Pheasant hunt interruption

[BrowningRage]

My family and I have hunted wild birds all of our lives. It is a tradition to get together and walk the ditches and the marshes seeking out those beautiful birds. I have a few beautiful mounts in my home.

Yesterday we were hunting a patch of ground that we have hunted regularly and have always had success on. It IS private farm land, but we've always had permission. The day was going slow when the worst experience I've had hunting occured.

We were circling ditches around what we thought was property we had permission to be on. There are never any signs or orange paint anywhere in this area by the way... A farmer drove across his field, got out of his tractor and came over to talk specifically to me, not my dad, or uncles.

He informed me that I was being very rude by hunting his property without permission. I explained to him that I had permission from (farmer friend) and that I thought I was on my friend's property. He informed me that he has heard that excuse so many times before and that I was walking around like I own every "G.D. thing in the country" and that it was "B.S.!" I apologized and told him we would leave. I asked him exactly which field was his, and which ones we apparently had permission for... He informed me that he owned everything for 2 miles, and that he was practically a GOD with all of his property.

As it turns out, we had hunted in the spot where we did indeed have pernission to be, but we had gone along the ditch approximately 100 yards too far, into this guy's place.

I apologized multiple times and stated that we would leave and not make the mistake again. The guy was seriously looking for a fight though and cursed and tried to insult me. He didn't know I am a psychology graduate and an ALL-AROUND nice guy though, and I wouldn't be provoked.

He walked away cursing still, and we left; and we won't be back. I don't understand why he had to be so hostile towards me and insulting and everything else... It was a terrible interruption to an otherwise wonderful day.

We have met with farmers on 6 occasions during this years pheasant hunt, and on 5 of those occasions the farmers were friendly and made us feel at home hunting near or on their ditches (We obey all laws regarding private property). One farmer saw the success we were having and even asked us if we wouldn't mind leaving so he could call family and have them come hunt a little. He was very cordial and we thanked him.

I wonder if anyone else may have to vent a bit as I have....?


One last thought... If you are picking a fight, don't bring your fists to a gun fight...

 

[Breacher]

Browning rage,

There are always two sides to every story. I will take your word for what its worth but will give you an example of my own. My grandfather owns a small ranch in the mountains of San Diego. There are a lot of deer and turkey on his property. My grandfather doesn't allow anyone, including myself to hunt on his property. He posted the fencing with no trespassing and no hunting signs. He comes across hunters on his property on a regular basis. The most commom excuses are, "I didnt know" or "I didnt see any signs" Even though they have to get over a barbed wire fence to access the property. This rancher you dealt with is probably upset because your not the first person to have trespassed on his property even if unintentionally. He's is probably sick of dealing with it like my grandfather. Since you are a psychology graduate, you could probaly understand his frustration or even anger to the point where he is yelling and cursing.

Lastly, why would you make a stupid comment like, "If you are picking a fight, don't bring your fists to a gun fight..."

If the guy really wanted a fight, he would have started one. It seems to me he was just venting, kinda like you are. Are you insinuating you would have shot the guy if he wanted to fight? Even if he did start a fist fight, it would be hard to justify shooting him. Just think, maybe the rancher doesn't have a cool psychology major like you do.

 

[shootinfool]

wow breacher, you must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed! I tend to agree with browning on this one. There is no call for anyone to treat another person that way. I would not fly off the handle and swear and cuss at you and insult you and i dont beleive anyone should have to do that. The farmer should have been cordial and polite up untill the point that the other person is not. If the farmer is so upset at people trespassing on his property then he should just call the sherrif. He better be darn sure where his property starts and ends too. I know sometimes property lines tend to extend out farther than they really are when you are in farm country! And fighting someone over tresspassing on your land is not worth it no matter how you look at it. Just my opinion though.

 

[Breacher]

Heck, It may not be necessary for the yelling and cursing if thats what happened. I think i'd rather get a tongue lashing than for the Sheriff to show up. If the law is there, you may get arrested even if the trespass was unintentional. Being in the law enforcment bizz, I hear "I didn't know" and "these aren't my pants" all the time. This might be the best comparison but If I walked into your yard, would you still politely asked me to leave or screw a gun in my ear. I guess it depends on where you live. If you have a small back yard or thousands of acres, its still YOURS.

