kids in a schoolyard. He may actually be a decent guy, and become a good Friend going forward. Is it possible he is actually not facing you, perhaps he is left handed, and actually hunting in the other direction, idk!!??
You may be in the situation where you have to cross on him to do a recovery, he may even offer to help track an injured deer with you. You just never know.

Oh, yea, not to mention these to pieces of information:

My mom is very much of the opinion that if it's on his land we shouldn't say or do anything.

My mom and dad are the owners of our property I should add

 

[meketrefe]

Give him a big sign. Acorn special all you can eat and tell him to put it where he needs the deer to go.

Anyone stalking or potentially shooting in the direction of houses is a huge liability for them and a real danger to you. How far is your house?

Could still he shoot in safe directions to the sides and harvest something that way?

 

[fresch]

Thinking gut pile drop zone.
No just go talk to the guy.
My brother had 80+ acres where we logged and shot, parties, then some guy buys land next to him; and adds his driveway to my brothers (the town right away part) then plants A mobile home as close to our camping, shooting, etc location as possible; could see it in the summer so not like it was hidden. A year later we are having some fun and the guy comes over complaining about shooting too close to his "house". We paced it off and were ok. Come back next weekend the guy put a chain across the entry, so we cut the two trees down (brothers trees) tossed the chain in the bushes. Guy went nuts, stormed over about his land/ chain etc., we made it our job to poke the bear every weekend. Brother clear cut the property and then sold it.

 

[Catskillkid]

Appreciate the advice everyone. A few key points:

1. The tree stand is definitely is facing my property regardless of whether he is left or right handed.
2. The tree stand is pointed in the direction of the house but is well over 500 feet away. The house is also a couple terraces up from where the tree stand is (which is more down in a gully). It's a concern that a bullet could reach the house but unless he's being very unsafe and firing well above where most deer would be it likely would not be too big of an issue.

I think the approach I'm going to take is to leave a note on the tree stand introducing myself and asking him to call me if he needs help recovering a deer if it runs onto my property. Use language that "I'd be happy to help recover the deer" or something like that. Also say that there are several of us that hunt in the general direction that he's facing so use caution or something along those lines. I may also put up a trail camera or two in some inconspicuous locations to see if he makes a habit of crossing the line. I have already put several additional Posted signs up on what is absolutely my line. Some may call that passive aggressive but oh well. Frankly I think it's a tad passive aggressive to put a tree stand almost right on the line facing my direction where you're almost 100% going to be shooting a deer on my side of the line.

I'd like to think he's a decent enough person and would be understanding only hunt on "his side" which is if that's all he does that no harm no foul. Who knows maybe we can become friends out of this. That's the best possible outcome for sure. I also really don't want to get into a war with a neighbor. I've heard horror stories of people having wars with neighbors and it almost always makes everyone's life miserable. If I have to give up a little bit to keep peace I'm ok with that. If he's a dick and kills a deer on me then the ECO is getting called.

 

[Saltwater60]

Appreciate the advice everyone. A few key points:

1. The tree stand is definitely is facing my property regardless of whether he is left or right handed.
2. The tree stand is pointed in the direction of the house but is well over 500 feet away. The house is also a couple terraces up from where the tree stand is (which is more down in a gully). It's a concern that a bullet could reach the house but unless he's being very unsafe and firing well above where most deer would be it likely would not be too big of an issue.

I think the approach I'm going to take is to leave a note on the tree stand introducing myself and asking him to call me if he needs help recovering a deer if it runs onto my property. Use language that "I'd be happy to help recover the deer" or something like that. Also say that there are several of us that hunt in the general direction that he's facing so use caution or something along those lines. I may also put up a trail camera or two in some inconspicuous locations to see if he makes a habit of crossing the line. I have already put several additional Posted signs up on what is absolutely my line. Some may call that passive aggressive but oh well. Frankly I think it's a tad passive aggressive to put a tree stand almost right on the line facing my direction where you're almost 100% going to be shooting a deer on my side of the line.

I'd like to think he's a decent enough person and would be understanding only hunt on "his side" which is if that's all he does that no harm no foul. Who knows maybe we can become friends out of this. That's the best possible outcome for sure. I also really don't want to get into a war with a neighbor. I've heard horror stories of people having wars with neighbors and it almost always makes everyone's life miserable. If I have to give up a little bit to keep peace I'm ok with that. If he's a dick and kills a deer on me then the ECO is getting called.

Sounds like a good and reasonable plan.

My only thought is I’m not sure why everyone says give people the benefit of the doubt. I guess time will tell and I certainly would add some trail cameras because I’m not one to give folks the benefit of the doubt.
The extra posted signs are great IMO and that makes it well known what the property line is. If he crossed the line there is no question of oh I thought that was my property then.
The note is good and stay safe. Don’t trust this guy to be safe since IMO she’s proven to not make good decisions already.

 

[Xae289]

In your shoes, I'd definitely want to meet the guy and try to reach a mutually beneficial arrangement.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

Yeh so.

