Are hunters really that un educated ?

[terrierman41]

So I had a client call me about hunting upland birds, said he went with an outfitter last year and the outfitter told him if the property isn't marked with no trespassing signs than you can go in and hunt it whenever you want . I had to laugh. I have been in the hunting industry a lot of years and as far as I am concerned if it is private land marked or not you are considered to be trespassing and will be charged if caught , am I wrong ?

The outfitter must be from Sask, lol. Around Esterhazy and the Que'Appelle Valley that's how it works for the locals and farmers...can't say it's the same around here though.

[TheProvider00]

When I lived in Ontario my buddy Bob and his brothers came up bear hunting on a couple farms I had permission on and a couple spots of crown land I knew had bears. First night they all hunted my spots. Second night his one brother and his son decided to drive around farms. That night he told us they spotted a bear in a field. The son snuck in with his bow and rifle. Turns out his 30yrd pin was broken so he shot it with a rifle. As soon as he shot lights came on in a house close by so he ran back to the truck and took off. They went back a few hours to look but didn't find it.

That really bothered me and if I knew the farm I probably would have reported them. I talked to Bob about it a few months later and he said he didn't care to hunt with his brother. He used to invite him to hunt a few farms near Ottawa. One evening he got a call from a raging land owner yelling at him for trespassing and hunting on his farm. Turns out Bob's brother trespassed and was deer hunting on a farm. Land owner caught him and when the landowner asked him he lied and said his name was Bob @@@@@. So the landowner looked up his number in the phone book to talk to him about trespassing. That was the last time he invited his brother to go deer hunting.

[sakimano]

I will say this the first time I catch anyone hunting my set of popplers whether it be this monkey outfitter or a joe blow off the street , and they try and play the I thought it was crown land...

Sounded like you were going to get all heavy with them there. I was ready for some Charles Bronson stuff.

Then you threatened to pull out a map and call a tow truck. Bit of a damp squib.

[mojo stick]

I can't say what I would like to do to trespassers , it just rattles me that people have the nerve to pull this off , like especially to block my driveway so I couldn't get into it , that's what made me the most angry , sure trespass I will chase you out but to do it so obvious come on people . And this outfitter is known to do this on many properties

[gamemaster]

It's no wonder we get a bad name and hunting areas are lost when people act this way . A outfitter should not run an operation this way let alone anyone hunting on their own . Remember landowners talk and are neighbours and if somebody ticks one off the next thing you know the whole area is cut off . Bottom line unless it's crown, if you don't have permission or don't own it and pay the taxes on it stay out . I've seen quite a few farms and woodlots lost to any access because of a few being selfish and not respecting others

[TheProvider00]

It's no wonder we get a bad name and hunting areas are lost when people act this way . A outfitter should not run an operation this way let alone anyone hunting on their own . Remember landowners talk and are neighbours and if somebody ticks one off the next thing you know the whole area is cut off . Bottom line unless it's crown, if you don't have permission or don't own it and pay the taxes on it stay out . I've seen quite a few farms and woodlots lost to any access because of a few being selfish and not respecting others

Well said, 2-3 farmers start talking and hundreds of acres is closed right quick. Before I moved to BC I lived in WMU 28. There was about 3 main waterfowl hunting crew in the area. Plus a few smaller groups of course. One group was known for trespassing and also leaving garbage in fields that they had permission to hunt. The group was practically run out of a whole township. No one would give him permission there. Got to the point when we would go ask land owners for permission to hunt one of the first questions would be if we knew or hunted with a few guys from that group. We didn't of course and we would tell them that. We would also add about the stories we have heard about the group and bad reputation. Normally as soon as the landowner heard we didn't like them they would give us permission right away.

One weekend we knew that group was scouting close to us. We found a great field with lots of birds that we had permission on and so did they. We ended up spending the night in the field so we would have it first. Well their trucks showed up at 3am and saw us. They sped out of there and went into the field beside us. The farmer was in the field fixing his combine and went to talk to them and ask them what they were doing. They stated they had permission from the landowner to hunt that field. Farmer stated that's funny cause he owned the land and no they didn't have permission. So they drove out of that field and into the field we were in. They setup 100yrds behind us. Couple guys in are group wanted to pack up and leave. We stayed even with them setup right behind us. We didn't even have to do any calling. The group was calling like crazy to try and pull the birds into their setup. Every flock landed in our setup and it didn't take long to shoot our limit. They tried a few hail mary shots over our heads and even sent their dog to retrieve one of our birds which they kept. In the end we took our sweet time packing up until the birds stopped flying. The only bird they got was the one bird they stole from us.

I am a true believer in being ethical, using common sense and being respectful of other hunters, land owners and the game we hunt. Unfortunately it seems there's a lot of people out there who will go to extremes and do whatever it takes to shoot an animal. I always tell people when booking with outfitters take your time and do your research. Get a few references from the outfitter. There's a lot of great outfitters out there and there's a few that will do anything to make money. You don't want to spend your money on a hunt to end up with being charged for offences.

[3Wheelerdude]

should be clear enough...

Yes exactly, as soon as you say fence, then its trespassing.

[bushman]

Yes exactly, as soon as you say fence, then its trespassing.

Not always!! As great white posted, he knows of crown with barbed wire on it. And I myself hunt a huge tract of crown that has barbed wire, cedar rail and page wire fences through out it.

It used to be farm land and then was purchased by the crown from the farmers.

[finsfurfeathers]

Yes exactly, as soon as you say fence, then its trespassing.

Not exactly Fingal and Hullet come to mind. However you're right in Southern Ontario a fence you should assume its private unless otherwise determined not the other way around

[KMG Canada]

I have a couple of pieces of property south of Ottawa. I have one signed as it has easy access and seems to be where the trespassers come from the most. The other two are not signed. Guess which one still has the most instances of trespass. The guys that would just walk onto someone's land without seeking permission are the same ones who ignore or claim they didn't see the signs. The guys that ask permission would never just saunter onto someone's land.