Its almost comical how things have changed in many areas, where we hunt. Some people are fanatical, be it landowners or those who trespass.
Years ago, the surrounding lands were all in crops, be it hay, corn, alfalfa, wheat, oats etc. Farmers family, friend and similar, would go to any farm and hunt, within reasonable proximity of theirs if they wanted to, or stay on theirs, I think back of how many times I used to see people on our place from a couple miles away. You respected fences, livestock and no trespass signs. If you wanted to hunt a posted place you found the owner and asked, most likely they would let you in, if not, try someone else, now those signs mean nothing, and so do the laws.
Most people hunted all day, there was no Dick's sporting goods or similar big box stores, just local gun shops, and small sporting stores, you just did not have all the modern amenities and things that make it easier or more comfortable. You wore Woolrich coats and pants, you had a simple lever action in a 30-30, .32 special,(like my dads '94 Wincheste .35 marlin, etc. with iron sights and deer were not all that plentiful, but those rifles fed a lot of people for a very long period of time. People met at lunch in the woods, at camp etc., built a fire or what have you, then went back to their places. If you saw another hunter, you whistled, waved, said hello, asked what they might have seen and wished them good luck.
Not today, its a rat race in some places, state land, forget that, too dangerous. Everything is posted now, newer residences encroaching, and proactive landowners who want privacy, (there's nothing wrong with that)
I had a friend who bought a beautiful old farm, near small mountainous terrain, eastern woodland, with some nice clearings, he posted it, 300+ acres, and the people within the vicinity tried to over run him, poached like it was nothing, and threatened to kill him. All over deer.
He had DEC nail one or more with poaching, they burned one of his barns down. Fox news showed up, the whole darned thing was ridiculous. He sold it and moved and now we don't get to see him much anymore, went to Alabama.
The one thing people did not know was him, an army veteran, ranger tab, lots of specialized training as well as holding a few belts in martial arts and what have you, he looked like a pipsqueak, would be the first to tell you the same. We went into the local store/cafe and listened to the locals chat about how and what they were going to do this guy, little did they know, he was right next to them.
Every time I was at his old farm house, I stayed away from windows, and while in any of his stands, kept a sharp eye out, still felt like cross hairs on your back. Thats enjoyable, great to pay a visit to a good old friend, especially not knowing if you are going to get picked off, because of deer hunting land squabbles.
When you own large tracts and post same, its a difficult task to keep people out, post and patrol etc. I understand to a degree what its like to feel slighted because you are being told to leave, maybe after hunting it for years, I know many people my fathers age who have been run off property in recent times, new owner, what have you, things change. The owner pays taxes, assumes liability and what have you, yet he is to be overun and intimidated, in in this case, is threatened, and has a barn burnt with all of a friends belongings in it, was using it for storage. This kind of escalation is ridiculous, takes the fun right out of hunting.
Based on what I saw, and speaking with NYSP about it and our place, I determined that cinching the noose around our 98 or so acres was the right thing to do, its easier to look after then my friends was, yet a lot closer to city population, neighbors etc. I don't have much trouble now, people know to stay out, still get some ATV traffic on occasion, they are asked to leave, it took years and having a presence here to do it, people make it hard on you and the laws are in their favor. I used to work out of town for many years, if I looked the other way, it would be a real problem today, and we would not be able to enjoy it the way we do.
Myself and 2 others enjoy the hunt, the terrain, the wildlife here, though I can see a darned TSC store from my stand LOL, our place is unique, its an excellent habitat, cover, forage, browsing, I can see most of it from my house, I would cease to hunt if I did not have a place that I felt safe, people know you and respect your land. Might be to urban for some, but it works and I see all kinds of deer, rubs, scrapes and signs of nice size buck, just you never see them they sure know how to stay concealed.
Its that simple, the jerks that do not aspire to buy, own/lease, pay taxes and care for some land to hunt on, but instead try and ride the coat tails of those that do, can become a giant nuisance, safety risk and otherwise annoying to someone who does.
I had a guy who hunted here, was kind of new to hunting, a friend of one of the regulars, he enjoyed the hunt, also made a few mistakes, one with safety, (we spoke about that) I was not all that fond of his presence here, but he turned into a good hunter, a respectful one and desired to have a place of his own, and he did, I helped him set it up, food plots, clearing a bit etc. people tried to overun him immediately there too.
What is a landowner to do, always people ready to gang up and try and move in on you, and you either fight them off, or leave the problem to someone else by selling it off.
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Today's Featured Article - A Brief History of Tractors in Australia - by Bob Kavanagh. After Captain Cook's exploration of the east coast in 1770 the British Government decided to establish a penal colony in Australia. The first fleet arrived in 1788 and consisted mainly of convicts who were poorly equipped and new little of farming techniques. The colony remained far from self-supporting and it was not until the early 1800's that things started to improve. Free settlers started to arrive, they followed the explorers across the mountains and where land was suitable set up farms. T
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