The whole concept of negligence is a lot more tricky than yall are making it out to be. First, the property is not "open to the public". If it was, that would be a different deal.

Second, its trespass. If you invited a guest into your home/property who then gets injured because of your negligence..then you are getting closer to clear cut liability.

You notice there is an exception from willfully or wantonly injuring a trespasser while protecting your property or in self defense. You place a trespasser with a firearm on your property... the odds are you will obtain the exception for self defense.

Most of yall are missing the other point to this. What is the goal of placing down a spike strip? To flatten the tires right? "Willfully or wantonly" injuring a trespasser will likely require more than inuring the trespasser's personal property. It would require a clear intent to cause actual injury to the "person", not their tires. If him losing control and rolling his truck down a cliff is a foreseeable consequence of flat tires...that may get a little closer to willful or wanton. So far, I see it more as causing harm to his property.

Placing a nail strip on your road that injures persons committing the crime of trespass making you liable...ehhh..doubtful in Texas.


One thing that I always thought was weird was shooting an animal on your property and it jumping over the fence before dieing. Anyone know who has the legal rights to it? It will surprise you.

There's also a difference between civil and criminal liability. You may not catch a criminal charge, but could still face a civil judgment. I was involved in a lawsuit (as a witness) where the ranchhand from a neighbor's place was illegally crossing the Plaintiff's property and was involved in a crash. My position was that it was the ranchhand's fault because he had no right to be there. The Plaintiff's attorney advised me it was only the events of the crash that determined liability and the fact he was trespassing was a different issue. The same principle should hold true. If you set a booby trap that injures or kills someone, the fact they were trespassing may not matter. I don't think that's fair, but it may be true.

Another issue regarding booby traps is that you only have the right to use deadly force in the defense of your life or the life of someone else. The Castle Doctrine gives you more legal ground in that event, but you still have to be defending someone's life. If your trap injures or kills someone who, for example, hopped your fence to take a leak, you could have a problem.

Texas penal code allows booby traps.

Do you have the specific reference for the booby trap? Chapter? Subchapter?

[/quote] If a paocher is caught hold him at gun point if need be and call the GW , not your beer drinking buddies. [/quote]

My buddies get there quicker

^ true and there aint nothing wrong with reloading (its cheaper & more fun) jmo

ain't nothing wrong with scaring a man if he's on your place and i would hope that if i found a guy with a gun in his hand pointed my direction that if i shoot him i won't go to jail but if i had to shoot him to protect my own life i would take the chance of a criminal law suit because if a man threatens you especially at night you have the right to take lethal action if you have a chl you should know this.

Here is our families story. My family hunts in east texas and for a couple years we could tell that stuff was being messed with around camp. One night in bow season a couple family members heard shooting at the road (less than 100yds away). They grabbed their pistols and went running. Turns out it was a low life neighbor that was poaching. Called the game warden who arrested the guys and confinscated their vehicle guns etc. A week later on opening weekend of gun season the whole lease showed up to 1 cabin burnt and smoldering 2 travel trailers burnt and smoldering and 1 outbuiling burnt.

Luckily my family was smarter than most and set up 5 infared game cams around the place and guess who showed up. Last we heard they were in prison for a while.

glad ya'll caught em hope they are in there a long while

Karma is a mother.

I was 18 and hunting in Coryell co , with the family . We stared to see 243 caseings in all of our stands . Well none of us had a 243 so i told my dad i was gonna go in the middle of the week . Got up drove to the lease . Parked the truck behind the cabin and kinda sneeked throught the broom weeds in the dark . About 100 yrds from my stand i layed down in the grass , All of a sudden here comes a flash light . Knowing that everyone in my family was gonna be working ( i called everyone ) i just sat there . Right when you could see i was watchen him through my binoks. All of a sudden here walks a nice buck from behind my stand , This guy freezes as the buck walks right past him i see him reach down . Then here comes the gun out the window . Right about then i let a 308 round through the top of my blind . This is were to me it got funny . The dude broke my door off the hing'es running to the fence about 75 yrs to the road . I 'M sorry but i was laughing my [censored] off . The owner of the next place over drove up to the fence and asked what happened and i told him . Seems like the same guy was doing his place also . But after that morning we never had a problem .