Hunter Harassment

[Ponderosaman]

I was able to get out on the last day of early dove season here in AZ and came across an interesting (to me) situation. First let me set the scene. Here in North Phoenix there isn’t a lot of agriculture and the desert is also not well developed for cattle here, so there are few developed water “tanks”. For those in areas with plentiful water, here in the southwest a tank is a bermed area designed to capture and hold water. Tanks are excellent places to hunt dove because migrating doves are obligated to come to water every day and will fly in especially in the morning. There is a brief time in the evening that they will fly in, to position themselves strategically in the morning. The evening portion of a dove hunt is much less productive, especially in areas with little agriculture. My situation particularly is that I wanted a wild bird to work with my dog for training before quail opens here, so in spite of my precarious position on the last hours of the hunt, I was very motivated to get at least one bird. While I was wandering around the tank trying to catch that one dove that showed up early, a woman with her young children passed through. They were on a hike and I heard her say,”no, we’ll get them on the way back”, not knowing what she was referring to. I said howdy and waved at them and as they passed by, I went back to wandering around. The time came and the first dove flew hard crossing, catching me off guard. Then he perched on a tree nearby taunting me. I won’t kill a bird on the ground or perched. When he did jump up, the trigger wouldn’t work or rather it did work, me forgetting to take the hammer to full cock. Once I got myself straight and after fifteen minutes or so, I could see two birds coming in from a distance and shouldered my gun pulling full cock on both barrels. Right when the site picture was exactly just right and milliseconds before I pulled the trigger I heard close by the voice of a child. I said out loud, “Ohhhhh mannnn, dang it!”. The woman had come back to complete the chore promised to her kids. So she was at the bank of the tank with her two small children netting tadpoles, probably for fish bait.

They took about 15 minutes, which was the exact fifteen minutes that I had a chance at getting my couple of doves I needed. Now I believe that I made the right decision in this case, not taking the shot and I also do NOT think this little family was harassing me, but it does make me think that there is a fine line between harassment and people just going about their day.

On the one hand, I believe I had the complete right to take that shot, as it would have been safe and I was legally hunting, but had I, I would have scared the snot out of her and especially her kids, perhaps making an anti right there on the spot. It seems there may be a fine line between harassment and people just going about their business. Especially if harassers are using basic decency to cause hunters grief. Now I don’t think that was my situation, but I suppose just walking through a hunter’s set up could disrupt their hunt, and even if there was evil intent, it would be very hard to prove.

I’m very interested in stories of folks on here who have had unequivocal situations of harassment, and especially those who have had situations that are more ambiguous?

 

[Rudyard]

I was able to get out on the last day of early dove season here in AZ and came across an interesting (to me) situation. First let me set the scene. Here in North Phoenix there isn’t a lot of agriculture and the desert is also not well developed for cattle here, so there are few developed water “tanks”. For those in areas with plentiful water, here in the southwest a tank is a bermed area designed to capture and hold water. Tanks are excellent places to hunt dove because migrating doves are obligated to come to water every day and will fly in especially in the morning. There is a brief time in the evening that they will fly in, to position themselves strategically in the morning. The evening portion of a dove hunt is much less productive, especially in areas with little agriculture. My situation particularly is that I wanted a wild bird to work with my dog for training before quail opens here, so in spite of my precarious position on the last hours of the hunt, I was very motivated to get at least one bird. While I was wandering around the tank trying to catch that one dove that showed up early a woman with her young children passed through. They were on a hike and I heard her say,”no, we’ll get them in the way back”, not knowing what she was referring to. I said howdy and waved at them and as they passed by, I went back to wandering around. The time came and the first dove flew hard crossing, catching me off guard. Then he perched on a tree nearby taunting me. I won’t kill a bird on the ground or perched. When he did jump up, the trigger wouldn’t work or rather it did work, me forgetting to take the hammer to full cock. Once I got myself straight and after fifteen minutes or so, I could see two birds coming in from a distance and shouldered my gun pulling full cock on both barrels. Right when the site picture was exactly just right and milliseconds before I pulled the trigger I heard close by the voice of a child. I said out loud, “Ohhhhh mannnn, dang it!”. The woman had come back to complete the chore promised to her kids. So she was at the bank of the tank with her two small children netting tadpoles, probably for fish bait.

They took about 15 minutes, which was the exact fifteen minutes that I had a chance at getting my couple of doves I needed. Now I believe that I made the right decision in this case, not taking the shot and I also do NOT think this little family was harassing me, but it does make me think that there is a fine line between harassment and people just going about their day.

