Approached by LO next to public land

Wanted to get others opinion regarding hunting public land that is adjacent to landowner. I was getting ready to enter a public hunting land unit earlier this week to hunt small game, mainly quail. As I was entering the unit I noticed that a landowner drove out his driveway and headed down the road in the opposite direction. A short time later he was driving back towards me and stopped at the road. He wanted to know if I hunted deer and also mentioned he didn't want anybody inteferring with his deer feeder. I assured him I was bird hunting and I am not a deer hunter at all and would steer clear of his deer setup. He was cool with that and drove off. After hunting about 15 min the conversation settled in and it still irks me - as to this is public land and he can't direct me where to hunt. I walked back further afield and saw that his stand and feeder are on his property behind his house. The feeder is setup right at the fenceline to public land and about 75-100 yards from his house. I steered clear of the area as I promised, but what do you all think about the situation. What would you do? or anyway experience something similar? The encounter still bothers me, but in the end I kept the peace by not challenging his comments.

I would find the trails that the deer use going from public land to his feeder and hunt about 150 yards from the property line and take myself a nice buck that is hanging around checking out the doe that are headed to the feeder.

If he was pleasant and said 'please' I would let it slide. Then I would pull a Booner1 on him.

Treat him the same way you would want to be treated.

I don't remember a 'please.' Later in the day I did scare up a bedding deer - which was one of the biggest deer I have seen in a long while - at least an 8 pt. Gives me some new hunting ideas for next year....

Was on WMA during squirrel-hog season... Archery hunts was seeing hogs in a certain area just not in range... Plan- walk down ATV trail past area then cut inta woods & ease threw looking for movement... Wasn't too far from truck when noticed orange movement ta right... Husband, wife & kids... Eased twards them... Before could say anything, the man, stated my .22 mag was illegal... Tried explaining, rimfire, shotgun, & mussleloader were all legal... He said no rimfire... Trying ta keep open mind... He does have wife & kids, & he doesn't know me... Explained that had seen hogs several hundred yards past were they are, & my intentions of walking several hundred yards past that & slowly walking twards were had seen hogs & then cutting back & checking several other areas... Said, might run some your way... He still saying, rimfire not allowed... So checked out few other areas on other side of ATV trails first & saved that stretch for last...

That is one of the best ways to hunt Public Land. Find feeders on Private land and intercept those deer. My scouting session I had a few days ago was doing that exact thing. We saw a lot of deer on open fields on private land.

That guy has no right to tell you where to hunt as long as it isnt on his property. I can understand how he doesnt like hunters intercepting those deer that he feeds and I would feel the same way about other hunters as he does. But they are not his deer and as long as you are obeying the rules it is fair game.

It is actually kind of rude of him to say such a thing to be honest! You should feel like he disrespected you because he did.

I've learned that if I can take something an offensive way, or in a non-offensive way, and I need to think about it to make the decision...

... I'm MUCH better off taking it in the NON defensive way and just letting it go. Wave when you come in. Wave when you leave. Make it a point to talk to him if you see him. Ask him how his season is going. Tell him what you are seeing.

Why? Here's a few reasons that immediately come to mind:

1) Because life is too short and too important to go around getting offended by everything that someone "may" have meant.
2) He could turn out to be one of your best future friends, and all you have to do is be nice. Wouldn't it feel good to make a new friend, and even possibly find a private place to hunt in the future, adjacent to the public land you are already hunting? He may never offer that, even if you are friendly. But I can be almost 100% certain that if you get offended and go off on him, an invite will never happen.

There's more. But you get the point. Let it go. Be nice. If he later shows that he is actually a jerk, well, then you don't need to wonder anymore. But if you are at the crossroads, take the high road. Just my .02

All the best,
Glenn

Well Said CT...Allus catch more flys with honey than vinegar...
Ron

Taking the high road is great but the landowner has already taken "the low road" and harassed this hunter because he deemed him to be too close to his land and his personal herd of deer. And was telling the OP not to hunt near his property even though he has every right to do so.

There will be no invitations from this guy. He has already shown himself to be an individual who is greedy and does not respect law abiding public land hunters.

