Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting How do you stop poachers

I've heard versions of your experience from many who lease hunting in the Coleman area. It's not uncommon for them to let others hunt your lease during the week. If you live out of town count on it.

I left a lease in San Angelo because the land owner was taking quail hunters out during the week. It's a bitch when you have photos of them standing under your feeder on your game cam.

It works, too... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

A mason jar full of skunk scent poured on the back seat of a car leaves a lasting impression too <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

HBB

That's a Cryin shame....NOT...the SOB got what he deserved <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

HBB

What about posting a sign for the lease of your land at a price that you decide upon, say like $1,000/day. If a person is caught on your land hunting, would they be obligated to pay the lease amount, or just a fine. I was told to do this to my property as if they are caught then they would be subject to pay the lease amount. I am not sure if this is correct or not and would like other's opinion.

Now THAT's more like it.. The original poster does not list what state he's in, but if it's a really remote area, maybe he could use the three 'S' method to deal with poachers, since it's obvious the state's doing nothing... (NOT that I'm advocating doing anything illegal)...

There are many sign sites where he could obtain ones that read, "WARNING! Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again!" (NOT that I'm advocating doing anything illegal).

Rookies the LOT of ya!! This is my hobby and I am getting pretty good at catching the SOB�s!! First get the local LE including the GW of course and let them know what is going on. We have had fences cut where deer were drug out, foot prints, shell casings, etc. Now the local GW here has been working with us for years and anytime we have an issue with a fence or if I am lucky enough to catch them as I did last year a simple call on my cell and he was there in 15 minutes. Now after he visits the �lease hunters� as we call them and lets them know that there are issues and he knows about them the problem usually goes away imagine that.

The laws in Texas are pretty tough regarding trespassing and we are fortunate but for those who I watch from my big hill the Leica APO 77 and my 10mp camera and adapter kit (thanks to Doug at Cameraland) that lets me take pictures it is not pretty. Taking pictures of the act here is much smarter than being stupid and threatening someone. That will get you thrown in jail let the law do their job. A lot of tough guy bravado will just get you thrown in jail or maybe shot and it is not worth it�I have had a rifle pointed at me before during a confrontation and it is not a good feeling.

Alabama is a little different than Texas we have one GW per county and a pic will not be enough to prosecute if the guy is wearing a face mask and cell phone service on our farm is imppossible unless you got a satalite phone hell i dont know if they even get service in Bama
Them Flat tires worked pretty good

I echo those saying "be careful".
I seem to recall an incident of this in the last couple years here in MN where a land owner escorted a hunter off his property with a gun and the land owner was in a heck of alot more trouble than the hunter.

I suspect that many county prosecutors would consider threatening someone, especially with a gun, as a more serious crime than trespassing. You could end up in court and facing a fine/jail time. (but I'm no lawyer or a law enforcement official)

Wayne

An armed tresspasser is a serious matter. He isn't a poacher until he's killed game. Then he is both a poacher and an armed tresspasser. Tresspassing while armed is a pretty good indication of intent to do harm. Laws are different in different States. Here, property does not have to have sinage to be "posted". It's all private property and no one has a right to be there for any reason without written consent.

Is that sort of stuff "tolerated" in your neck of the woods? Do other land owners complain about the same problems? We've been there, done that. If most of you guys are tired of that schit, get together and voice it to the state. They'll listen. If you are alone in the fight...your'e screwed.

PDS, you are correct about sinage. Cosinage and tanage are not required
either. ( <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> math joke <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />) I couldn't resist that.

Look in the little reg. book under general regs., I think, you will find
that purple paint on trees is needed to post land. A form of signage.

Not trying to be argumentative, just had to post that joke. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> BoB

I think my brother met you several years ago on a hunt in West Texas, you were checking into some clowns using the wrong tags.

I have had a few things pulled on me, sort of in reverse of this thread. As a former USFWS agent in Texas and Louisiana, I have had to watch out for booby traps set by the bad guys. One that worked really well, they snuck in to my boat while I was away working. When I went back to start up and chase someone, I put it in gear and it stopped instantly. They had wrapped a large towel around the prop, and it took me an hour to cut it away with a knife. No damage, but also no chasing that day. I met some pretty creative poachers over a 10 year LE career, but none better than Louisiana rednecks and Cajuns.

Not in Texas. All land is private unless posted otherwise.
Unless the law changed very recently. You can't even fish in the middle of public rivers when private land is on both sides. Thank you very much L.B.J. for that.

A quick search turned this up.

http://law.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/trespassing




A hunting license is not a license to trespass, but state laws treat hunters differently when it comes to trespassing. Some states have laws that specifically address trespassing while hunting, and others rely simply on the general trespassing statutes of the state. In about half of the states posting is not required to prevent trespassing; that is, it is against the law for hunters to trespass on private property without the landowner's permission even if the land is not posted. Where posting is required, some states have laws specifying how to post land. In some states, trespass while in possession of a firearm is a FELONY punishable by IMPRISONMENT for up to five years and/or a fine up to $5,000. A few states have laws that address hunters trespassing to retrieve dogs or wounded animals. In most states, however, hunters may not retrieve dogs or wounded animals if they cannot legally hunt on that land.

It's plain that a person has to tresspass before he can poach and it's also plain that a poacher is gong to be armed. I don't see any wiggle room here, it's a Felony.

I had a small farm up in NW MN and we had a problem with poachers. I talked to my neighbors and we all had the same problem. If we saw lights in the night (spotlights) we'd call one of the other neighbors and they would come over and park a tractor of truck blocking the road or field access. We'd leave the vehicle and call the Warden. Getting trapped in a field with the warden coming puts a stop to things and there is no confrontation. We only needed to do it twice in 12 yrs and all poaching stopped.

The second problem is garbage dumper, I'd dig though the garbage and there would usually be a newspaper, junkmail or envelope with a name and address on it. A POLITE call with the threat of turning it over to the sherif would find the mess cleared up the next day. I never had a repeat and it only happenned twice again, one family can spread alot of garbage over a period of time.

erich

You would be suprised at what a can of diesel will do to a unauthorized parked car on YOUR property...... If you aint into that, a 7 mag will make them piss their pants when it goes boom while you hollar and cuss at them from a hundred or so yards

have had that problem a time or two and our answer since it was not too far of a drive from the farm house (maybe 1/2-3/4 mile was to drive the combine down there and chain the offender vehicle to the combine with nice havey chain and lock and call the GW. you would be surprised how fats they show up when they knwo you hooked up to a trespasser, no doubt then what they did and the fact guns are involved gets em running faster. our local GW is very good about that as we let him hunt our lease he checks it several times a day on his journeys and has caught far more then we called about

Amen.

The goal is to get rid of the poachers and trespassers, not spend a major portion, and perjhaps the last protion, of your in prison.

Don't be stupid and especially don't be crimminally stupid.

Post a couple signs like this. I am sure it will help convience some of them.