On the one hand, I believe I had the complete right to take that shot, as it would have been safe and I was legally hunting, but had I, I would have scared the snot out of her and especially her kids, perhaps making an anti right there on the spot. It seems there may be a fine line between harassment and people just going about their business. Especially if harassers are using basic decency to cause hunters grief. Now I don’t think that was my situation, but I suppose just walking through a hunter’s set up could disrupt their hunt, and even if there was evil intent, it would be very hard to prove.

I’m very interested in stories of folks on here who have had unequivocal situations of harassment, and especially those who have had situations that are more ambiguous?

Nearest I recall was after walking 10 days through the mountains from Takaka & barrelled 7 goats ere I reach an old miners hut on the Wangapeka river & decide to have a brew of tea when a German tramper (hiker) go's by so I invite him for tea but he declines & carries on . It could be I was bedangled with stag flask . knife . & all the kit to serve my Wheellock and looked very like a mix of Ben Gunn & Robinson Crusoe .( I hadn't combed my hair that day but then I hadn't done so for many years so it wasn't that ) . The rifle was a 45 in the Cheak stock Suhl region circa 1660s style . But evidently no longer common in Germany .He wasn't anti just nonplussed I expect . I might find a photo to illustrate the attire I had, A ' selfie'on that occasion outside Kings Old hut if later ime not good on E stuff .
Regards Rudyard

 

[Brokennock]

I doubt she was intentionally harrowing you.
Not sure what your laws are there regarding harassment. Here in CT one of the few decent laws we have makes hunter harassment illegal.

I had someone follow me through the woods while I was bowhunting deer. He was clacking two pieces of wood together, like the kind elementary school music classes use, the whole time. Warden never did catch up.
They did catch some anti-hunters who were placing old treestands near the stands of legit hunters and then going back and baiting those spots so the legit hunter couldn't hunt there legally.

 

[Ponderosaman]

I doubt she was intentionally harrowing you.
Not sure what your laws are there regarding harassment. Here in CT one of the few decent laws we have makes hunter harassment illegal.

I had someone follow me through the woods while I was bowhunting deer. He was clacking two pieces of wood together, like the kind elementary school music classes use, the whole time. Warden never did catch up.
They did catch some anti-hunters who were placing old treestands near the stands of legit hunters and then going back and baiting those spots so the legit hunter couldn't hunt there legally.

Interesting, and yes, I’d be very surprised if the woman was giving me grief. She was quite unfriendly, but that could be easily explained by the circumstances.

 

[Wawyasto]

Most of the hunter harassment around here is adjacent landowners giving hunters grief, but the county sheriff is pretty good about shutting this manure down pretty quickly. Fish and Game guys? ehh, not so much. They'll spend 80% of their time looking for i's not dotted and t's not crossed on the victim's hunting licenses before they actually do their job.

 

[Walkingeagle]

I was able to get out on the last day of early dove season here in AZ and came across an interesting (to me) situation. First let me set the scene. Here in North Phoenix there isn’t a lot of agriculture and the desert is also not well developed for cattle here, so there are few developed water “tanks”. For those in areas with plentiful water, here in the southwest a tank is a bermed area designed to capture and hold water. Tanks are excellent places to hunt dove because migrating doves are obligated to come to water every day and will fly in especially in the morning. There is a brief time in the evening that they will fly in, to position themselves strategically in the morning. The evening portion of a dove hunt is much less productive, especially in areas with little agriculture. My situation particularly is that I wanted a wild bird to work with my dog for training before quail opens here, so in spite of my precarious position on the last hours of the hunt, I was very motivated to get at least one bird. While I was wandering around the tank trying to catch that one dove that showed up early, a woman with her young children passed through. They were on a hike and I heard her say,”no, we’ll get them on the way back”, not knowing what she was referring to. I said howdy and waved at them and as they passed by, I went back to wandering around. The time came and the first dove flew hard crossing, catching me off guard. Then he perched on a tree nearby taunting me. I won’t kill a bird on the ground or perched. When he did jump up, the trigger wouldn’t work or rather it did work, me forgetting to take the hammer to full cock. Once I got myself straight and after fifteen minutes or so, I could see two birds coming in from a distance and shouldered my gun pulling full cock on both barrels. Right when the site picture was exactly just right and milliseconds before I pulled the trigger I heard close by the voice of a child. I said out loud, “Ohhhhh mannnn, dang it!”. The woman had come back to complete the chore promised to her kids. So she was at the bank of the tank with her two small children netting tadpoles, probably for fish bait.

