Texas Hunting Forum
Question about me harassing hunters
Posted By: possom813
Question about me harassing hunters - 11/07/11 06:35 PM
This season, someone(I haven't met them yet) either have leased or bought the neighboring 150acres to our family land.
Not a big deal, my mother in law is the one who actually uses the land, and I and my wife's brothers hunt.
The mother in law has about 200 head of cattle on 457 acres, and we hunt the back 120 or so acres that is still heavily wooded. It's divided into 6 pastures.
The far back pasture does and 'L' around behind the new neighbors land. In this pasture I have one of my larger hog traps that's been in place since '05.
They've put a stand on a tank dam, facing our pasture and tank less than 50 yards from the fence line. I don't care too much about that, simply because I can't really see a deer being dumb enough to get anywhere near this stand. It's literally in the middle of 500 acres of grazing pasture that the grass is less than 3 inches high.
The problem herein is that one of our pasture roads that I'm on, pretty much every morning, or at least every other morning, runs right along the fence line they're facing the stand towards.
Can I get in trouble for hunter harassment for checking my traps and putting out corn for the cows? Simply because a lot of the time when I travel that road it's around 7:30 or 8am each day.
I've actually thought about putting one of my old stands on our side of the fence facing the tank as well, just to try and encourage them to move that stand.
Also, just for background info that I've gotten from the mother in law, the neighbor is a jackhole. She's had several confrontations with him over his donkeys coming into our grazing pastures and him not giving a dang.
I'm not going to talk with him, I don't care that much and I'm not going to change the times that I check the traps for him when I run 17 traps that have to be checked every other day. This particular trap is one of the large, constantly trapping traps. It has to be checked every other day to fill the troughs.
Posted By: bigmike_ml21
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/07/11 06:44 PM
I wouldnt consider that harassment at all, you have a right to check your traps at anytime just as he does to hunt.
Posted By: copperhead
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/07/11 11:25 PM
No, you have no intention of harassing anyone, just taking care of business.
Posted By: BuckRage
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/07/11 11:30 PM
put up a stand in his line of fire and call GW
Posted By: don k
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/07/11 11:46 PM
I have done 100 times worse that that to people along the fence line and never had any problems with GW's or the S. Dept. If they don't like what you are doing they are going to tell you to stop first.
Posted By: Auctioneer
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 01:03 AM
So you did not care because you think a deer won't show up but now you want to check traps and put up an old blind to try and get him to move. Sounds like you looking for trouble and you just might find it you never know. It's easy for guys on here to tell you how do it because they don't have to deal with it. But the guy might be on here next week asking how he can repay the favor just saying...
Posted By: pokerj2
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 01:11 AM
Do what you want its your place!
Posted By: Savage388
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 01:26 AM
Do what you want its your place!
I've actually thought about putting one of my old stands on our side of the fence facing the tank as well, just to try and encourage them to move that stand.
Just remember the neighbor is a land owner too, and he is thinking the same thing. I wouldn't do anything differently tomorrow that I did yesterday. I wouldn't try to do anything to encourage him to move a stand. I certainly wouldn't want anyone doing that to me.
Posted By: texhntr
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 01:59 AM
I wouldn't put a stand there, I would just keep on with my routine. If my neighbor said anything to me I would just give him my number and tell him to call me if he is going to hunt there. If it is a everyday thing he will have to deal with you chekcing your trap. I wouldn't do anything passive aggresive though. Let him be the a-hole.
Posted By: pokerj2
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 02:00 AM
I wouldn't put a stand there, I would just keep on with my routine. If my neighbor said anything to me I would just give him my number and tell him to call me if he is going to hunt there. If it is a everyday thing he will have to deal with you chekcing your trap. I wouldn't do anything passive aggresive though. Let him be the a-hole.
Posted By: LandPirate
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 03:19 AM
200 cows on 457 acres? Or was that a typo and should read 20 cows? I wouldn't think there would be a deer anywhere on such small property with that many cows.
But to answer your question: No. It's not harrassment if you're tending to your livestock or other normal chores.
Posted By: Bear Charge
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 04:37 AM
Keep trapping. If the neighbor hasn't complained, he may not care. I wish aomeone woould keep the hogs off our land. If anything, do your errands between 10 am and 3 pm. It is noce that you consider this before anyone complains though.
Posted By: KennyLee
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 05:14 AM
200 cows on 457 acres? Or was that a typo and should read 20 cows? I wouldn't think there would be a deer anywhere on such small property with that many cows.
But to answer your question: No. It's not harrassment if you're tending to your livestock or other normal chores.
My thought as well. 200 cows on 457 acres is called a feed-lot.
Posted By: KennyLee
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 05:18 AM
As for advice, I've had neighbors do much worse. Last season, I had one neighbor put 3 feeders within 30 yards of my fenceline, with box blinds directly behind them, putting me in the line of fire. Had two other neighbors also put feeders right on the fenceline.
I put feeders in the brush, but out of sight of each of their feeders. Set mine to go off early and spin a ton of corn. Yeah, it cost some money, but it was worth it.
This year, only one fence-hunting neighbor remains and he's in a spot that doesn't really bother me as I don't hunt that part of the place.
Posted By: DillonCan'tFish
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 03:58 PM
im no expert but i thought it was 1.5 acres per cow unit (cow + calf)... again no expert just speculating.
Posted By: don k
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 04:02 PM
im no expert but i thought it was 1.5 acres per cow unit (cow + calf)... again no expert just speculating.
In Bandera co. in a good year it is about 1 to 30 acres.
Posted By: Dude Briggs
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 04:27 PM
As long as you mind your business and they do the same I dont see the problem. Stay on your side and they do likewise. They have the right to do what they want on their own side
Posted By: J McCoy
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/08/11 07:06 PM
That does not include SHOOTING ACROSS YOUR FENCE.
Posted By: possom813
Re: Question about me harassing hunters - 11/09/11 12:26 AM
I'm not going to move the stand over there. It was just a thought.
Nothing's changed, he hasn't said anything to me or the mother in law about it.
It still kind of irks me that he's facing the road I have to drive and has a gun. If he misses, the bullet's going to come straight across our property and that road.
Due to the responses about how many head of cattle on 457 acres, I called her and asked. She said she has 129 head at last count, which doesn't include the 10-15 calves running around in the past few weeks.
It may seem like a lot of cows on one property, but they're not hurting for grass, she puts out quite a few round bales every year, I don't know how many actually, but she has about 130 bales at the house now, and she rotates winter wheat on a different pasture each year, which is what started the whole 'hog trapping' thing, as she calls it.