I believe a complaint to the game warden of harassment is not out of the question.

I'm not quite sure how you got that out of the OP's message. He specifically wrote:

"He wanted to know if I hunted deer and also mentioned he didn't want anybody inteferring with his deer feeder. I assured him I was bird hunting and I am not a deer hunter at all and would steer clear of his deer setup. He was cool with that and drove off."

Nowhere in there did I see that he told the OP not to hunt near his property. He just said he didn't want anyone "interfering with his deer feeder". Since his deer feeder is on his land, it sounds to me more like he didn't want someone wandering on his land, thinking it was public property, and hunting over his feeder. Sounds reasonable to me, if that's how it was actually said.

Now if he had said "I don't want you hunting near the fence line because my feeder is close by"... or "I don't want you within (name distance) of my feeder.", I'd be in agreement that he was harassed. But that's not what he supposedly said.

You have every right to feel how you want to feel. I'm not trying to tell you how to feel one way or another. I'm just pointing out that way too many people get their feelings hurt at the slightest interaction with anyone these days, and there is really no need for it. You can determine your own personal feelings, so why not choose to be happy and non-confrontational? These days, you can't tell hardly anyone anything without them taking offense and either wanting to fight, argue, or report you to someone. I'm just tired of it, so I try to go the opposite direction and make as many friends / acquaintances as I can. And even though I've had my handshake denied by some, I still extend it. I've made some good friends, and those who denied the handshake, I had no doubt where I stood with them. Keeps me from having to wonder their intentions.

All the best,
Glenn

These are all good points. His approach was poor in my opinion. He stood by his truck and I was across the fence into the land. We were about 15 yards away. He could have walked down to greet me. Nonetheless since I was not hunting deer he was relieved. The question is if I was a deer hunter how that would have gone. Plus I didn't even look like a deer hunter. I was wearing upland vest and pants and carrying a shotgun. No bow and arrow and not draped in camo. Still think the guy was a prick.

Ahh... Now I see. Wish you had voiced that opinion from the start. I have nothing more to add. Good luck this year.
All the best,
Glenn

Our place is bordered by public hunting land on 2 sides so my opinion is shaded by that. No offense intended to you but that was probably the LO's polite way of saying not to get any ideas about trespassing.

Every year we have hunters either set up right on the fence line (kind of obvious that they were planning to shoot across when they're set up with their muzzle over the fence) jump the fence, ignore the trespassing signs and travel several hundred yards into the property and either hunt one of our feeders or in one case even build a campfire at our camp. Others on the place have had their feeders and cameras manipulated. If i had the money I would high fence those sides, but its caused me to look askance at anyone close to the fence lines. I would like to think that I would've handled it better than the guy you encountered but if you were going in close enough to my driveway that I could see you when I was leaving I probably would've kept an eye on you.

I hunt a lot of public land for various game and have encountered this more than once. Sometimes they are nice about it, sometimes they are not, sometimes not initially, but we part ways on a good note. And a couple times while snipe hunting when they did not understand the game and the season yelled at and had the game warden called. From some of the hunters, non hunters, and trash I have seen I really don't blame them for wanting to keep an eye on who is hunting on the public land nearby and keep an understanding they may have had a bad experience with the last guy hunting over the fence from them. I too have often checked in with an adjacent neighbor to a public hunt access to let that landowner know who I am, what I am driving, what I am doing, and that I will respect their fence. It has more than once led to good hunting intel, a safe place to park, even permission to hunt their land on occasion.

Being respectful goes both ways. By law a person may not hunt within 150 yards of private property and it is easy to tell where and what private property is so a public hunter not obeying that law is not being respectful to the landowner. Calling the game warden on someone hunting your fenceline is a very legitimate complaint. But calling the game warden on some guy walking your fenceline 200 yards away and obeying all laws is harassment.

I did not think that was correct, so I looked it up. From what I have seen related to blinds within 50 yards of boundaries, many do not know that part. But for APH permit lands I see nothing about not hunting within so many yards of a private boundary. Only about setting up blinds within 50 yards.
http://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0112a.pdf
"constructs or places a hunting blind, stand, tower, or
platform within 50 yards of any designated road, marked unit
boundary, or designated campsite"

The 150 yards only comes up related to National Forest Lands and addresses near structures and campsites, not private boundaries.

