Hunter Harassment on Antelope Hunt

[WyoDoug]

I went out in the area of Chugwater here in Wyoming antelope hunting last week when I got my doe. I ran into a few articles on hunter harrassment and while this one is an older article it demonstrates kind of what I went through.

In my case, I was on a two track on state land and set up to shoot at an antelope but didn't have a good shot so I did not shoot. About noon on the day I was hunting, a deputy sheriff approached me and said he had a complaint that I was hunting on private land. When I asked where, he had me follow him. I had my cell phone with On-X maps. It was in fact state land and that was verified. The deputy mentioned something about shooting from the road and I showed him where I was. I also pulled out the regs and showed him where a two track is not considered a road for the purpose of the shooting across public road restriction. I also explained I did not shoot in this case because I did not have a good shot. The complaint said I shot when I didn't. Even if I had, it would of been legal where I was at. Eventually a game warden who just happened to have checked me out as I entered a walk-in showed up and confirmed everything I was doing was legal and land was verified to be state land. He also verified it was legal to shoot from or across a two track.

An example of what I experienced in Chugwater, except I never saw or met the person who called law enforcement on me hunting:

In the end I was thanked for cooperating and the deputy commented that this person had submitted multiple complaints on hunters and none so far were credible. He viewed it as a case of hunter harrassment and said he was going to see what he can do to stop the calls on hunters. I filled out a statement for the deputy and included the section number of the state land and the GPS coordinates and was told I would be contacted if he needed me to participate in pursuing the situation as hunter which I think will be false reporting or false statements to law enforcement or something along that line. Not sure if Wyoming has actual hunter harrassment laws.

But this is not my only experience with hunter harassments. In the 80s, an activist got between me and a deer and I very nearly shot the guy before I saw him. He started verbally harrassing me and evidently had harrassed other hunters because a game warden approached before the incident turned physical. He arrested the guy and told him that he was lucky to be alive and that if I had shot him, he would be a witness on my behalf.

Curious, how many of you had faced hunter harrassment?

 

[Mudranger1]

I'm the harasser!! when hunting national forest I start screaming at people i see cuz it's MY land!!! I keed I keed.. other than landowners continuously drive property lines to keep game on their side of the fence I can't say I have been harassed

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

I have been harrassed for target shooting on state land, but not for hunting, as far as I can remember.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

I've seen plenty of landowners herding animals and had outfitters try to run me off public land.

 

[Doublecluck]

There’s a 2x2 mile section of state land about 10 miles down the road we have taken a handful of 140-160” whitetails over the years. Every time people go out there some nutcase lady from a nearby house takes pictures of lic plates and says she’s calling the warden, etc etc. pretty sure they ignore her because he has never showed up and we never leave. after about my 3 or 4th encounter with her of me being super polite to her I decided to tell her to eat shat and die, she was harassing us and I pulled out my phone and started recording her and said I had her address and would be filing a hunter harassment complaint with the appropriate authorities. She has since left us alone but still messes with other people.

 

[wytex]

Good for you Doug, we do have a hunter harassment law.
I would make a follow up call to the deputy and GW and ask what is transpiring on the complaint. Make them follow through with at least a talk with the person and an explanation about hunter harassment.

 

[nrpate05]

Geez, it sounds like if they know this person has habitually done this and no complaints have been credible that they should be cited for hunter harassment. It's a bummer that people have nothing better to do than randomly call the cops on someone for fun. I think law enforcement time is better spent doing other things. I bet it wears on the officers to have to chase down these phony calls.

 

[Bob-WY]

Been yelled while at truck, had a note left, had people come look for me in my stand and a stand stolen. Nope don't miss hunting in Nh

 

[peterk1234]

You think you guys have it rough....... Try hunting in Massachusetts where you have to sneak on DCR land that is there for the sole purpose of, you guessed it; hunting. Counting my days. Ten more months and we are out of here after living here for 53 years.

 

[FLS]

First tip to WY we walked 2-3 miles into a piece of BLM from the county road. Long story short, I killed a decent buck and was field dressing it when a pickup came up a two track from adjacent private. Guy in passenger seat had orange on. I assume he was the drivers customer. Guy driving was irritated and asked me how I got there? I told him I walked from county road. He replied you can’t get here from there. I pulled out my GPS and replied, “you sure as hell can, what to see???” He rolled up his window and scratched off. I assume he was bringing his dude to shoot that buck. Shoulda been there earlier...

