Having problems with poachers.

Codger_64 said:
It is an illegal destructive device and you don't need to know more.
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no joke and with the anti terrorist laws they can lock your butt up and not tell anyone. its amazing what the govt can do now with you "legally". making bombs. traps and etc fall under domestic terrorism. so be careful.
 
Do you know where he lives? Play Good cop...Bad cop with him. Tell him That your family wanted to put a restraining order on him. Give him paper work explaing the consequences, especially the part where all his guns are seized and the federal background check prevents him from buying more. Be the Good cop and tell him that you conviced your family to hold off and let you talk to him since you are a hunting enthusiast yourself
 
I hate to beat a dead thread, but I just wanted to give a little update.

This weekend I went out with my cousin and reposted the property since it's been 2 years and the signs are quite faded. On the back edge of the property, behind the "outlaw"'s house, as he's known, we stumbled upon two makeshift tree stands. We didn't have time to tear them down so we just posted no trespassing signs all over them and stapled them up REAL good. (I also went pee on his stand...hehe). Bad thing is there is a long path of trees with rubs on them, and some of the trees are pretty big in diameter. Hopefully he didn't get it yet. As we posted the signs we noticed there weren't any old signs to tear down, i.e. he tore them all down. When I go back up the 19th a group of people and myself are bringing a chainsaw and hopefully a warden to take care of business. He's going down.
 
Heh, heh. 8o]

Could have maybe wallpapered the inside of all his illegal stands w/ No Trespassing signs.
 
bmilla35 said:
I hate to beat a dead thread, but I just wanted to give a little update.

This weekend I went out with my cousin and reposted the property since it's been 2 years and the signs are quite faded. On the back edge of the property, behind the "outlaw"'s house, as he's known, we stumbled upon two makeshift tree stands. We didn't have time to tear them down so we just posted no trespassing signs all over them and stapled them up REAL good. (I also went pee on his stand...hehe). Bad thing is there is a long path of trees with rubs on them, and some of the trees are pretty big in diameter. Hopefully he didn't get it yet. As we posted the signs we noticed there weren't any old signs to tear down, i.e. he tore them all down. When I go back up the 19th a group of people and myself are bringing a chainsaw and hopefully a warden to take care of business. He's going down.
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People who are this willful in their disregard for your property rights don't 'go down' easy in my experience. Be very cautious with how you handle this guy. My advise would be to always be armed, don't go out alone, and start a paper trail with the authorities now. If things go bad at least you'll have some evidence you tried to take the legal approach.
 
elkins45 said:
People who are this willful in their disregard for your property rights don't 'go down' easy in my experience. Be very cautious with how you handle this guy. My advise would be to always be armed, don't go out alone, and start a paper trail with the authorities now. If things go bad at least you'll have some evidence you tried to take the legal approach.
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Definitely man...bringing the game commission out with us will hopefully be enough for them to start frequenting the area. I've literaly never seen them at my camp or the general vacinity. I really liked the idea of sending them a certified letter with a receipt of delivery, so there is proof that he received a warning for entering the property.
 
Make sure that your grandpa didn't give him written permission to hunt the land. If your grandpa did give written permission, the legality of him hunting the land might depend upon what was written. In some cases, if I understand the little I have read on it, the permission can stay in effect even upon the sale of the property.
 
I dont think he did...but he left us 9 years ago. He came to my grandma (the current landowner) asking for permission to hunt and she told him no. I witnessed it with my own eyes.
 
Call the police.

Write up a written notice of trespass, and serve it on him (the police should be willing to accompany you, and make him sign the notice).

Trespassing in and of it's self is a crime. You can limit or revoke a person's permission to be on private property!

There are a few other issues (property law has some complex issues, especially with people who have had permission to be on your land).

But don't ignore it. Call the police every time you see him or his family on your land.

They can be charged with criminal trespass (where I live it would be criminal trespass in the 2nd degree).

This is separate from the issue of poaching. You can also get a superior court order for keeping him off your land if he persists.

Multiple routes.
 
Get a few cheap cans of hot pink spray paint. Paint his stands inside and out Neon Pink.

Make some holes in the roof for ventilation. W/ a 12 gauge.

