The guy told my friend "yeah I been hunting out here for years....these city folks buy land out here and think they own the place". That's their logic...as if someone that purchases the land "doesnt really own it"....they think they have more legit claim to be on it since "they've always hunted it". It's all about "re-educating" them....hopefully they get the message in a diplomatic way.
This has been a real sore point with me for most of my 65 years. Except for my Navy years, I've always lived in rural areas.
I've heard all the stories of why someone should be on my property. My cousin has a whole garage full of tree stands from their farm.
Where we live now, and at our previous homestead, we've had issues with trespassers on rights-of-way crossing our properties. We live close enough to Washington DC and Baltimore to have many people with weekend homes in our area.
Most are great people who are welcomed into the community. Because they are here on weekends and holidays, they become active in our community activities, rather than where they live during the week. Many decide this is such a great place to live, they move here permanently and become wonderful neighbors.
Unfortunately, there are those who cause nothing but problems. They come in with trailers filled with ATVs they feel can ridden on places like the rights-of-way that cross our properties.
One of the worst instances happened about two years ago, when a bunch of ATVers terrorized our neighbor's horses, circling and shooting the horses repeatedly with paint balls, while destroying the pasture by riding around and around.
My UTV, tractor, and truck are never without a baseball bat or mattock handle. This time of year, I usually carry a shotgun on the UTV and tractor -- and if I'm not going into town, the truck is equipped with a shotgun.
I'm seldom without my cell phone. As soon as I confront them, I dial 911, whether they may cause problems, or not. I've confronted, and backed down, as many as about 20 of these a**holes before the deputies have arrived. None have come back.
Each year I've had fewer and fewer trespassers and poachers.
One last thing -- in the last year, a lot of wireless low-powered and low-cost Internet and cell services have become available. They can be used to monitor your property using a low cost solar panel, inexpensive IP cameras, and other sensors compatible with these units.
My telephone, Internet, and TV are now completely "off the grid." Best of all, it provides better service at less than half the cost of what we had not long ago.
