Hunter harassment examples

[cricco]

I was hunting in the Wendell State Forest some years ago. There was a group of Hippie type, ant-hunters who saw our vehicles, and decided to harass us. They showed up wearing medical type coveralls, and carrying a stretcher with a big red cross on it. They started singing loudly and walking around the woods. Well, all of the ruckus they were causing spooked a nice 8 point buck right into my freiends path. He shot the deer, and it dropped right in the clearing. The Hippies came running toward him with the stretcher. My Buddy, being the kind of fella he is, immediately starts gutting the deer, and hold his bloody hands up for them to see, and starts yelling like a maniac! You should have seen how fast they cleared out of there! LOL!

 

[yanici]

I was hunting in the Wendell State Forest some years ago. There was a group of Hippie type, ant-hunters who saw our vehicles, and decided to harass us. They showed up wearing medical type coveralls, and carrying a stretcher with a big red cross on it. They started singing loudly and walking around the woods. Well, all of the ruckus they were causing spooked a nice 8 point buck right into my freiends path. He shot the deer, and it dropped right in the clearing. The Hippies came running toward him with the stretcher. My Buddy, being the kind of fella he is, immediately starts gutting the deer, and hold his bloody hands up for them to see, and starts yelling like a maniac! You should have seen how fast they cleared out of there! LOL!

 

[DCunniff]

More examples of what Talon3 and others have said. We need to do a better job of dropping a dime on the blatant harrassers. Can even call after they flushed the prey.

Dana

 

[Plural of Mongoose]

A few years ago I was accosted by a woman while hunting on private posted property. She insisted I was trespassing and informed me she had called the police and I better leave.
I told her I wasnt going anywhere.
She started in on me, telling me to go home and make love to my wife,that I hunted because I was a coward ,blah blah blah.
I needled her a bit, I have to admit. She was really upset.
When the EPO showed up, I let her have her say. She said I didnt have any right to be there, this was where she walked and she didnt want to have to worry about getting mistaken for a deer etc.
The EPO then turned to me and asked me what I had to say for myself, being on gated posted property and all. He seemed to be leaning to her side of the story.
I didnt say anything at first but pulled the written permission I had out of my pocket and handed it to him. I then said "Im not trespassing, she is. "
You should have seen the look on her face.
She was asked to leave and informed of the harassment laws.
I then told the EPO that I would be calling him if I saw her there again.
He told her she needed to find somewhere else to walk.
Havent seen her in there since.
In fact, I shot a deer there tonight. The owners will be very happy to get some venison next spring when they come back from the mainland.

 

[DCunniff]

This one isn't harassment, but frustration. Have a friend I go with couple towns over. Has a neighbor on his side of street, both ex-Marines, he's Korean era vintage. Deer on both sides of street, suburban set up with some forest behind houses. Neighbor has about 20 acres, almost fully fenced, almost spotless tree floor. Still adding fencing, won't let friend take a deer.

Weekend before shotgun we are in his back woods looking around and the neighbor's wife is walking her property. She moans that she can't get any plants to grow, deer are devouring them in the yard.

Every time I'm there I tell my friend it is painful, and when he is gone the relatives will knock down all the fences, cut all the trees and put in houses.

Dana

 

[DCunniff]

Sorry about the back to back posting. I just read some Emails and clicked on one from Field & Stream. One link abot this very topic. A guy bagged in AL stealing a trail camera, said he was protecting the deer.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs...hief-says-he-was-protecting-deer?cmpid=121609

Dana

 

[hunter46spring]

I hunt on a farm that abutts Tufts University Vet. School/Hospital. The schools poperty is well posted and is infested with tree huggers. Almost every time I go there some jerk tells me I cant hunt there. I love the looks on their faces when I tell them I am not on Tufts Land and I have permission. It is even better when a flock of geese is getting ready to come into the corn and I start dopping birds

 

[Jose]

Forgive my ignorance of hunting in general, but my first thought if you're running into dog walkers where you're hunting is perhaps you shouldn't be discharging firearms there. I'm assuming you're using trees and distance instead of a berm as backstop. Am I wrong?

You're wrong. Dog walkers and yuppies have no higher claim to public land.

 

[derrick_lui]

He told her she needed to find somewhere else to walk.

Thats it??

I thought there was a civil fine for someone harassing a legal hunter.

 

[Plural of Mongoose]

Thats it??

I thought there was a civil fine for someone harassing a legal hunter.

Yep. That was it.

 

[jpattersonnh]

I had a couple of Waltham resident arrested about 8 years ago on the Kancamagus. What a f@cked up bunch. They were banned from State or federal land for 5 years, plus a $5000.00 fine each.

