nickman123

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I've got an issue that come up twice now and I'm not sure what to do. We are bird hunting in one of our favorite spots which has plots of private land interspersed with public land. Where we are hunting is absolutely not posted and is more than legal distance from any dwellings. Up drives some guy and he says we are on his private land and need to leave. When we tell him the land is not posted he says it doesn't matter and he's calling the Sheriff.
In both cases we simply left to avoid trouble. I'm about 90% sure in both cases the guy was full of bs and that he owned nearby land and just didn't want anyone hunting anywhere near his property.
My question is this- if we had stuck to our guns and stayed and the Sheriff really showed up and it turned out the guy really owned the land (even though it was'nt fenced or posted) could we be cited for tresspassing? Does a landowner simply telling you "this is my land" without any other evidence or proof constitute cause for tresspassing?
 

Common Sense

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It is your responsibility to know who owns the land you hunt on. That being said, if the land is not posted, fenced, or under cultivation you cannot be charged with tresspassing if you hunt there without permission. If the landowner(or his agent) informs you that you are on his property and asks you to leave, you are violating the law if you don't leave. If the "land-owner" is telling you to leave government land, he is violating the law. But it is your responsibility to know who owns the land, so if you are not 100% sure you are legal, go somewhere else.


Most of my big game critters have been taken on what I think was private property, and I didn't have permission.
 

Bubblehide

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^^^^^^^Ditto^^^^^^

However, if you want to find out the easy way, simply stick to the public land that you know is public and see if he tries to boot you again; if he does, you should be the one calling the Sheriff. I'd have my digital camera clipped to my chest, in movie mode and on as he pulled up. Otherwise you can always make a trip to the county recorders office to search property ownership.
 

Chayito702

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Yes I would definitely do What BubbleHide said. The same thing happened to my dad, cousin and my self as we were deer hunting d16 for the first time. Some dude shows up out of no where and says please get out of my property as we were stalking some deer. Since my dad had ask the forest ranger if it was private or public land (since half was posted with fence and a few yards next to it was NOT followed by more fence ) the ranger said NO ITS NOT even though some it's posted and some is not. The guy tells us if we don't leave he will call the warden and have us escorted out. I told him sir I believe your interfering with us hunting. He leaves and 30 minutes later my dad kills a 3x3. I kid you not this guys comes back tells us that we didn't listen to him and when he sees my dad with the buck he goes comes back with the warden and tells them to arrest us for trespassing. My dad records the conversation and tells them it public land so we are not trespassing and says if they don't leave us Lone we will call the sheriff long story short we brought the deer with us and the guy got a warning for trying to makes us leave and making a false accusation. Please double check with the forest ranger before these people try to screw you bro.
 

sean english

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Depending on which part of state you live in, it might be hard to find public land. I used to hunt IV and I am sure some of it was private land and I had already made the decision to leave if someone asked me to. Eastern Sierra on the other hand is God's Land. So much of it. Thats what I love it and prefer hunting quail and chukar there than any where else. Around Sacramento is all private land. I dont even bother.
 

sean english

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Yes I would definitely do What BubbleHide said. The same thing happened to my dad, cousin and my self as we were deer hunting d16 for the first time. Some dude shows up out of no where and says please get out of my property as we were stalking some deer. Since my dad had ask the forest ranger if it was private or public land (since half was posted with fence and a few yards next to it was NOT followed by more fence ) the ranger said NO ITS NOT even though some it's posted and some is not. The guy tells us if we don't leave he will call the warden and have us escorted out. I told him sir I believe your interfering with us hunting. He leaves and 30 minutes later my dad kills a 3x3. I kid you not this guys comes back tells us that we didn't listen to him and when he sees my dad with the buck he goes comes back with the warden and tells them to arrest us for trespassing. My dad records the conversation and tells them it public land so we are not trespassing and says if they don't leave us Lone we will call the sheriff long story short we brought the deer with us and the guy got a warning for trying to makes us leave and making a false accusation. Please double check with the forest ranger before these people try to screw you bro.
Way to go.
 

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