Tips on keeping poachers off our land?

S

Southern_guy

New member
Basically, I'm going to try and raise some quail and pheasant in the back 40 or so acres of my farm, which is knee high brush, creeks, and a few pines. We're also getting a fish pond, and plan to keep a few ducks. The problem is that people routinely poach and trespass in our area, and ducks, quail, and pheasants are nearly hunted to death out here. I'm often away from home, and even then, a majority of the back of our land is hidden from view by a thick forest of oaks and pines on a hill.
I don't plan on killing the poor birds, just raising them and growing a small batch to restore the population in our area, but don't know how to keep people off of the place. The closest neighbor is a 93 y/o WWII vet 1/2 a mile away, and a game warden lives 1 mile farther out. The problem is, he's always gone.
It's not just paranoia. A family raising some deer in a large fenced in wood patch had a buck with a nice rack killed and taken off.

Any suggestions?
 
A vigilant eye on the place. And put out the word that you fully intend to pursue charges of the utmost possible... Good luck with the plan.
Brent
 
I have a 160 farm that I, or others in my family seldom get to visit and I have the same concerns. We have lots of quail, deer etc. that I am positive are being hunted by others...to include neighbors...

40 acres is good for a start but the birds are realistically going to range over more area that that. Last deer season, I watched two of "my" quail coveys fly right across a gravel road and land on the neighbor who ended up shooting them later that afternoon. Of course I was a little unhappy about that but such is life. I thought back to all the time/money and energy we had put into food plots, bush hogging, land management, etc. but that is the way it goes.

For me, I came to two realizations. 1) If you don't have a large enough piece of ground to keep your critters on it most of the time (probably at least 500 contiguous acres) there isn't a lot you can do other than try to feed them enough they don't want to travel very far. 2) If you, or someone you trust, can't regularly monitor your land, you can't really keep people off.

Good fences only help keep honest people honest. I do like the idea of game cameras but that requires good, concealed placement otherwise they may walk away. Probably putting one near the access points to hopefully catch license plates may help.
 
I have owned a lot of land over the years and the only way to keep trespassers off your land is to be there. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to one of my Northern Michigan parcels only to find that someone was on it or had been on it. I even caught a guy stealing trees once. If you are not there and locals know you are not there it will generally be fair game.

Help from your "neighbors" where you own land is the next best thing.

JP
 
its amazing how good the game camera's are. we can easily read all or most of a license plate with them, we have ID'd people by reading the name of the company and their name off their shirt, or by having pics good enough for the DNR to say "oh we know them" The work best at a natural choke point on the road, like say right before a log strategically placed across the trail, or at a mud hole, or a chained gate, if you have one. I dont have pics, but i have wrapped them with birch bark or real tree fabric to hide them.

We own about 120 acres that thru geography, controls nearly 500 more acres of tax forfeit land. That land, while public, can only be accessed by crossing our land or a 10 mile swamp. At our gate, we have posted that the only access to the county land is thru our land, and that we have not granted an easement or access to that land thru our land. We post the law, its cites, and the number of the county sheriff and assessor for them to call if they want to understand the law. Every year we still have people who read a plat map and just assume they have a right to cut our chain, drive our roads and even steal from us. However, so far of those we have caught and or photographed, we are 8 for 10 in convictions, fines, restitution, and revocations of hunting rights.

Right now, we are awaiting the results of our latest "catch" which has good pics of someone hauling a nice buck, still in velvet off our road in a nice new F350 with a nice 4 wheeler and trailer. They have been ID'd, served with order for surrender, and a warrant issued. I figure they are going to lose about 50 grand in toys for that deer, and I get a percent of auction price for turning them in.
 
At our gate, we have posted that the only access to the county land is thru our land, and that we have not granted an easement or access to that land thru our land.
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I know people like this and it is really ashame. I think there should be some sort of a law that allows people to access the public land. IMO there is nothing worse than denying a hard working tax payer access to public land. It really is ashame what things come to.

Now if there is other access then by all means that is not right for people to cross your private property, but you state that your way is the only way.

Guess I'm fussing and it's just my opinion, but I happen to be one of those hunters that cannot afford my own piece of land. I depend entirely on hunting public land, that's public land that gets more and more crowded every year.

