Hunting Permission

[Sir Henry]

A neighbor stopped by and asked permission to hunt from my property. More specifically to sit in his truck in my driveway so he could see the field across the road. I gave him and any locals he knew permission. I told him no city folks and he said one was from the city but owned some of the land they would be hunting.

Five minutes after he left I saw three deer walking where he could see from where he wanted to park. He knows the game trails.

[daytime dave]

I'm sure your neighbor appreciates your generosity.

[North Country Gal]

That's good, Gene. Neighbors should help each other and since you aren't hunting deer and you trust this neighbor, why not let him hunt deer?

I'd have no problem letting a neighbor shoot deer on our property, but I think there are too many neighbors close by to be safe for rifle hunting, but a bow would be fine. Just no one in our area that hunts with a bow. Too bad. Our neighborhood forest is in bad shape, heavily over-browsed and we really need to thin the neighborhood deer herd.

[markiver54]

Not sure about up there, but here, it is illegal to hunt from a vehicle. Permission to hunt your land though is nice of you.

[Mags]

As I understand it driving around looking for game or sitting in a vehicle looking for game do not by themselves violate hunting laws. Violation comes when shooting from a vehicle cab or bed. Here that includes while sitting on an ATV, snowmobile, motor cycle, even a bicycle.

[Sir Henry]

Not sure about up there, but here, it is illegal to hunt from a vehicle. Permission to hunt your land though is nice of you.

I don’t think he meant firing from inside his truck. Besides he can’t shoot across the road either. With no snow on the ground he could park on the shoulder. Now he can’t do that and he can’t park in the road. My driveway is the most logical spot.

I didn’t mention it but he was the same guy that plowed my driveway last winter. He is also the husband of one of the Our Town members. And he is the uncle of one of the guys I worked with for the Christmas Tree Festival.

Three last names make up about a third of my contacts and his last name is one. I have nine contract with the same last name as the most. Lots of families are a combination of those names because they often married their neighbor. I’m talking about families that live within five miles of me.

[markiver54]

As I understand it driving around looking for game or sitting in a vehicle looking for game do not by themselves violate hunting laws. Violation comes when shooting from a vehicle cab or bed. Here that includes while sitting on an ATV, snowmobile, motor cycle, even a bicycle.

I hear Ya Mags. I guess the important part is to not have the firearm in/on the vehicle while looking. Where Gene is though, it would be highly unlikely for the game warden to come into his driveway (private property). Up there, he probably knows the warden.
The scenario just caught my attention, but it's a different world here than it is there.

[rickhem]

I just deleted a long post about one of my neighbors.
Suffice to say that not all neighborly interactions are what we'd like.
I've since found out that all of the other neighbors had similar experiences with him.

[Sir Henry]

A couple of weeks ago I saw the same man as last year. This time he was picking apples off the ground on my new property. I stopped and talked to him for a few minutes. I’ve also noticed ATV tracks across the hay field where he most likely rode to replenish a deer feeder. Another neighbor often rides his ATV over the field to my house for a cup of coffee. It’s common to have neighbors like that stop by.

[rickhem]

I agree that it's common and welcome.....to a point. This guy and his family once owned the majority of the land around here, and he apparently had the house that I now own built in the mid 90s. He still feels that he can come and go whenever and wherever he wants. I put my number in his cell phone, a flip phone, and asked him to let me know whenever he was going to be on my land. I shoot frequently, and I told him I didn't want to be shooting if he was roaming around down in the woods. Hasn't done that once.

[Sir Henry]

I agree that it's common and welcome.....to a point. This guy and his family once owned the majority of the land around here, and he apparently had the house that I now own built in the mid 90s. He still feels that he can come and go whenever and wherever he wants. I put my number in his cell phone, a flip phone, and asked him to let me know whenever he was going to be on my land. I shoot frequently, and I told him I didn't want to be shooting if he was roaming around down in the woods. Hasn't done that once.

I have a rule that if you want to walk my property you have to have property I can walk. I don’t allow city people on my land. Only locals.

[rickhem]

I agree that it's common and welcome.....to a point. This guy and his family once owned the majority of the land around here, and he apparently had the house that I now own built in the mid 90s. He still feels that he can come and go whenever and wherever he wants. I put my number in his cell phone, a flip phone, and asked him to let me know whenever he was going to be on my land. I shoot frequently, and I told him I didn't want to be shooting if he was roaming around down in the woods. Hasn't done that once.

I have a rule that if you want to walk my property you have to have property I can walk. I don’t allow city people on my land. Only locals.

Another neighbor, who has been hunting my land for a couple years now, and who also has lived in the area for decades, told me that a lot of people have issues with that other guy. He's been banned from two of the other properties that border mine, although he still sneaks in during spring turkey. He said that he didn't want to warn me without knowing me too well himself, but he saw that I found out pretty quickly by myself.

