Another vote for contact the landowner. You could also inquire whether or not they allow hunting and if so, what sort (bow, muzzle loader, shotgun slug, rifle, etc.) and express any concerns if it is too close to your house. I would also ask the landowner what they plan to do about it, and if it does address your safety concerns, you could contact local law enforcement who could advise you as to whether they can (or will) do anything or recommend that you contact the game warden.
As a hunter and a landowner, it really bugs me when hunters do not observe applicable laws and/or tresspass. It gives all hunters a bad name.
Good luck and I hope if someone is doing something they should not be doing they are appropriately punished.
I’m not guessing that no hunting is allowed here, I know it’s not allowed on any part of the University farm property. As a matter of fact, this are is also within city limits, also out of bounds for hunting. There have been debates about urban hunting in other areas of the town, but not this one, and it’s not been approved for anywhere else, either.
Also, the only way to access where that stand is without a hellish hike uphill through dense brush, is either across the property of one of the homeowners (most likely ours) or from the hospital property. And it’s well within the 500 ft. limit from a dwelling.
Keep in mind, just because you found a stand and heard what you think was a gunshot, is not evidence that hunting is actually occurring on that property.
So, while you were littering and potentially starting a forest fire, you came across something you don’t think someone else should be doing on that property.
It is highly likely the stand is used for hunting. You should contact Fish and Game. Given your description of location to your house, the stand may be too close. There are minimum distance requirements from dwellings while using a weapon.
Contact the U to report it. They may have granted permission. They are not responsible for placement thus the call to F&G.
On a side note, if the U doesn’t want hunting, then why don’t they post the land?
So, while you were littering, trespassing, and potentially starting a forest fire, you came across something you don’t think someone else should be doing on that someone else’s property.
What would you all do if you found a stash of porno mags in the woods where your kids play? Assume they are part of a research project? Call the police? Leave them there out of respect?
Naw, you’d just trash 'em. You do what it takes to make sure your kids are safe and your property is useable.
This just doesn’t seem that different to me. I don’t for a moment believe it’s a research project…who researches common deer? Why would they do so close to housing? The answer is nobody and they don’t. It’s no more a likely explanation than “What if it’s an antenna to call the alien mothership?”
Maybe some of the readers have a limited view of what the woods near a school can mean. Perhaps they went to schools with small strands of carefully tended trees. I certainly didn’t- I went to a school with miles and miles of forest land. There was crazy, crazy shit in these woods. Bodies would turn up. Communities of hippies lived in hidden permanent structures. They built secret wi-fi networks in the treetops. There were statues, animal sacrifice spots…infinite weirdness. Now and then the school would stumble upon some of the structures and evict the residents. One cabin evaded notice for twenty years before they found it. But there is no way for the school to know or monitor everything that happens out there.
And that’s fine, but that weirdness doesn’t belong near property owners.
But seriously, you tell the landowner. I have found tree stands twice while walking the woods around my home. Once I was on a neighbors property. I told him and he asked me to remove it, which I did. It was wooden.
Second time was on our property. It was a very nice metal commercially produced item. I took it down and sold it on Craigslist.