 

[cjboz]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-12-09 AT 01:00PM (MST)[p]Note to self....Do not hunt on Breachers land!!!

 

[gb22]

I'm one of those guys who grew up on a farm back when EVERYONE allowed ANYBODY to hunt.......we had TONS of pheasants, lots of hunters and nothing posted. It still made my dad angry whenever someone would hunt on our place without stopping by the house first.......just common courtesy.

IF they would stop by the house, dad would almost always tell me to "go show them where to find some birds".....and I did.

Although urban folks seldom realize it, there is little difference between trespassing on cultivated ground and simply walking into an back yard. You may be welcome but manners dictate you say "hi" first; the law says so in both instances.


BTW......you didn't obey all private property laws or you would not have been on his place. Part of the law (and ethics) is being certain about such things. He was right, even if very vocal.


Within the shadows, go quietly.

 

[HoundDawgJr]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-12-09 AT 02:54PM (MST)[p]This one is easy. You should have left the guy on his hands and knees picking up his teeth out of the dirt while trying to stop the bleeding. Forget ethics or the law, or the psychology degree, the prick needed a beating.

Ya know unless he's a big, tough bastard. I'm a little guy so I'd have to shoot him in both knee caps, or have one of my bigger buddies beat his ass.

Sounds like a landowner we ran into years ago out of Myton. My buddies older brother was the WRONG guy for this farmer to try out his tough talk on. Watching that was way better than the pheasant hunting. LOL

 

[bowhunt]

Yeah that would be smart Hound, then he could go to jail for Tresspassing and Assault.

Too bad you had a bad experience. Your probably lucky that he got mad at you, and did not just call the cops.

 

[HoundDawgJr]

"Yeah that would be smart Hound, then he could go to jail for Trespassing and Assault."

Good point Bowhunt, hadn't thought of that. Ya, you don't want any tickets so you would want to beat the **** unconscious so when he finally came to laying there in the dirt, he would be lucky to remember his own name let alone you.

By then you'd all be back at Marie Calendar's eating pie. Good call Bowhunt, don't want any tickets. Gotta knock the guy out cold so you can get out of Dodge!! I should have thought of that.

PS... Also thought of one other thing. After he was out cold, probably should toss his cell phone in the creek, just in case. ;-)

 

[heartshot]

You gotta love the hound guys

Too Funny

 

[shootinfool]

I understand the frustration of the farm community and the fact that the back 40 is infact their back yard. I sympathise with them for this reason. I, however, would not be yelling and screaming at someone, even if they were inside my completely fenced yard with locked gates. I would aproach them and see what was going on in a curtious manner. Who knows the guy in my yard might be trying to get a ball his kid threw over the fence or something simple like that. I would then let him get his ball and open the gate for him to leave. For all that farmer knows, maybe the guy lost his dog and was just looking to see if his dog was on his property. Im not saying that is the case at all. Im not saying the guy was in the right for trespassing either, I just think that a little curtisy can go a long way for both parties. As a property owner you will meet guys that are intentionally tresspassing or that will be down right rude. You deal with those when they come. I know a guy that owns a great deal of property by lost creek who has had many experiences with tresspassers. One time he and I were up hunting on his property with his son and two gentlemen aproached him from up top of a ridge. These two gentlemen proceeded to tear into him cussing him and telling him they should just burry him for tresspassing on that property. He was so calm it was unbeleivable. When the guys were nearly done yelling he calmly interupted and asked if they were done. He then proceeded to tell them that the last time he was down to the county offices it was his name that was on the deed for all of this land! He also told them that he never wanted to see them on his land again and that he was headed down to call the sherrif and that they had untill the sherrif got there to get off of his property. He never threatened them physically, he never cussed them out. I thought that he acted admirable. he got his point across without yelling, cussing, insulting, or fighting.

 

[BrowningRage]

I would have appreciated a little understanding in this situation as well.I kept calm and the situation was resolved without further aggression from the landowner.