They took about 15 minutes, which was the exact fifteen minutes that I had a chance at getting my couple of doves I needed. Now I believe that I made the right decision in this case, not taking the shot and I also do NOT think this little family was harassing me, but it does make me think that there is a fine line between harassment and people just going about their day.

On the one hand, I believe I had the complete right to take that shot, as it would have been safe and I was legally hunting, but had I, I would have scared the snot out of her and especially her kids, perhaps making an anti right there on the spot. It seems there may be a fine line between harassment and people just going about their business. Especially if harassers are using basic decency to cause hunters grief. Now I don’t think that was my situation, but I suppose just walking through a hunter’s set up could disrupt their hunt, and even if there was evil intent, it would be very hard to prove.

I’m very interested in stories of folks on here who have had unequivocal situations of harassment, and especially those who have had situations that are more ambiguous?

I have no story as you were requesting. We just don’t have the population that you folks have, especially in the areas I hunt. I just wanted to mention that in my opinion, you did the preciously correct thing. Good on you.
Walk

 

[senseisugarbear]

In the early 80's I rented so to speak, 80 acres of Corn.surrounded by posted land on3 sides for 2 miles each directon.4th side was public road. I set in the fence row on the side furthest from the road. Now I say RENTED because it was an odd situation that the owner had going. some one else had it rented Opening day. I paid him $10 he gave me written permission. I was to call him when I had my deer out of the field. I didn't have to shoot anything in particular and could Hunt as long as I wanted. just call him when I was done.so So he could rerent it. So I'm all set at Shooting time , A Pick up pulls up to me on the other side of the fence on the Alfalfa. Out steps the NEW Game warden. He asks for lic & Id. then ENCOURAGES me to leave. I show him my Permisson from Swede, Digusted he gets back in the the truck ,drives clear around the rest of the 80.turns around comes back past me .and leaves.this takes out the first hour of shooting time,I see deer coming to the CORN but they run off with him DUNKYIN' around..I'm a little ANNOYED to say the least. I figure I'll get one tonight at sunset.
WELL, 2 hrs before sunset I ready. I'm not a horn hunter. First large bodied deer is gonna get it. 1/2 hr before sunset here comes the same truck same NEW Game Warden, he steps out & asks for my lic & Id. I,m LIVID cause deer are moving across the Alfalfa from all 3 directions, but take off as he is JACKIN' with Me. I come UNCORKED, I said I got the same XXXXing lic. & the same XXXxing Permission that I had this MORNING. and if you're here in the Morning you'll be UNEMPLOYED by NOON. He gets my documents looks them over , gets back in the truck and drives all around the fence line and leaves.I check the time it's sunset so I've still got 30 min. to hunt. But I decide not to risk him saying I'm shooting after hours. Next morning, No game warden, I shoot a nice big bodied 4x4. load him up and head to tell SWEDE what is going on. SWEDE knows all about it, That's why he "Rents" the place to me and gives Written permission. Seems the first hunter got the same drill. Swede called his neighbor who owns all the surrounding ground, come to find out the NEW game warden has permission to BOWHUNT all the posted ground if he keep TRESPASSERS out ,Basically gets rewarded for doing his job. SWEDE made a call to his old friend the DIRECTOR of the game & parks dept. Too late for my first day, but not too late for the season.The next year NEB. gets a hunter harrassment law...But IMAGINE the look on said GAME WARDEN'S face when he walks in the class room I'm using, I had called him at home and asked him to speak to my HUNTER SAFETY class about hunter ETHICS. .......We became good friends and remain so to this day....Be Safe>>>>>>>>Wally

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

We had a guy...a prolific camera thief. Backwoods investigation on who he was. The fellas affected found his watering Hole. One night they sat down beside him on each side...and had a frank discussion. The items were returned that night.

 

[JEBMs]

Have never heard of any antis around here, I don’t think it would work out well for them. We have more than our share of idiots that ruin your hunting though. Beautiful woods ruined by litter and shot up posted signs. Night hunters and road hunters.
I have told on a previous post about how hard it was to get my handicapped son into the woods and situated to hunt. I had bought a pop up blind and we had gotten in a good bit before daylight and we’re all set up in it. I had tied a hunter orange vest on top for safety. Just as the sun got above the horizon a ways we heard something. My son whispered “DEER”. I said that it wasn’t unless they had learned to laugh and talk. About that time somebody yells, “y’all seen anything?” It was a man and his son squirrel hunting. I explained that we were trying to deer hunt but they seemed to want to visit. I let them know that we weren’t there to socialize and they walked off down the trail we were watching. The woods finally got quiet again and I told my son that maybe they will jump a deer and run it our way and he got excited again. Soon we heard a stick break and as we looked in that direction we heard the same voices again. As they went by the dad yelled that the squirrels weren’t moving would we like to go to town and get breakfast with them. To quote a wise and learned scholar “you can’t fix stupid “

