Question involving property rights

This is more of a thought provoker than a question. This didn't happen to me but it did happen about 5 miles away from my property to another deer hunter in Shelby County Illinois. The hunter took a shot at a deer, in fact it was a 12 point buck. Both the hunter and the deer were on the property the hunter had the right to hunt. The deer dropped about 50 yards onto the adjoining property that the hunter did not have the right to hunt. The property owner of the land that the deer dropped on claimed the deer as his own after the hunter had retrieved the deer by crossing the property line. There were no fences or markings on the property line and the hunter assumed he had not trespassed.

In the same scenario, if you are the hunter what would you do? How about if you were the land owner?

20-point buck returned to hunter


Don Higgins and Henry Hortenstine hold the rack of Higgins' 20-point buck Wednesday morning at Higgins' home in rural Gays.Ken Trevarthan/Staff Photographer
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By KRISTA LEWIN, Staff Writer
GAYS -- Hunter Don Higgins talks about the 20-point buck that temporarily got away from him.

The conservation ticket against Higgins for unlawful hunting and retriveing of a white-tailed deer without permission of the landowner was dismissed. Moultrie County State's Attorney Marvin Hanson filed a new charge of criminal trespassing to real property, to which Higgins plead guilty. Higgins was sentenced to six months supervision and was fined $500 plus court costs. Both the dismissal and the new charge were also filed on Jan. 6.

During the investigation, the buck was confiscated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Higgins said he shot the buck on land where he was given permission to hunt. For Higgins, who has hunted for 27 years, the rare 20-point white-tailed deer buck was the hunt of a lifetime.

"I wanted one like that and it finally happened," Higgins said.

Higgins had been on the buck's trail for a couple of years.

"I had seen him four times in two years," he said. "I had never seen a buck this big before."

Perched in his tree stand Dec. 1 about 4 p.m., Higgins saw four doe and one eight-point buck. Following the eight-point buck was the prized 20-point buck.

"He was in the same spot where I had seen him two years ago," Higgins said.

Higgins took his bow, aimed and scored a lethal shot into the buck.

After being shot, the buck ran for 80 to 100 yards and then died, said Higgins.

"He (Higgins) called me on my cell phone and the first words he said were ‘I got him,'" said Joe Johnson of Windsor, Higgins' friend. "He was really excited."

Later that day, Higgins, along with Henry Hortenstine, Johnson and Cy Hopper, set out to search for the buck. With flashlights, the group followed the blood trail to where the animal had died and transported the animal to Higgins' farm.

The next day, Higgins received a visit from a conservation officer who said he received a complaint from a landowner that Higgins was trespassing when he killed the buck.

Nearby landowners claimed Higgins had killed the buck on their land, where he didn't have permission to hunt, but Higgins, unaware he was trespassing, said he, Johnson, Hortenstine and Hopper had only been on the property in question to remove the buck.

Higgins, who was devastated about the charge, had no choice but to relinquish the deer to the conservation officer until the investigation was completed.

"We didn't realize we crossed property lines," Higgins said. "There were no signs or fences."

"It would take a surveyor to determine whether or not we were trespassing when we picked up the buck," added Hortenstine of Gays. "The area in question is an imaginary property line in the woods."

Hortenstine and other supporters of Higgins started a letter writing and verbal campaign to bring attention to the situation. Little did they know, Higgins would receive overwhelming support including phone calls from across five states.

"Ninety-five percent of the hunters who I have talked to have been supportive," Higgins said. "They knew what happened and they understood because they knew it could happen to any one of them."

Higgins thanked his dad, Hortenstine and Johnson who reminded him to remain calm and cool-headed because the truth would prevail and the buck would be returned.

Joe Bauer, IDNR spokesman, said the situation was extremely rare for the IDNR because the property owner requested Higgins be arrested for trespassing and that the officers confiscate the buck.

Usually a property owner will call the conservation officers to tell the hunter to remove the deer from the property and then request the hunter leave the property, he said.

Bauer said the 20-point white-tailed buck Higgins harvested was indeed rare and that an animal that size can bring in thousands of dollars.

Moultrie County State's Attorney Marvin Hanson filed a motion Jan. 6 requesting the charges against Higgins be dismissed. In the motion, Hanson said evidence supports that Higgins did have permission to hunt on the property where he killed the deer but that he didn't have permission to be on the property where he removed the deer.

However, there is no evidence that Higgins had a weapon on the property where he removed the deer; indicating he was not hunting, Hanson wrote. The statute only says it is unlawful for any person to hunt or trap upon the land of another without first obtaining permission from the landowner, Hanson wrote.

If the statute in question had stated it was illegal to "take" deer on property where the defendant didn't have permission to be, the defendant may have committed a violation of the statutes, Hanson said.

Higgins, who writes for Bowhunter and North American Whitetail, said he has received an offer from a producer of a hunting show who is interested in featuring his story on a video.


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Man, bummer deal, I think the landowner was a rare case, most landowners are pretty cool, especially in hunted areas. Some though do despise hunting and this can happen. A story like this surfaces about twice a year. If I was a landowner I would have been like, woo man, nice deer, wanna use my truck to load it out? And here's a Busch Lite.

As a hunter I would have asked permission to go onto the guys property and when denied called the game warden. Thats the book answer anyway.

Of course with any story there are some hidden things that never come out. I find it hard to believe that after chasing this buck for 4 years that the hunter didnt know the property boundary. And I also bet that the landowner was chasing the same deer.

I posted the article from the newspaper and it gives more details. I know the hunter and the land owner and I think you may be right about both the hunter knowing the boundry line and the land owner chassing the same buck.
I agree with you on your answer and I have heard it go both ways. One land owner who owns land where I hunt said if you don't know where you are you shouldn't be hunting. He said he would have taken the animal too had the hunter not come to him first asking to step foot on his land. I was shocked.
I'm like you only it would be a Budweiser.