Hunting on Property That Is Fenced But Not Posted With “No Hunting” Signs

December 2, 2009

Question: Can I hunt on property that is fenced but not posted with “No Hunting” signs without specific permission from the landowner? (Anonymous)

Answer: No, it is unlawful to trespass onto property for the purpose of discharging any firearm or taking birds or mammals without the written permission of the landowner or other authorized person. In cases involving publicly owned property (game refuges, state wildlife areas, etc.), specific written permission may or may not be required.

The law does not require that signs be posted on the property in all cases. For instance, unfenced property that is under cultivation would be excluded (FGC Section 2016). A simple guideline is to respect crops, fences and signs, and in any other circumstance that makes you wonder about hunter access, seek out the landowner and ask for permission.

According to Game Warden DeWayne Little, there is case law that states that a bullet or an arrow may be considered to be an extension of a person; therefore, a person shooting into private property could be committing a trespass even without physically entering the property. And, if you wound an animal where it is legal for you to hunt and the animal then goes onto property where you do not have legal access, you cannot enter the land to retrieve the animal until you obtain permission from the landowner or his designee.

A simple guideline is to respect crops, fences and signs

Excellent and in a nutshell, how the law is meant to be interpreted.  If there is no cultivation, no fence and no signs, then you are not trespassing. 

I keep hearing about duck hunting in the delta with shot birds sailing onto land that is privately owned and how it's trespassing to retrieve the game.  However, if the land falls under this guideline, then where is a law being broken?