Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
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Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
When I was in my teens we used to hunt small game along railroad tracks all the time.
A friend of mine was hunting rabbits with his son on Saturday.
When he got back to his truck the sheriff was waiting and proceeded to write him a ticket for trespassing.
Those were some expensive rabbits!!
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A friend of mine was hunting rabbits with his son on Saturday.
When he got back to his truck the sheriff was waiting and proceeded to write him a ticket for trespassing.
Those were some expensive rabbits!!
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- Crazinamatese
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
Trespassing indeed. I have a friend who is a photographer. He took some pics of a young lady walking down some rail road tracks for senior pictures. He then posted them to his website, then got an email from some Train/rail company warning him that he can be charged for trespassing if he is caught. I didn't know that at the time, neither did he, apparently it is true. I used to walk some train tracks to get to some awesome trout holes in the country. Not anymore.
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
I was looking at some public hunting area that I could access from the back using railroad tracks.
Glad I didn't try that move!
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Glad I didn't try that move!
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
I use to walk the tracks all the time in the early 90's when I hunted Central Wisconsin public. Liability and law suits are a bad thing. You use to be able to hunt all the timber ground back then too. Wonder if that is still legal (or if it ever was)?
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- hunter_mike
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
Be aware too that the railroad property is not just the tracks but the whole right of way which is sometimes fenced but sometimes it can be wider than u would guess. It is extremely tempting sometimes to use the tracks for access. Railroad employees will not hesitate to call the sheriff because they have a lot at stake by not reporting trespassers.
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- Dewey
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
Not only did I walk the tracks when I was a kid but also jumped on the ladder of the last car and rode it for awhile to save some walking. The trains went pretty slow and things were much different back then. The guys in the train would always just wave.
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
Dewey wrote:Not only did I walk the tracks when I was a kid but also jumped on the ladder of the last car and rode it for awhile to save some walking. The trains went pretty slow and things were much different back then. The guys in the train would always just wave.
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me too
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
Now that they are cracking down on this law it's really cutting off a lot of public ground. It too bad cuz a lot of my hunting area is accessed via train tracks.
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- Milk Weed Seed
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
I think most states it's a violation to be on railroad property. Thank the terrorists. I used to hang by the tracks as a kid, never see kids doing it anymore these days.
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
Milk Weed Seed wrote:I think most states it's a violation to be on railroad property. Thank the terrorists. I used to hang by the tracks as a kid, never see kids doing it anymore these days.
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I think it's more of kids getting killed on the tracks than anything. Two kids got killed by trains about 8 years ago close to here.
I used to do a lot of hunting on the tracks in the mid 60s. No big deal then.
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
Since when was this illegal? I pick mushrooms along them all the time. Fifty feet on each side was always public access, right of way I thought. I walk into one of my stands all the time this way. I have to in order to get there. Still do.
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
matt1336 wrote:Now that they are cracking down on this law it's really cutting off a lot of public ground. It too bad cuz a lot of my hunting area is accessed via train tracks.
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I am not saying to go an break the law by using the tracks or the trains companies property.....but if more hunters realize the tracks are illegal to use the hunting property may get a lot better to hunt.
I would take into consideration the properties that may have access entrances blocked by not using the tracks. Possibly an adjoining land owner could give permission to cross his property. May locate some land without as much pressure there this way.
I have known for several years it was illegal trespass on the tracks. Found out with a stiff verbal warning. I was in an area where there was a very tall galvanized steel ladder with a platform right beside the tracks. I assume it was used by railroad workers to check or make repairs to a train in between destinations?? Anyway, the train engineer didn't find it amusing that I was rifle hunting from the platform! It was an awesome spot, several miles from the nearest house, and the tracks were basically in a rut funnel saddle. I didn't have any cover, but remained very still and passed several bucks there. The shot where the deer were crossing the tracks was 110 yards, easy pickings...hahaha.
I often think of that place, and how I would like to hunt there again. But being an energy filled kid then (25 years ago), I know I could still get there and back no problem now....but bringing a buck out would be an entirely different story.
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
The fine was over $200!!
Not a good way to end a hunt.
The sheriff gave them a break.
He could of gave his son a ticket also.
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Not a good way to end a hunt.
The sheriff gave them a break.
He could of gave his son a ticket also.
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- hunter_mike
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
Kodiakman wrote:Since when was this illegal? I pick mushrooms along them all the time. Fifty feet on each side was always public access, right of way I thought. I walk into one of my stands all the time this way. I have to in order to get there. Still do.
Every railroad is going to be different so the best thing to do is contact the railroad and ask but most railroads are privately or semi/privately owned. It can be complicated because the actual land the railroad is on is often owned by a different entity than the people who are operating trains on it. I think most railroads will tell you to stay off the right of way for liability
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Re: Do not hunt along railroad tracks in Wisconsin!!
I used to do RR track removal - the RR takes safety very seriously. We don't do RR track removal any longer - the 2 Canadian companies that own most US rail lines don't want to deal with small companies.
I just did a little googling. There were 442 pedestrian/train accidents/fatalities in 2012. Many were people walking down the tracks that didn't hear the train coming....In 1981 there were 728 train/auto deaths,it dropped steadily until 2012's 273 deaths....They're taking safety very seriously.
I doubt anyone will get permission to use RR tracks to access hunting land. Heck,just try to get ahold of anyone with CP or CN rail that'll talk to you about access.
Engineers are required to report trespassers.
I just did a little googling. There were 442 pedestrian/train accidents/fatalities in 2012. Many were people walking down the tracks that didn't hear the train coming....In 1981 there were 728 train/auto deaths,it dropped steadily until 2012's 273 deaths....They're taking safety very seriously.
I doubt anyone will get permission to use RR tracks to access hunting land. Heck,just try to get ahold of anyone with CP or CN rail that'll talk to you about access.
Engineers are required to report trespassers.
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