Shootinfool, your story is the exact same as my neighbor's. About 5 years ago he took us to a few of his fields for some great pheasant hunting. When we arrived there were some trucks parked at one end of the property and we spotted the individuals hunting a ditch bank. We hunted our way towards them on another ditch bank. When they spotted us, they made a B-Line across the winter wheat towards us. They started cussing at my neighbor (who owns the property). When they finished, my friend calmly asked who they recieved premission from. We all had a good laugh when it was my friend's name they said that had given them permission... Before things escalated, my friend simply identified himself, and the gentlemen apologized (for both trespassing and their poor behavior) then they left peacefully... No further action was taken...

 

[west]

I don't see how you guys can say that a back yard and a farm or ranch are the same thing. If the farmer came out and a guy was hunting in his stock yard well then maybe you could compare the two. Legally trespassing is trespassing, but if you walk out your back door and some guy is in your yard there is a darn good chance he is up to no good and would require a very suspicious even hostile reaction (obviously he knows he is trespassing). If a rancher or farmer sees a guy 100 yards into a 40 acre section from his neighbors land with no fence then there is a darn good chance the guy got confused. How the farmer reacts just depends on whether he is a ***hole or not. If he is yelling and screaming and making claims that his land goes for 2 miles in any direction when it obviously does not...then he is a ***hole. If he just flat out calls the sheriff then he is a semi ***hole that doesn't feel like dealing with it. If he finds out you are hunting his neighbors place and you walked 100 yards to far and if you are very curtious apologetic and he shows you the boundry. Well he is a good guy. Now if your an ***hole when he shows up well the only way to treat an ***hole is to be an ***hole right back and make sure you get a trespass fine. Basically i'm just saying it is alot easier to accidently cross a little into a guys farm then it is accidently walk into a guys backyard. No matter how many times the guy has caught somebody on his place if he reacts like that he is an ***hole.



"blaming guns for violence is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'donnell being fat."

 

[ELKOHOLIC]

You say you obey all laws, but do you know what the law is about hunting private property in Utah? Apparently not. Your lucky you didn't get a ticket. I don't even bother pheasant hunting anymore because of the lack of birds and the hoops you have to jump through to go hunting.

 

[BuckSnort]

I'm not trying to sound like a total jackasss here but....You trespassed and got yelled at...Get over it, at least you didn't get a ticket.

Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.

 

[gb22]

West,

It is the same thing. (Apparently) You are simply one of the urbanites who don't understand. The "rest of the story" is that farmers (as a group) are infinitely kinder, more neighborly and less apt to ##### or cause problems than the guys from town; it really doesn't matter whether it's intentional, lazy or lack of knowledge.

IF the property is in it's natural state (never cultivated), one may not know it is private property and no permission is necessary (in Idaho) unless it is obviously marked. However, if it's EVER been cultivated it IS obvious to anyone and a big deal. Common courtesy and the law support the concept of it being a big deal.

The big deal (beyond courtesy and respect) is the amount of damage done to the ground's ability to generate a living (yes, I do know whereof I speak here). Even if the ground is harvested (without being replanted), essentially vacant AND the hunters are on foot.....common courtesy should be a big deal.

We (hunters) need to go a LONG WAY to make sure we don't antagonize landowners or turn non-hunters into anti-hunters.....trespassing and ignoring common courtesy will go a long way toward antagonizing and creating antis.


Within the shadows, go quietly.

 

[EdleBrock]

Mistake or not, you were on his property, you were wrong and he told you. Hurt your feelings apparently. Someone on here use to say it, so I'll say it for him. Cowboy up Butter cup. You fkd up. Take the guy a bottle Jack and apologize. Maybe he'll invite you on maybe not. Otherwise STFU and quit trying to be offended. Craps, the farmer's probably down at the elevator bitchin about you and he'd be right.

Hey Breacher, you ever knock or just blow the hinges off ?

 

[west]

gb22 a jerk is a jerk (apparently) you can't comprehend the differance between accidently walking 100 yards onto a gigantic mass of land and walking inside of a guys gated yard. I said they are both trespassing, but one is much easier to accidently do. I dont' think anybody is trying to say that ranchers and farmers aren't good people. That would be calling my own family not good people. As you said commom courtesy will go a long way. that goes both ways








"blaming guns for violence is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'donnell being fat."

