Propane Canon

[NEPA Guy]

I've been getting alot of trespassers on my property. Most of em hunters besides two occasions where it was just some punk kid on an atv and some drunk guy picking my blueberries.

I've posted signs, hung a few trail cams, blocked trails with trees (used the forks on my bota to drop some giant logs ) called the police, the gaming commission, and confronted them on one occasion. They tear down my signs, or put beer bottle labels on em, and litter on my property that runs along a main road. One guy who must have hid on one spot the first day of bow season, took a dump and left toilet paper scattered all underneath one tree.

Its frustrating. They still trespass. No respect at all. I saw how some guys use propane cannons to scare away birds. I was thinking about placing one on a popular hunting spot to keep these idiots away. I'll figure I'll ruin the hunting for everyone in a square mile.

I know you're not supposed to target shoot during hunting season, but I wonder if this one would be legal to place. I'll call the police/gaming commission when I get some free time to find out for sure but wonder if any of you guys own one and can recommend a good one, or what you might do in my situation. 6 incidents in the past 18 months since I've moved here. The last one just a few weeks ago towards the end of rifled doe.

 

[8upbowhunter]

Idk anything about propane cannons except they use them here to keep the geese out of the fields. Is it a law where you live saying that you can't target shoot during hunting season on your own property, never heard of that one down here before.


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[Tunaslayer]

Unfortunately, atvs will just carve a path around the road block every time, so blocking the trails is really a waste of time. The most effective method I have seen is trying to get their attention, and if they are at all reasonable, talk to them and tell them your problem you are having. Most of the "trespassers" are probably decent people, and will become stewards of your forest if you tell them what others have done. You will essentially have more boots on the ground watching out for your land. Now if you want no one around, and are looking to keep everyone out, I think the cannon is a cool idea! I made a propane potato cannon in my younger years as a toy, and it ended up being valuable for tree work to launch a lead line into the tree with a potato..not kidding..but those have a good pop, and cost very little to make?


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[skeets]

Well the fact your calling the gaming commission is part of the problem,, unless your racing horses or got slots they wont help.... OK Im being a smart arse
I don't know where you are in the Keystone, or where your from originally, but you might want to get to know the locals. If you just bought the place and want to keep people off that have been hunting there since forever , then you really need to get to know the locals. Around here the yuppies have bought up a lot of land and built some really nice homes, and posted everything we have hunted on since the beginning of time. Well OK that your little slice of heaven I understand that. I have spoken to more than one of them that have moved down here from out of the Burgh area and brought the city ways and ideals with them,,
They say we dont want you killing those beautiful deer and defenseless little rabbits,,yadayadyayada.
And they are the first to whine about the deer eating their 200 dollar shrubs.
NOW anything you might do, like roofing nails through a shingle buried on a quad trail or something that might injure a person while on your property is a big time NONO and you, even though it sucks, are responsible even if you have signs posted, fences up, gates locked, trail cams what ever. Unless the PoPo catch them or the game commission bunny cops are there, aint much you can do about it

 

[NEPA Guy]

Yeah the gaming commission was useless. They told me it was a police matter. I caught road hunters that lived 40 miles away and the cops lost em in a chase, but they ended up catching others trespassing on my neighbors property.

As far as locals. My mother was a local here back in the 50's. My father met her on a hunting trip and then they moved to new york becuase there was no work in allentown where he was originally from. He was a steelworker.

They bought this property 25 years ago. just up the block from where my mother lived and where they first met. I spent my summers in PA with my mothers family as she was one of eight, and went to school in NY. So I'm half country/half city. (a perfect blend if ya ask me lol)

I enjoy hunting. I know a bunch of the locals, yet they have their own ideas about property. One family have been here for like 9 generations and they have said in the past that "they could go wherever they want" when caught on others property.

Its a big family, while alot of the ones I know are good, some are still bad. Two of em overdosed not too long ago and a few of em have spent their time in jail.

My neighbor is a doctor from california, He owns like 300 acres and from what I know and shows up once or twice a year. He gets one of the "big family" guys to caretake his property. It turns out he was having issues with vandalism/trespassers and just let em in. Kinda what you recommended, make friends with em, let them have access and the vandalism stops.

Well that where all the trespassers are coming from. I have yet to reach out to the caretaker to voice my concerns but I'm sure it will fall on deaf ears. He posts his signs on my property and disregards the property line giving himself more. I had surveyors come in to clarify the lines. They found several spots where their signs were skewed way off giving themselves close to 10 acres more. There was also a huge fire that was started here last summer. The Poconos lost 8,000 acres due to arson. The only reason I didn't catch fire was the stream that divides our property. Guess where it started? The doctors property. Investigators havent been able to catch anyone yet. If I hadn't called the forest service 50 times and complained they wouldn't have stopped the fire. They said their priority were the homes, not the forest. My neighbor raises chickens and he lost alot of em due to smoke.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...y-be-90-percent-contained-20160426-story.html

After my father passed and my mother was living here alone for years, they took advantage and started encroaching more and more. When my father was alive there were never issues. I will put a stop to this one way or the other.

