Do you anticipate a run in with the local rancher?

[Coveyleader]

So the elk season is almost upon us, and as we head to the hills do you anticipate a run in with the local rancher, or outfitter who thinks he owns everything?

One spot I hunt as of late has been much better, but for years it was a given, you'd have to deal with the rancher, the ranchers dad, etc once or twice every season. First it would start with "How did you get in here" followed by "where are you camped" followed by "we own that" (always exaggerated how much they owned) followed by bears, and cats and anything else they could use for intimidation.

I remember one time I arrowed a bull, and was sitting where I hit him, blood all over and the rancher comes up, bugle in hand telling me I shouldn't be here, the wind is wrong...... Needless to say, he didn't see the blood, and that spot has accounted for several bulls since.

How many of been there, done that, got the T-Shirt?

 

[cnelk]

I hope I run into him. He’s a friend of mine.

He tells me where he’s seen some wallows and I’ll tell him where I see some of his cattle so he can keep them moving.

The discussion usually involves a couple beers too.

 

[Bubblehide]

I now wear a body cam when I hunt and scout. As soon as they see it and realize what it is, or ask what it is and I tell them, their attitude instantly changes.

 

[camelcluch]

There is a area I hunt that is real bad. I never argue and always welcome the sheriff if he wants to call. I had one rancher tell me I was on his private road. I let him say whatever he wanted too but as he was yelling at me I was posted up on a county road sign.

 

[Team4LongGun]

I now wear a body cam when I hunt and scout. As soon as they see it and realize what it is, or ask what it is and I tell them, their attitude instantly changes.

What state is this?

 

[Team4LongGun]

There’s an outfitter near our hunt AO that is a supreme A-hole. Public land, thinks he owns it. Will go out of his way to ruin your hunt, even mess with your camp/vehicle.
Now he hasn’t touched ours, but I have a suspicion that the USMC flag hung and 6 Marines in camp have something to do with it.

 

[Vandy321]

I've found ranchers rounding up cattle from summer grazing to be very pleasant and even helpful.

 

[TILLER]

We ran into an unfriendly local once. It was at a gated road leading up to forest company land. He asked if we were locals, we aren't. He said it was a locals hunting spot. He did not like us hunting there. Seems they had a system of who hunts where. We ended up staying and hunting there anyway. Ran into other people in his party who were very cool. I can see where it would be easy to be territorial but timber land open to hunting and public lands are fair game. The locals ended up with a couple elk and we didn't get any. Their being close by, probably spending a lot more time in the woods, and having years of experience there certainly made a big difference.

We've run into a lot more friendly people than unfriendly.

 

[Bubblehide]

What state is this?

Whever I hunt, but primarily Ca

 

[rhsmith3]

I would rather run into a rancher or a logger in the woods than another hunter. Especially archery hunting nowadays!

 

[Sportsman247]

We have had two different scenarios both in Colorado. Had an issue with a rancher/outfitter two years ago. We were hunting public and he had his client down on his private. One of the guys in our group shot and missed a bull that came across to the public from his land. I went back in with our guy the next morning as the herd didn’t really go far after the shot. The next morning, I hiked in with our guy only to have the ranch crew use their trucks to run the herd deeper into the private. To say the least, we never saw another elk on that hunt.
The first encounter happened four years ago. I won’t give the name of the ranch but it was in unit 53. Their guide put a client on a herd of 63 elk that we could see from the public down on their alfalfa fields. The guy shot a bull and the herd ran onto public. The next morning the ranch manager drive her 4 wheeler over onto the public to one mess us up and to keep the elk down on the ranch. I still have that video on my phone as she did it more than once. We left that particular area and hunted another area for the rest of the week.
I’ve heard of much worse encounters but those are my personal ones.

 

[Coveyleader]

I have a bunch of stories, some funny, some no so. One of the funnier ones was I'd been archery hunting a spot all fall, and then took a friend in as there were a ton of elk. I'm walking down the road, and see headlights coming up a mile away, and tell my friend there is only one spot we need to be, lets get there and we decide to book it to get to the spot.

