Rude Landowners

We got three or four requests per year, from people knocking at my door...usually at suppertime. Some were polite and friendly, some no so much. The property was extensively posted.

At first, I answered with a polite "Sorry, no". After throwing a couple of these guys off the property when they ignored that answer, I went with "Sorry, no, the land is hunted by me and my family". After catching one of these jokers posting "NO HUNTING" signs on my property, facing my house, I lost all semblance of civility.

My standard answer became "No. On your way out, read the sign that you passed when you trespassed to get on my porch." The sign states "NO HUNTING. NO TRESPASSING. DO NOT EVEN ASK."

Anyone caught on the property is approached and forcefully asked what they are doing. Typical response (delivered with an expression of slack-jawed innocence) is "Hunting!" My reply is "No, I am hunting, on my own land, which is posted. You are poaching and trespassing. Get the f*** off my land and don't come back!"

I don't enjoy being rude, and it certainly is not in my nature to do so in my normal dealings with people...but enough is enough. The hard-ass, borderline-psycho method seems to be the most effective one so far.

Hint: When a landowner says no...DO NOT belligerently say "Why not?"
 
Having been on both sides of the fence, landowner and hunter asking for permission, I can easily understand why landowners can be rude. Some hunters are respectful and polite, and should be treated the same, but after dealing with hunters that basically demand access, or that trespass, a landowner's patience can wear thin.
 
Hunters are like all groups of people, some are polite and law abiding and some are not. The biggest problems I have with trespassers are those with four wheelers that don’t hunt. I have posted my land and they trespass, some even take down the signs and then think its ok, and I even had guys cut trails. The best I heard of was a buddy of mines place where they cleared some land off the road and camped, he was less than impressed as I am sure they were getting kicked off at 6 in the morning.
 
Something interesting I came across once was an area where I lived was dominated by farms. For participating farms which was most of them they would put a sign on the property. Red sign...no hunting don't ask, Yellow sign...ask permission to hunt Green sign...come and go as you please. It was pretty straight forward and effective.
 
I never had a problem with a land owner. In fact, when there is posted land I make it a habit to go ask permission. Lots depends on driving-up the lane/driveway..............a clean truck, introduction, tone of voice, facial expression, body posture, clean clothing, etc. You know what, more times than not I receive permission.

If the land is not posted, 99% of the time I receive permission. Asking permission on new land is enjoyable for me. I get to met new people and they know where the deer are. Every year I send Christmas cards to land owners from my home area, to Slave Lake, Alberta and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. I thank them for their permission and wish them the best for the holidays. Land owners, new and old never forget a Christmas card, and who sent it.
 
jjohnwm said:
We got three or four requests per year, from people knocking at my door...usually at suppertime. Some were polite and friendly, some no so much. The property was extensively posted.

At first, I answered with a polite "Sorry, no". After throwing a couple of these guys off the property when they ignored that answer, I went with "Sorry, no, the land is hunted by me and my family". After catching one of these jokers posting "NO HUNTING" signs on my property, facing my house, I lost all semblance of civility.

My standard answer became "No. On your way out, read the sign that you passed when you trespassed to get on my porch." The sign states "NO HUNTING. NO TRESPASSING. DO NOT EVEN ASK."

Anyone caught on the property is approached and forcefully asked what they are doing. Typical response (delivered with an expression of slack-jawed innocence) is "Hunting!" My reply is "No, I am hunting, on my own land, which is posted. You are poaching and trespassing. Get the f*** off my land and don't come back!"

I don't enjoy being rude, and it certainly is not in my nature to do so in my normal dealings with people...but enough is enough. The hard-ass, borderline-psycho method seems to be the most effective one so far.

Hint: When a landowner says no...DO NOT belligerently say "Why not?"
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Someone walking to your door is poaching? And I am not FOR trespassing but a small $0.50 sign, that some people CAN miss is not gonna be a magic solution. Ever been looking for something that is RIGHT in front of you and you still missed it?
 
I have quite a few acres of land (all wooded).... I am approached often.. It has gotten to the point that's it's down right intrusive... I hunt my land, and mostly just allow a few close friends to also hunt my land... If I'm out on my land and come across a hunter, It's now a problem for me, I used to inform them that I own the land and would prefer that they use the "back 30" as I call it because it's the last 30 acres of my land on the other side of a mountain, and it's ok hunting grounds. But now I ask them to just please vacate my land.. I've had hunters cut across my back yard and such and it's just a PITA now.... Nothing nicer than a quiet morning coffee interupted by a sea of hunters orange hiking through my back yard (insert sarcasm here)

A little incident that happened a number of years ago was I met a hunting party of Americans guided by a so called "local" guide (legally licensed). WOW they were down right #####y with me and I got one heck of a hissy fit going... During our arguement I found out that they even parked on an old logging road on my property, quite a ways into my tree line... The civil conversation turned into one heck of a pissing match rather quickly so I politely instructed the hunting party that I could hoof it back to my place, grab my tractor and relocate their ride before they could even get out of the trees and back to the road.

