So here's the rest of the story from a thread started in the General forum (Hunter vs landowner). Last week I was confronted and accused by a local land owner in the Eagle Peak Rd area (approx between mile marker 4 and 5) of trespassing on his land while I was deer hunting.
Figured I'd post it in the Big Game section since that's what I was doing when this occurred....enjoy
As I returned to my truck after sundown, this person had been waiting at my vehicle for an unknown amount of time. When I approached, he exited his vehicle and light blinded me with a high power flashlight as he closed the distance between us. As he got closer I asked "Can I help you" and shielded my eyes. He demanded to see my boot prints and accused me of passing through his property. I informed him I was certain I did not cross private land and offered to pull out my Garmin to show him my track line (I have an onXhunt chip for my handheld Garmin and the app on my phone). A few more colorful words were exchanged and after I had set down my rifle and began to show my GPS screen to him, next thing I knew I was sucker punched in the dark. I did not see it coming and he gave no warning. At this point, I had not even taken off my pack yet and hit the ground with the full weight of my gear, I don't know if I was down for 2 seconds, 30 sec, or more.... but when I got back on my feet my face was a bloody mess. Realizing I was at a disadvantage I stated "let's start over" in an attempt to defuse the situation. A few more words were exchanged and eventually the land owner left, I cleaned up and went home.
After thinking it over, I came to the conclusion I needed to alert the Forest Ranger in the area to the incident, figuring it may help to prevent another landowner / hunter encounter. After speaking with Cleveland Forest Rangers and providing an incident report they advised I contact the Sheriff dept. At first I was reluctant, but after more consideration it seemed like the right thing to do. I was very impressed with the professionalism and interest exhibited by the deputies at the Julian sub station and encouraged by how serious they treated this matter.
It's my hope that by sharing this experience with this forum it will encourage other hunters to report incidents like this to the proper authority and make hunting safer for all. By speaking up we can protect other each other and deter negative and dangerous encounters such as this. Hopefully the end result will draw attention to the need to ensure private and public boundaries are clear to both hunters and landowners and remind us all to keep tempers and emotions under control. I'm thankful this did not turn out more serious than it did or escalate to more life threatening violence.
There are plenty of lessons to be learned from this and I will certainly have a new perspective from now on. I've replayed it in my head many times and picked it apart to the slightest detail and came to a few conclusions. In summary, you never know who you will run into out there and no matter how certain you are that you didn't do anything wrong...it may not matter to the other person. I have no way of knowing what previous experiences led this land owner to attack me that night. I also don't know if he mistook me for another hunter...who quite possible may have crossed his land. At this point it doesn't really matter, the take home message is to be prepared for anything and take a minute right now to imagine how you will handle this situation if you ever find yourself there. In my mind I was so certain I would show my GPS and it would be the end of the discussion, that I didn't even begin to think of the worst case scenario...until it literally hit me in the face. Keep your guard up and be smart, maintain separation if approached by a stranger and don't take anything for granted. Always consider the wild card !
Let's all finish the D16 season by focusing on punching our tags instead of each other.
For more info: http://apps.sdsheriff.net/press/default.aspx
If you've had a similar experience in the Eagle Peak area, or have encountered this same individual please take the time to contact the Sheriff dept and tell your story too. A few minutes of your time may end up contributing to correcting property line disputes, and more importantly, stopping this from happening to someone else [or worse].
Safe Hunting....and know where you are at all times.
Figured I'd post it in the Big Game section since that's what I was doing when this occurred....enjoy
As I returned to my truck after sundown, this person had been waiting at my vehicle for an unknown amount of time. When I approached, he exited his vehicle and light blinded me with a high power flashlight as he closed the distance between us. As he got closer I asked "Can I help you" and shielded my eyes. He demanded to see my boot prints and accused me of passing through his property. I informed him I was certain I did not cross private land and offered to pull out my Garmin to show him my track line (I have an onXhunt chip for my handheld Garmin and the app on my phone). A few more colorful words were exchanged and after I had set down my rifle and began to show my GPS screen to him, next thing I knew I was sucker punched in the dark. I did not see it coming and he gave no warning. At this point, I had not even taken off my pack yet and hit the ground with the full weight of my gear, I don't know if I was down for 2 seconds, 30 sec, or more.... but when I got back on my feet my face was a bloody mess. Realizing I was at a disadvantage I stated "let's start over" in an attempt to defuse the situation. A few more words were exchanged and eventually the land owner left, I cleaned up and went home.
After thinking it over, I came to the conclusion I needed to alert the Forest Ranger in the area to the incident, figuring it may help to prevent another landowner / hunter encounter. After speaking with Cleveland Forest Rangers and providing an incident report they advised I contact the Sheriff dept. At first I was reluctant, but after more consideration it seemed like the right thing to do. I was very impressed with the professionalism and interest exhibited by the deputies at the Julian sub station and encouraged by how serious they treated this matter.
It's my hope that by sharing this experience with this forum it will encourage other hunters to report incidents like this to the proper authority and make hunting safer for all. By speaking up we can protect other each other and deter negative and dangerous encounters such as this. Hopefully the end result will draw attention to the need to ensure private and public boundaries are clear to both hunters and landowners and remind us all to keep tempers and emotions under control. I'm thankful this did not turn out more serious than it did or escalate to more life threatening violence.
There are plenty of lessons to be learned from this and I will certainly have a new perspective from now on. I've replayed it in my head many times and picked it apart to the slightest detail and came to a few conclusions. In summary, you never know who you will run into out there and no matter how certain you are that you didn't do anything wrong...it may not matter to the other person. I have no way of knowing what previous experiences led this land owner to attack me that night. I also don't know if he mistook me for another hunter...who quite possible may have crossed his land. At this point it doesn't really matter, the take home message is to be prepared for anything and take a minute right now to imagine how you will handle this situation if you ever find yourself there. In my mind I was so certain I would show my GPS and it would be the end of the discussion, that I didn't even begin to think of the worst case scenario...until it literally hit me in the face. Keep your guard up and be smart, maintain separation if approached by a stranger and don't take anything for granted. Always consider the wild card !
Let's all finish the D16 season by focusing on punching our tags instead of each other.
For more info: http://apps.sdsheriff.net/press/default.aspx
If you've had a similar experience in the Eagle Peak area, or have encountered this same individual please take the time to contact the Sheriff dept and tell your story too. A few minutes of your time may end up contributing to correcting property line disputes, and more importantly, stopping this from happening to someone else [or worse].
Safe Hunting....and know where you are at all times.