The piks are my "backyard" its where the stream is and not far from the property line. Also where I caught 2 hunters and one atv'r.

If all I had were tractor problems I would be a happy man. I just want peace.

 

[Daren Todd]

Is there anyway to find out who the atv's are owned by? Sometimes talking to the kids parents, and explaining that John is tearing up your land will go quite a long ways.

I grew up on 100 acres in vermont. Vermont, new Hampshire, and a few other states have open land use laws. Which means if the land isn't posted, then it's open to outdoor recreation "within" reason. And the states have laws on the books so someone on your property is responsible for themselves, if they hurt themselves, and protects the land owner from getting sued. Now to lawfully post Your land, they had very strict and pain in the butt requirements that had to be met. Not to mention your property was gonna be taxed at about 4 times the rate as well

People could not damage your property, and it had to be left in the same condition as found though. You could be sued for damaging property, cutting trees, ect,,... but most of those were civil matters, and the property owners had to provide proof of the damage. We have had a few people over the years issued no trespassing orders and not allowed to come back on the property. Two of those were blatant gun safety violations. One idiot peppered my dad and I while logging with bird shot. And another pulled up in front of the house. Was preparing to go out hunting and shot his car while loading the gun. I informed the person that they didn't have any business being out on our property since they couldn't handle there gun safely.The first idiot, had a discussion with the sheriff, game warden, and walked away with some pretty good fines.

Atv's and snow machines were grey areas. Local people we knew didn't have any issues using atv's on the property. They stayed to logging roads and were considerate of us. Slowed down around the house and tried not to tear up the place. Occasionally we would run into issues with kids tearing it up on our property. Since we knew the land and where the trails came out, it was just a matter of following them to figure out whose kids they were. Since it was a town with around 400 people, it wasn't to hard to figure out where the kids were from. Then it was a matter of talking to there parents, and getting the kids back over to fix the damage. If that didn't stop it, then the sheriff would go down and have a talk with the kids and there parents.

Small claims court is $25 to file a claim. If you can catch who is out there on the atv's, provide proof that they caused damage to the property, then they can be sued to pay for the damage.

As far as hunters got you probably will have to have a talk with them. Don't act like an idiot and keep your temper in check since they are armed Keep it civil, and explain your feeling on the subject to them. Most of the time they will go on there way and respect your wishes.

Not sure what the size of your property is. But a good fence usually keeps the honest people honest. And damaging someone's property becomes a civil and criminal matter. But it's up to you to provide the proof.

 

[D2Cat]

I've seen guys paint up a crude looking sign reading "TRAPS SET no trespassing" on white painted board with red letters.

I think the rougher looking the sign is (not store bought) the better. It gives the impression of "some crazy dude doesn't want me here". Might also give you added protection if someone gets "hurt".

 

[NEPA Guy]

Darren, I did find out who the atv'r was. My neighbor had a talk with his mom. lol No problems since. If its just a few kids ridin though I wouldnt make such a big deal of it. This one came up on my grass in my backyard. No issues since.

I have about 100 acres. I posted about 200 signs to comply with the law. Cop said I should. Some signs were torn down, others had beer bottle labels on them when I rechecked the line.

Its the hunters that are trespassing. There is also littering on the property that runs with a road. Beer cans, bottles, garbage. They live down the other side of the hill. Degenerates. Some are out of towners too, not all of em local to be fair. It is a resort area.

D2, I let one of my neighbors trap alongside the stream. Good idea with the homemade sign. I'll try that. I actually have a beware of dog sign, and I posted a "forget the dog, beware of owner" sign with a picture of a revolver, next to it. lol, they ignored it.

my next sign will look something like this.

 

[D2Cat]

Maybe you'll get them in there if it says, "FREE DRUGS"!

 

[procraftmike]

From my experience, once they have been warned once about trespassing, then it is time to take a hard stance. You prosecute ALL repeat trespassers. The word will spread quite quickly.

Also, get cameras set up on likely access points, but get them off of the ground, so they are harder to see and access.

It sucks that people can't just respect other people's property.

Good luck!!

 

[NEPA Guy]

D2CAT- YEAH!

procraftmike, I been hiding the cams up in the trees, (no one ever looks up) it just gets tiring getting a ladder out to change the batteries every few weeks lol

I'm hoping my intervention will spread the word in time. Thanks for the feedback guys!

