[ihrules]

I've been away for work since Tues. Tried to reply from my blackberry but it didn't work. That's for a different thread though.

Thanks for everyones responses I appreciate you speaking up. It doesn't matter which side of the fence you're on, it's easy to make a solid point either way. That's why I wasn't sure if I did the right thing.

I think I figured out that it's best to make decisions on a case by case basis and go with your gut feeling, if you say yes there needs to be communication and trust.

So I'm comfortable now with how I handled it, I'd do the exact same thing if it happened again the same way. I was friendly and respectful to the guy and I'm sure there are no hard feelings. I'd certainly also be open to saying yeah if the circumstances were different. You need all the friends you can get, I ain't no stinky hippie but I do believe what comes around goes around.

Mike

[Ballbearing]

There is nothing, repeat nothing that pisses me off more than poachers and those who disregard the law to hunt on other peoples land. I've got dressed and gone out just before dawn on the first day of hunting season. I head out to my favorite spot to wait for sunrise and get myself situated, and when I get there, there's a still steaming pile of deer guts laying right where I was hoping to set up. In our state, hunters have to ask permission to hunt on your land if it's posted (no hunting signs) OR occupied (someone lives there). They simply do not obey the law. They hop your fence, shoot towards your house, leave trash, leave carcass remnants and sometimes fill their Hereford tag on your livestock. If they ask, and I don't know them personally, the answer is always no. And if I catch them on my place after that, I won't hesitate to notify the local authorities and have them arrested. If I know them and know that they are responsible, clean up after themselves, practice safety and above all let me know when and where they are on my property, I'd consider it.

[pathdoc]

Samuel and Heavy Shooter:

In Australia, the law settles the question of "he hunts so I thought it was fine" or "I'll just bring my buddies along" by demanding written permission (even if it's only just a handwritten note) from the landowner to every hunter by name, without which the hunter is open to prosecution (including loss of firearm and/or licence IIRC) if they're caught hunting without the note on their person or they can't prove they were issued with one.

The penalties are harsh, but they do give landowners who catch illegal/unwelcome hunters on their property better tools to work with than just harsh language, and the shooters' and hunters' representative bodies here are strongly in favour of it because they know how just one irresponsible arsehole can set the anti-gun lobby off and screw it up for everyone. The local Game Council has a duplicate carbon book for hunters who have done its safety/awareness course, with forms that have boxes to fill in where the landholder can specify what can (or cannot) be hunted and with what weapons (e.g. blackpowder, bow, with/without dogs).

What's the law on this where you are?

[wirehunt]

But we also know that the gun laws in Australia are. For want of words, not very good.

[ihrules]

I ran into the kid's dad at the gas station yesterday and asked if his boy had any luck. His dad said that he was able to get one. I mentioned that his son had called me and asked permission to hunt and that I had said no because I was caught a little off guard and hadn't thought about it. He was not aware that his boy had called me and said "oh don't worry about it, he's got plenty of places to hunt" I was glad to know there was no hard feelings and it was good to start getting the communication going.

Mike

[BunnyWabbit]

The farmers around here are starting to charge people to hunt. There is 80 acres next door to me and the owner leased it out to someone from North Carolina for $4000 for deer season only. That being said, another thing to consider is, if someone is on your land and gets hurt, whether it's falling out of a deer stand, etc. your homeowners insurance will get sued over it. My husband had a friend who was helping him take down a deer stand on some land that he had permission to hunt on. The old woman was selling the land and had just sold it. The friend climbed up the stand and fell off. My husband at the time had a broken elbow and that's why he needed help taking it down. This guy almost died over it, but he'd done something really stupid and that's how he hurt himself. Then he went after our homeowners insurance and was trying to get around $300,000 for a settlement. We didn't own the land, but owned the stand. The old woman's insurance was only liable for $1000, but they never made a claim to it. They ended up dropping the case because they didn't have a viable case. But we lost a friend over it. He just wanted some easy money and figured he wasn't sueing us personally, just our insurance.

[ArkansasHunter]

If I quit hunting I would'nt mind letting someone else hunt my land but they would have to agree to no littering, no desruction of tree's in anyway, If they put ruts in the roads they better be fixed when hunting season close's.
Absolutly NO ONE but you can hunt.
And they would have to sign a document to not hold me liable for any accidents or death.
I'd also have a time frame for when they could hunt.

[oklahoma hunter]

Personally, it all depends on the guy and the situation and how well you know them......im very very picky about who hunts on my land ....if i catch someone there who shuldnt be i give them one warning and if the dont listen i will call the law..........at least the guy had the respect for you to ask permission .....alot of pricks around where i am dont.......i caught a group of guys runnin deer with dogs one time(which is illegal in oklahoma) and gave them copies of their mugshots (and their dogs)from my game camera's(the look on their faces was priceless) they left trash and ate their lunch in the middle of my scrape line..........i was pissed( i bagged the trash and gave it back to them with the photos( i moved my cam afterward to keepem from stealin it) some people have no respect.......in the words of Woodrow Call "I hate rude behavior in a man, I won't tolerate it."