Hunting near My Property

You're definitely overreacting.

Bow-hunting requires that the game be very close, and the hunter be very accurate. Also, if you saw him last night, walking, it's not likely he was hunting at the time. He was scouting. Looking for signs of deer. Tracks, scrapes, rubs. If he was hunting, he'd be in the stand, waiting. And the stand is probably faced into the woods, away from anyone else's property.

Call the school if you like, but it may very well be that they gave him permission. Hunters do not usually put their stands and game cameras on private property without permission. It's likely that the school's property is being overrun with deer and they need this person to come in to cull that population.

Contact the school. You know it will bother you until you do. Its at the schools discretion what they do about it--but at least you can warn them! Also, you could contact the surrounding neighbors and tell them what you saw- if enough people sign a petition.....well? Could solve the problem. GL

M

Some areas are so plagued with such a high deer population they wish someone would cull the herd especially after every thing in their yard has been eaten to nothing.
I've seen golf course driving ranges with deer on them that just stand there even after a golf ball hits them.
What I would do is make sure your property is cleared enough so you can see what is going on, post your property with No Hunting / No Trespassing signs.
Know when hunting season is (begin and end) and if he's hunting out of season be sure to report him.
If it's day light enough and you see him walking back you might want to talk with him - a friendly chat letting him know there are kids around and you don't want anyone getting hurt.
Keep your kids on your property in bright colored clothing and do what you can to scare deer away - he can't hunt if there's nothing for him to hunt.
If you live in a community that hunts, people are not going to understand why you are shocked.
Obviously everyone you called knows this guy - probably are buddies with him, but if he's not breaking any laws, there's nothing they can do about it.

My major concern would actually be that he was drinking a beer while hunting. Any responsible hunter will not be drinking when he's near his hunting spot - it's just stupid to mix alcohol with any type of weapon.

I think I would contact the school and let them know. If he doesn't have permission (which is awfully brazen to put up a camera and stand if he doesn't) then they can get him removed.

If he's there legally, then I would just try to get in touch with him. Meet him face to face. Let him know your concerns for your children and find out from him when he plans to be out, what you can do to make sure your children don't bother him or his hunting area (if you phrase it that way, he'll be more likely to cooperate).

Again, my main concern would be the alcohol while hunting, though I know it's not that uncommon. My husband would just never do it.

I am shocked by this too. And shame on the police for passing the buck here. I would do two things 1) Notify the school, both over the phone AND in writing. 2) Ask to speak to the police CHIEF. You know what else, you might even want to get your local NEWS station involved. Good luck!

DEFINITELY contact the school! They can post no-trespassing or no-hunting signs, which will let the person know it's NOT OK... If the hunter ignores the signs and hunts anyway, then criminal trespassing charges can be filed against him when he gets caught. As an extra measure, maybe you could set up some video cameras, get proof. They are fairly cheap.

I would also write a note, outlining your concerns TO the hunter. Put in there that it IS private property, and your parental concerns about firearms (or arrows) possibly being discharged in such close proximity to the houses. You might even have other parents in the area, whose children are also at risk, sign it as well. Maybe the guy is just clueless, and got so caught up in his hunting that he didn't even stop to think of the dangers.

Good luck!

Not to alarm you further, but a few years back in the town where I grew up a guy was bow-hunting in a wooded area behind some houses and he actually hit a woman swimming in a nearby pool! She apparently came out of it OK, but the owner of the house/pool was furious and tried to get a law passed prohibiting bow-hunting within village limits. The law was not passed and the home-owner was so furious that he packed up and moved out. This was unfortunate because he was quite wealthy, frequently donated $$ to the town and threw a fabulous bash for the whole town every year, complete with carnival rides, attractions and fireworks. He apparently felt very betrayed.

I would have been pissed too - there are so many places to hunt away from houses and outside of village limits - more deer there too! It's waaay to risky to hunt near homes, particularly with a beer in your hand!

Judging from the reactions of the officials you contacted I get the feeling we don't have a clear view of the area. It doesn't sound like he is hunting anywhere near your home just passing through.

The other thing you may want to figure out is does the school own the land or do they own the right of way. I say this because if you own the land they do not call it a right of way, they say you own the land. If you own a right of way it means the school owned the rights to build a road on someone else's property. If the school gave up those rights the owner of the land may have tried to sell it.

In other words the person you saw walking may own the land and what you are about to do will cause you to lose use of the land. Hunters tend not to put those cameras on land they don't own, they are very expensive. Then again maybe he is a rich hunter, I don't know.

Make sure you know what exactly you are doing before you start stirring things up.

If he's actually passing through your property so casually, then he's probably doing such a thing frequently. I would get some "Private Property: No Trespassing" signs to post on your back property. I would definitely let the school know as well about the situation, and perhaps they can put up signs that say, "No Hunting."

That way when someone reports the guy there can be some recourse.

Every state has different laws when it comes to school property but I think it is now a federal violation to have a gun on school property. I could be wrong but I had thought that after the school shootings as in Columbine it is a Federal offense to carry a weapon on any school property.

I would call the school and the DNR (Dept. of Natural Resourses).

The police reacted very strangely a man with a weapon, drinking a beer, after dark ---yeppers just what I want in my neighborhood; a drunk with a weapon after dark.

I don't think you're overreacting. I would call the school. I wouldn't worry about the school telling you not to mow past your property. They wouldn't be concerned about that. A lot of people do that. We have. No one cares.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

if he was that far from your land are you 100% sure he was drinking beer? are you sure it wasnt soda? and if he is not on your property then where is the danger? just call the school and tell them. if he is on their land then they are the ones who have to do something about it. if you dont like the situation, build a fence, if you are able, to keep the hunter out. I really dont see that there is anything you can do other than call the school and when your kids are out playing stay out with them i guess