"Individuals may not discharge a firearm or any other implement
capable of taking human life, causing injury, or damaging
property as follows: (1) In or within 150 yards of a
residence, building, campsite, developed recreation site or
occupied area, or (2) Across or on a National Forest System
road or a body of water adjacent thereto, or in any manner or
place whereby any person or property is exposed to injury or
damage as a result in such discharge."

For Ft Worth district Corps of Engineers the general rule again is not within a "boundary" though there
are individual lakes that have different rules related to boundaries.
https://whitneylakehunting.tamu.edu/docs/files/final%20Hunting%20Guide%202015-2016.pdf
"a. Hunting or shooting within 600 feet of homes, developed parks, roads, fishing
piers or platforms, farm and ranch yards, outlet structures, emergency spillways, or
other areas is prohibited unless otherwise stated or posted."

Best I can tell for most public land a hunter can hunt and shoot with his back against a private land fence as long as he is not near a structure, camp, or occupied area, and does not shoot onto or across a road or private land.

I am eager to get in on some public land action. I have always hunted my family property in East Tx. I have encountered people trespassing though. We just usually tell them good luck on the hunt but don't cross the property line again. Most are appreciative of that since they know they were in the wrong in the first place

reread it again. Look at your first sentence after the #1

"150 yards of a residence"

Private land is a residence!

It was cut and pasted from the APH guide under the section related to National Forest land.

"In addition to the prohibited acts listed on pages xi-xii, the following information and additional restrictions, apply to hunters and
those accompanying hunters on U.S. Forest Service Units. In instances where these additional restrictions and rules appearing
elsewhere are in conflict, these additional restrictions will prevail."

I do not know what the definition of "residence" is in National Forest rules or regulations, so I took a look at the Hunting FAQ on the national forest website. It would appear the 150 yard rule applies to all boundaries including roads and lakeshores because they could be "occupied".
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3794003.pdf

"How far off the lakeshore do I have to be to
hunt?
You must be 150 yards off of roads, designated trails
and boundaries. Similar to designated trails because
the lake can potentially be occupied at any time, you
must be 150 yds. from the lakeshore.

How far off the road do you have to be to hunt?
You must be 150 yards off of roads, designated trails
and boundaries.

What about hiking trails?
Hiking trails are identified as occupied areas, because
they can potentially be occupied at any time;
therefore, there is a 150 yard buffer on hiking trails.
The designated Hiking Trails on the NFGT are:
Sawmill Hiking Trail (Angelina NF), Four C Hiking Trail
(Davy Crockett NF), Piney Creek Horse Trail (Davy
Crockett NF), Trail Between the Lakes (Sabine NF),
Lone Star Hiking Trail (Sam Houston NF), Multi‐Use
Trail (Sam Houston NF), Double Lake Bike Trail (Sam
Houston NF), LBJ Multi‐Use Trail (LBJ NG) and Bois
d’Arc Multi‐Use Trail (Caddo NG)"

So, yep it would appear if your hunting on National Forest or Grasslands or on an APH WMA within a National Forest, you may not hunt within 150 yards of a boundary, road, trail, or lakeshore. But I still have not found anything that applies a hunting distance from any boundary for other Annual Hunting Permit units or Corps of Engineers public lands.

Sorry I am not sure about corps lands but I assume all wma's are under these guidelines.

No they are not. I quoted each from their published rules. I broke them down below since they were mixed up in the previous tltr dialog. I did not look up National Wildlife Refuge regulations as to boundary and there could be unit specific boundary rules with any area that are more restrictive than the general rule of any controlling authority. I learned a few things I did not know looking this up. Some places I thought had a more restrictive hunting boundary rule like APH which does not seem to have one other than for constructing blinds and I did not know about the forest service lakeshore hunting boundary rule. That one would effect many peoples current hunting if strictly enforced.