 

[SAV]

Claim

One more for TheRoland,

Hunters pay fees that:
1) Purchased the State Forests in the 30's
2) Go to the maintenace of that public land

Find me a dog walker or bicyclist who's paid a fee to be there, and we'll talk about the millions of dollars they have to come up with first before they have a claim to our woods.

 

[arlow]

One more for TheRoland,

Hunters pay fees that:
1) Purchased the State Forests in the 30's
2) Go to the maintenace of that public land

Find me a dog walker or bicyclist who's paid a fee to be there, and we'll talk about the millions of dollars they have to come up with first before they have a claim to our woods.

Well roland did claim he was clueless.

Between Pittman Robertson act and the Mass land stamp which is a mandatory purchase with your hunting and fishing licenses all the funding for the purchase and maintainence of state forests and wildlife management areas has come out of sportsmens pockets. Dog walkers can go suck an egg!

 

[GSG]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a hunter, never have been, so forgive me if this comes off as a stupid question, but why is there laws in place to prevent harassment of hunters in Mass.?

I know the obvious reasons for the law, but in such an anti-gun state (including hunting, isn't it shotgun only almost everywhere in Mass.?), I'm wondering how the heck such legislation got passed in Mass. Is there more to this?

All kids should wear a blaze orange hat on the way to the school bus, just in case. You probably will never have a problem otherwise , but it improves visibility overall and drivers will also see them from a farther distance.

Blaze orange, it not just for hunting anymore.

I know of people living in wooded areas who dress their kids in blaze orange when they play in the backyard. Can't say it's a bad idea.

I had a couple of Waltham resident arrested about 8 years ago on the Kancamagus. What a f@cked up bunch. They were banned from State or federal land for 5 years, plus a $5000.00 fine each.

What were they arrested for?

 

[TheRoland]

Many good points. Thanks for enlightening me.

 

[Talon3]

To GSG

A lot of laws in MA are handed down from the old puritan days. Since you can hunt on all unposted property, there was a need to protect the hunter, from the landowner.

MGL Ch 266 Crimes Against Property

Sec 117 Intent to Damage Grass
"Whoever wilfully, intentionally and without right enters.......
Sec 120 Entry upon private property after being forbidden as trespass; prima
facie evidence; penalties; arrest; tenants or occupants excepted "Whoever, without right enters or remains in or upon.....

Sec 120 A and 121 A deal with motor vehicles

Sec 123 State land; public institutions; trespass; penalty
"...................whoever, after notice from an officer of any of said institutions to leave said land, remains thereon, shall be punished by a fine............."

As noted above no person can be punished for trespassing until informed they cannot be on the land they have entered.

 

[GSG]

Thanks, that makes a lot more sense then.

 

[hunter46spring]

.....including hunting, isn't it shotgun only almost everywhere in Mass.?....

This is a common misconception. There is hunting with rifle and handguns in MA., just not for deer hunting. It is perfectly legal to Coyote hunt with a rifle as an example

 

[DCunniff]

Here's some good summary information from NRA-ILA. They note there are hunter harassment laws in every state in the USA. http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?ID=124

NRA also formed a group a few years ago, because of the onslaught of tactics to shut down hunting. NRAhuntersrights.org, has a lot of links about hunting in states, blog, and more, though I don't go it enough. http://www.nrahuntersrights.org/

Dana

 

[Tater]

I was hunting in the Wendell State Forest some years ago. There was a group of Hippie type, ant-hunters who saw our vehicles, and decided to harass us. They showed up wearing medical type coveralls, and carrying a stretcher with a big red cross on it. They started singing loudly and walking around the woods. Well, all of the ruckus they were causing spooked a nice 8 point buck right into my freiends path. He shot the deer, and it dropped right in the clearing. The Hippies came running toward him with the stretcher. My Buddy, being the kind of fella he is, immediately starts gutting the deer, and hold his bloody hands up for them to see, and starts yelling like a maniac! You should have seen how fast they cleared out of there! LOL!

quote of the year!!!!!

 

[arguscanis]

Thanks Talon, as you point out, to be "trespassing" you must be asked to leave first, if you do not, then, you are trespassing.
I have a laminated copy of the hunter harrasment statute in my license holder available for any interested parties to peruse. I also have a similar copy of the statute pertaining to shore access and the right of fishing and fowling between tidal boundaries in my surf bag and fly vest. I love to see the looks on million dollar beach property owners faces after reading them.

 

[GSG]

This is a common misconception. There is hunting with rifle and handguns in MA., just not for deer hunting. It is perfectly legal to Coyote hunt with a rifle as an example

You learn something new every day...or at least I do.

Thanks for clearing that up for me.