Hunting the public ROW - Thoughts?

The farmers/ranchers know the law, they just figure most folks will just leave when harassed, rather than standing up to them. I've had ranchers ruin antelope hunts by driving out on public land to accost me for no reason, other than to keep me away from their pay hunters. They have thousands of acres to hunt, but are worried some lucky hunter might get a bigger buck than their rich pay-boys on the adjacent public land. Even when Harding County had that so-called "Lockdown" years ago, they still allowed their pay hunters in the back door. If hunters start reporting this illegal "hunter harassment", and get some of these landowners paying fines, it would help the situation.
 
I leave for SD today and have hunted the ROW most trips.. So I feel like I should know the following answer.. usually i just err on the side of caution but I tried to brush up on the regs last night and couldn’t find a particular distance from the centerline or what amount of the ditch constitutes a ROW.. anyone have any info?
 
Just read that section line rights of ways are 66’ wide…does that mean you’re legal if you’re 33’ either side of the middle of the road? Sounds plausible…
 
BB, that's what the "Hunting Manual" says. However, a few paragraphs later it states; "Fences may not be on the right-of-way, and in fact there may not even be a fence". Some east-river farmers farm the ditch right up to the road. Obviously, there is no fence in that situation. So, unless the accusing party actually measures the 33' from the center of the road to the edge of the "right-of-way", how do you really prove exactly where that line is?
 
Good question! I’d call SD GFP or a warden in your area. If there’s no standing crop you’re walking through, I’d feel ok walking in the ditch where if flattens out…6-8-10’ from the road edge…that’s just me, not saying it’s legal…but most ditches to me seem fairly discernible vs the crop ground that abuts the ditch…not always, but most of the time…
 
I’d feel comfortable defining the ditch width at about 12’…just pulling that out of the air, but it seems about right…the real issue is that the dog is your agent, and technically anywhere the dog is, you are…so, if you’re being watched, keep the dog in the ditch…in reality, men’s eyes don’t wander and stare at a beautiful woman walking by, and hunting dogs don’t follow hot scent that finds its way into their nostrils…the two sound interrelated….i wish hot women were walking the ditches about 33’ in front of me, and kept that pace…I’d cover lots of dirty ditches, and shoot lots of birds while following a hottie! That sounds like the perfect blend of these two pursuits….
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
If you know you're within the law, hunt how you want to hunt. Right-of-way regs aren't hard to interpret. I hunt ditches somewhat regularly (usually later in the season, which may make a difference in how much nearby landowners care). My SD plates may also make a difference, as well as the fact that to my knowledge, there are very, very few pay-to-hunt operations where I hunt. But I can't recall the last time anyone questioned what I was doing. That said, if they do make a stink, I'm more than happy to tell them to piss up a rope & let them know that if they interfere with my hunting, THEY are breaking an actual law; not me. SDCL 41-1-8.
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Don't pull that attitude if you can see a backhoe parked in their (or a neighbor's) building site.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
If you know you're within the law, hunt how you want to hunt. Right-of-way regs aren't hard to interpret. I hunt ditches somewhat regularly (usually later in the season, which may make a difference in how much nearby landowners care). My SD plates may also make a difference, as well as the fact that to my knowledge, there are very, very few pay-to-hunt operations where I hunt. But I can't recall the last time anyone questioned what I was doing. That said, if they do make a stink, I'm more than happy to tell them to piss up a rope & let them know that if they interfere with my hunting, THEY are breaking an actual law; not me. SDCL 41-1-8.
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I've been hassled by Farmers a few times in my 40 plus years of hunting or whatever, and I just tell them, look. I know the law, you obviously don't know the law so get moving please. I must admit I have been in the wrong a few times and have gotten on to private property, but I was not ticketed because my dad was a judge and a US magistrate.
 
FlushingSetters1724 said:
I leave for SD today and have hunted the ROW most trips.. So I feel like I should know the following answer.. usually i just err on the side of caution but I tried to brush up on the regs last night and couldn’t find a particular distance from the centerline or what amount of the ditch constitutes a ROW.. anyone have any info?
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You can shoot as far as your shotgun will shoot.
 
Goosemaster said:
I've been hassled by Farmers a few times in my 40 plus years of hunting or whatever, and I just tell them, look. I know the law, you obviously don't know the law so get moving please. I must admit I have been in the wrong a few times and have gotten on to private property, but I was not ticketed because my dad was a judge and a US magistrate.
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Probably why you dump mud without being hassled….
 
Benelli Rooster said:
Not a new issue, but I thought I would see what some of the prevailing thoughts are on here, for both SD locals/natives and the incoming out of state hunters.

I'm hunting a ways NW of Aberdeen (McPherson Cty) last week with my 76-yr old hunting buddy and my two faithful labs. We see a good looking Minimum Maintenance Road with thick ditch cover, picked corn on one side and some picked beans on the other. We drive down a quarter mile or so, I get out with the dogs, he goes back close to the main road to park, I walk towards him, you know the drill.

An older woman comes by about the time we're done, puffing on a cigarette, starts asking questions. She owns the adjacent property, has paying hunters, even some State legislator or something, etc. It was a reasonably pleasant exchange, and she even perked up a little bit when I told her I owned a house in the nearest town, but she was clearly on a mission. Told me about every place within a 5-mile radius to stay the f*ck away from, this is theirs, that's this other guy who's not nice to hunters, etc.

We even tried another Min Maint Road a mile or two away about an hour later and here she came by on the main road again. This woman is clearly like policing the local area just driving around.

So would you go back? We saw birds, it was worth the walk. My cantankerous 76-yr old hunting buddy of course is "Screw her, this is public ROW", where I agree, but part of me is like, is it worth it to go back and deal with this sh*t?

I'm incredibly understanding of the bullshit that SD locals have to deal with when it comes to dumb, ignorant, inconsiderate out of state hunters, but at the same time, this woman was clearly in the wrong; whether she didn't know the road/path was public ROW or was hoping we didn't know, that remains to be seen
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76 year old friend probably likes a min maintenance road… I’d go back tomorrow!!
Guarantee the local warden knows her by name!
 
benelli-banger said:
Probably why you dump mud without finally I just said look I'm going hunting, have a nice day being hassled….
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It's like this time this farmer tried to spook me off of going on the state land. Finally I just said to the guy, I'm going hunting now. Have a nice day, and out and off. I went. He just sat there cuz he knew that there was nothing he could do about it.
 
Goose, don’t know if you’re in a relationship, or want to be, but something tells me that woman may be worth pursuing…dead frickin serious! I don’t know much about that stuff, but I’ll attempt a poem or something if you want…❤️
 
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