 

[senseisugarbear]

I hate a thief.... even if I find a camera or stand on my place, I leave a note where their property can be picked up. Guys get pretty humble when they are standing in your driveway,discussing why it better not happen again. the Sheriff can earn his pay if they step foot on the property again,,,,,,,,Be Safe >>>>>>>>Wally

 

[maillemaker]

I was able to get out on the last day of early dove season here in AZ and came across an interesting (to me) situation. First let me set the scene. Here in North Phoenix there isn’t a lot of agriculture and the desert is also not well developed for cattle here, so there are few developed water “tanks”. For those in areas with plentiful water, here in the southwest a tank is a bermed area designed to capture and hold water. Tanks are excellent places to hunt dove because migrating doves are obligated to come to water every day and will fly in especially in the morning. There is a brief time in the evening that they will fly in, to position themselves strategically in the morning. The evening portion of a dove hunt is much less productive, especially in areas with little agriculture. My situation particularly is that I wanted a wild bird to work with my dog for training before quail opens here, so in spite of my precarious position on the last hours of the hunt, I was very motivated to get at least one bird. While I was wandering around the tank trying to catch that one dove that showed up early, a woman with her young children passed through. They were on a hike and I heard her say,”no, we’ll get them on the way back”, not knowing what she was referring to. I said howdy and waved at them and as they passed by, I went back to wandering around. The time came and the first dove flew hard crossing, catching me off guard. Then he perched on a tree nearby taunting me. I won’t kill a bird on the ground or perched. When he did jump up, the trigger wouldn’t work or rather it did work, me forgetting to take the hammer to full cock. Once I got myself straight and after fifteen minutes or so, I could see two birds coming in from a distance and shouldered my gun pulling full cock on both barrels. Right when the site picture was exactly just right and milliseconds before I pulled the trigger I heard close by the voice of a child. I said out loud, “Ohhhhh mannnn, dang it!”. The woman had come back to complete the chore promised to her kids. So she was at the bank of the tank with her two small children netting tadpoles, probably for fish bait.

They took about 15 minutes, which was the exact fifteen minutes that I had a chance at getting my couple of doves I needed. Now I believe that I made the right decision in this case, not taking the shot and I also do NOT think this little family was harassing me, but it does make me think that there is a fine line between harassment and people just going about their day.

On the one hand, I believe I had the complete right to take that shot, as it would have been safe and I was legally hunting, but had I, I would have scared the snot out of her and especially her kids, perhaps making an anti right there on the spot. It seems there may be a fine line between harassment and people just going about their business. Especially if harassers are using basic decency to cause hunters grief. Now I don’t think that was my situation, but I suppose just walking through a hunter’s set up could disrupt their hunt, and even if there was evil intent, it would be very hard to prove.

I’m very interested in stories of folks on here who have had unequivocal situations of harassment, and especially those who have had situations that are more ambiguous?

As you note, your situation was not "harassment". You are simply hunting where others have the same public access you do. This is a precarious situation at best and you were wise not to take the shot. Hunting in public spaces always runs the risk of encountering other people. It's one of the main reasons I don't hunt. I don't own any hunting land and I don't want to share public spaces for hunting.

 

[bud in pa]

My friend set his climber stand on my property, you had to have 2, 1/2 inch wrenches to remove it. Well somebody had the wrenches and took it. To add insult to injury they set up their stand right where my friend put his up. The stand wasn't a climber and he put screw in steps on the tree. He removed the lowest ones so you couldn't get to his stand, or so he thought. I came back with my chain saw and cut the tree down. I left him a note explaining that he could call my phone number and discuss getting his stand back, he never did.

 

[BillRob]

Most of the hunter harassment around here is adjacent landowners giving hunters grief, but the county sheriff is pretty good about shutting this manure down pretty quickly. Fish and Game guys? ehh, not so much. They'll spend 80% of their time looking for i's not dotted and t's not crossed on the victim's hunting licenses before they actually do their job.

