Property Line Law and Ethics

Legally, provided a hunter has secured permission from the neighboring landowner, he can hang one, five or 20 treestands across and near the line that separates your property. He can walk around or drive a UTV there as much as he wants. Heck, he can pop up a tent and make deer camp. Property law is simple: You stay on your side of the line, and I’ll stay on mine. But step a boot across the boundary line without permission, and that’s obviously trespassing. If you go over and tear down a treestand like my fuming buddy Steve suggested — and what many of you would want to do in a similar situation — you’ll pile on the misdemeanor of petty theft or destruction of property. Call a game warden? Please. A property line dispute between deer hunters is not as much a matter of law as it is a matter of ethics.