Still nothin on any cannon owners?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

File for game sanctuary, easily done, and then anyone trespassing, hunting, or anything else detrimental to the property will face huge fines and jail time, it's a real big deal!

Another great option is shoot a few of them and leave them lying around, others will get the hint!

A couple strands of Barb wire with a really powerful electric fence unit will slow down a few of them!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

To clarify, because Hudson thinks I meant to covertly put up the wire.
No I meant fence the property, and yes that means flagging and marking and gating any roads, or paths with proper marking.

 

[Daren Todd]

I was gonna mention the wire and fence markings like wolfman stated.

Make sure fences gates and cables are clearly marked with flagging.

Back years ago when I was still a teen. A homeowner had put up a cable across there driveway but didn't flag it at all. A couple people hit the cable riding a snow machine. driver was decapitated and the passenger ended up getting launched and ended up with serious injuries. Homeowner got sued back into the Stone Age.

Good proper fence, even barb wire will work. If crossing trails, make sure it's obvious. Good 500 mile charger attached on a couple strands will make someone think twice about it, and cut down on having to clear stuff off it just don't pee on it


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[bcp]

How far will a propane cannon send an illegal hunter?

 

[MadMax31]

The ATVs and dirt bikes cut through, but word got around to go slow and no wheelies when I tackled a dip sh@t on a Kawasaki. Two warnings and a third act of stupidity will result in me installing 7500' of razorwire with pink streamers for all to see.

I sold a sled my first winter here at the new home. All those kids made the mistake of recognizing the house in the background and texted me..... now I have all their cell numbers stored. Muhahahahaha.

Honestly, me chasing them down to talk to them and shake their hand and let them know its ok to cut through, but go slow worked.

I grew up just outside Lancaster PA, in Downingtown. We moved North in 89'. I remember we all cut through the neighbors yards to get to the bus stop a half mile away. I dont know about today, but back then if you wanted to go hunting, you just did it and used common sense. No trash left behind, no shooting anywhere near a structure etc....

Fun fact: I was in kindergarten with Dan Krieder who was the Pittsburgh Steelers Fullback from 00-07.

 

[D2Cat]

The link Hudson posted said, "...She said she drove along the same road with her father earlier this month, and has never been warned to stay away. Nor has she ever seen a "no trespassing" sign on the road.

"We had been going down there for so long I didn't think anything of it," said Yach.

Yach said she had just turned a corner and was only travelling at about 15 km/h when she struck the cable. Nevertheless, the force was enough to rip two wooden posts the cable was attached to from the ground."


This is the reason I will not give anyone permission to hunt on my property. You try to be nice to someone and you end up not having control of your own property.

I don't know any hunters who hunt by themselves. They always take a buddy. At some point in life your friend moves away. That person's friend who has been hunting for years now figures he has permission simply because he's ridden on your friends permission. then he takes his buddy hunting. Soon the property owner has no clue who is hunting and when he hear shots being fired doesn't even know who to call to confirm who's there!

I know this does not do the original poster any good. It's read difficult to UN-train someone, just like the girl in the story....

Best solution is to not give anyone permission to start!

 

[OldeEnglish]

I have the same problem with people dumping trash. There has been many times that I wished I lived in Texas. The only thing I can come up with is investing in a couple expensive cameras to catch them in the act along with a tag number. I'm just afraid of them being found and stolen or destroyed leaving me a few thousand dollars short. That would probably push me over the edge.

I actually thought of putting up a few signs that say.... Smile Your on Camera! If you're reading this I already have your ugly mug shot along with license plate number instantly sent to me wirelessly.

I think no trespassing signs are useless as a deterrent. Maybe if you put one under it that says we don't call the police around here.

 

[ehenry]

You say you have 100 acres and problems with people trespassing and poaching. Both are criminal offenses and you cant get help from local law enforcement?

Down here if you have problems with poaching and trespassers a call to the MS Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks is all it takes. They will team with the sheriff's office and will work it until they catch the offenders. All private lands in MS are posted against trespassing by law. It doesn't matter if you have a Posted sign up or not.

The only thing propane cannons are going to do is piss the neighbors off and you'll get cited for disturbing the peace. Ride and patrol your property regularly every week and especially on weekends. Your riding through your land messes up and disturbs their hunting. Eventually they will figure out they cant have a decent hunt because you're out checking on it all the time and they will move somewhere else and be somebody else's problem.

Someone else mentioned putting a fence up. Good fences make good neighbors.

 

[DThrash]

I am a game warden here in Alabama, those cams that will email you a picture when it takes has help us solve a lot of cases. It saves a lot of our time when the land owner can call and say they are there. $1000.00 fine here for hunting without permit.