A Sad Day For Vermont

[elkaholic]

Since someone mentioned wisc. A lot of folks take hunting very serious in this state - especially when it comes to trespassing. Getting permission to hunt , can be met with NO WAY but getting permission to retrieve a shot animal is 90% greeted with hunter respect and access is allowed as long as you don't leave the carcass behind.

now others whom own property next to public lands -, will cut down 50-100 mature trees 1/3 mile long by 50-100 ft wide and remove all visible vegetation so he can see his property fence line - which has signs hung every 50 ft no trespassing. while walking inside the public land one morning - I was escorted the length of the fence and on numerous occasions was verbally informed if I crossed onto his land he'd arrest me and hold me for trespassing and if any wounded animal that made it across fence its his. I was sitting on a blowdown facing public land inches inside the boundary -I was verbally abused and had to move as he was obstructing any chance to hunt. I witnessed verbal abuse to a hunter whos deer had died within 20 yrds of the fence . basically hunter harassment.
I'm 100% sure that he did this to any and all hunters whom dared to walk next to his fenceline.
I notified dnr in awritten report- this little spacedout idiot was gonna end up hurting someone or get hurt!

the days of open country hunting regardless of the lands owner --ARE OVER

[doubled]

Vermont is a right to hunt state, it is in their state's constitution. It is always best to ask permission, but not necessary in Vermont. If landowners do not want people on their land they simply need to legally post it. If the land is not posted it is legal to hunt it, I said hunt it, not abuse it. What the originator of this topic was referring to, I believe, is that even on land that is not posted and legal to be on, a hunter needs landowner permission to use a stand of any kind or ground blind of any kind. Just does not make sense to me if I am not leaving a stand on the property.

[doubled]

GMVT, I agree with you. I haven't missed a bow hunt in Vermont since 1969. Sorry to say, I will not bow hunt there any longer. I own a camp and if it wasn't for the turkey hunting it would be sold and probably will be soon. During the good years there were as many as 10 bowhunters at my camp, no one comes up any more. Better hunting elsewhere. Good example, Barnard Vermont, not one bow kill in 2016, that says a lot, even the locals are not bow hunting any longer. A lot of folks are saying just get permission. Easier said than done, I live 3 hours from Vermont. To travel to a town clerk, look up a landowner and drive back, is a six hour trip. As you well know many landowners do not live in the state. If I were a land owner I would not want to get a phone call from a stranger asking permission to use a tree stand, I would prefer to see that person face to face. It is a difficult situation and as a result many non residents are staying home. Good luck to you, I will be using my Excalibur in Massachusetts this year.

[bigrak]

Always the out of staters fault.. I'm willing to bet most of the posted land are from natives themselves. One reason landowners post there land is because it's usually the natives themselves that trash and steal equipment. It's always easier to blame the out of stater for everything.

[sproulman]

I do not hunt my privateland too close to building etc just do not enjoy myself...I let in folks to hunt but if I catch you shooting DOE you are banned and last year I kicked out 2 for shooting doe..

[hunter with MS]

I owned 100 acres in Vermont in the north east kingdom and I never posted it but at the same time i would have liked to know who was on the property .In the sue happy climate we have today if one was to hurt him or her self on your property they could sue you . I see nothing wrong with getting permission to hunt or fish and trap or put up a tree stand on property you don't own , Put yourself in the owners shoes would you not want to know who is using your property I see no problem with getting permission it should not be a big deal at least you will meet the owner . After all they do pay the taxes on it .

[hunter with MS]

I owned 100 acres in Vermont in the north east kingdom and I never posted it but at the same time i would have liked to know who was on the property .In the sue happy climate we have today if one was to hurt him or her self on your property they could sue you . I see nothing wrong with getting permission to hunt or fish and trap or put up a tree stand on property you don't own , Put yourself in the owners shoes would you not want to know who is using your property I see no problem with getting permission it should not be a big deal at least you will meet the owner . After all they do pay the taxes on it .

