What do you think?

Have had access to walk across a farmers field to get to the back side of some woods cant get through from the other side because of a large swamp which is also a great bedding area dont want to walk through it. Two weeks ago I notice a ground blind in the open field facing my woods. Find out that week that I no longer have permission to cross the field because someone on a 4 wheeler tore up the wheat field. "Yeah right im sure it doesnt have anything to do with the blind". So now I cant access the woods which means I cant go hunting there like i have for 15yrs leaving me an my 12 yr old son huntless. So is there anything I can do about it? My main concern when I first saw the blind was SAFTEY shooting across a 3oo yrd field straight into woods that are hunted is at least totally unethical I would feel really unsafe there especially with my son anyways. It just blows that people are like this. Ive had it with the bullcrap that comes along with gunhunting and am truly trying to switch my family thought process into strictly bowhunting. Just another scenerio of hunters against hunters. Really sad!

If your land is land-locked, then you will have to be granted easement to your property. They have to let you cross their land. Talk to the DNR and they will have to work it out. They may tell you your only easement to your land is through the swamp, in which case, you cannot impound the water. You will have to have a removable bridge of some sort to cross, and if they consider it a navigable water, it will have to be high enough to allow a canoe under. I have dealt with a similiar situation on my buddys land that I hunt. It is a land-locked 11 acre parcel. The neighbors were mad that we were killing "their" deer that wandered through my buddys parcel. We had easement through their land. Pretty soon they were cutting down trees over the trail and making our lives miserable. DNR got involved and granted a different trail that we had to use and park on the street to access my buddy land. We had to have a removable bridge to cross a swampy low area. Everything seems to have cooled down over there now and we actually have decent communication with them now.

Im going to have to agree with ditto on this subject. People might not like the way thier neighbor hunts but it's not their land. The best way for you to fix your problem is just talking to him about it. If he still says no, you have to honor his wish's, like it or not. Cut your trail through the swamp and move on.

Curious...how did things go with the farmer? Hopefully, you can work something out.

Jr John, thanks your suggestion is what I was looking for a real possiable solution thanks a lot. I would gladly let him set up in my woods for walking access I dont see why he would refuse that? But who knows thanks again tho I have a little hope now!

Thanks again for the input guys. Ditto you sound like a class act. NOT! Like i said im very safety conscious I have never had a stand facing the farmers field and I have not shot at many a deer that have been in the field on the way out of the woods on previous years ever! I had rights to walk across the field not shoot deer on it! The property is my father in laws and when he passes it will be mine. Paper work is done already. When he bought the property permission was granted to walk across the field, nothing was ever written tho it was just a handshake. Our bad I guess. I think I will aproach the farmers son after the season when things cool down and hopefully work something out? As for building a way through the swamp area I have to look into the legalities of it there is running water and I know I cannot damn it up. I passed on hunting there this year because of all the problems very dissapointing. I may just ending up selling it in the future hunting just gets more difficult and complicated every year and they wonder why hunter numbers are going down and kids dont want to go. Im not bashing just stating my circumstances that have progressed over the years. And believe me 5 yrs ago the thought of selling was absolutly not an option!

Can you cut a trail through the swamp this winter so you have a easy acess for years to come? That would help in dragging out that big buck also.

I think you need to talk to him about it. Maybe suggest that he sits on the woods edge at the end so he is shooting along the edge of the field and the woods. Not much else you can do. Which direction is your stand facing. If it's facing the field he could make the same agruement. Neighbors need to work together with issues like this. You could also talk to the owner of the land and the guy and see if you could work something out. Maybe you let him build a ground blind 50 yards into your woods facing the field for letting you walk the field edge. Good luck out there and be safe.

"He is endangering my family by building a blind facing my woods" Sorry but that sounds like a lot of BS! Did you only set up on the fence line and shoot into your woods or were you in the woods shooting towards the outside of the woods? If so then you endangering other people because your bullets could have gone out of the woods and hit them. Both of these scenarios are rediculous. I'm curious how your relations are with the guy who's land you've been using for 15 year are. Do you pay him for the access? If you don't why not? If I bought a piece of land that pretty much depended on the generosity of others to be able to use I would be doing anything possible to keep the person who's land I had to walk across on my side. Can you really blame him if he, or one of his relatives, wants to hunt the land now and doesn't want other people walking through it? We hear way to many stories like this when people buy land that is either land locked or it's hard to get to the land. IMHO one of the reasons to buy a piece of land is so that you can do what you want, when you want on it. Buying a piece that requires permission from someone else to get to pretty much defeats that purpose.

I know a guy who got a hefty fine for shooting pistols on his own land while using a woods he doesn't own as a backdrop. Hunters in the woods called it in, said the bullets were hitting trees near them. What ditto said is true too, lots of people do that whether its from a ground blind or on a drive. Sort of a gray area, but not 100% safe so I see your point.

In response to ditto. I can see your point as smart as it does sound! Let me fill you in. The woods that the deer come out of our my woods. I have walked the field line for 15yrs to the woods thats all I do. I have always respected everyones rules. He is endangering my family by building a blind facing my woods, he will be shootn deer on his field tho so I guess there is nothing I can do. If i was truley hunter against hunter I'd grab my chainsaw and cut wood all day that way he wont see any deer! but thats not the way I roll. All im saying is that greed is definetly playing a part. Hunt your ground blind over your field and shoot deer that come out of my woods, but just let me walk in and out thats all. To the other responses thanks for your input. The swamp is crossable depending on water levels which this year is no problem, but it is quite the chore as opposed to walking a field. I agree with gunhunting its probably not as much of a factor to cross it and disturb deer activity as it is bowhunting. The access is the problem especially for a 12 yr old. I dont know ditto maybe Im wrong but safety is always a concern. Maybe some communication would of worked better but for somereason the farmers family member is running this situation? I would of had one simple suggestion how about a tower stand buddy so you dont shoot anyone!!!

We had a similar situation for some of our group members. They now walk through the swamp (longer walk too). They still shoot plenty of deer even after walking through the bedding area.

IT sounds like the farmer has someone hunting on his land this year and they don't want you walking through that land. It sucks for you but does it really surprise you? It's not your land so you have to deal with the wishes of the landowner. As far as safety he's only doing what 100's of thousands of other hunters will be doing Saturday - having the woods be a stop for his bullets, not a big deal IMHO. Is it really hunter against hunter? One guy has permission to hunt and doesn't want another hunter walking through his hunting area and also wants to keep hunters out of the woods so there are more deer for him. Not really any different than most hunters. Even you didn't like seeing his blind there so you would have probably prefered he not hunt there so are you a hunter against another hunter?

I wouldn't be afraid to walk through a bedding area in the morning if it was my only option during gun season. The deer may not be in there and you can still catch them coming back. Plus people usually are pushing deer around so they could come from other areas. Is the swamp itself just something that is too big of a pain to walk through? Or is it too thick to hunt? Sounds like if you can't walk through it you are out of options. Sucks when that kind of thing happens.

So this blind is in the farmer's field? Does he know whose blind it is (family member?)? And am I correct in assuming the farmer has now revoked the permission he'd given you because of the damage to the field? I feel your pain regarding access now being more difficult. Have had permission from a farmer to walk down his property for the past 5-6 years, but now I can't because his jagoff neighbor is giving him a hard time. Thankfully I can still access my area, just going to be a longer walk. Sounds like your access is now just about impossible, which sucks...especially now that you've got a young hunter with you. Good luck!