Railroad Track Rabbit Hunting..Legal?

[PappyD]

I used to hunt rabbits years ago by just walking the right of ways along railroad tracks. That's what my dad did with my brother and I. Now I'd like to do the same with my boys but want to know if it's legal. We were always careful to not hunt right up to a new subdivision and also to only shoot at rabbits and not blast away at cans, etc. The tracks always seem to provide great cover in a concentrated area which seemed ideal for bunnies.

I spent a few hours last weekend at Wilbur Wright fruitlessly trying to scare up rabbits. Kicked up all the "rabbity" areas we could see- nothing. Either they were already harvested by other hunters or the hawks and coyotes had got them. I was disappointed as were the two teens I had with me. BTW, they passed the Hunter Safety Exam on-line with a little coaching from dad, so we were all legal hunters, etc. Didn't go to Atterbury because another work buddy said it was real tough unless you have dogs.

Others have said that once a railroad track is abandoned, the property usually is deeded to the landowners along the rail bed so it becomes private property... I just want to avoid a bad confrontation with a deputy sheriff or game warden.

Any suggestions?

 

[singlestacksig]

you must have permission from the owner to hunt the property..

Find out who ones the property..

 

[mike4sigs]

Been there done that 20 years a go and the trooper that throwed me off was not polite about it etheir !
railroad does not let people hunt but if you get permission from the adjacent owner you can hunt up to the railroad right of way!

 

[Cornbread]

Been there done that 20 years a go and the trooper that throwed me off was not polite about it etheir !
railroad does not let people hunt but if you get permission from the adjacent owner you can hunt up to the railroad right of way!

This is true. As young teen I loved doing this with my Dad.I was the DOG until I got wise to dad. ven so it was some of the best time we had together. But about 4 or 5 years ago I recived a fine for hunting on a RR. The RR does not like anyone hunting on their right of way.

The info on Atterbury is right. Unless you have some good dogs it is almost imposible to get any bunnies.

 

[sonovasailor]

Rabbit hunting in this state isn't what it used to be. I used to hunt the Pennsylvania RR along Pendleton Pike clear up to Post road without a problem. It was common for us to harvest 40 to 60 rabbits a year in the 56th & German Church area. (NE Indy) Now, with the increased coyote, fox and hawk population, a hunter with dogs, is fortunate to kill 1 per hunt. Heck, I havn't had fried rabbit in 10 years or more. I would pay money for a decent place to bust a bunny.

 

[ghitch75]

used to hunt the tracks when i was a kid... the railroad frowns on it these days....best place to hunt bunny was where lowes in Bloomington is......

 

[pftraining_in]

Even some abandoned tracks are still owned by the railroad. If they are sold off they are owned by the adjacent property owner.

There is a federal statue also that I can not find at this time.

IC 8-3-15-3
Riding, driving, or walking on right-of-way or yard a misdemeanor; definitions; exceptions
Sec. 3. (a) A person who rides, drives, or walks on or along the right-of-way or yard of a railroad company at a place other than a public crossing commits a Class B misdemeanor.
(b) "Right-of-way" means the track or roadbed owned or leased by a railroad which is located on either side of its tracks and which is readily recognizable to a reasonable person as being railroad property or is reasonably identified as such by fencing or appropriate signs.
(c) "Yard" means a system of parallel tracks, cross-overs, and switches where cars are switched and made up into trains, and where cars, locomotives, and other rolling stock are kept when not in use or awaiting repairs.
(d) This section does not apply to:
(1) passengers on trains or employees of a railroad company while engaged in the performance of their duties;
(2) picketing by railroad employees in the vicinity of entrances to railroad company property;
(3) an authorized representative of the railroad employees;
(4) a person going upon the right-of-way or into the yard to save human life or to protect property;
(5) a person being on the station grounds or in the depot of the railroad company as a passenger or for the purpose of transacting business;
(6) a person, or the person's family or employees going upon the right-of-way for the purpose of crossing from one (1) part to another part of a farm the person owns or leases, where the farm lies on both sides of the right-of-way;
(7) a person having written permission from the railroad company to go upon the right-of-way;
(8) representatives of the Indiana department of transportation;
(9) representatives of the federal Surface Transportation Board; or
(10) a registered land surveyor or a land surveyor's employees who are on the right-of-way or in the yard for the purpose of making land surveys.
As added by Acts 1977, P.L.26, SEC.2. Amended by Acts 1982, P.L.62, SEC.4; P.L.384-1987(ss), SEC.41; P.L.18-1990, SEC.49; P.L.259-1999, SEC.1.

 

[Serial Crusher]

I live about 10 yards from a Norfolk Southern line. When it was Conrail, I never had a problem, and would do pretty much anything I wanted, target shooting, squirrel, rabbit and the like. The workers would stop and ask the standard "whadya get?" and then be on their merry way. Now that it's Norfolk Southern, I've been told to leave on several occasions, regardless of what I was doing. The line is busy with trains, but it's also pretty busy with highrail trucks. One comes by every four hours or so. They've told me to leave when they saw me trail running down the tracks. I've never had them call the sheriff on me, but I have always complied with their requests.

 

[WhitleyStu]

My dad told me of hunting from the front of steam locomotives in the early 40s when he first started working for the Pennsylvania RR. Several railroaders would bring their shotguns to work then in the evenings go from Columbia City to Churubusco then back down to CC. The light on the front of the locomotive would “shine” the rabbits. From his stories it was like shooting fish in a barrel. He said they would jump off the engine, grab the dead rabbit and hop back on the engine. Oh, times have changed. BTW, I still have that Marlin 1902 12 ga pump...