 

[Breacher]

Knocking is like asking. If we are there in the first place, there is no reason to ask. Hinge side is much more fun.

 

[gb22]

Yes, West, I can comprehend the difference. However, the law (and hunting ethics) requires the hunter to KNOW the boundaries....so does common courtesy. Cultivated land is how the man buys his groceries......it's more than reasonable to expect one to follow the law.....or to "bend over backward" to make sure we don't screw up.

I didn't say we should draw and quarter the offender......just that he is in the wrong and all hunters need to be engaged in the effort of NOT offending ANY landowner or turning a non-hunter into an anti.



Within the shadows, go quietly.

 

[bowhunt]

Hound,
You are funny, better take your buddy along so you can get the job done.
Sounds like you are a trespasser.

 

[west]

i couldn't agree with you more that all hunters need to put in every effort not to offend landowners. I also agree that hunters need to make every effort to know the land boundries. I'm just saying this land owner acted like an ass. There are different ways to handle any situation. Just because you own land doesn't mean you can't be a jerk.

there have been plenty of examples given in this post of land owners treating a trespass situation in a honorable fashion. I wouldn't have an issue if this guy would of just called the sheriff and had a citation issued and left it at that.



"blaming guns for violence is like blaming spoons for Rosie O'donnell being fat."

 

[deadibob]

First of all, Breacher you need a new grandpa if he won't let you hunt his place.

I have a surefire way for dealing with landowners if I get caught trespassing. I carry one of those little garden spades that fits in your pocket. When I see the landowner coming I get down on my knees and start digging some holes. Now that landowner is going to be even more pissed I'm digging holes in his ditch bank.

When he asks: What you doin' you sumbeech? Des here's mi land and around heres in Miton we don't allow des behavoor. Now geet offa mi propty, if I knew wher I puts mi sal fone Id b callin de sheref. This is where I quietly say: ok, I shouldn't tell you this but 3 years ago I robbed a bank over in Vernal. I had to ditch the money because they had my vehicle description and I was pretty sure I'd be caught and searched. There's over 400 grand in a trash bag and I'm pretty sure this is the spot I buried it. I'm just dressed like a pheasant hunter so people won't be suspicious. Keep your mouth shut, help me find my money and I'll split it down the middle with you.

By now these dumb bazztards have forgotten all about trespassing. I say: let me run back to my truck and get a decent shovel. He says: okaay dookay, I'll go gits mi backho. So I get back to my truck and quietly slip off while that idiot spends the next year diggin up everyones ditches, just happy that I've disappeared so he doesn't have to split the money.

Now next time you see and old farmer tearing up his ditches you'll think to yourself I bet old deadibob was just here hunting pheasants.

 

[Breacher]

Hahaha, Deadibob that is one most creative ideas yet. Had to explain to co-workers in the office why I was laughing out loud. Im going to start telling people about "ol Deadibob"

Yeah, grandpa is a nature lover. Im working on him though. He's slowly getting used to the idea of a quiet bow and arrow being used on his property rather a loud rifle. At least thats my reasoning.

 

[deadibob]

Everybody needs a dream. I'm just trying to be more like Obama by giving them "hope they can believe in". In the end it's about the same.

 

[In_the_Shadows]

The stupidity in some of the above statements amazes me. You were on private land that you didn't have permission to be on, you got caught, you got yelled at, now you want people to comfort you and make you feel better because the mean old farmer hurt your feelings. Seriously?????

One more thing, what on earth does bieng a psychology grad have to do with the situation? If you were so smart and "educated" you wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place, i think.... but then again, i'm no psychology grad.

Its lonely at the top.... just the way I like it.

 

[Gator]

I had a great hunt in South Dakota and hunt most of the places we wanted too. Had a barrel of fun with some friends and family.
Even if the corn fields was still standing and had water sitting in them, The story we heard all the time was if you saw Greenheads getting up from the field go hunt another field, LOL.

One guy asked us to put flags out on the ends corn rows in one of his fields if we made it thru with dry boots. LOL


"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".