On another note, past history has shown me again and again that when the women get a weird vibe from someone, trust that.

[BrokenolMarine]

We don't hunt, but have a lot of deer on the property. The guy that cut our pastures for hay this year is a bow hunter, and during a break in cutting, was talking about the hunting season and we mentioned all the deer, coyotes, bobcats, etc. He asked if we hunted them in the season and we told him no, but if HE wanted to, we'd be happy for him to bow hunt the west fields/woods. ONLY him, no friends, no buddies. He asked about his 15 year old daughter. Yup, she'll do. They came and walked the property in August and set up their stands and will be Hunting this month and next. Always call before coming. THEY know that the fence lines are covered by cameras.

[HenryFan]

I was disappointed last season when I allowed a friend to hunt a tract of land that I own but which I have not yet been able to develop with food plots. I allowed him to hunt it with a bow but not to take any guests. I later found out from an adjacent landowner that me took a guest and the guest used a rifle.

I let him finish out the season after we had a discussion about trust and liability concerns. He is a heck of a guy, a Wounded Warrior, but this season, I declined to let him return to the property.

With one exception, that is the reason I don't let people access my property without my presence, especially if they want to hunt. The one exception is a retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant I have known for three decades but even so, he doesn't like to hunt my properties if I am not present.

Trust is easier to keep than it is to regain.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

Going against the grain here, I don't let anyone hunt on my land. One reason? I don't want to get shot, lol. I like to roam my land any time I want and don't want to feel restricted. The other reason is it doesn't offend anyone including someone that I don't like. One guy asked me and I just told him that I tell everyone "no" and if I let him hunt it would only cause trouble. He easily understood. Also, it's not like I have the only hunting grounds in the county. There is deer all over the place here.

[HenryFan]

. Also, it's not like I have the only hunting grounds in the county. There is deer all over the place here.

I don't know about Virginia but in addition to public lands, South Carolina has many hunt clubs. Many opportunities for a hunter to find access.

Some of the hunt clubs are deluxe and expensive and others are just access to land and are far more affordable.

[BrokenolMarine]

I was disappointed last season when I allowed a friend to hunt a tract of land that I own but which I have not yet been able to develop with food plots. I allowed him to hunt it with a bow but not to take any guests. I later found out from an adjacent landowner that me took a guest and the guest used a rifle.

I let him finish out the season after we had a discussion about trust and liability concerns. He is a heck of a guy, a Wounded Warrior, but this season, I declined to let him return to the property.

With one exception, that is the reason I don't let people access my property without my presence, especially if they want to hunt. The one exception is a retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant I have known for three decades but even so, he doesn't like to hunt my properties if I am not present.

Trust is easier to keep than it is to regain.

I often used the analogy that trust, honor, and integrity are gifts. You are given them by those you interact with. When you break them, you can't walk in to Walmart, Lowes, or Home Depot; or go online to Amazon and order their replacements in five gallon buckets or ten pound bags. They must be rebuilt and in some cases it's a monumental task. In others, it's a task you'll never achieve.

[CT_Shooter]

Permission? We don't need no stinkin' permission. Some folks are simply bad.

RICHMOND — A man has been arrested in the December killing of the “Hollywood buck,” a legendary deer known around the country for its massive 29-point rack and a habit of appearing like a vision in the city’s historic Hollywood Cemetery.

Jason Walters, 36, of Richmond was arrested Sunday and charged with 19 violations including illegal possession of wildlife, trespassing, failing to check and tag a deer, and littering, according to the state’s Department of Wildlife Resources.

The charges also relate to two other bucks that authorities said Walters poached from a part of Richmond that includes neighborhoods, cemeteries and parkland. The charges are misdemeanors, according to Maj. Ryan Shuler, deputy chief of law enforcement for the wildlife department, and a few of them carry possible jail time as well as fines.

The deer was a carefully guarded celebrity in Richmond; many who photographed it concealed the location to discourage poachers. Residents in the Maymont section of Richmond — a collection of cottages on hilltops above the James River — estimated that the deer was about eight years old. They called him Prince, because he seemed to be the offspring of another legendary buck known as King.

[BrokenolMarine]

We rarely allowed hunting on our properties. As stated by others, it's a matter of trust. IF/When we did, they were always required to notify in advance when they wanted to hunt, then check in and out of the property. That way we knew when they would be ON the property. This was a courtesy for both of us. I would refrain from shooting on my range on the day they planned to hunt, and we would stay out of the woods to avoid arrows in any parts of our bodies. (Only bow hunting was allowed, except for a few Disabled Vets, they could hunt with shotguns.) They received written permission ON a copy of the written rules. No question of them knowing what was expected. We never had an issue. I also never had a problem saying NO. (Which I said OFTEN.) As many have said, there are many places to hunt, and we had a small farm, but it was loaded with deer and other game.