It's just getting light, and I'm standing where we need to be, near a downed barbed wire gate waiting for my friend to show up. As I'm waiting, the truck blows past my partner and the"old rancher" shows up, puts the truck in park before coming to a complete stop. Old dude jumps out his truck and is screaming, it's loud, but I can't hear what he's saying as it's a bit windy. Then I hear him, "pick up my gate"..........."pick up my Fing gate you know good sum beach"

I'm just standing there and he's yelling all kinds of crazy shit, pistol on his side and all over a sudden, old dude trips on the downed gate, and it looks like a scene from a war movie as he's all tangled up in the barbed wire fence and he's stuck. Now he's cussing in full overtime. His son jumps out the truck, and comes over, and he's yelling "you could at least help him up" Help him up I say? After what he just said to me he's lucky I don't kick his ass, that's gates been down all fall long, F him."

The son starts getting loud, and threatening, and I snap. I give him the public land blah blah blah, and I've had it. He see's I'm no longer playing, and my everyday humor is long gone. He gets his dad untangled, and they're still cursing up a storm and they get in the truck. Not one move towards picking the gate up, they just get in the truck and blow the horn about 10 times as they're driving off.

My partner shows up, I tell him "WTF", I could have used some help, it was getting a bit scary jesus. We head down the hill about 100 yds, the sun comes up, and as god as my witness, a six point bull is standing 50 yds downl slope from the altercation point, and my friend drops his first elk, and a six point at that within minutes of opening day, and that mess.

Crazy times!

 

[5MilesBack]

I don't hunt anywhere near ranches so not a big deal for me.

 

[Gerbdog]

Growing up hunting in NM we def had to know the local rules for gates to and from public land and what we could and couldnt open and go through. I know there are some bad attitude land owners out there but... make sure you close gates behind you if your allowed to pass through. Most are just trying to make a living and dont need anymore trouble than they already got.

 

[sndmn11]

Over the last three or four years I have put together a roster of land owners in the unit I frequent and they have all been great. I just got a text last night from one telling me @KickinNDishin and I had better bring our son over to their place to try and trick the turkeys for at least one day while we go out and look for bears.

 

[Newtosavage]

In New Mexico - yes. I've met a few good ones but most I've met are real pieces of, uh, work. Probably for the reasons that Gerbdog mentions. One time I had a local sheep rancher come in to camp while everyone was out hunting and pour out all the water. That camp was 40 miles and about 2.5 hours from town to restock. GW paid him a visit after that, but I met others like him. Thought they owned every acre of BLM land their sheep were busy destroying.

In Colorado - no. I have met nothing but friendly folks so far and have no reason to believe that will change. Maybe that's why I hunt Colorado now.

 

[manitou1]

We have had two different scenarios both in Colorado. Had an issue with a rancher/outfitter two years ago. We were hunting public and he had his client down on his private. One of the guys in our group shot and missed a bull that came across to the public from his land. I went back in with our guy the next morning as the herd didn’t really go far after the shot. The next morning, I hiked in with our guy only to have the ranch crew use their trucks to run the herd deeper into the private. To say the least, we never saw another elk on that hunt.
The first encounter happened four years ago. I won’t give the name of the ranch but it was in unit 53. Their guide put a client on a herd of 63 elk that we could see from the public down on their alfalfa fields. The guy shot a bull and the herd ran onto public. The next morning the ranch manager drive her 4 wheeler over onto the public to one mess us up and to keep the elk down on the ranch. I still have that video on my phone as she did it more than once. We left that particular area and hunted another area for the rest of the week.
I’ve heard of much worse encounters but those are my personal ones.

I have had that happen in WY. Of course, the rancher sees me hunting due to the hunter orange requirement. On multiple occasions I witnessed them driving the wildlife back onto their property or heading a herd off at their property line with atvs in order to prevent them from entering public land.
Pure schitt heads. Off course, ranchers are the elite untouchables here, so pursuing any hunter harrassment laws or "molesting wildlife with use of a motor driven conveyance" is a crap shoot.

 

[mtnbiker208]

it is usually other hunters, not land owners that can be asses.

 

[trophyhill]

With the advent of OnX, I don’t hear about negative “run ins” with ranchers anymore. Seems hunters have finally figured out where the public land is

 

[Newtosavage]

With the advent of OnX, I don’t hear about negative “run ins” with ranchers anymore. Seems hunters have finally figured out where the public land is

In New Mexico, I couldn't tell you the number of ranchers who told me "that map is wrong" as soon as they saw my BLM quad maps back in the day. Without ever even looking at the map. LOL It was their stock answer to everything.