King Ghidora wrote:
I don't think you have any idea what kind of open spaces there are in the rural areas.
A lot of the presumptions that you make regarding my understanding of this topic may well be altered when I tell you that I lived in a river-lowland forest in the middle of our hunting land.
I don't have neighbors.
It's 6:35 AM and I just walked on my porch and saw that I have 9 deer in my yard right now. My main deer stand is 200 yards from my house.
I'd rather not continue posting on this thread since what we are talking about would probably be more suited for a thread in the hunting section, but I will make this last post on this thread and invite you to continue this in the Hunting Forum.
However, let me say this....
You are absolutely correct that people have lost respect for one another. But I think you REALLY leave those "whiny" landowners out of the equation.
Over the years, we have had dozens of poachers and other people abuse our land. I've seen hundreds of spent red shotgun shell hulls floating on our lake because some jack-legs decided that we wouldn't mind them duck hunting on us.
Just a few weeks ago, I posted a thread in S&T about finding a man IN my deer stand behind my house. I had to have him arrested.
My father has experienced the same with his deer stands twice.
I've found several "gut piles" where poachers have killed and dressed deer on our land.
I've had hunting dogs run deer out of my deer food plots while *I* was hunting. Why is YOUR hunting a greater thing than MINE?-- especially when I am minding my own business on MY land? Granted, you are a coon hunter-- and those dogs run when I am not hunting. You may not be able to relate.
When we posted our land in the late 70's, we started getting harrassment, threats, and even dead animals put in our mailbox and on our gates-- by those people who felt that they had right to OUR land.
I just sent off over $5,000 in property taxes this year. I think I have say as to who is on my land. As of now, my state supports this.
But really, I'd have no problems with someone like you retrieving your dogs on our land. As you have mentioned, coon hunting is VERY different than what I've put up with.
But I want to ask you this...
Do you bring your gun on other people's land? If so, what would make me believe that you are not poaching or otherwise willfully hunting on my property without my permission? When you get to your dogs-- what do you do if they have a coon bayed? Do you shoot it? If so, you ARE poaching.
Whatever your views of coons are, I feed them in my yard. My wife likes them. I don't have a problem with them.
I DO know what they can do to crops-- I plant a 40 acre field every year with corn, watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peppers, peas, and butterbeans. Coons do as much damage as deer do around here-- which is why I have a 10 foot deer fence around the entire thing. Oddly enough, it keeps the coons out, too.
I leave you with this: You speak of those "whiny landowners." Have you ONCE considered what WE have to put up with from people that come on our land? And you are not the only one that has that attitude about landowners. With that attitude, do you REALLY think that we have ANY desire to go out of our way for you?
Respect goes both ways.
-- John