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Booshway
posted
This year I decided to begin muzzleloader season in a new area. A friend owns 16 acres up on the Cumberland Plateau, here in Tenasi. I went with him last summer and we walked the property boundaries. (He lives in Florida)

I camped there last night at the same spot where he camps. Before daylight this morning (opening day) I was eating breakfast when two pickup trucks come up the road and stop. I go to meet them.

Quite a loud discussion developes. They say the property all around is their deer lease. I dispute that. Threats are made against me. I'm outnumbered four to one. Eventually they back out and leave.

I'm now reluctant to get far away from my camp. I only go about 100 yards and sit down against a tree. As dawn comes a doe passes only about 30 yards from me. A half hour later another doe walks past even closer. I'm expecting visitors of another kind, so I decide to let the does go.

Meanwhile those other guys are all over the place on 4-wheelers, and there is a lot of shooting going on, some of it close enough to make me jump.

About 8 AM, here comes the game warden. We talk. He checks my license. All seems okay and he leaves. I sit back down.
Fifteen minutes later the warden is back. He had phoned someone who claims to own the land. He says that I am camped on his access road to the back part of his property and that my friend's land is a little further off. (Remember, I walked the land with my friend, the property owner) Anyway, game warden says I have to move or he will ticket me for trespassing.

Can't check the county tax maps until Monday to confire whose is what. Since I am not absolutely certain of my friend's land boundaries, and with those yahoos running all around, I choose to leave.
End of the 1st day of Tennessee muzzleloader deer season!

This was the 2nd hostile encounter that I have had already this hunting season. I posted about the other earlier during bear season.


Know what you believe in. Fight for your beliefs. Never compromise away your rights.
 
Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Fight back, IF you were in the right.

IF you are able to determine that you are actually on your friend's land, then I'd file a FOIA request to get ALL of the information from the call that got the game warden out there. That would then lead you to the person who made the call. That person was either one of the Yahoos, OR knows the Yahoos as they had to have called him so he could make the call, OR it was one of the yahoos LYING about being the land owner. (I suspect it was the last scenario)

Last time I checked, a person claiming to be a land owner has to do so in person, so you might also find out if the Game Warden acted accordingly or responded to a phone complaint. IF you determine that the person falsely claimed to be the land owner to game warden, in person, then you have grounds for a charge against the complainant.

I would charge him. I believe TN has laws against "interference with a lawful hunt". Demand to see the complainant's MVA photo and if that's one of the yahoos in the P/U truck, add "tresspassing" and "false report of a crime" to the charging document. PLUS I'd look up TN vehicular law, and swear out traffic charges for his driving off the highway in the P/U truck onto private property without permission of the land owner. IF the ATV's were on your friend's property, I'd go shoot photographs of the tire marks, and add "vandalism to private property". IF the guy isn't one of the yahoos, I'd still charge him with all of the above, BUT I'd charge him with "conspiracy" to do the above, which means he was part of the plan even if he wasn't present he played a part.

In short I'd jamb these guys six ways from Sunday, and argue to the judge that one or more of them should lose their hunting priviledge...but since you're reasonable, suggest if they pay a hefty fine, you would not object to them having two years of unsupervised probation and suspend taking away their hunting priviledge, with the caveate that IF they did something stupid to you or anybody else in the future, within that 24 month period, they'd lose the priviledge FOR LIFE.

LD


It's not what you know, it's what you can prove
 
Posts: 3843 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 10 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Thanks. I am thinking about it.

I have sent an email to my friend in Florida asking him to confirm that the dirt road is his and not someone else's access.

He did warn me ahead of time about what he called "yahoos" tearing up the area on their ATV's.

That place is 75 miles from here. I'm home now and will blow the rest of this weekend doing honeydos. Next week I will begin again, but probably just here in my old haunts.


Know what you believe in. Fight for your beliefs. Never compromise away your rights.
 
Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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We've had similar troubles here.

A person does have a right to an easement to reach their land, but THEY don't get to choose it as long as the route is reasonable.