The property owner that borders ours came right over onto our property while we were out there cutting wood, and introduced himself as was proper and cordial. Mutual and exclusive permission to track a wounded deer onto each other's property. We have opened and improved trails together which benefit us both. Great guy.

Turns out he's a NYSP senior investigator. I'm a long-haired tobacco chewing country boy. I think I amuse him. Never asked me question one about my openly displayed firearms.

Can't have too many friends.

 

[Acer-m14]

leave a note and contact info .. or just go knock on his door

hey im your neighbor and i hunt too ..

if the deer i shot runs onto your property and dies may i retrieve it ..

choices ..

if yes .. i will let you do the same .. lets team up and get this awesome food ..

if no .. stay off my land .. and i will do the same ..

 

[misunderestimated]

First , confirm property line , I know there are online ways to see your tax map with a geo map online and print the section that shows a factual property line. Then you have to explain its your parent property and only family and friends hunt it ,OR give him a revokable permission agreement to hunt it with a end of season end date to be neighborly, Next year he can ask for permission .

Knowing property lines avoids arguments

 

[MoMan]

Could it be, that possibly the other landowner, that sub-divided his property, may have told the guy; 'yea, it's all good, the folks over there are cool, no problems retrieving your deer if it goes over there', just to make the sale of the property?? Maybe this new fella is of the belief that you folks are fine with retrieving back and forth. What was the arrangement with the original owner, or was there none ever discussed? I'm just trying to understand how this may have come about. Most people don't just 'move in, and encroach' on their neighbors like that, at least that's been my experience, when I had my camp up there. Neighbors seemed to respect each other's property, would meet each other, and get along just fine.

 

[Catskillkid]

Could it be, that possibly the other landowner, that sub-divided his property, may have told the guy; 'yea, it's all good, the folks over there are cool, no problems retrieving your deer if it goes over there', just to make the sale of the property?? Maybe this new fella is of the belief that you folks are fine with retrieving back and forth. What was the arrangement with the original owner, or was there none ever discussed? I'm just trying to understand how this may have come about. Most people don't just 'move in, and encroach' on their neighbors like that, at least that's been my experience, when I had my camp up there. Neighbors seemed to respect each other's property, would meet each other, and get along just fine.

The way I understand it is this. A long long time ago that parcel was subdivided from a bigger parcel and sold to someone (not current guy). That guy started staking things off doing perc tests, etc. to build a house but for whatever reason he never did. He did build a two car garage on the property. I guess that's all he had the money for and figured he'd save up for the house. Who knows. It essentially sat vacant except for the garage for years (10-15 at least and maybe more). Long story short the County seized it for back taxes and auctioned it off, presumably to the current owner who built the house and then the tree stand (again I'm making some assumptions here...I'm assuming its the property owner and not a friend of his, etc. who put up the tree stand).

No one, not the original property owner (who I think is long gone now) or any of the subsequent property owners have had any dealings with my family regarding hunting, property lines or anything else. I kind of doubt the current owner had any dealings with the previous one since the property was taken for back taxes.

Another thing I didn't mention in my original post which may or may not be relevant, on his side of the stream near the top of the ravine there was always an old shed that may have once been used as a sort of hunting blind. Never in my life have I ever seen anyone use it. This too was odd because, once again, it's on the crest of a steep slope pointing towards my family's property (pretty much if you're going to shoot a deer it's going to be on us). Again, for 20 plus years I don't recall ever seeing a single person use it during hunting season or any other time. This year the guy totally redid it. Put new siding and windows on it and everything. Not sure if it's an outbuilding (it'll be a little far and inconvenient in my opinion for that in relation to his house/garage) or if it's going to be used as a fancy hunting blind. I can't really complain about that because it is well on his side of the stream and he could say he's only shooting things that come onto the little oval that he owns on "my side" of the stream.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

Could it be, that possibly the other landowner, that sub-divided his property, may have told the guy; 'yea, it's all good, the folks over there are cool, no problems retrieving your deer if it goes over there', just to make the sale of the property?? Maybe this new fella is of the belief that you folks are fine with retrieving back and forth. What was the arrangement with the original owner, or was there none ever discussed? I'm just trying to understand how this may have come about. Most people don't just 'move in, and encroach' on their neighbors like that, at least that's been my experience, when I had my camp up there. Neighbors seemed to respect each other's property, would meet each other, and get along just fine.

Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.

 

[dean3690]

I think that you should definitely invite him out to walk the property line, swap contact info and talk about hunting season deer recovery since you will be hunting and you may have to recover a deer from his property with permission and he may need to recover from your property with permission. A deer cam located near his tree stand would be a good move as well (with a lock of course). When I hunt someone else's property with permission, I always get the survey or at least the tax maps and go out and find the boundary lines and corner pins and post the land. I also stop by the neighbors and introduce myself, get their contact info and give mine and let them know what vehicle I have so they know who is parking on the side of the road near their property during hunting season. That is typically all it takes to keep neighbors from wanting to trespass or hunt on my land or the land I have exclusive permission to hunt.

 

[Robin]

No hunting within 500 feet of an out building without permission. I would definitely have a talk with him, as always I would start with amity and respect, and see where it runs. Good luck!!!!
Robin