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Post by gulfcoasthunter on Oct 28, 2003 22:10:25 GMT -5
My father-in-law gave my wife snd her brother 150 acres long before I met her. He has another 85 acres that belongs to him and his currrent wife that they live on. My wifes property has several ponds and lots of deer. My father-in-law still uses the property like its his and in my opinion it is still his even though he sighned it over to my wife and her brother. When I first met my wife I was the only one hunting the property, he would kill maybe one deer a year if he felt like it and her brother doesn't hunt. Well in the last 5 years or so he has started letting friends of his hunt the property. They don't eat venison so they give him all the meat but they have been killing 12 to 15 deer a year off of the property which I think is way to many deer to take off of 150 acres in a season. I quit hunting the property because I felt it was being over hunted and now lease property close by to hunt. These guys don't pay to hunt the property and never help take care of it, I do all the mowing stock the ponds whateverelse needs doing to it. My wife doesn't want to hurt her dads feelings and neither does her brother but they both want these guys off the property and so do I. I don't know if its my place to say anything or not or should we just let my father-in-law dp as he pleases and let his buddies kill all the deer. I'm really worried that in a couple more years there wont be any deer, they have already killed 5 bucks this year and season is only 2 weeks old. Sorry this is so long
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Post by flhuntress on Oct 28, 2003 22:19:51 GMT -5
that wasn't long at all....
i'd be really upset and i'd probably run my mouth...have either of them tried talkin' to him or mentioning that it's being over hunted? how about asking them to pay for the hunts...and they shouldn't be huntin' if they aren't eatin' the meat.
the land my father n law has (150acres) is for family only...guests can go along on hog hunts but deer and turkey are off limits....it's been that way since day one...no exceptions.
y'all need to think of some kind of compromise or the deer are going to be gone....i can't believe they do anything in return...that's just down right cheesy of them....no respect for the land then they shouldn't be allowed to enjoy it.
hope y'all can figure something out....let us know.
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Post by deerslayer11 on Oct 28, 2003 22:32:18 GMT -5
Im not sure that is alot of deer for that amount of land. It all depends on what is around it. Ive killed that many myself on a 60 acre tract and had 4 others hunting it that killed 8 or so each every year. About him, I think if he signed it over he should have no say in who else hunts it.
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Post by webropin on Oct 28, 2003 22:48:34 GMT -5
Maybe you could tell him that you have been wanting to start a management program or something like that to maybe get him to stop letting everyone else hunt the property.
It sounds like he has just been letting everyone else have their way with it and that isn't right. But he is family so you have to be very tactful in how you handle it.
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Post by gulfcoasthunter on Oct 28, 2003 23:25:24 GMT -5
He is great and thats the biggest problem he won't say no to anyone. If the property was surounded by 1000s of acres I wouldn't worry so much but its right on the edge of town, 4 lane hwy and subdivisions in front and state parrk with 10ft fence around it on the other side. Across the back boundry is a pretty big creek and undeveloped land on the other side of it,where most of the deer come from but that land is being developed rapidly to so eventually there won't be any place for the deer to migrate from.
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Post by benhuntin on Oct 29, 2003 12:18:18 GMT -5
Your wife and her brother need to sit down and have a talk with dad. If the land is trully theirs they need to make their wishes known. If done tactfully, your father in law shouldnt be offended. He just needs to know how you feel about it. I learned a long time ago its better to get things out in the open and move on than worry that someone might get upset. I can understand the guilt your wife would probally be feeling since her father did give her the land,,, but he DID give it to her. Legally. If those hunters had been hunting on that land a long time before your Father in law gave it up then I would understand the reluctance in bringing it up to him. The longer ya'll wait to talk to him, the more difficult it will be. Good luck.  |
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Post by noonebil on Oct 29, 2003 14:31:38 GMT -5
I agree with webropin. You must be tactful. Maybe a compromise. Let him know your concerns (too many deer being killed) & give his friends a bag limit of one each. Another possibility is to tell your pa-in-law that you don't mind if he invites a few friends to hunt ocassionally but he must limit their numbers bag limit or amount of times they hunt. I have heard of a few families limiting 'guests' to hunt only after Thanksgiving. This gives your family the early season & rut & leaves them with the late season. Also mention to him the safety aspect of unknown people hunting your land. I'm sure he doesn't want any family members mistaken for deer. You may also want to contact the 'friends' and explain the situation. They may not realize that it is not your father-in-law's land. Ask them to help out (food plots, pond stocking, light labor) if they want to hunt. Give them some rules (bag limits, blackout dates, etc). Most hunters would not balk too much at this especially when they hunt for free.
Depending on location, 12-15 deer per season is not a lot for that much acrage. Check with local conservation to find out the deer density in your area (deer per sq. mile). Ask how many deer should be taken from this land to maintain proper herd size. You may be suprised.
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Post by gulfcoasthunter on Oct 29, 2003 18:50:41 GMT -5
The saftey is my big concern also. These guys are profesional drunks. I have personally seen them sitting in the back of their trucks with a beer in one hand and a 30'06 in the other looking over a 20 acres field. Hell my wife can't even fish in her ponds during hunting season for fear of someone sending a bullit her way.Already in the past few years one of them shot the others truck and they shot the power wire going to the house in to cause they set up their target against the pole the wire goes down and underground. I certainly wouldn't sit across a field froom them.
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Post by BlueNorther on Oct 29, 2003 19:02:47 GMT -5
The beer and guns in the truck would definately have the alarm bells going off for me.
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Post by benhuntin on Oct 30, 2003 11:30:43 GMT -5
Just another little potential problem. If your wife and brother LEGALLY own this property then they could be liable for any accidents that occur on this property.   Something to think about. |
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Post by noonebil on Nov 1, 2003 1:43:52 GMT -5
With the new info about them drinking, I think I would want them off the land. Nothing good can come from a mix of drinking & firearms.
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Post by mudfish2 on Nov 2, 2003 0:20:28 GMT -5
man thats a tough one...maybe get together with him and let him know how you feel...can't hurt and could definitely help.Maybe suggest starting a QDM program and try to convince him that would be the best route to take somehow...man I don't know..I would say something though
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