Trespassing laws vary state to state and it is certainly worth discussing this time of the year. Good that you brought it up. May the hunt gods smile on you.
I won't say, I never go onto property I do not have permission to enter, but when I do it is hat-in-hand.
Meaning, very respectful. I leave my hunting weapon on my land (shhhhh I always CCW) to prove I'm not hunting. I emphasize my main concern is to end the animal's suffering and recover the meat. Who can argue with that?
However, if the owner or other hunters ask me to leave or they are the least bit aggressive, I'm out of there.
If there is a disagreement, a wise old police chief once told me the first guy to report is usually the winner.
Now, the other side of the coin.
If I catch someone on my land, how I handle it depends entirely on how they approach me.
If they come to the house and tell me their wounded deer came onto my land, I can't wait to help them recover it.
If I catch them hunting, and they aren't lost (I ask), I explain how I worked all my life so I could buy a little piece of land that I can hunt in my retirement.
We have an over abundance of deer so what it boils down to, is it takes a really crummy excuse for a human to fight over a deer.
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Have you ever seen a more handsome fella? And it is a nice turkey too.
