Booby trap for trespassers

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I hope the paint ruined his gun for good.
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Assuming the property owner used the stuff intended for 'paint mines' and paintball matches, the gun is probably fine, assuming he cleaned it in a reasonable amount of time, that stuff is pretty much as harmless as 'paint' can get. It's non-permanent and will rinse off with water, even a week later. Now, if the property owner switched over to a real paint like Behr's or whatever, well that'd not only be potentially a lot more dangerous, it would also likely ruin a rifle in short order.
If the property owner was really looking to hurt someone, I don't think there's much stopping you from filling these things with other chemicals, as long as they don't eat through the plastic. Filled with bleach or hydrochloric acid, and it might get classified as a 'chemical weapon' and could easily cause damage and/or injury. Even if no one was hurt, I'd expect immediate action from the court system/LEO's in that case.
 
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I played paintball for many years. That stuff gets sticky quick and can be an oily mess. Yeah if he cleaned the gun it should be fine, if it was permanent paint then....well. The guy got what he deserved
 
I think alot of you are forgetting that there is a significant difference between a trespasser and a ARMED trespasser. Contemplate that for a bit.....
 
I've thought about this for a few days before I decided to jump in. I'm having a hard time picking a side on this one but I'm leaning toward bad form setting an exploding trap and leaving it unsupervised.

Not all trespassers are doing it intentionally. Some people get lost, miss seeing the sign or otherwise don't intent to cross over onto property where they shouldn't be. This old fellow looked lost but we don't have that info.

I'd put a chain across roads and trails on my land and hang a sign in the middle. If I had problems with signs being torn down and repeated violations, I could see getting creative with defending my property. I like the idea of rocks large enough to rip out a differential hidden in tall grass where someone might drive. That wouldn't hurt someone on foot...

Tony
 
nope

You bet I would love to hook up a paintball mine with permanent paint in it to paint these people.
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Maybe so....if you could guarantee that the only persons who could set the thing off were "those people". Booby traps, though, are not that smart.
 
I don't condone this type of behavior but the 'booby trap' was harmless.
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No, it was not. The paint did property damage to the trespasser and posed a very real eye and ear threat.

As noted here, http://www.wideopenspaces.com/trespassing-hunter-gets-blasted-paint-video/

both the trespasser and the landowner were cited for violations.

I think alot of you are forgetting that there is a significant difference between a trespasser and a ARMED trespasser. Contemplate that for a bit.....
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Contemplated. It makes zero difference as to whether the trespasser is armed or not armed when setting booby traps.
 
As to structures...

Fireman's Rule. Some states require the landowner to make it safe for trespassers. CA is one such state that imposes this duty (Rowland v. Christian).

Now, rural settings may be a different matter. I would not endorse placing of any traps. One way or another, an attorney will be happy to bring an action in tort and it's not whether there is a cause of action but whether it's cheaper to settle out of court. Such is the abuse of the legal system.
 
It's quite apparent that the trap-setter took precautions so as not to hurt the guy
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Based off of what? Had the man been shorter, and not wearing glasses he could have easily been blinded by the paint. Depending on the force of the explosion, it could have been permanent. What if he had some sort of allergy to a chemical in the paint, which causes his throat to swell up? Unless he knew the man he would have no way to know how tall he was, or if he had severe allergies. What if he had a heart attack?

Look, the guy was in the wrong for trespassing and hopefully he gets prosecuted for it. That being said, the land owner was in the wrong for doing this. So much could have gone wrong as there were too many variables to account for. He's lucky it ended the way did, many other endings would have ended with him/her in jail.
 
I think it is funny. Having said that, despite the legal implications and the debate about whether or not this is legal, I think there is another more important implication. Retaliation from the person one paints is a real possibility. People get shot over stuff like this. They start booby trapping each other and next thing they know it comes to one or the other getting shot.
 
In Wisconsin, the only private land that needs to be posted is land directly adjacent to and bordering public land. It is the responsibility of the hunter to know where they are, who's land they are on and to have permission to be there.....otherwise, they are trespassing. Trespassing is a crime, even when property is not stolen or animals poached and should be treated as such. Still does not give a landowner the right to set booby-traps.
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True words.
 
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