I have posted previously that the state (Washington) has done a pretty good job of making public - and private land available to hunters. That said, we have had several encounters with adjacent landowners who made every effort to stop or ruin hunting on property adjacent to their own. Local LEOs, including Fish and Wildlife Officers have been (mostly) supportive of hunting rights. I don't hunt as a way to engage in conflict, and while sometimes these adjacent landowners have made it more trouble than it is worth, it seems like a bad idea to allow them to "win" when the law is clearly on the side of the public (including hunters). All of the articles that I have recently read about OnX and "corner crossing" make it sound like this is a big issue all over the west.

 

[Rudyard]

Nearest I recall was after walking 10 days through the mountains from Takaka & barrelled 7 goats ere I reach an old miners hut on the Wangapeka river & decide to have a brew of tea when a German tramper (hiker) go's by so I invite him for tea but he declines & carries on . It could be I was bedangled with stag flask . knife . & all the kit to serve my Wheellock and looked very like a mix of Ben Gunn & Robinson Crusoe .( I hadn't combed my hair that day but then I hadn't done so for many years so it wasn't that ) . The rifle was a 45 in the Cheak stock Suhl region circa 1660s style . But evidently no longer common in Germany .He wasn't anti just nonplussed I expect . I might find a photo to illustrate the attire I had, A ' selfie'on that occasion outside Kings Old hut if later ime not good on E stuff .
Regards Rudyard

 

[Rudyard]

A trifle belated but my youngest Daughter steered me through this photo caper. Top shews typical Bower' camp as I called these very Sywash lean too's I was tryng to get my Assistant Mister Banjo Beagle Esq in the pic but he was camera shy . The middle pic is the old miners hut & me with my Wheelock . and the last is a he goat & my' English' lock with Dog (Well I had two) Banjo And the one that provides half cock on the 50 cal rifle.

The rifle I suppose might serve to show a possible rifle of the 1630s for such dates the lock but its my make .
Retro Rudyard

 

[Rudyard]

Only one view not surprisingly, Be a dead ringer to win a Nobbily knees contest ! .
Rudyard

 

[TraderVic]

About 35 years ago, three of us were ending the day in the woods, hunting whitetails with slug guns (shotgun only). A middle-aged woman (I was 32 at the time so anyone a few years older was considered middle-aged) came walking into us, harrasing us about hunting. She was dressed in dark clothing, wearing a white knit hat (talk about stupid to be trespassing during gun deer season dressed like that). She wouldn't answer any of my questions (name, where she lived, etc). I let the landowner know and inquired around, but nobody could think of anyone matching the description. Had this occurred earlier in the day I would have called the sheriff.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I hunted 40 acres close to a little town once, it was almost a 50-mile drive for me to get there; I always hunted in the afternoon. One year just about the time for the deer to move some jerk would pull into the gravel road that the land fronted and spin donuts in his car while screaming out the window and blowing his horn. He would quickly drive off and return in about 10 minutes and repeat his performance. I was 200 yards away on the top of a ridge and up a tree so I couldn't climb down to confront him before he left. This happened over and over, I put out the word to a friend who hunted every spare minute he had on adjacent land that whoever it was may get hurt as payback. My friend was livid about what was going on a spread the word to the locals, my veiled threat must have gotten to the right kid because it never happened again.

 

[Eutycus]

On another thread several hunters mentioned carrying an unmentionable small arm due to "unsavory characters" hanging around. Unfortunately It's probably going to get worse. There are people out there who want to not only harass hunters but also make them look bad.So any bad deed occurring on hunting grounds will be blamed on the legitimate hunter.

 

[Spikebuck]

First, Ponderosaman, I think you did the right thing. I don't think the lady and her kids were intentionally harassing.

As to being harassed, I have never been by a non or anti hunter. We did have severe issues with a neighboring land owner on a lease we were hunting. He had cut long clearings into our lease so he could shoot into our woods from stands he had on his border fence. We posted the border, but he would tear down the signs. I dropped trees, he would cut them out. He once verbally assaulted one of our female hunters while she was exiting our property using every four letter word in the book. He didn't like us using an easement we had with another neighbor that bordered both his property and our lease. The coward wasn't so bold the next evening when she exited along with her 6'4" former marine husband! The former marine had a few choice words for him that I won't repeat here! He approached them but became rather meek when he saw that her husband was along and got the full verbal wrath laid on him! We would find deer guts and their "private parts" hanging on our gates...only those gates along his border with ours. We were filing reports with the county sheriff's office, but for other than the verbal assault, didn't have evidence of exactly who was doing the deeds. I talked to the local warden who said he had run ins with the guy and considered him mentally off balance. After about three years I guess he figured out we weren't going anywhere and most of the bad activity stopped. Nothing but a cowardly bully.