Texas Ft Worth District Corps of Engineers

"a. Hunting or shooting within 600 feet of homes, developed parks, roads, fishing
piers or platforms, farm and ranch yards, outlet structures, emergency spillways, or
other areas is prohibited unless otherwise stated or posted."

Annual Permit Hunting Lands not within National Forest

"constructs or places a hunting blind, stand, tower, or
platform within 50 yards of any designated road, marked unit
boundary, or designated campsite"

Annual Permit Hunting Lands units within National Forest

"Individuals may not discharge a firearm or any other implement
capable of taking human life, causing injury, or damaging
property as follows: (1) In or within 150 yards of a
residence, building, campsite, developed recreation site or
occupied area, or (2) Across or on a National Forest System
road or a body of water adjacent thereto, or in any manner or
place whereby any person or property is exposed to injury or
damage as a result in such discharge."

Texas National Forest Lands

"How far off the lakeshore do I have to be to
hunt?
You must be 150 yards off of roads, designated trails
and boundaries. Similar to designated trails because
the lake can potentially be occupied at any time, you
must be 150 yds. from the lakeshore.

How far off the road do you have to be to hunt?
You must be 150 yards off of roads, designated trails
and boundaries.

What about hiking trails?
Hiking trails are identified as occupied areas, because
they can potentially be occupied at any time;
therefore, there is a 150 yard buffer on hiking trails.
The designated Hiking Trails on the NFGT are:
Sawmill Hiking Trail (Angelina NF), Four C Hiking Trail
(Davy Crockett NF), Piney Creek Horse Trail (Davy
Crockett NF), Trail Between the Lakes (Sabine NF),
Lone Star Hiking Trail (Sam Houston NF), Multi‐Use
Trail (Sam Houston NF), Double Lake Bike Trail (Sam
Houston NF), LBJ Multi‐Use Trail (LBJ NG) and Bois
d’Arc Multi‐Use Trail (Caddo NG)"

After reading through these posts I can see the other side, from a LO's perspective. It makes sense that after a LO has 1 or more bad experiences, it would make them more suspicious of any hunting activity near the property line. As you can probably tell, I don't own land in the country, but hope to one day.

I would say based on the rules Sniper John posted, and the info that ALM TXHunter posted: Can't hunt within 150 yds of a residence and the landowner had his feed set up 75-100 yds behind his house, this would mean that you should not be within 50-75 yds of the feeder to avoid conflicting with the rules.

His house and feeder location have no bearing on where you can or cant hunt. You can not hunt withing 150 yards of his property line. The property line is considered his residence.

This brings up an interesting ethical dilemma (that is unrelated to my original post). If I read the rules correct posted by Sniper then you can't hunt within 150 yds of a road (any road?) going through a WMA. So if you park your vehicle along the road and hike back about 75-100 yards away from the road and come across the game you are seeking. Who would not shoot because it is still within the no hunting zone? Something to think about, unless I misinterpreted the rules and regs?

If I read the rules right, If your in a WMA that is not part of a National Forest and there are no other more restrictive rules for that particular WMA, shoot it. All you have to do is step off the road and not shoot across the road. I see nothing in this that says you have to be any distance from a road. You just can't put up a blind within 50 yards of a road.
"constructs or places a hunting blind, stand, tower, or
platform within 50 yards of any designated road, marked unit
boundary, or designated campsite"

If it is a WMA that is part of a National Forest, do not shoot. The APH book goes on to state regarding APH units and WMAs within National Forest land, that the more restrictive rule will apply. I did not find the actual National Forest rules regarding this, but this is from the National Forest FAQ.
"How far off the road do you have to be to hunt?
You must be 150 yards off of roads, designated trails
and boundaries."

Disclaimer, Do ask your area controlling athority land manager or game warden. Mine is only an opinion from what published rules I could find.

OK. I am going to look into this further because this winter I plan on hunting in WMA's located within a Natl Forest. 150 yards seems extreme to me, especially if you park on a non-paved forest road, and hunt away from the road into the woods. Sniper John, you probably have a good answer for this question: What is the best way to measure out that you are 150 yds from a road in a WMA in a Natl Forest?