It is unfortunate that It's come to this, but I'm sorry to say, the bad have outweighed the good in my neck of the woods. I honestly feel bad about denying hunters access to game by way of restricting access to my land :( I still try to accomodate my fellow hunter once in a while,... If someone happens to catch me @ a good moment, I will allow a complete stranger to hunt on a section of my land, but that's not a common occurence. Not everyone can have acerage and I don't like being a greedy a-ss, but I've encountered a lot of a-sshats ... I have posted signs, even inside the woods area... But alas, i still find folks in there....
 
track said:
I never had a problem with a land owner. In fact, when there is posted land I make it a habit to go ask permission. Lots depends on driving-up the lane/driveway..............a clean truck, introduction, tone of voice, facial expression, body posture, clean clothing, etc. You know what, more times than not I receive permission.

If the land is not posted, 99% of the time I receive permission. Asking permission on new land is enjoyable for me. I get to met new people and they know where the deer are. Every year I send Christmas cards to land owners from my home area, to Slave Lake, Alberta and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. I thank them for their permission and wish them the best for the holidays. Land owners, new and old never forget a Christmas card, and who sent it.
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But really.... that would make my day if more folks took that kind of time to say thank you.... :) Heck, who am I kidding.... Just one person thanking a land owner like that would open up a lot of real-estate for hunters...
 
Krazed said:
trespassing sure, but how do you figure poaching? unless you're declared the ruler of that area by the queen they're not your animals
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tresspassing and hunting at the same time in most areas is poaching


if and when i get some land it will be posted and filled with trail cameras. but the sign will be no hunting without permission

id let everyone on with permission but anyone who does not clean up or destroys property will be banned ;)

one thing ive had happen to me is when im hunting on land i have permission to do so on is the neighbors one land ive hunted on has some tree huging neighbors that have come up to me and gave me the whole story and the anti hunting BS. i told them id stay off they're land and that there interfering with a hunt and if they dont leave now i would call the cop's (interfering with a hunt is illegal in ontario and jest about every where) they left idk if they will try it again i shure as hell hope not i dont like have people charged
 
No...no...someone coming up to your door asking permission is not coming up with a loaded gun in hand, looking for game. Give me a break. Its not an easy thing to ask for either IMO. Not everyone, like myself is born into a hunting family with cabins, old family contacts for usable land, ect. Or have the money to buy land or take a few days off work and travel wayyy north to hunt. They have to start somewhere. Sure their is crown land but its not always the best for many reasons.

They can call it poaching all they want...even if you ARE hunting and you were trespassing but still hunting legally (tags, right zone for said tag, license, ect.) you CANNOT legally be nailed for poaching.

Its like how too many people are scared to target shooting in the woods, They have to PROVE you are poaching, they cannot just accuse you, charge you and fine you (although they will try!!!)...with a backpack full or cans, clays and paper targets...wearing shorts, have an ipod in your ears and a red shirt with sandals on. "Yes officer...yes I am poaching, going after some bear with my 10/22!!!" :jerkit:
 
They can call it poaching all they want...even if you ARE hunting and you were trespassing but still hunting legally (tags, right zone for said tag, license, ect.) you CANNOT legally be nailed for poaching.
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Probably because there is no actual charge labelled "poaching". However, regardless of the charge that is chosen, if you are breaking the law to hunt, you are by definition poaching. Alberta actually made some changes to their regulations in recent years ,so if you are trespassing while hunting, you can be charged with violations that are more serious than petty trespass, and the sentence can be more serious than the small fine that trespassers usually face.

No, not the imports, the originals.
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They are all imports, some have just been here longer.
 
mgcolley said:
Little story,

I was out searching for land to hunt, and I found a few properties that I saw deer on, one property had a very long driveway and a private property sign, so instead of driving up to the door I left them a letter in their mailbox by the road. This was a very nice letter, not to brag, simply explaining what I was looking for and how I did not approach their door as to not breach their privacy etc. I got an email response stating, "Take your interests elsewhere and if I ever see you on my property I am calling the police".

I am getting so sick of rude landowners, I am sure they get sick of people asking or some have had bad experiences, but I never touched their property and I left a harmless letter, seemed a little harsh.

Oh well, guess these are the things we have to put up with, wish people were more accepting of hunting
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I believe that a face-to-face probably would have resulted in a less-hostile response. Like online forums, it's easy to be rude on paper, but in person, people tend to be more polite.

It would be interesting to see their response if you went back and left a gift card or some other gift in the mailbox with a letter saying 'thanks for your response.' Take the high road and see what happens. You may begin to win them over.
 
cam1936 said:
Ahhh yes paid hunting. Just what we all want. In Alberta at least it is illegal to offer something in exchange for permission. For good reason too!!
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The fundamental difference between AB and ON in regards to permission to hunt is the belief amongst AB landowners that hunters are an integral part of wild game management. That belief is not prevalent in Southern Ontario, therefore there must be something in it for the landowner.
 
The fundamental difference between AB and ON in regards to permission to hunt is the belief amongst AB landowners that hunters are an integral part of wild game management.
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Unfortunately, there are a lot more fundamental differences between the people of AB, and the people of ON than how they feel about game management.:D

The stupid laws that are passed because Ontario and Quebec are pushing them on us, is proof of that.:p
 
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