For example a Hunter Safety student of mine bought a piece of property that was divided into three parts before he bought one of those parts. The smallest portion, but the part where the previous owner hunted the most with his sons, was kept and willed to the sons. Well they really resented the fact that part of the property was sold to another hunter. IF they saw deer moving from their area to my student's property, they would drive a pickup up and down the access road or ride ATV's and also crack-off rounds to drive the deer back. He thought there was nothing he could do as the dirt road to both properties crossed his land to get to theirs, and their parcel was essentially "land locked" for the two larger parcels (one being the student's) surrounded the Yahoo's property.

After talking about it in detail and looking at a map, I noted that one side of the yahoo's land was very close to a county, paved road. The Yahoo's property was still not touching a road, but to reach that road was only about 50 yards across the student's land, and level, instead of the old and present road of about 400 yards across the student's land.

So the answer was for the student to simply clear a pickup truck wide dirt road from the paved roadway, across the student's property to the Yahoo's land. THEN to block the old road and inform the Yahoos that the student had provided a legal easement and made a road to their property for their use, and as he was the land owner of the land they had to cross, HE HAD LEGALLY decided not to allow them access from the other roadway. IF they continued to try to use that roadway, they would be criminally charged.

They were not too happy about it, but the local DNR had other troubles with them so were quite happy to let them know that any shinanigans would lead to their arrests.

LD


It's not what you know, it's what you can prove
 
Posts: 3843 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 10 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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A shame your trip was ruined....
 
Posts: 101 | Location: Davidsville , PA | Registered: 10 August 2016Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Well, well. It turns out that I was, indeed, on my friend's property. The other land owner's property is nearby. As for the four yahoos that I encountered, well, the other land owner says that he does not lease any property to anybody. So, we don't know who those guys were.

I think that I will go back there again before the season is over.


Know what you believe in. Fight for your beliefs. Never compromise away your rights.
 
Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Free Trapper
Picture of TurkeyCreek
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Good for you Rancocas! We should always take a stand when we are right and you just did that. As your old fellow Tennessean Davy Crockett supposedly said: "Be sure you're right, then go ahead!" Hope the game warden gets straightened out on this too.


"They do not live their lives 'by your leave'! They hack it out of the wilderness with their own two hands, bearing their children along the way!" - Cora Monroe - "Last Of The Mohicans"
 
Posts: 186 | Location: Turkey Creek on Cimarron Drainage | Registered: 10 September 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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It sucks when stuff like this happens when you're just trying to enjoy yourself. Good work finding the facts, just prepare for effort and hassle to get it all straight. First, I would contact the warden and his supervisor and calmly, emphasis on that, discuss the situation and facts and boundaries.

I've often thought about buying land out of state for a hunting camp base, but have heard too much of this stuff. As an absentee landowner you just can't control what happens when you're gone.

As for the easement part, most of my experiences have shown access easements to be written in the deed. Deeded access easements can't be changed without lawyers and agreement of all parties (or a court fight).
 
Posts: 429 | Location: Delmarva | Registered: 22 December 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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Good luck! Just take a pic of them if you see them again. That will rattle them!
 
Posts: 101 | Location: Davidsville , PA | Registered: 10 August 2016Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
Picture of Hanshi
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I agree with John. Creepy spoilers (they are NOT hunters) like that think that the rock they crawled out from under is their protection to crawl back under. Yep, shine a light, photo light, on them and they wither like a salted slug.

I had a stand stolen once but other than that have had no physical confrontations. I've been threatened a time or two but stood my ground since I KNEW I was in the right. I guess a strong body of ethical, lawful hunters has to develop some pus once in a while. That's what you encountered.


*Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.*
 
Posts: 3560 | Location: Maine (by way of Georgia then Va.) | Registered: 26 January 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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A man has got to have a code,a creed to live by.

John Wayne
 
Posts: 101 | Location: Davidsville , PA | Registered: 10 August 2016Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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