 

[antlerradar]

I'm the harasser!! when hunting national forest I start screaming at people i see cuz it's MY land!!! I keed I keed.. other than landowners continuously drive property lines to keep game on their side of the fence I can't say I have been harassed

Don't laugh to hard. There was an incident similar to this on the Custer last week in one of the riding hiking areas last. It is getting a little crowded out there.

 

[Islander]

Never happened to me, either in Northern California (where I lived as a kid) or out here in SC.

 

[rwc101]

The only people who have intentionally ruined my hunts are dog hunters knowingly releasing their dogs on land they did not have permission to hunt.

 

[Bluffgruff]

I

There’s a 2x2 mile section of state land about 10 miles down the road we have taken a handful of 140-160” whitetails over the years. Every time people go out there some nutcase lady from a nearby house takes pictures of lic plates and says she’s calling the warden, etc etc. pretty sure they ignore her because he has never showed up and we never leave. after about my 3 or 4th encounter with her of me being super polite to her I decided to tell her to eat shat and die, she was harassing us and I pulled out my phone and started recording her and said I had her address and would be filing a hunter harassment complaint with the appropriate authorities. She has since left us alone but still messes with other people.

Her name is Karen. Are you non-white, by any chance?

 

[bullbugle307]

Sounds like the landowner should have already been charged with hunter harassment. You need to follow up and make sure this doesn't get swept under the rug.

 

[dgc1963]

I was out with a friend fox hunting abt 10 maybe longer yrs ago here in Pa and we are allowed by law to do it at night with using red lights
we are out into a field abt 200 yrds a cop pulls up with lights on seeing us in field turns spot light on n starts yelling at us asking what we are doing, I tell him we are fox hunting as we are walking to him as we get closer he starts getting really loud telling me what we are doing can not be legal I am calm walking to him explaining it is legal and as we get within 30 or 40 yrds he gets Irate seeing our guns almost screaming now with his unholstered telling us he is going to take our guns and arrest us
Now I get a bit more assertive and a bit louder to make my point and I explaine he has zero authority in and wildlife or game issue and if he doesnt get his act in order I will have him arrested for hunter harrasment and im sure that would end his carrier in law enforcement
He gets on the radio and in a short time tells us hes leaving and to just be safe with out even say he was sorry
I asked really thats it you have nothing to say about the way you acted? and treated us he just say this shouldnt be legal in his opinion so I tell him being an A## hole should be illegal in my opinion
I am very respectfull of police and suport them always but he was way over the top and had no idea what the law was and that he had no jurisdiction in the issue

 

[kansasdad]

^^^^^^^

I feel it is important to note that state laws vary, and telling a sheriff's deputy that he doesn't have jurisdiction enforcing game laws in most states would be incorrect. And the same goes for Game Wardens (or the appropriate moniker for your state) enforcing speed limits, DUI or other "regular" law enforcement duties.

@dgc1963 I am glad that you were withing your rights, and were able to teach the cop something that he obviously didn't know. Anytime the yelling starts and threats of taking guns and arresting consequences are issued, it can get very "squeezy".

 

[dgc1963]

^^^^^^^

I feel it is important to note that state laws vary, and telling a sheriff's deputy that he doesn't have jurisdiction enforcing game laws in most states would be incorrect. And the same goes for Game Wardens (or the appropriate moniker for your state) enforcing speed limits, DUI or other "regular" law enforcement duties.

@dgc1963 I am glad that you were withing your rights, and were able to teach the cop something that he obviously didn't know. Anytime the yelling starts and threats of taking guns and arresting consequences are issued, it can get very "squeezy".

Yes I should have metioned about the fact that state laws vary and at the time In Pa game laws were only enforced by game wardens and not local police
yea it was a bit squeezy being told he was taking our guns and being arrested on a weekend about midnight you never know how long you would sit untill someone figures out what we were doing was 100% legal

 

[rustednuts]

I had it happen to me. I was hunting a piece of national forest land and had a ranch hand tell me that I was trespassing and shooting game illegally. He was claiming a grazing allotment fence was the property line even when I showed him the map. He then claimed you couldn’t discharge a firearm a 1/4 mile from a private property line. He tried to follow me back to my vehicle but I hiked deeper into the forest until he left me alone.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I’ve run across maybe 100 assholes afield but probably none that were true harassment. Last year a lady approached my truck and barked at me for “illegally” hunting within 200 yards of her house. I shot back that it’s illegal to shoot that close, and she shut up. 2 years ago I had a note on my windshield saying I was trespassing, had been reported to LE, etc. It looked like an 8-year-old scratched the note out. I asked warden about it - he said there is a well-known local who harasses hunters, but that this person was pretty mentally ill. They said they pay him a visit a few times a year to encourage him to take his medications.