Confronted on my property?

[horsemen61]

Ok Guys How would you have handled this situation. Saturday I went to go shoot out on my 10 acres outta town. So I get there about three o clock set up my target and begin to shoot my new glock 19 first time shooting it . "Life is good" as Hickok45 would put it anyways about 3:30 I turn around to get a loaded mag id left on my shooting table. I look up and I see two things one the gate that keeps the neighbors Horses from getting out is wide open . Now when I drove through I closed it deal is his horse's can come graze on my field and I get fresh eggs. Next I see a man walking towards me in blaze orange with a rifle slung over his shoulder. He seems to be in hiss mid 40's. Well He say's to me "Hey you know it's <deleted> Deer Season"I am in MO btw. Me"Yes that's Why I am wearing orange." Him "well you need to quit <deleted> shooting."Me"Excuse Me". Him " I am trying to <deleted> hunt so you will quit <deleted> shooting." Me "I am sorry sir is this your property." Him "well no but I play poker with the sheriff and if you don't quit I will call Him and have you arrested." Me " laughing as I turn and pump 15 rounds from my new glock 19 into the target. I then calmly tell the guy "my property I can shoot when I want." "Now Please leave as you are trespassing on my land with a gun and I won't ask again." Him"cussing me but you can't do this." He leaves about 20 minutes later sure enough up rolls a sheriffs car so marked. So I walk across the field and go meet the officer standing there. He is a deputy it turns out we talk and in doing so he asked me for a description of the guy about two sentences in he say's I know the guy he is a real ass. Sorry for the problem but we have to check have a good day. I tell him hey no problem and we then talk about guns and I let him see my new to me gen 3 glock 19 he shows me his gen 3 17 and we had a good talk. All in all if the guy would have been more civil I would have to
so that's the point of the story I guess fire away folks.

 

[taliv]

if he wanted you to stop doing something, he probably should have been more polite. i wouldn't go out of my way to irritate him, but doesn't look like you did anything wrong

 

[mljdeckard]

I think you did fine. Maybe I wouldn't have continued shooting IN FRONT OF the guy, but no, it's your house, your rules, and he can hunt somewhere else.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

I probably would have handled it a little differently, but nobody got hurt and all's well that ends well.

First of all, he approached you on your property (likely he didn't understand this part, or he just didn't care) with anger and a firearm. The combination of these two factors would have NOT made me desire to turn my back on him and off-handedly empty my gun down range, no matter my desire to disply my defiance to him. Likely I would have gone straight to something like this:

"Yes, I understand it's deer season, which is why I'm wearing hunter orange for safety right now. However, this is my private property and you do not have my permission to hunt or otherwise trespass on it. Please leave."

If he objects, and you have cell service, make the phone call to the authorities yourself. There is no room for playing games with an armed and belligerant individual.

If he otherwise continues to make a nuisance of himself and not leave, take it upon yourself to leave and contact the authorities about it. Again, there is no room for playing games with an armed and belligerant individual. And your land will still be there when you come back later.


All kinds of people make up this world and, unfortunately, they're not all filled with either common sense or manners. Hunting season is no different than any other time for this.

 

[Hometeached1]

^^^^^I agree.

 

[David E]

I'd have the land posted, so I could say:

"Did you see any of those 8 'No Trespassing' signs when you opened that gate to come in here?"

"Well, yeah, but it's deleted deer season!"

"Not on this side of those signs. You need to be gone before the Sheriff gets here and arrests you for trespassing. Have a nice day"

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I doubt if I would have turned my back on an armed, agitated man and continue to do what was agitating him.

 

[horsemen61]

I didn't turn my back on him guys I was standing sideways I could see him the whole time out of the corner of my eye.

 

[scaatylobo]

Only difference is

If he talked that way to me,AND threatened me as he did you.

I am SURE that when the deputy showed up = I would have insisted on a trespassing arrest.

THEN ,he could apologize to me in COURT in from of the J.O.P. AND the Sheriff.

 

[towboat_er]

If I had a cell phone, I would have called 911 when he started cursing about it being hunting season.

 

[David E]

Given how the conversation went....

"Do you own this property?"

"No, but I know the sheriff, and..."

"Oh, does the sheriff own this property?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Do you have written permission from the property owner?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Have you ever met the owner?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Now you have. Now, please get off my property."

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

Ida shot every bullet I had!...



Heh..no, no I wouldn't.. im stockpiling for the next outage

 

[MedWheeler]

make the phone call to the authorities yourself.

This^^.

Usually better to be "first" at calling in a confrontation.

And yes, I would have let him know who the property owner was without the instigating barrage of continued gunfire first.

 

[MtnCreek]

IMHO, best to not get into a cursing fright with an idiot. Politely let him know he's trespassing and that's it's time for him to leave or the sheriff will be called.

I had a idiot came stomping through the pasture and curse my uncle and me for daring to nail tin to a barn during hunting season. This idiot was hunting on our land too.

 

[Hacker15E]

Sounds to me like you were both doing some un-necessary posturing....

Me " laughing as I turn and pump 15 rounds from my new glock 19 into the target. I then calmly tell the guy "my property I can shoot when I want."

 

[Comrade Mike]

Your property your rules. Id tell him to DD as soon as he started with an attitude.

 

[Schwing]

One positive note here: It sounds like a very good example of a positive LEO encounter

 

[JustinJ]

I agree with USNChief, I don't think I would have turned my back to an irate man with a rifle on my property and unloaded the magazine of my gun. There's a 99.9% chance the guy had no intention of becoming violent, but still. Not to mention, the act of firing your gun to mock him did have the potential of escalating the situation.

 

[ironworkerwill]

This guy knew he had no permission to be where he was. It's PRIVATE property! WTH! He has no right to be there.. One thing for the pacifists a whole different story for the landowner! It's just wrong and everyone knows it.

I just don't see "unnecessary posturing" that's bull!
" If your stuff is not yours then whose is it"-ME sounds like a communists comment to me!

 

[Esoxchaser]

Here in MI firearms deer season is but two weeks long. Out of respect for the hunters during most popular, shortest season of the year hereabouts we do not run our dogs for small game or upland, nor do we target shoot, private property or not.
The guy who confronted you was a jerk, but one has to wonder how many others less loquacious heard you and just sat in their stands shaking their heads thinking unkind thought of you.

 

[ironworkerwill]

^^Again who cares! The man is doing his best to defend his property from poachers!

 

[horsemen61]

One folks I did not turn my back on this man I could see him well enough that if he so much as made a move to his rifle he would have been covered two I drove over an hour just to try out my new pistol so yes say what you want about the sanctity of deer season also it was just antlerless season anyways not opening day of rifle guys but no Radom ticked off neighbor will keep me from shooting on my land I was not trying to make him more mad the point I got across is big deal your older than me I ain't some punk kid you can yell at and make me listen I think he got the message and yes I enjoyed meeting the deputy

 

[ironworkerwill]

Regardless of how liberal the deer season is.... I would applaud you for standing up for your rights if I were your neighbor.

 

[Deus Machina]

I think the worst thing about it is that you didn't decide to lodge a complaint when that deputy showed up.
It's one thing if he didn't know it wasn't public land, but he wasn't certain of that and was crude to the owner. Doesn't matter who he knows, he should get called out for that.

 

[henschman]

The only thing I would have done differently is to only fire a few, instead of all 15 (leaving yourself with an empty gun). You never know when you might need some of those pills for defensive purposes when dealing with a knucklehead like that guy.

Also, no way in hell am I going to let some dingleberry run me off my own property like some of you are suggesting. I will let discretion be the better part of valor to a certain point, but I wouldn't go that far.