Been a lot of talk about fenceline hunting, poachers and what not with some pretty harsh words and reactions. Hypothetically speaking, you have a neighboring hunter that has a blind on your fenceline and feeder 50 yards away from the fenceline pointed inside his property, directionally away from the fence. Anyhow, your hunting in the morning and hear a shot from that blind around 9:30AM. As you drive by that fenceline at 10:00AM on your way back to camp you come across a hunter that is intently looking down around the fence presumably for blood. As it turns out, he does indeed have a considerable amount of blood at the fence and shows you where he initially shot a deer 20 yards inside his property between the fence and feeder. He tells you his aim was at the shoulder and the deer has gone under the fence but feels it should be within 50 yards or so of the fence. Furthermore, he says the deer is a drop tine 12 pt., the drop tine you have been seeing on nighttime game cam pictures the past two weeks. The hypothetical question is what do you do? Do you allow him to retrieve his deer assuming it is dead inside your property line? Furthermore, how do you react knowing this is a B&C buck that you've tried to bag yourself? I have seen a good amount of aggressive talk and attitude lately regarding fenceline hunters and wounded deer and was just wondering what would be done during a simulated scenario. I know how I would react and have seen how others reacted when my Dad was in a very similar scenario to this, 25+ years ago down in South Texas. He was the shooter of a very nice 12 pt. buck that made it under the fence after having its front two shoulders taken out and the neighbors coming down while we were tracking it to the fenceline. What say the THF? I'll let you know how it played out for my Dad a little later...

I let him track and find his deer. Why wouldn't I other than just to be a petty jerk?

NP, does your attitude change at all if this hunter has been heard shooting a considerable amount of time during the season?

My attitude might not be as good but I would let anyone onto my land to retrieve a legally shot animal.

Since you're the only playing as of now NP, what if that same hunter is seen coming through your fence while you're driving up. Rest of the scenario unchanged, blood is clearly shown to you on his side of fence, 20 yards inside his property, etc..

I'd let him come look for it... I'd probably try n help him look for it. The buck could have just as easily walked by my stand that morning. Hopefully the neighbor would have the same attitude towards me. I guess that goes to "being neighbors"

Good to see we haven't shot the guy by now as I feared based on some prior reactions.

Your pushing and he gets a lecture but still can retrieve his deer. Attitude worse though.
Basically if I know he shot it on his side, he can have it short of cursing me or being a complete jerk.

NP, the fact it's that 12pt. droptine you've been chasing doesn't phase you at all?

It phases me, sure. But really neither here nor there. That's hunting. Nothing to do with the situation of letting a guy retrieve his deer. It's not my deer.

How about if you shot him on your side of the fence and he made it over to the neighbors side and the neighbor had just as many trail cam photos of the buck and he was after the him just as hard as you were? Just hunting I think..."he got lucky and I didn't" would be my thoughts.

I am with NP.

I will play, Like NP and TX would let him trail the deer. Even further if I am driving out there is a blood dog in the truck that will provide assistance in finding said deer.

Wasn't out there the weekend between Christmas and New Years and the deer did not come onto my place but a neighboring landowner killed a 10pt droptine that we had both been after for 2 years. He got him and glad he did, just as he would have been glad if I had gotten him. That is neighbors.

Me too, but I would accompany the guy on my place.

I would let him track his deer (while I am with him). I would also take the opportunity to visit with him about considering each of us respecting the other by keeping all stands and feeders at least 200-300 yards off our common fence lines.

Let's track it and find it. And it's s good time to see what all he is seeing on his cams and probe for a little info. I talked to my neighbors and shared stories. They got a nice 9point I had been wanting to get. But I got a 10 point later that I showed a pic to them and they hadn't seen it on their camera. Sometimes it's nice to know what they see and don't see

I would allow him to track the deer if he contacted me first before entering my property. He would have to be unarmed and I would have to accompany him and I would have the firearm if it's needed and I would do the shooting if needed.

If he entered my property without my permission I would press charges for trespassing and keep the deer.

Back to the fenceline hunter conundrum, lol....I will admit I am surprised that some of the more adamant anti-fenceline hunter advocates and don't wound a deer that jumps into my place haven't chimed in more. Everyone is playing nice. As for my Dad, as I mentioned the hunters on our the other ranch were driving up as we were tracking blood under the fence. Upon explaining to them what happened, they kindly allowed us to come through the fence and finish off the very nice 12pt. which was only 30 yards inside their brushline. As it was a 275 yd. shot, the bullet actually had hit low on the shoulder and taken out the front two legs of the deer. All was good and the neighbors even congratulated my father on a very nice buck. And no, these hunters were completely unknown to us as we had never seen them before. On a couple of occasions, we have rendered the same courtesy to others over the years. As NP mentioned, the wounded deer were not "our" deer, simply nature's deer to be appreciated by anyone and everyone..

Whether I would be upset about the location of his stand and feeder would depend on how much land he had. If that was the safest place he could set up on a few acres, then okay. If not, then I'd ask him why he set up there. But, come to think of it, if he had a large piece of land and he set up there because he was trying to draw deer out of cover on my land, I guess I'd be okay with that too.

In either case, I'd help him track the deer.

It's not my deer; it's the state's deer. Heck, he probably has photos of the same 12-pt on his cams and has been chasing it too. By luck and karma, the buck gave him a chance before you got your chance.

I'd give him a cold Dr Pepper out of my cooler and help him track it till we find it. And then I'd take kill pictures of him and his deer with his camera and mine. We'd exchange phone numbers, and I'd insist on wanting to see the mounted buck after he gets it back from his taxidermist. And I would call him next year, pre-season, and tell him what I am seeing on my cams....and hopefully, he will reciprocate.

Hunting is not a competitive sport. Years ago, golfer Gary Player responded to a scribe's question on how he was going to beat Jack Nicklaus. He said, "I have no desire to beat Jack, nor Arnold Palmer. They're my friends. I only try to beat par." That about sums it up, I think.

well said dawaba

Now that's more like it, I love to see the brotherhood of the human spirit coming out. More recent threads had gotten me concerned that it wasn't alive and well. Also good to see that we haven't threatened or gone as far as even having shot at our hypothetical hunter as some past posters have been close to threatening to do so.

First off it depends on my relationship with the neighbor. It depends on how I have been treated by him. Is he the owner of the property or leases it for hunting? He will get the deer I just can make it easy or hard.

Don, that sounds a little like double standard treatment doesn't it? Owner is ok, leasee - ok but probably harder..Not nice.....

DQ, Just my opinion, but I think allot of the "responses and post" you where thinking you'd get, reflect the immature crowd responses more than likely, or the "tough guys" behind a PC screen. I am betting that 90% of the BS in many post wouldnt happen unless someone has some "anger management" issues.