Spill a plastic bottle of Skunks-In-Heat cover scent inside each stand.
 
bmilla35 said:
Anyways, last night, my dad went to the camp just to get away. Around 7, when it's just about pitch black, he walked across the street. Dudley, my dog, let out a growl and my dad can see a silhouette of a man sitting down. He walks over to the man and says, "What are you doing on this property?"

The ignorant man replies, "What are you doing on here?"

My dad simply tells him that this is his property (not technically, but it's the families :foot:), and that he knows he isn't allowed on here. He claims to be looking at deer, but why bother spotting if you can't hunt? To make it worse his son has been caught poaching several times, so pretty much the family has ZERO class.

My question is, what can I do? Will calling the game commission do anything without solid proof? I think I may do so anyways, because i've had just about enough of this.

Thanks guys :D
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I would soon have him on the ground at gun point while I called 911. If you're wandering around on someone's property without consent, you're up to no good.

I would explain to the dispatcher that he was clearly trespassing, making furtive movements, threatening me and failing to comply with commands. I was in fear for my life, and think he is armed. Send help.

You probably won't have any more problem with him afterwards.
 
Bigfattyt said:
Call the police.

Write up a written notice of trespass, and serve it on him (the police should be willing to accompany you, and make him sign the notice).

Trespassing in and of it's self is a crime. You can limit or revoke a person's permission to be on private property!

There are a few other issues (property law has some complex issues, especially with people who have had permission to be on your land).

But don't ignore it. Call the police every time you see him or his family on your land.

They can be charged with criminal trespass (where I live it would be criminal trespass in the 2nd degree).

This is separate from the issue of poaching. You can also get a superior court order for keeping him off your land if he persists.

Multiple routes.
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^Agreed!

We have a 400 acre farm and deal with the issue of trespass yearly. Contacting local law enforcement to pursue criminal trespass is the preferred route here. Game Wardens will investigate trespass, but usually defer the case to the sheriffs department.
 
Game cameras have been mentioned several times. Each time you've shot it down with "He'll destroy the camera". Here's a variation. Post two cameras, one that is obvious, that will be easily noticed. Then post another, covering the first one, that is better concealed. This way you get him on the property and in the act of damaging your property. Unlikely he will suspect the two camera setup.
 
I was trespassing one day, just hiking mind ya but still trespassing and I walked in front of one of those cameras. I was already caught so on my return trip I fingerd it. Wasnt to concerned because it probably belonged to a guy who trespasses on our land .
 
This thread is a good read - I can't believe how many folks have problems with "locals" trespassing. Sense of entitlement I guess. I would have thought it would be out-of-state, or out-of-area hunters. I would never hunt without permission - in OH it's illegal and a fine. I would not only call the authorities every time, but take lots of pictures of his stands on your property, etc.

It may take a while, and be a lot of work but you can successfully sue some one for destruction of private property if the authorites are un responsive - police records will be available in a civil common pleas case. Take lots of photos videos, etc. I just successfully sued a crooked contractor who tore up my basement and left w/ several thousand dollar down payment. The court awarded me full damages + all my costs and garnished the contractor's wife's salary (she then settled for the full amount in cash...) It was a very frustrating process serving the contractor multiple times, etc. but in the end we made out.

The point of all this is follow the procedures in the PA code of Laws to the letter and this yokel will loose out in the long run. Take action and call the authorities anytime he trespasses to establish your case. Minimum, he will learn to avoid you like the plague, and lose his sense of entitlement about YOUR land.
 
Katdaddy said:
Game cameras have been mentioned several times. Each time you've shot it down with "He'll destroy the camera". Here's a variation. Post two cameras, one that is obvious, that will be easily noticed. Then post another, covering the first one, that is better concealed. This way you get him on the property and in the act of damaging your property. Unlikely he will suspect the two camera setup.
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It's a solid variation. If I had the money I would have been working with the whole trail cam thing. Unfortunately, I just don't have the money for a trail cam. School is expensive!! For now I think starting a paper trail as others suggested and contacting authorities is the way to go.

I'm going out to set up tree stands tomorrow and we plan on tearing down the tree stands that were put up on the property. After proper documentation, of course ;)

I'll update everyone if the thread still shows interest. Once again, thanks for all the advice and suggestions thus far.
 
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