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Post by bigbrowndog on Jan 6, 2020 10:47:49 GMT -5
Today meaning, in this day and age. There is a ranch I have been granted access to for the last several years. In Texas, having access to several thousand acres and not having to pay a lease fee is a blessing that for a hunter is a gift from God. I try very hard to help maintain it and help out the ranch hands whenever possible, As well as do things for the owner. In the last year a new home was built across a county road from this place and it is in plain view of a hunting stand, I ranged it the other day 891yards. One of the food plots is inline with the blind and new house. I do not shoot at anything or even point my rifle in that direction. I actually rarely sit in that stand, however it has gotten more use this season with some visiting hunters. This last weekend I sat there and noticed 6 bullet holes I’d never seen before. I quickly text one other hunter who had been to the ranch recently and asked if he had been in the stand and noticed the holes. They were obvious, and hard to miss, his reply was they weren’t there over Christmas. The stupid thing is, it isn’t hard to realize they came from “The House”, you simply have to line up the entry and exit holes and it’s OBVIOUS. The scary thing is it would be very hard to truly verify no one was in the stand if they decided to start shooting, and since we do occasionally hunt at night for pigs. It would be impossible to tell if the stand was occupied at that point. The owner has been notified and it will be his decision to notify authorities and launch an investigation. However I will not be hunting that stand again.
Trapr
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eskimo36
.375 Atomic
Oklahoma
Posts: 2,061
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Post by eskimo36 on Jan 6, 2020 11:26:22 GMT -5
People never cease to amaze me with their stupidity. I often see bullet holes through portable toilets in remote locations and wonder if they ever considered an occupant.
Curtis.
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Post by leftysixgun on Jan 6, 2020 13:30:43 GMT -5
Wow, thats pretty scary!
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Post by sixshot on Jan 6, 2020 13:44:37 GMT -5
Might want to put some heavy wood on the back side of the blind so you can catch a couple of the bullets, might come in handy in case you need some evidence. Or put out the word someone has been shot in that blind, that might scare the "Hillary" out of them!
Dick
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Post by contender on Jan 6, 2020 19:09:24 GMT -5
I would also file a formal complaint with the Wildlife Commission. If nothing else,, getting it on record might help in the future.
It's scary that someone would do that for sure.
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Joe S.
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,517
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Post by Joe S. on Jan 6, 2020 19:16:59 GMT -5
So glad no one has been hurt. Yet.
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Post by bigbrowndog on Jan 6, 2020 19:43:31 GMT -5
In Texas it is a crime to interfere with someone hunting, I don’t know if this qualifies as interference but it should. If nothing else it’s willful destruction of property. I’m hoping the owner decides to do something, I’m tired of people getting away with BS crap because someone isn’t willing to go thru the trouble of taking a stand.
Trapr
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Post by rangersedge on Jan 6, 2020 21:15:56 GMT -5
I like the heavy wood idea; but i'd put it in the front of the blind - especially if i might be sitting in it!
I love the idea of putting out word someone got shot sitting in it! Long, long ago, i shot at a blackbird in a tree with a .22 and missed. Then got to thinking about trajectory and neighbor / family friend living about a mile away in that direction. After worrying about it for several minutes and thinking about odds and doomsday possibilities, an ambulance drove past heading that general direction with lights flashing. The ambulance went on down the road to someone else; but i've never forgotten that anxiety.
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Joe S.
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,517
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Post by Joe S. on Jan 6, 2020 21:47:08 GMT -5
I’ve done that rangersedge.
When i would come out to my farm and shoot i didn’t have a “berm”, and i would just shoot into a gulley or against a wash, but sometimes i’d just set up in a field. Then one day i was fishing and saw someone walk by on the neighbors property in the direction i had been shooting just before. They werent supposed to be there but that didn’t make me feel any better. That property went for a mile before it got to anything and that was just a railroad. I had never even thought someone might be out exploring.
Soon after i joined a range. Hated it so i hired a dozer to put me up a few backstops to shoot into. Now i dont have to worry.
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Post by Quick Draw McGraw on Jan 6, 2020 23:07:24 GMT -5
I live in AZ, so it is possible to just find a safe desert spot. But given that I always hear other shooters, I make dead certain I have a berm, Hill, or something else behind my targets. I don't want to take any unnecessary risks.
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Post by sixshot on Jan 7, 2020 2:10:10 GMT -5
It would be kind of fun to put a mannequin up in that blind with a camo shirt on & have someone carry the "body" down when they knew the neighbor was watching! You might just cure that neighbor of sucking eggs.......... I know, I know, I have a devilious mind! But it would work! Could even have a deputy drive up, lights flashing & all.
Dick
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Post by x101airborne on Jan 7, 2020 9:03:06 GMT -5
Call the Sheriff's office or the Game Warden. They will put someone in cuffs over that, and in my opinion, they need to be.
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Post by contender on Jan 7, 2020 10:14:02 GMT -5
Game Wardens usually have more legal authority than a County Sheriff. Getting them involved,, would be the best option. Plus, as mentioned,,,, in Texas,, it's illegal to interfere with hunters. So,, it would be a Warden's jurisdiction. Just having the Warden pay a visit to the people who live in the house,, even if there isn't any direct evidence can cause heartache. ESPECIALLY if a woman is home & she's faced with the loss of a husband, son, or whomever. A woman pizzed off over stupidity like that can be even worse than the jail! And even if the owner of the property is a bit reluctant to call the Warden, mention the issue of liability to him. There are two casual legal terms that NAIL people in lawsuits. "Negligence" & "Deliberate Indifference." The property owner could be held liable for negligence & deliberate indifference if he fails to report such activity, and someone were to get hurt. As a property owner,, I'd WANT to do whatever I could to prevent such occurrences,, and especially the prevention of an injury or death.
Now,, sixshots idea has a huge fun factor,, but if the offender found out it was a hoax,, it might cause more shots to be fired from that direction.
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Post by magman on Jan 7, 2020 10:46:46 GMT -5
Yes, and the landowner can take the easy route and keep all off his land.
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Post by bigbrowndog on Jan 7, 2020 10:54:08 GMT -5
If the landowner decides to not pursue things, the easiest answer is move the stand. Which will probably get done anyway, at least just out of sight.
Trapr
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