[wheelie]

Try living in a tourist small town. As a kid I could walk the river for miles and miles fishing. Now all the farms have been bought by city people for cottages and the first thing they do is slap no trespassing signs up. I had about 500 acres to hunt on the past 25 years and slowly they have been sold to city people. This will be the first year in over 40 years that I have nowhere to hunt. Never even bought a doe tag this year. People want to leave the city for small town life then they expect our small town to run like a city. CHEERS!

[ihunt]

Try living in a tourist small town. As a kid I could walk the river for miles and miles fishing. Now all the farms have been bought by city people for cottages and the first thing they do is slap no trespassing signs up. I had about 500 acres to hunt on the past 25 years and slowly they have been sold to city people. This will be the first year in over 40 years that I have nowhere to hunt. Never even bought a doe tag this year. People want to leave the city for small town life then they expect our small town to run like a city. CHEERS!

Totally true and well said!

[Smong2000]

As a native 5the generation Vermonter I guess don't see this as a sad thing at all. It is showing that hunters are being respected by the state and efforts are being made to try to accommodate us in a changing world. I would never trespass on private land without permission and expect the same of everyone else who wants to use my property. I wish that I would have been around in the 'good old days' when we knew everyone around and could hunt freely anywhere we wanted without asking but in this time that's just a dream. Too many people now wanting to do the same thing at the same time and many have not been raised with the same values that most of on this forum have. Reality check is that I don't want strangers parking near my house and going in the woods I pay taxes on without knowing anything about them so my land is posted. If you stop by my house and introduce yourself and we chat for a while, maybe you get an invite and I tell you the lay of the land and where I'll be hunting. If you are the 10th person of the season, I would have to say sorry but we're at capacity. ...

[amythntr]

As a native 5the generation Vermonter I guess don't see this as a sad thing at all. It is showing that hunters are being respected by the state and efforts are being made to try to accommodate us in a changing world. I would never trespass on private land without permission and expect the same of everyone else who wants to use my property. I wish that I would have been around in the 'good old days' when we knew everyone around and could hunt freely anywhere we wanted without asking but in this time that's just a dream. Too many people now wanting to do the same thing at the same time and many have not been raised with the same values that most of on this forum have. Reality check is that I don't want strangers parking near my house and going in the woods I pay taxes on without knowing anything about them so my land is posted. If you stop by my house and introduce yourself and we chat for a while, maybe you get an invite and I tell you the lay of the land and where I'll be hunting. If you are the 10th person of the season, I would have to say sorry but we're at capacity. ...

.....well said!

Anthony

[otisbrazwell]

sorry to here bow hunting is bad in your area. theres good and bad. I have hunted a 500 acer farm that was posted once the gun season starts the locals that butt the farm trespass I deal with it. antler restrictions have made nicer bucks locals and old timers shot small deer before that.if a posted sign has the name and address on it most of the time the land owner will let you hunt.plus now you can use a crossbow. theres a book( records of vermont big game) its worth reading. I'm not a Vermonter I travel 3 hours up there all the time beats the bs in rhode island

[Bullzeye]

As already said, Private means Private! I find it completely disrespectful if you hunt on someone else's property without asking permission.

[colouredchameleon]

In Ontario, you stay off the land you have not received permission to hunt simple as that. Unless you want to be branded a trespasser and a poacher if you take a deer while trespassing. Granted we have ample crown land, not so much in the south but still.

A fact that is greatly misunderstood " Trespassing is breaking the law. Which in turn invalidates your tag if you shoot and tag the animal while in the act of breaking the law. Which in turn can snowball into a number of other issues around discharging of a firearm as well etc.. $$$$$$$$.

Add to that the false assumption that it is okay to trespass to try and recover wounded game as well. It is not !
You still need permission from the land owner and if access is denied to do so you must stay out.
You can then call the M.N.R. to send a Warden to try an negotiate for to get you access but even they have to ask permission of the landowner to grant you access. Which the Landowner still has the right to refuse access even then.
So remember it is important to keep a level head if you need to call in the M.N.R. in this situation how you react or to being refused access in the first place could make the situation a no win situation even with M.N.R. involvement.



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[mchurch]

I wonder if I am the only one from California here. Where I live, no way someone will let you hunt their land. Many ranches are leased out by professional guides. Many people are also anti hunting. Be thankful for what you have.