 

[Cornbread]

Seems like we all have some good memories of track hunting with or by our fathers. Shame we can't pass it alnog again.

 

[Ashkelon]

Yes, it is a shame. No need to be "Wery Wery quiet" along the railroad tracks. The rabbits are gone.

 

[Bisley Man]

Earlier this year IMPD and railroadmen stopped, ticketed, or arrested people JUST crossing railroad tracks. One is only allowed to cross a RR track on a road or street crossing,period! All other presence on a RR track is trespassing. The cops would hide, find someone walking along or across the tracks, then detain, search, arrest(if warrants or drugs involved)and ticket every single person.Guess the RR doesn't want ANYONE on their property.

 

[Serial Crusher]

Earlier this year IMPD and railroadmen stopped, ticketed, or arrested people JUST crossing railroad tracks. One is only allowed to cross a RR track on a road or street crossing,period! All other presence on a RR track is trespassing. The cops would hide, find someone walking along or across the tracks, then detain, search, arrest(if warrants or drugs involved)and ticket every single person.Guess the RR doesn't want ANYONE on their property.

That's profiling! Seriously, I don't know what company is in Indy, but Norfolk Southern is getting more involved. It only seems reasonable, as far as home land security, just like every other war since the advent of rail transport, it is one of the most vulnerable and most important things a saboteur can get at. To my knowledge there has only been one such attack, I don't remember exact details, but someone cut a section of rail out before a passenger train came by. I think it was an Amtrak in the southwest, might be wrong. That being said I think their primary motivation is to stop thieves and vandals.

 

[Ashkelon]

Its directly connected to the increased funding rail roads have gotten in the past years since 9-11. They have finally been recognized as a valuable infrastructure asset and LEOs and their corporate structure have taken note.

However, I find it ironic that they chase off hunters along their right of ways but the Indy homeless have extensive settlements along their track downtown. Perhaps you can only enforce the law against those that have something to lose?

 

[Bastispah]

i used to all the time growing up in the 80's. if people today saw a 13yr old walking down the street with a shotgun slung over their sholder on the way to the RR tracks they'd probably call the cops . when my dad was that age(early 60's) he and his friends would get done hunting then would go to a local resteraunt for cokes and stack their rifles/shotguns in the corner. Can you imagine 4 12-13 yr olds doing that now, they would call in a swat team what happened to America?

 

[Jack Ryan]

I used to hunt rabbits years ago by just walking the right of ways along railroad tracks. That's what my dad did with my brother and I. Now I'd like to do the same with my boys but want to know if it's legal. We were always careful to not hunt right up to a new subdivision and also to only shoot at rabbits and not blast away at cans, etc. The tracks always seem to provide great cover in a concentrated area which seemed ideal for bunnies.

I spent a few hours last weekend at Wilbur Wright fruitlessly trying to scare up rabbits. Kicked up all the "rabbity" areas we could see- nothing. Either they were already harvested by other hunters or the hawks and coyotes had got them. I was disappointed as were the two teens I had with me. BTW, they passed the Hunter Safety Exam on-line with a little coaching from dad, so we were all legal hunters, etc. Didn't go to Atterbury because another work buddy said it was real tough unless you have dogs.

Others have said that once a railroad track is abandoned, the property usually is deeded to the landowners along the rail bed so it becomes private property... I just want to avoid a bad confrontation with a deputy sheriff or game warden.

Any suggestions?

It's not legal now and it never was legal to hunt railroad right of ways. It's not LEGAL to even set foot on them.

It was part of the original use document or sale to the rail road in nearly every single agreement that the property return to the owner of the land it belonged with originally when abandon by the railroad and the agreement to the use of the land by the railroad does not extend the right of way for use of the land for any other purpose not expressed specificly such as utilities.

 

[SSilvers]

There's an abandoned RR track out here between my house and the DNR property, good hunting right up to the property. It's on the back side where no one walks back to hunt, my Beagles can burn the bunnies up back there. The rabbits will usually run straight out, then cut into the DNR property then come back down the opposite side. Great dog running, we don't kill many anymore, would rather hear the dogs run.

 

[JBrockman]

My property goes right along the RXR tracks and from talking to officials as they come through here they will prosecute is caught hunting on tracks. Now if I happen to head shoot one with the .22, stand the firearm against the tree and go onto the tracks to get my rabbit then it is retrival and not hunting....Right?

 

[Ashkelon]

It would the discretion of the prosecuting attorney to bring a case or not. In Johnson county the Prosecutor would never bring a case as weak as that but in Marion county where there are no so many outdoorsmen in the prosecutor's office you might likely get charged.

County to County Prosecutor to Prosecutor Officer to Officer. So the answer is clear as mud. But in a rural area wherein people know the difference between retrieval and hunting I think you would be clear.

 

[Jack Ryan]

It would the discretion of the prosecuting attorney to bring a case or not. In Johnson county the Prosecutor would never bring a case as weak as that but in Marion county where there are no so many outdoorsmen in the prosecutor's office you might likely get charged.

County to County Prosecutor to Prosecutor Officer to Officer. So the answer is clear as mud. But in a rural area wherein people know the difference between retrieval and hunting I think you would be clear.

Shooting across the property line and then tresspassing to retrieve game? You think that won't be prosecuted?