In a remote corner of Jefferson County, a dispute Tuesday between a landowner and bear hunters escalated into a shootout.

In Crawford County, a farmer on Wednesday said he will ban hunters from his property for the first time in 40 years after one of his cattle was struck by a hunter's arrow.

And in Washington County, one hunter acquired exclusive hunting rights to more than 300 acres so that he can hunt deer without competition from other hunters.

Tomorrow, on the opening day of the statewide firearms deer season, many of Pennsylvania's estimated 950,000 hunters might find something new on their favorite hunting grounds: "No Trespassing" signs.

No records are kept documenting private land that is posted, but about 80 percent of Pennsylvania land is privately owned. The state allows hunting and other outdoor recreational activities on most of the 1.4 million acres of state game lands financed almost entirely by hunters. Most of another 2.1 million acres of state forest land also is open to hunting, as well as thousands of acres in state and county parks.

But most hunting in Pennsylvania occurs on private property with the direct or implied consent of the owner, and hunters said access is drying up fast.

"It's getting harder and harder to find a place to hunt," said Dan Beard, who lives and hunts in Westmoreland County. "The game lands get crowded, and when you go to a place that's been open to hunting all your life, it's posted."

Some posted property is open to individual hunters with specific permission. "Implied" consent isn't always clear. Owners are under no legal obligation to signal their intentions regarding their property -- hunters can be asked to leave even without "No Trespassing" signs. And despite the misconceptions of many hunters, signs do not have to be signed or mounted on frames to be legal.

Pennsylvania's Recreational Use of Land and Water Act protects landowners who allow free access to their land from liability involving a sporting accident or a firearm discharged on their property.

Landowners control their property but they don't own the wildlife, which is managed by the Game Commission. State hunting regulations apply on most private property.

The "No Hunting" signs go up for a variety of reasons, and safety isn't always the primary concern.

In a 2003 report on the property-access decisions of Pennsylvania landowners, Penn State University researchers found that about 69 percent of owners post their land for reasons including control and use of the property, previous experiences with hunters, liability and safety. Thirty-nine percent of all posting landowners said that a single event caused them to post. Among nonposting landowners, 11 percent said they were concerned about relationships with neighbors. Fourteen percent said they allowed hunting to control the deer population.

Some aggrieved property owners say the inconsiderate actions of a few hunters prompted them to ban all hunters. Trespassing is a common reason landowners post signs, but rarely do disputes escalate to violence.

In Summerville, Jefferson County, about 60 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, state police and the county district attorney's office still are investigating Tuesday's exchange of fire.

State police said Frank N. Shaffer, 63, of Red Lion, York County, confronted four or five bear hunters on land he owned with family members. Four shots were fired. Mr. Shaffer was killed; Paul H. Plyler, 23, of Summerville was shot once. His injuries were not considered life-threatening.

"We're still in the midst of the investigation," said state police Sgt. Thomas Chelgren of the Punxsutawney barracks. "What we know: Mr. Shaffer died from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. We have not seen the toxicology report yet."

Sgt. Chelgren said the case remains classified as a "death investigation" rather than a homicide case. No charges are pending, he said.

Mr. Shaffer, a real-estate developer, had been denied a concealed firearms permit in 2006 following a gun-related road-rage incident. But after Mr. Shaffer filed a federal lawsuit in July against York County and its former sheriff, a county judge last year ordered the return of his permit. The lawsuit was still pending when he died. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is assisting in the investigation of the Summerville shooting.

The agency's investigation of a 2006 hunting accident in Frazier led to the posting of scores of acres in an area with a long hunting tradition.

On Dec. 31, 2006, a projectile crashed through the bedroom window of then 4-year-old James Esser while the boy was out of the room. A Game Commission investigator determined the shot was fired from unposted property owned by PPG Industries across a road.

The Game Commission officer walked across the street and up the hill and found a deer shot through the neck and abandoned, said June Esser, the boy's mother. "Whoever shot it knew they used poor judgement because they took off and didn't take the animal."

Within days of Mrs. Esser's complaint, PPG posted the ridge where the shot had originated -- land that had long been open to hunting. Since the incident, Mrs. Esser also banned hunting on her 33-acre farm a few miles away.

"I'm not antihunting," she said. "My dad was a hunter, my brothers were hunters. I understand hunting and appreciate it. But I am antistupidity, and what happened was just stupid. When people act stupid, you have to put your foot down. My son could have been killed."

Livestock ranchers often post properties to protect their animals. In Crawford County, farmer M.J. Huya Jr. last week posted his 200-acre farm for the first time after finding one of his steers had been shot with an arrow. Mr. Huya, who said hunting has been permitted on his 200-acre farm for 40 years, said he believes the steer was targeted intentionally.

Hunters who intentionally trespass, fail to follow landowner-imposed restrictions or tear down signs may be making it worse for themselves and other hunters.

Ron Butler said he used to allow hunting with permission on his 68 wooded acres in Westmoreland County between New Alexandria and Saltsburg, Indiana County. He banned hunting altogether after invited guests failed to follow his rules.

"I asked them, 'just let me know when you're going to be on the property,' " he said. "Well, they neglected to do so. I don't want someone on the property without knowing where they are while I'm hunting, too. They took advantage of that, and this year I just said, 'that's it, no more.' "

Mr. Butler said it's mainly a matter of respect. "If they would call me and say, 'Ron, I want to bring some people up and drive out [in] the woods,' I'd be alright with that," he said. "The bottom line -- it's a lack of respect for property rights."

As public hunting grounds grow more crowded and hunting permissions grow harder to find, some hunters are paying for exclusive hunting rights.

"I want to hunt it myself and I want to grow those deer big," said a Washington County hunter who asked that his name be withheld to avoid a backlash from other hunters. "On my ground, I'll pass up a typical eight-point that anybody else would shoot. I want it to grow to be 4 1/2 years old."

Over the last several years, that man has acquired exclusive hunting and deer management rights on properties totaling some 360 acres. He posts the borders to keep other hunters out, plants nutrition-enhancing grasses and controls the doe population to build a robust, mature, unfenced deer herd. Purchasing hunting privileges makes him exempt from the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act -- he has to buy hunting insurance -- and it's become a routine chore to repost the "No Hunting" signs ripped down by hunters who aren't allowed in.

"I think there should always be public hunting land," he said. "But Pennsylvania has the third largest number of hunters in America. On land you're sharing with other hunters, you're not going to see a deer class like you'll see on [managed properties]. So, four guys get together, tell a farmer they'll pay him $1,000 for exclusive rights to hunt his property. That's $250 for a chance at a hunt of a lifetime."

That man said most of his hunting rights were purchased from farmers who were tired of their intentions being abused by irresponsible hunters.

"One guy ruins it for everybody," he said. "Better that [the farmer] lets me in than not letting anyone in, period."

In Westmoreland County, Dan Beard said he can only hope he'll be allowed onto the unposted hillside he plans to hunt tomorrow.

"I think it's up to good hunters to call out the bad ones," said Mr. Beard. "When you see your hunting buddy littering, or leaving a gate open or tearing down a sign, make him stop."

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