Trespasser.....what would you do?

[Torvy]

Anyhow, we were raised to suspect everyone that was trespassing was up to no good, even though, in reality, 99% of them were just out for a walk.

I think of that like teaching my kids to look both ways before crossing or treat every gun like it is loaded. Sure, 99% will be fine anyway, but the 1% could be fatal.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've been to all of the lower 48. Mostly in the West. My only visit to Maine was near Portsmouth. My travels helped to cement my belief that we try too hard to make rules the same. Think speed limits...55 may make sense along the NE seaboard, but ridiculous out here between the Mississippi and the Rockies.

Somehow when I wrote my previous comment I combined it with something you had written.

However, I understand and agree with much of what you say. There's an old saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." That makes a lot of sense to me. I've spent my entire life listening to people from other states say "If we were in Jersey"... I do not want to be that guy.

 

[dstig1]

Heck, one time there was some guy carrying a sword! He refused to go out the drive and insisted upon cutting across the property. She called the cops, said 'guy with a sword' and they showed up pretty quick. Guy tossed the sword in the lake. Cops made him wade out and get it. Then gave him a ride..... down the driveway.

Pulled a sword out of a lake? I would think that would have made him King...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Dad had a hunter trespass recently. Used to never have that happen.

 

[etpm]

I have read all the posts on this thread so far. It has really made me think. When I was a kid I walked through all sorts of orchards. And I will admit to stealing a few apricots and plums as I walked. Usually the fruit was on the ground but I also picked some. Mostly though I just walked through orchards because it was a shortcut. Sometimes I was curious too. But aside of the fruit theft I didn't do anything to harm anybody. No vandalism or the like.
In my teens I lived at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains in a town called Saratoga. Through the town ran Hwy. 9. And Hwy. 9 intersected a road called Skyline. This intersection was 7 miles from the town center. My friends and I would, on occasion , hitchhike up to Skyline in the morning and then spend all day hiking through the woods all the way back down to Saratoga. The elevation change was 2200 feet. Lotsa downhill fun.
Anyway, we of course trespassed through many properties. Nothing was posted and we never gave it a thought. We just figured who would care if two or three boys were just passing through. We were never hassled. We did see a few folks now and then. We would just wave as we hiked by. Never spoke to anyone.
Fast forward about 30 years. I now have 10 or 12 acres of woods bordered on 2 sides by other woods owned by other people. The other side of my triangular parcel is a county road. When we first bought the place I didn't care if someone traipsing through. My wife wasn't happy about it. After we got the house built about 12 years ago I still didn't care much. Now though we have two problems. At the base of our property, like the base of a triangle, are two problematical neighbors. We have the gun lunatics shooting large caliber semi-auto rifles and pistols late into the night. While at the same time we can hear them partying and getting into fights. And then we have the meth heads next to them. All sorts of weird crap comes from them. And we occasionally see lights, like flashlights, moving through our woods. We have trails that they could be using. I am not comfortable with this. I think now I need to fence my property and put up no trespassing signs. My wife really wants me to do this. Who knows if it will help. Calling the cops is pretty useless time wise. We are in a semi rural area and so the cops are spread thin and response time can be long. The cops know about the whole situation, but can't do anything unless they catch somebody red handed.
Eric

 

[Torvy]

Sorry that your neighbors are inconsiderate and shoot at all hours. I would not characterize people as gun lunatics because they shoot large caliber semi autos on their own property. Based on how that was phrased, I doubt you would be able to tell the difference between calibers. Some small caliber weapons are louder than large caliber ones. I doubt you would be any happier with them if they were shooting revolvers or lever action rifles either. Probably would have gone over better if you just said your neighbors shoot at all hours of the night.

 

[MossRoad]

So am I. Today I was talking to a hunter from Vermont who had been coming to hunt in northern Maine every fall. They really like being able to go almost anywhere. Last year his brother had told me the same thing.
Recently they bought an old 150 acre farm in a nearby town... and posted it all.

A couple months ago i found purple paint on the property behind my house.

 

[Torvy]

A couple months ago i found purple paint on the property behind my house.

Your property? Or neighbor?

 

[MossRoad]

Your property? Or neighbor?

What it is, is that there's a 5 acre woods behind us and about 5 other houses on 1 acre each. My neighbor asked the guy if it would be OK to walk his dog in that woods. The neighbor said he said he'd prefer if he wouldn't walk the dog there. Neighbor said OK, just asking. Next day purple paint went up all the way around the entire 5 acre woods, about 20' increments, especially behind each of our houses. Actually, I was kind impressed that someone would bushwhack their way around the perimeter of that woods at that time of year. Full foliage and not easy to push through it. I wouldn't have noticed it at all, except the neighbor pointed it out to me.

Not really sure if it's exactly on the property line or a couple feet either way on my side or theirs. I'm kinda glad that they posted it. Over the years there was a bit of trouble with kids and dumping in that woods.

 

[etpm]

Sorry that your neighbors are inconsiderate and shoot at all hours. I would not characterize people as gun lunatics because they shoot large caliber semi autos on their own property. Based on how that was phrased, I doubt you would be able to tell the difference between calibers. Some small caliber weapons are louder than large caliber ones. I doubt you would be any happier with them if they were shooting revolvers or lever action rifles either. Probably would have gone over better if you just said your neighbors shoot at all hours of the night.

Hogwash. I'm a shooter. I have been shooting all sorts of rifles for over 50 years. The large caliber stuff fired by drunks pisses me off because they have so much more power to penetrate. I live where I do in part because I can shoot here. I expect other neighbors might do the same. But not after dark and not during parties. The semi auto stuff let's them fire a lot more rounds. I would be pissed off if they were shooting bolt action stuff too. But at least it wouldn't be as many rounds may be heading my way.
Eric