Not saying this is your case but the situation I am familiar with back home is quite similar. A fellow won't let people cross his 300 acres to get to a public 500 acre plot. This equals an 800 acre hunting club for the fellow, and sorry but I can't see how that is right.

Wyatt
 
I have a small creek through my place that typically has 6-8 inches of water in it at most. Most of the kids think that they can ATV through our place since they are riding in the "Creek". I have run into several of them and explained that unless they are in a boat and ON the water they are tresspassing. The other thing I did is to print out No Tresspassing, No Atv's No Hunting Etc on Yellow 8 1/2 x 11 paper and then put them in an upside down sheet cover. These are very easy to make and then I tape the bottom shut. I hang them with a staple gun and it has cut down my traffic a ton. I use to use the Yellow Tyvex signs for $0.50 - $0.99 but they wouldn't last more than a year. My home made signs are holding up better and they were cheap to make.

It also might be a good idea to run a single wire fence across the back about 4 ft tall. A new fence will send a message as well.

I kept getting "We have rode in this creek for years" crap and it is finally dying down.

GOOD LUCK
 
Could we change the thread title from "Hunters", to "Tresspassers" or "Poachers"?

Makes us poor ethical hunters look like we are doing this, and we are not. My oldest son probably still has a tanned hide from going on my neighbor's property without permission. Fence or no fence, Private Property is just that.

Sorry you are having trouble.
 
I do not own an atv. HOWEVER if you hang a single wire fence 4 foot off the ground, you are going to "closeline" some 12 year old kid on a 4 wheeler. Yes he was trespassing. And now?

If you take this advice from "LOGS" above, I am sure he will come and sit by your side in court when you are being prosecuted for manslaughter.

Try to keep the trespassing in perspective. Yes it sucks. Yes you feel helpless to stop it. No, you don't want to kill someone over a quail, duck or deer. Knee jerk reactions cause bigger problems for YOU.

Be passionate about something but be sensible about guarding your place.
Catch who you can, and prosecute them. Word will get out.

How many trespassers do you think you will have while you are in jail?
 
Wyatt, if someone BUYS that land, they can force us to cut them an easement, but we bought the land we have specifically to do what we have done, its on an ox bow of a river, and the swamp on the north closes the bow to our land. We have also developed a plan and put money aside that will allow us to right of first refusal on that land, so its going to be ours pretty much no matter what.

This sort of land purchase by Topo has been going on for as long as people have deemed land to be a possession. Look at the influence water rights and owning the acreage that contained water had in shaping the west. I paid a premium because anyone who could read a map could understand what I was doing when we made the purchase. Likewise, if someone (and a few have) want to canoe down the river, and camp and hunt on the land and then canoe down to a landing some 12 or so miles down river, More power to them.
 
I have a few tricks up my sleeve for keeping poachers and tresspassers off my property.

I had a fellow come in and steal a pair of rear tractor wheels with tires from my property. He cut my fence up by the road, so i took a 2x6 and drive a bunch of nails through it, i then buried the board so just the nails were sticking up. lets just say next time he came through he needed me to tow him out, but the cop towed him and the impound towed his truck.

I also tear down any deer stands i see. They have even been so audacious to build large tower blinds in some of my fields. Needless to say it burned pretty well.

I also keep the poacher hotline on speed dial. i just started doing it this year because last summer i was bush hogging my botttom grounds in july, and i had to chase a guy off, and i later found a doe that he shot. That lack of respect for the wildlife pisses me off.

Another thing i do is routinely walk my property so i can notice small differences, always carry a gun, poachers are irrational and your life could be in danger if you confront them.
 
My nephew has 40 acres that people poach on. He hung signs " Danger, radio active area, contaminated grounds, rabid animals, keep out". It worked...;) He also has a sign on his gun room fire door, "Radio active materials, keep out", just in case he gets burglarized...
 
My nephew has 40 acres that people poach on. He hung signs " Danger, radio active area, contaminated grounds, rabid animals, keep out". It worked... He also has a sign on his gun room fire door, "Radio active materials, keep out", just in case he gets burglarized...
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lol. Very clever
 
And I thought "WARNING these premises protected by free roaming rabid pitbull with aids" was original...:D
Brent
 
Just remember that set works and booby traps are almost universally illegal, and can get you in more trouble than the poacher if you kill or injure them.
 
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